South Kihei Boat Ramp Shore Dive

The South Kihei Boat Ramp shore dive is one of Maui's friendliest introductions to open water in Hawaii. Sitting on the south west coast of the island below the larger resort strip, the site gives divers a straightforward ramp entry, a gently sloping reef, and the kind of warm water that makes you forget why you ever put up with anything colder. The profile runs from the surface down to around 12 to 15 metres on the sand, with scattered coral heads and small ledges along the way that break up the dive into well defined sections. Beginner level is correct and this is a favourite for first post course dives and refresher runs. Entry is from the concrete boat ramp itself, usually on the side channel where the ramp traffic does not interfere. You kit up on land, giant stride or walk in depending on conditions, then drop down along the slope. The plan is a slow reef contour with the coast on your chosen shoulder, and because the site is a straightforward out and back profile, navigation is genuinely obvious rather than a skill you have to practice. Maui's fauna does the rest. Hawaiian green sea turtles are effectively resident on this stretch of coast and pass through reliably enough that a turtle free dive is unusual. Yellow tang schools stream over the reef in squadrons, moray eels of several species occupy the ledges, and the reef is regularly visited by bluestripe snapper, raccoon butterflyfish, and the inevitable humuhumunukunukuapuaa that decorates every Hawaii dive brochure ever printed. Octopus hide in daytime and appear at dusk. Water temperature stays between 24 and 27 degrees all year, and visibility typically sits between 15 and 25 metres depending on swell and wind. The site dives year round, with south swells occasionally closing it out for a few days in summer. Morning dives generally work best before the trade winds build.