Snorkel Bob’s Honokowai

Rented 4 masks 2 had leaks one actually had a crack. Took 2 back those also had leaks. Expensive. Should have taken a friends advice and gone to Boss Frogs. The other equipment chairs and boogie board were Ok.

This was our first time in Hawaii and we didn’t know any reputable places. We were told to come to Snorkel Bob’s for our gear. When we walked in, we were greeted by pleasant ladies!
The nice wahine explained the best things to get and also showed us the best spots to snorkel. We enjoyed our experience overall and when we brought the gear back, the process was seamless! Took us less than a minute!
Please come here with an open mind and a positive outlook!
Aloha!

We were excited to plan our week and stopped in to rent some snorkeling gear. The lady who helped us talked so fast that we had to ask several questions just to understand the basic options. I felt as if she was simply reciting from memory, without any interest in creating a customer relationship.

Kylee was trying to help everybody at once which was admirable but frustrating for us as we were fitted and ready to check out in about two minutes but had to wait for her to get two other families outfitted with snorkel gear and flotation gear for children and adults before she would ring us up.
She gave us a sheet that recommended beaches but the directions were unclear and we ended up using Unilocal to find a decent place to snorkel after driving to two unacceptable locations and losing an hour’s worth of time in the water.
Our snorkels both needed purge valves replaced. I have used Snorkel Bob’s on the big island and was highly satisfied.

Meh… I would give this place 2.5 stars (customer service issue) but I’ll be generous. The girl helping us seemed indifferent. She asked us our shoe size threw the flippers at us and sent us on our way. No happy Aloha or recommendations for where a good place to go snorkeling would be. We also saw on the receipt it stated that we were supposed to return anti-​fog drops but were not offered or given any. We wish that we were offered the anti-​fog drops because we did have some difficulty with the fogging issues in the beginning. But all in all we did have a great time snorkeling and appreciated the off hour drop box. (We rented the 6 dollar gear and it worked pretty well. Just be sure you have the straps tight enough).
If you are a first time snorkeler I would recommend trying somewhere else where you may get more helpful hints. If you are experienced and want to save a couple bucks go to Bobs.

Bought a set of goggles when the cheap ones I brought were leaking and fogging really bad. Love the anti-​fog goop they give you! It works perfectly and they will give you free refills for life! When it turned out I bought the wrong goggles for my face shape, it was a breeze to bring them back and exchange them! The staff were so helpful and clearly cared more about me getting the right equipment than anything else. I also learned a lot from the handouts they give you. Would definitely recommend!

One week rental of childs snorkel set was $ 30.00. Costco sells the set for $ 28.00. Did not fit my grandson correctly and fins caused blisters on his toes during first use. When this was reported to the store they just shrugged and said sorry. Not a satisfactory response in my opinion.

I will not be back. They questioned my online rental reservation that I made and told my wife it was the Lahaina store. Wrong! Then I was supposed to get boogie board fins that I made a reservation for and they did not give to my wife. I returned the boards literally yesterday and told him I was going to keep the snorkel sets one more day. He said, «Don’t worry we will settle up later». Well, I just returned the snorkel sets and got charged for two days! What?! I even told her I wouldn’t be back. Snorkel Bob may Care, but their employees suck!

I’m here to share my good experience with snorkel bob. Rented body boards from here and was very satisfied with my rental. The body boards are great top tier quality for only 6 dollars a day. That’s very cheap. The brunette girl that works here is nice and down to earth, very easy to get along with. You can return rentals at any of the snorkel bobs, they get a plus for convenience being that there’s like 20 on the island.
Protip: it’s inevitable you’re going to book activities in Maui, book any two activities through snorkel bob and they let you rent a body board from them for a whole week. I seriously regret not doing this because I booked so many activities. If only i just booked two through Snorkel Bobs… pity the fool.

Thank you Kylee! You are a GEM! We arrived to Lahaina later than we expected, so by the time we hit the road to get to Snorkel Bob’s to pick up our rentals, we weren’t sure if we would make it to the store before they closed.
I called to find out how far they were from the hotel, and Kylee told us not to worry, that she would wait for us until we got there. WHAT A GAL! Because we were leaving for the Road to Hana the following day, and staying in Paia, we knew we wouldn’t be able to get back to Snorkel Bob’s for a few days. I explained to her, and she said, «Take your time. Just get here safely.» Immediately, we felt like we were on island time. Yes. At that moment, we stopped thinking like a Mainlander.
One of the best things you can do for yourself is rent yourself beach chairs (forget the beach towels and the beach mats, GET A CHAIR!) for the time you are on the island. You can go online to their website to make a reservation!
Not only are they easily transportable, but there are cooler pockets and beverage holders on the chair. I never missed «laying» out, because the chair folds into a lounger if you want it to. If you rent 2 chairs (for you and your mate), the price drops to $ 12.50 each for the week.
We also rented fins, because we planned to snorkel, but only used those once (we had our own masks).
Feel bad these guys aren’t getting any decent reviews on Unilocal!,but I for one know, when I return to Maui, I’m getting my chairs from Snorkel Bob’s.

