Maui Family Fun- The Maui Ocean Center
Maui boasts an incredible amount of activities for a vacationer to enjoy. Many are great for families but a few are not. Some of my favorite Maui family activities include taking in a luau, snorkeling, hanging out at the beach and fun short Maui hikes. I have recently added a new one to my list of favorites, The Maui Ocean Center.
The Maui Ocean center is a well run, top notch aquarium center. From the moment we entered, I was impressed with the cleanliness, and well thought out organization of the aquarium center. I have visited many other aquariums, including New Orlean's aquarium and Monterey Bay's and this compares quite favorably.
Located at Ma'alaea Harbor, it is centrally located and just a short drive from any of the major hotel destinations. From Lahaina it is about a twenty five minute drive and from Kihei it is only about a ten or fifteen minute drive. If you are staying in Wailea, Kapalua or Kahana just add five or ten minutes to this time.
When you enter the grounds, you will be directed to your right to begin the tour, where a small pond awaits with crystal clear waters. In the pond are a variety of Hawaiian reef fish. If you have snorkeled in Hawaii, you may be familiar with a number of the pond's inhabitants and if you have not, you may find that you would love to try out snorkeling soon.
Adjacent to the pond, is the "Living Reef" exhibit. As you enter, you are treated to a view of the pond at eye level. This is a great start and you will find it only gets better! Throughout this exhibit there are numerous, well maintained aquariums representing all the different kinds of environments you are likely to encounter in Hawaiian waters. The fish you encounter here range from the beautiful, to whimsical to down right odd. I'm sure that every family member will have a favorite fish after this encounter. My wife quipped that she might never eat fish again, "they are all just too beautiful."
As you leave the "Living Reef" area you will find to your left the "Turtle Lagoon." Again you can view the honu from above the water, or head down a few stairs to view the turtles through a window into the pond putting you at eye level with these graceful creatures. Honu is Hawaiian for sea turtle. Just to the right of the honu pond you will find the "Discovery Pool" where you can see and touch starfish and anemone. Also in this outside area is one of my favorites, the "Hammerhead Harbor." Large glass windows give you an opportunity to get eye to eye with several small hammerheads.
The next attraction is the "Open Ocean." Here you will find all sorts of info about the whales which visit Maui every year, along with interesting interactive presentations to help you and your family learn more about these amazing creatures. One of my wife's favorites is in this exhibit as well, in a large cylindrical tube illuminated by black light there are hundreds of phosphorescent jelly fish. Seating is arranged around the tube for viewing of this beautiful, peaceful display. Right around the corner is my favorite, the large open ocean aquarium. This mammoth aquarium features viewing from many different angles, as well as a walk through tube where you will find sharks and rays gliding by directly overhead. We arrived right in time for the feeding show, which I highly recommend. A diver equipped with an underwater microphone and breathing apparatus entered the water to feed the fish, while informing the visitors about the habits of a wide variety of the members of this incredible aquarium. Here you will see reef sharks, a tiger shark, big and small fish and a variety of rays. It is really an amazing aquarium.
Exiting the open ocean exhibit, your tour of the park is done, but you are free to go back and visit the things you enjoyed again. The Maui Ocean Center features two restaurants, a visitor cart featuring cameras, suntan lotion and more, a coffee/smoothie stand and a really nice visitors store featuring island jewelry, books toys and more. Expect your visit to take between one and a half to two and a half hours, though I am sure that many linger much longer than that. Overall we had a great time, and loved the park. I will heartily suggest it to other visitors. It is perfect for families, or perfect for one of those few rainy days in Maui, the majority of the exhibits are inside and great for eating up some rainy time without missing a Maui beat. Aloha!
For more information about the center visit:
www.mauioceancenter.com
For info about great Maui family luaus visit:
www.mauihawaiiluau.com
For Maui activity info visit:
www.maui-vacation.net
The Maui Ocean center is a well run, top notch aquarium center. From the moment we entered, I was impressed with the cleanliness, and well thought out organization of the aquarium center. I have visited many other aquariums, including New Orlean's aquarium and Monterey Bay's and this compares quite favorably.
Located at Ma'alaea Harbor, it is centrally located and just a short drive from any of the major hotel destinations. From Lahaina it is about a twenty five minute drive and from Kihei it is only about a ten or fifteen minute drive. If you are staying in Wailea, Kapalua or Kahana just add five or ten minutes to this time.
When you enter the grounds, you will be directed to your right to begin the tour, where a small pond awaits with crystal clear waters. In the pond are a variety of Hawaiian reef fish. If you have snorkeled in Hawaii, you may be familiar with a number of the pond's inhabitants and if you have not, you may find that you would love to try out snorkeling soon.
Adjacent to the pond, is the "Living Reef" exhibit. As you enter, you are treated to a view of the pond at eye level. This is a great start and you will find it only gets better! Throughout this exhibit there are numerous, well maintained aquariums representing all the different kinds of environments you are likely to encounter in Hawaiian waters. The fish you encounter here range from the beautiful, to whimsical to down right odd. I'm sure that every family member will have a favorite fish after this encounter. My wife quipped that she might never eat fish again, "they are all just too beautiful."
As you leave the "Living Reef" area you will find to your left the "Turtle Lagoon." Again you can view the honu from above the water, or head down a few stairs to view the turtles through a window into the pond putting you at eye level with these graceful creatures. Honu is Hawaiian for sea turtle. Just to the right of the honu pond you will find the "Discovery Pool" where you can see and touch starfish and anemone. Also in this outside area is one of my favorites, the "Hammerhead Harbor." Large glass windows give you an opportunity to get eye to eye with several small hammerheads.
The next attraction is the "Open Ocean." Here you will find all sorts of info about the whales which visit Maui every year, along with interesting interactive presentations to help you and your family learn more about these amazing creatures. One of my wife's favorites is in this exhibit as well, in a large cylindrical tube illuminated by black light there are hundreds of phosphorescent jelly fish. Seating is arranged around the tube for viewing of this beautiful, peaceful display. Right around the corner is my favorite, the large open ocean aquarium. This mammoth aquarium features viewing from many different angles, as well as a walk through tube where you will find sharks and rays gliding by directly overhead. We arrived right in time for the feeding show, which I highly recommend. A diver equipped with an underwater microphone and breathing apparatus entered the water to feed the fish, while informing the visitors about the habits of a wide variety of the members of this incredible aquarium. Here you will see reef sharks, a tiger shark, big and small fish and a variety of rays. It is really an amazing aquarium.
Exiting the open ocean exhibit, your tour of the park is done, but you are free to go back and visit the things you enjoyed again. The Maui Ocean Center features two restaurants, a visitor cart featuring cameras, suntan lotion and more, a coffee/smoothie stand and a really nice visitors store featuring island jewelry, books toys and more. Expect your visit to take between one and a half to two and a half hours, though I am sure that many linger much longer than that. Overall we had a great time, and loved the park. I will heartily suggest it to other visitors. It is perfect for families, or perfect for one of those few rainy days in Maui, the majority of the exhibits are inside and great for eating up some rainy time without missing a Maui beat. Aloha!
For more information about the center visit:
www.mauioceancenter.com
For info about great Maui family luaus visit:
www.mauihawaiiluau.com
For Maui activity info visit:
www.maui-vacation.net
