Ultimate Whale Watch

Really fun and worth the price. The captain (sorry, forgot the name) and first mate Becca were friendly, helpful, and experienced. The small boat was more maneuverable, but also led to a little seasickness for both of us. Whether or not you’re prone to motion sickness, be proactive and take preventative steps just in case so you’re fully able to enjoy the whale watch. We saw several whales, 2 relatively up close, and got some great pictures. We would recommend Ultimate Whale Watch without hesitation!

Normally, we love this whale watch and we have gone numerous times a year. Today was different. There was very little whale action, which the crew can’t help. If it’s not there, they can’t find it. However, this watch was bad before it ever started. Our naturalist was rude and condescending and rather than greeting us warmly, barked at us to get out of the way. This really did not help to make us feel welcome. Yes, I’ve always been a fan but I hope we never have this crew again.

We had a fabulous time this morning — caught a pod of whales competing over a female. It was spectacular to see them swimming, flapping their tails up close. We could hear the whales singing and snorting at each other. At one point we were surrounded by whales. My husband was able to put goggles on, dunk his head in the ocean and see whales swimming under our boat. Amazing. The boat was well maintained, and our sons (7 and 8) enjoyed speeding over the water. We booked a VIP whale watch, where the boat carries a maximum of 6 passengers. Although all of us were able to have unobstructed views, don’t feel like you need to spend the extra money — the boats that carry up to 18 get just as close.

Great experience! I would highly recommend taking the VIP whale watching tour, especially if you are into photography. The VIP tour only allows 6 people on the boat (plus the driver) so you’re never fighting for a good view. My husband and I did both the sunrise and sunset VIP tours (on different days) and both were great experiences! We saw a ton of whales and some even swam right under our boat! I would definitely book with this company again!

Personal touch in a private whale watching boat for 6.
Our captain Tiffany was beyond amazing. Knowledgable and informative about the humpback whales and their behaviors and forms of communication.
We went on a nice voyage and saw so many whales. Mom and calf. A mating group. She explained how they compete and how long they would likely be under or how likely they would reappear.
We got great luck and chased other whale watching boats and got to cheat on our search for groups of them. I heard bigger boats have sonar but our little boat got so much action.
Bring cash to tip!

Great boat and captain Gabe was absolutely wonderful on 2÷6÷16, He was very pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable. Found the whales for us and stayed on them. Those of us prone to seasickness didn’t have a worry and Gabe made us feel comfortable and loved joking around with him especially about keeping our mom with him. Ultimate whale watch company definately has a good captain in Gabe. Thanks for the memories.

Captain Amy was awesome! She was funny and professional. We saw so many whales and caught a great sunset. One of the best tours I’ve been on and the boat handles the water really well.

Fantastic time whale watching, saw lots of humpbacks breaching, slapping blowing their holes. Captain Amy and Lindsay had great insight and provided an incredible experience. Thank you!

My husband and I went on a whale watch thru Ultimate Whale Watch and it was perfect. Capt Ryan and Becca was so nice and knowledgeable during the tour. We were able to get up close to a whale and get a lot of pictures and video. We went out in the early morning so the waves were pretty calm which kept me from getting sea sick. I highly recommend this company for your whale watching tour. Worth the money and time. I’m soooo glad we did this.

Absolutely amazing. I recommend this as it is a smaller boat so you get right up to the whales (they come up to the boat). You can also dip your head under water and see them face to face. The tour guides are the best & they only allow 12 people so it’s not too cramped. I really enjoyed this & will do it again!

