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Maui Sailing Charters

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Sailing Charters Sorted by Specific Tour

Maui Sailing Charters

The stiff Maui's trade winds provide for great Maui sailing trips. If the notion of Maui sails intrigues you, you've come to the right spot. The Maui sailing climate and prevailing winds provide the best possible sailing environment. The trade winds generally come up in the late mornings through mid-afternoon so take advantage of this time period if your looking for some 'speed' in your sailing adventure. Many of our sailing adventures are available at discounted pricing.

Where will your Sail Maui experience take you.

  • One popular Maui sailing tour is the trip to Molokini. The mornings have extremely light winds occasionally allowing for a gentle sail out (if the winds are strong enough to sail at all) but by late morning the winds are generally howling and make for a fun return trip.
  • The good stiff winds are usually with us in the afternoon so Maui sailing trips in the morning and evening are of a lighter nature. They're just as fun, just easier-going.
  • Sailboats ply the waters up and down the coast of West and South Maui, stopping near secluded beaches, anchoring in rocky inlets, or hugging mountainous cliffs that plunge deep into the ocean. Some are out-and-out sailing trips, seeking out the wind line far out in the channel; other Maui sailing vessels combine Snorkeling or light-line fishing in calmer waters.

The time of year can affect your Maui boat tours as well as the time of day:

As you are well aware, Maui is an island completely surrounded by water and consequently any ocean location off the coast of Maui has the potential to be an area where sailing can occur. In fact however, there are only certain portions of Maui that are suitable for Maui boat tours on a regular basis because of the prevailing winds.

The most dominant of the prevailing winds are the trade winds which reach Maui approximately 300 days out of the year. These winds will come out of the north-east during the spring, summer and fall months and primarily hit the north and eastern shores of the island. Although trade winds occur in the winter as well, this is also the time we can receive winds which hit the island from the opposite direction (called Kona winds) and in many cases can include stormy conditions.

As far as Maui sailing charters are concerned it is usually best to depart from a location that is not particularly windy for logistical reasons and once out to sea, sail into the winds. This makes the departure points of Kaanapali, Lahaina and Maalaea particularly suitable for a place from which to embark on one of the Sail Maui adventures.

Types of Maui boat tours that offer Maui Catamaran Tours

The Maui Catamaran Tours are really the sailing vessels of choice on Maui.  The most popular, the fastest and the most numerous of the available sailing charters on the island are on the Maui Catamaran Tours.  Here is a sampling:
  • Sail Maui waters on a 65x25 foot, state of the art, multi-million dollar custom sailing catamaran with a 90' Wing mast.
  • Sail in a 50' Santa Cruz Sailing Yacht that won the 1984 Victoria to Maui Yacht Race.
  • Sail Maui's western shore on a 64' Sea Runner Catamaran.
  • Enjoy a 47' Maui sailing catamaran that is one of Maui's fastest.
  • Sail with a company that runs a series of Maui sailing catamarans ranging from a 55' sloop Rigged Catamaran to a 64' Sea Runner Cutter Rigged Catamaran.

Pride of America Cruise Ship:

Maui Sailing Charters will not pick up at the cruise boat pier but these Sailing Tours on Maui can be reached via a Rent-A-Car that can be arranged through Tom Barefoot's Tours and you can be picked up by the Rent-A-Car shuttles right at the cruise ship dock. The majority of these Maui sailing excursions are available on the Sunday or Monday of your Maui cruise itinerary.

Checkout Tom's Tips and Insights about Maui Sailing Charters

Tom Barefoot's Tips
  • Tom's Tips - Maui Sailing Charters

    Sailing charters on Maui are generally not 'stand alone' sailing adventures. Usually they will be a snorkel, sunset cruise or other trip that will include sailing as a part of the tour. There are some rare tours that are designed to get you out into the stiff afternoon trade winds but these are few and far between. It is much more likely that if you are on a sailboat, for example, that is traveling over to Lanai for the day, that they will put the sails up on the return voyage to take advantage of the experience of a sail... read more.