While on Maui we wanted to snorkel like every good tourist. The staff at Snorkel Bob’s was very helpful and pointed us to the best area that day since we had no idea how the winds and waves affect the different places. A paper map was provided showing where to go. Thank you so much for a great experience.

Super helpful staff. Very polite and friendly, even when there’s a lot of customers in line. Gear was in good shape. We always rent from this location when we are in Maui.

Warning!!! Do not be late returning items — we were charged $ 56 for being 6 hours late. Sales associate was a jerk as he was the same person who checked us out and did not mention this. Said he circled it. We heard another sales associate tell another customer — no worries about being late– will just charge you the extra fee. Had no clue it would be so much money.

Great, friendly service. «Snorkel» Allan, as i like to say, gave great advice on where to snorkel (Kapalua Bay) and also things to do around the area. Prices were definitely reasonable. We got 24 hour rentals: $ 9 for a snorkel set, $ 5 for a floater, $ 4.50 for a nice beach chair, and $ 6.50 for a boogie board! (I believe those were the prices we got.) Definitely a place to go while visiting Ka’anapali Beach, Maui!

Walked out after 5 mins.
Rude staff, average prices. Skip this location. I gave it two stars because the lady who first greeted us was very nice.

Ricky and Jamie were super helpful. I was ready to buy a new snorkel and fins from them, and they talked me out of it, washing my old snorkel and showing me how to use it properly. They took a lot of time with me and were super helpful. I was really impressed. If I end up needing anything, I’d trust them totally.

I wanna approach this review with the good, the bad and ugly points of view. Starting off on a positive note:
The Good:
The sales associate hit the nail on the head when he accurately chose a snorkel mask that matched my cousin’s corrective lenses. I never thought that people who wear corrective lenses would need a corrective mask to snorkel in (duh!!!). This was my cousin’s first time snorkeling and I can see his hesitation to do so but the associate (I’m sorry… I should’ve gotten his name) took a look at my cousin’s glasses and chose a pair he thought would work out and amazingly enough, it was perfect!
The sales associate also recommended a non-​touristy place for us to check out since we had novice snorkelers with us. We had three out of seven people who had never snorkeled before. His suggestion was perfect! The conditions in the ocean was perfect for beginners! We initially had chosen Honolua Bay but he directed us to «Airport Beach» instead (but I swear the area behind the Sheraton in Lahaina is called something else — someone please correct me if I am wrong). I’m so glad that he did because I had never been to that part and it was absolutely beautiful!
The Bad:
Pricey for snorkel/​mask/​fins set. There is always the up-​sell for other items and I can see novice snorkelers getting caught up in this.
It’s unfortunate that there isn’t more instruction given to beginners (as I witnessed another family «fresh off the plane and into the water» scenario unfold before me). My husband and I are both certified open water divers and are quite comfortable and confident in the water but upon hearing the inadequate instructions given to newbies it gets quite alarming.
The Ugly:
The sales associate was a bit cocky and rude. I guess he’s used to getting all tourists in this shop and his tone was patronizing and sarcastic. Like i mentioned above, my husband and I are well versed in the water and without him knowing this, his tone and arrogance to all customers (especially those looking like tourists) was irksome. His tone changed when we told him we were from Oahu and were divers. Makes you wonder what images and experiences tourists come away with after going to this shop.
All in all, this is a conveniently located shop that caters to rental equipment/​gear for the water enthusiast. Customer service needs to improve A LOT! We knew exactly what we wanted and could do less with the attitude. A little aloha goes a long way.

Rude unhelpful assholes work here. Go to boss frogs instead. Acted like they didn’t want our business. Then took a phone call for 5 minutes and had some smart ass remark when we asked a question. You know where he can shove that bogie board.

This location was very helpful. We brought most of our own gear and only needed to rent fins. The cashier, Alan, recommended several good locations to us and didn’t push us to pay or sign up for any tours. The locations he suggested were fantastic, although we were sad not to see any sea turtles during our trip.

I’m a little mad at Snorkel Bob’s. If you are staying more than a week, go to an ABC store and buy snorkel gear and fins. It will be cheaper. The bodyboards at this location are bent in half so when you catch a real wave in them they bend! That’s scary when you have reef and coral under you.
Wetsuit tops for $ 5 a day to protect your sunburnt skin, fins for snorkel and bodyboarding, bent boards, snorkel gear.
THey auto charged me for de-​fog for the masks without asking but I didn’t notice until I left and saw the receipt. Long wait too because it is across the street from the resorts coming and going.