On Maui, Parasailing replaces Whale Watching from May 15th to December 15th.

When whale season ends on May 15, Maui parasailing season begins and stays with us until whale season begins again on December 15.

I parasail at least once a year in Maui. I can't help it. My son makes me go up with him and he loves it. The truth is, I love it too. Maybe it's the exhilaration of take-off, or the view from so high, or just the sense of soaring through the air and the age-old fantasy of flight. The experience is always exciting no matter how many times I do it. There's a certain stillness 'way up there where you can't hear the sound of the boat. All you feel is the rush of the warm Hawaiian air against your skin. It's peaceful up there. Real quiet. And the view...

All of our Maui parasailing trips leave from the Lahaina side. The view of the Lahaina Roadstead, the harbor and the boats at anchor, the West Maui Mountains and cane fields, the clouds above and the ocean below.....well, it's absolutely stunning.

Maui Parasailing comes with a few options:

For excitement, choose the "touch and go." On the way down, instead of just reeling you onto the boat they let you linger awhile above the ocean surface - just before they dunk you. Wet, wild, and screaming at the top of your lungs, you emerge, no worse off for the refreshing plunge.

Too exciting for you? Let the captain know before you go up and you'll have a safe, dry return to the boat.

Go up single, with a friend, or three together on the "chair" (which reminds me of a flying couch).

The most popular ride is still in the harness, leaving your legs free to dangle. People take a while to decide what to do with their hands. At first hands are clenched but after a few minutes they realize it makes absolutely no difference whether they're holding on or not and they begin to relax and appreciate the whole experience.

The parasail flight lasts about ten minutes (ten minutes up there is longer than you think) and different companies offer flights at different heights ranging from 400 feet to 800 feet. This varies depending on the wind and weather conditions, and on the weight of the parasailer. Late July and August seem to be the biggest months for parasailing and the Lahaina skyline is always filled with the graceful movement of the colorful chutes in flight. It's wise to book early because flight times can book up early.

Helpful Tips from Tom Barefoot - Maui Parasailing:

The "Earlybird Flight" is the first parasail flight of the day, usually at a reduced rate. Most parasail companies offer them but they can book up a week in advance. There is no reduced rate for children. Passengers - those who want to go out on the boat only - can ride for a reduced rate. Sunscreen is a must if you have a mid-day flight. You can be out on the water for more than an hour and there are usually no shaded areas on the boats

Helpful Tips from Tom Barefoot - Maui Jet-Skiing:

Now who ever thought up the idea of riding a motorcycle on the water. Sound bizarre? Sound different? Sound exciting? Well if you think so then you should try Jet Skiing! It takes a few minutes to get used to it but then you'll be off and skiing. You can rent them for a half-hour, an hour or even longer. The morning is usually a smoother ride while the wind surf in the afternoon makes the ride a bit like a downhill slalom.

Here are a couple of parasailing choices on the island of Maui:

UFO Parasail - Located off the coast of Kaanapali offering spectacular views of the West Maui Coastline and the Kaanapali Beach Resorts. Parasailors are on the boat one hour and are winched on and off the boat hydraulically for safe and dry landings. Choose between the Standard Ride with 400 feet flight line or the Deluxe Ride with 800 feet of flight line. Tandem flights are available. UFO Parasail has an adjustable tandem bar which allows side by side tandem rides even though the participants weights are not the same.
West Maui Parasail - Take a parasail flight off the Lahaina coastline. The parasail canopy lifts you from 400 to 800 feet into the air while being pulled by a specially designed parasail boat. Your harness type parasail ride will last approximately 8 to 10 minutes. A custom designed hydraulic launch and recovery stystem both launches and returns you directly to the flight deck, assuring passengers both comfort and safety. Single harness and the tandem bar (double harness) rides are offered.

This page contains information about: maui parasail, maui jet ski, maui parasailing, maui jet skiing.

Hearing Impaired - Read the full transcript for this page's audio narrative.

Parasailing - Parasail and jet ski season on Maui runs from May 15th to Dec. 15th. The whales come during the winter months so we don’t want the fast moving parasail boats and jet skis to interfere in any way with the whale communities’ yearly visits to Maui.

Parasailing has been a staple activity on Maui for over 25 years, but I was interested recently to learn a bit about how the sport of parasailing started. It seems that in the early 60’s, a parachute instructor named Piere Lamoigne (Lam mone) devised a less expensive way to teach the sport of parachuting by devising a way of raising a parachute by pulling it behind a car. They would raise them to a certain height and then cut them free. This was then called Parascending. In mid 1961 the Pioneer Parachute Company started making these special chutes under the protected name “Parasail”.

In the early 70’s an entrepreneur named Mark McCulloh decided to move the new invention from the back of a car to the back of a boat and parasailing as we know it was born. The first parasail companies actually took clients off the beach and landed them back on the beach after the ride. The landing part often had a lot to do with the wind at the time of landing and the expertise of the boat handler to maneuver the parasail back to shore.

The next generation of companies, which were the kind that were first used here on Maui were launched from a stationary platform on the ocean. The parasailee was asked to brace himself on the platform until the line was taunt and then resist the pull of the “lift boat” until he began to be pulled and then make a jump for the sky. This worked, mostly, except for the occasional person being drug on his knees along the Astroturf platform or being simply popped off the platform and into the water. This unfortunately was my first experience with the sport of parasailing. The return trip was even more exciting as the boat captain attempted to land you back on the platform with crew members scampering to catch you as you came down.

Nowadays things are much better. The lift boats simply have the launch platform attached to the back of the boat and you are gently wenched up into the sky and of course reeled right back into the boat again at rides end. If you haven’t tried it, give it a whirl, it really is a lot of fun.

Island of Maui - Discount Tours and Activities
Maui Air Tours - Fixed Wing	Maui Jet Ski Rentals	Maui Sunset Sails and Cruises
Maui ATV Off-Road Tours	Maui Kayaking Tours	Maui Surfing Lessons
Maui Bike Tours Down the Volcano	Maui Kid's Tours and Activities	Maui Theatre and Shows
Maui Combo Packages	Maui Land Tours	Maui Unique Tours and Activities
Maui Dinner Cruises and Sails	Maui Luaus	Maui Watersports
Maui Diving and Scuba	Molokini Snorkeling from Maui	Maui Whale Watching Tours
Maui Dolphin Excursions	Maui Motorcycle and Car Rentals	Maui X-Treme Activities
Maui Fishing Charters	Maui Parasailing	Maui Zipline Tours
Maui Golf	Maui Sailing Charters	Visit the Other Islands from Maui
Maui Health and Wellness	Maui Scuba Diving	Discount Tours and Activities - Only on the Island of Maui
Maui Helicopter Tours	Maui Sightseeing Tours
Maui Hiking Tours	Maui Snorkeling Tours	Visit and Snorkel Lanai from Maui
Maui Horseback Riding	Maui Spa and Massage	Visit Molokai from Maui
Inter-Island Excursions from Maui	Maui Submarines and Glass-Bottom Boats	Molokini Snorkeling from Maui

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