Sailing Charters Sorted by Company

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(7 Reviews, 5 Stars)

Makena Boat Charters

2 Activity Options

Makena Boat Charters

If you're staying on the south shore of Maui in the Kihei area, Wailea or Makena a really good choice for a snorkeling tour would be on the 65' sailing catamaran "Kai Kanani". This boat was built in 2007 and is a state of the art custom motorized sailboat. The location of the departure point for this boat is one of the very best because it is located just off the coast of Molokini, perhaps a short fifteen minute ride away.
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(5 Reviews, 5 Stars)

Gemini Charters

1 Activity Option

64' Sailing Catamaran

Gemini Charters offers sailing tours that depart off of Kaanapali Beach and has done so for over 30 years. They offer multiple tours which include a sail and snorkel up the coast to Honolua Bay when weather permits, a delightful champagne sunset sail and whale watching tours in season. Their seaworthy 64' Sea Runner Sailing Catamaran is an excellent choice for a real sail.
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(1 Review, 5 Stars)

Alii Nui Sailing Charters

1 Activity Option

Dinner cruise with hotel pickup.

The one of a kind, luxury catamaran Alii Nui departs from Maui's Maalaea Harbor and offers a variety of sail options which include Molokini snorkel tours, sunset sails, dinner sails and whale watches. All the specialty details have been included on all its tours to provide a privileged ocean experience. Snorkel tours include hot showers on board and large terry beach towels for your personal use. Dinner cruises are limited to 32 guests and even complementary pick-up is included on its whale watches.
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(1 Review, 5 Stars)

Island Star

2 Activity Options

57' Sailing Yacht - Private charter only

The Island Star is a sail boat that is in a category of its own. This 57' sailing Columbia Yacht can accommodate as many a twenty guests and is used exclusively for private charters.
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Sea Maui

1 Activity Option

Snorkeling, Whale Watching, Sunset Sails & Private Charters

Sea Maui II is a beautiful 55 foot power sailing catamaran, and the new Sea Maui III is a 65ft luxury sailing catamaran, they both depart from Kaanapali Beach. They offer a variety of snorkeling trips, whale watching, and sunset sailing options daily. Sea Maui has consistently been awarded "Maui's Best Boat Tour" for 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020! Food is provided by the award winning Chef Joey Macadangdang of Joey's Kitchen.
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(15 Reviews, 4.9 Stars)

Scotch Mist Sailing Charters

4 Activity Options

50' Sailing Yacht, 50' Santa Cruz Sailing Yacht

The Scotch Mist is a 50' Santa Cruz Sailing Yacht which carries 18 passengers and offers sailing and snorkel charters off the coast of Maui. Having been the winner of the coveted Victoria to Maui Yacht Race in 1984, this vessel is a perfect choice to enjoy the waters off the coast of Maui and Lanai. She offers sailing and snorkel tours, sunset sails, trade wind sails and whale watching in season.
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(57 Reviews, 4.8 Stars)

Trilogy Excursions

10 Activity Options

64' - 55' - 51' Sailing Catamarans, 55' Sailing Catamaran, 55' Catamaran to

One of the most popular and respected boating companies on Maui is Trilogy which has been in operation here since 1973. Though being a large company now, operating seven 50' range sailing catamarans, they are still the family owned operation that was begun by Eldon Coon and his two sons, Jim and Randy. Today they offer sailing tours to Lana'i, Molokini, the West Coast of Maui and an assortment of shorter sunset and sailing options and whale watches.
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(44 Reviews, 4.8 Stars)

Paragon Sailing Charters

8 Activity Options

47' Sailing Catamaran

Certainly one of the very fastest boats found in the islands is the 47' customized sailing catamaran, Paragon. Paragon Sailing Charters offers a number of choices for boat tours ranging from morning sails to Molokini; Day Trips to Lanai; Sunset Sails; and Performance Sails.
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Maui Ocean Charters

2 Activity Options

Maui Ocean Charters

Set sail with Maui Ocean Charters on their sailboat "Shadowfax". Trips are available that last anywhere from a few hours to a few days or more!
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Pacific Whale Foundation

1 Activity Option

52' and 60' Power Catamaran, 52' and 65' Power Catamaran, 65' Power Catamaran, 65' Catamaran

The Pacific Whale Foundation is one of the main companies we have on island that goes out in search of the whales during the winter months. In addition, throughout the year they also offer boat tours to snorkel at Molokini, dolphin watches that look for dolphins and snorkel off the coast of Lanai and have rigid hull inflatable tours that visit the back side of Lanai.
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Kainani Sails

2 Activity Options

Maui Sailing Charters

Private sailing charters aboard a 45' Beneteau Oceanis, Maui's newest monohull charter yacht. Come on board for an exclusive, personalized and memorable experience for up to 6 people. Sailing, snorkeling, wildlife, sunset cruises, sightseeing, celebrations, proposals, memorials and even elopements... anything is possible!
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Recent Reviews


Video Transcript

If you're interested in sailing, Maui is a good place to visit.

What do you need to sail? Basically you need water to sail on. We're an island. We've got water all around us. We need wind, a significant amount of wind. Maui is blessed to have trade winds that come in sometimes 300 days a year, somewhat less in recent years as weather adjusts, but these are the prevailing winds that Hawaii has always had and really provide a suitable environment for sailing. The winds generally come up in the afternoons. Morning on normal days, regular trade wind days, things are pretty flat in the morning, if not even glassy.

Then as we get into late morning and then early afternoon and then mid-afternoon, the wind really kicks up. It usually dies down somewhat in the early evening. We still may have what they refer to as temperature differential wind, a little bit lighter, more of a breeze, that can happen at that time of day. If you're really looking to go out to sail, you want to do that in mid-afternoon. We have boats that go out specifically for the purpose of catching that mid-afternoon wind and doing some serious sailing.

A few of the boats just do that, and others will take advantage of Snorkeling and that sort of thing. But that's really it. A distinction that you need to make before you decide to go out sailing is, do I want to go on a boat that just sails, in which case you're going to be pretty much limited to doing a mid-afternoon performance sail where you're going out just getting into the wind and doing that? Those are usually a couple hours. You might be able to do a little bit of a Sunset Sail, which you put the sails up and they get a little bit into the wind, but that's more about the sunset, I think, and the cocktails and that kind of an agenda.

The other way to do it is to take any one of the common Snorkel Trips that we have, the ones that go out to Molokini or the ones that go out to Lanai, and then of the boats that do this, choose one that is a sailboat. What'll normally happen is that at some point during the day, you'll have an opportunity to be on a boat that's going to put up all the masts and they're going to get into a little bit of a trade wind ride. You're going to get a combination of the Snorkeling or whatever else your day entails as well as the sailing.

Sailing is a lot of fun here. Our boats go really fast. Some of them go extremely fast. We've been on boats before that are 20 to 25 miles an hour, and you just pretty much have to hold on to whatever's near you as you're ripping along on the sea. It's a wild ride, lots of fun. Sailing's cool on Maui. If you have any questions about Tours or Activities in Hawaii, just give us a call or check out tombarefoot.com. We're here to help.


Sailing in Hawaii whether it be on a Hawaii sailboat charter, a Hawaii boat tour or a Hawaii yacht charter is simply a way of life in the islands. Keep in mind that the very first people to come to these islands came by virtue of a sail boat and so the sailing heritage runs deep in the waters surrounding Hawaii.

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Take advantage of the wind on Kauai and go on a sail.

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Oahu has some absolutely beautiful sailing vessels. You can book individual seats or charter the whole boat.

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There are a number of sailing charters you can take out and get 'into the wind'.

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