If there were 10 stars this outfit would have them from our group. UWW is a small operation, but in this case small is mighty. We were lucky to have Gabe and Eric running the 1:30 PM 2 hour tour. We boarded the 35 foot Zodiac pontoon type boat, powered by twin Evinrude 225’s, a cozy 17 on board, off we went. Gabe is a capable Skipper and handles the boat with finesse. Eric, our ‘naturalist’ has a black belt in humpback whale, full of factoids — sound knowledge and not a small sense of humor. The BIG tour operators can carry 30 + people on mega Cats and offer watered down Mai Tais. We blew past those guys at about the 3 nautical mile mark because Gabe and Eric wanted their people to get some serious whale watch under their belts. Powering out toward Molokai, our guides scanning the surface for action we hit pay dirt! Major fluking, pec slapping, breaching; multiple whales doing their humpback whale thing with Eric translating the wild ethology behind the behaviors exhibited. This happened not once, not twice, but multiple times over two hours, incredible! Equally important to me: the care and respect they have for these gentle giants is clear. The boat keeps a respectable distance while tracking the action to maximize each separate encounter, as it should be. We thought UWW rocked on every level, and we fmuch preferred the more intimate tour to a big boat experience. In a word, Awesome. Go whale with UWW.

The Trip with Eric and the Ultimate Whale Watching boat was fantastic! We saw many whales breaching and had a great time. As we just arrived home from our trip to Maui, my wife and I look back at the time we spent on this whale watching trip as the highlight! The crew was helpful and explained the whales and their behaviors, the boat was fun (not the big ship feel that you get on others) and yet very safe.
I personally think that this is the BEST!

Just got off the 11am Wiki Wahini raft. My daughter took great pictures underwater. The whales were so close, it was amazing! The crew was fantastic. Thanks for the great trip.

I was so glad we decided to whale watch. I was nervous because my husband gets sea sick but he did great. I sat in the «ejector seat» very front it was the best! We were able to see 1 whale. She performed wonderfully for us. Fin flaps, breaching, some beautiful fin shots.
I highly recommend

This was super fun and a great experience. The guides are very knowledgable and give you a lot of information. They take you out to see whales all around the preserve. We saw whales literally within minutes of heading out. It was a great experience and we would definitely use them again.

We had the best experience on 1÷3÷16 during the noon tour! Whale fights, mama and calf, a huge tail slapper, and the most wonderful crew. I can’t say enough good things about this experience. Being a local, I am often skeptical of this kind of «tourist» activity, but compared to other big name whale watches we have been on (hint PWF) where we floated around for two hours and saw a couple of spouts, this was live action whale watching at its best. Seeing the calf floating on the mama whale’s nose was a delight. I’ll not soon forget it. Thank you for a WONDERFUL afternoon! If you are looking to have quality interaction with these majestic creatures in a small group, this is the place for you! No more than 18 persons per trip, and we went from the Molokai side of the channel, to near Lanai, to Kihei in our quest. It was fantastic!

Great experience — we did the VIP ride with Tiffany and she was great! Tons of whale facts and we saw several along the ride. Family-​owned company. Highly recommend!

If you are looking for a small and personal trip — as opposed to one of those LARGE 100 plus people vessels — this is the boat for you. 18 people maximum on the boat — everyone can see!!! Highly recommended!!!
We had a great trip on Ultimate Whale Watch! Crew was knowledgable, laid back and friendly. Saw 3 humpback whales, dolphins, and false killer whales. The false killer whales were incredible — jumping out of the water, and swam with the boat breaching the water within several feet of us!

Absolutely amazing whale watching trip with Amy and Lindsay. Seriously amazing.
Don’t let the gruff and distracted woman at the booth, their dearth of email communication, their monster-​truck-​like website or any other lack of sophistication in the planning process make you question… these guys are the best. One suggestion is to check in with them at the booth at Slip 17 the day before you’re scheduled to go. Made me feel much better that I was on an actual list.
The small boat allows you to get so much closer to the water and is more maneuverable than the bigger scows. Also, every seat faces out and there’s no real crowding. Was a comfortable 16-​passenger ride. The kids (age 6 through 17) all really enjoyed it and were truly blown away by the experience.
Even late in the season, they found a wandering male humpback and he basically hung out with the boat until it was time for us to leave. He swam under us about 3 times, and got so close I could have given him a high-​5 on his flipper if I had reached out. Amy was even calling other companies’ boats to come over… total class.
These guys were the highlight of our trip to Maui. Can’t recommend enough.

This tour was AMAZING! Not only because of the whales we saw, which in and of itself was spectacular, but the crew was great! We toured with Captain Joel and Lindsey, they’re very friendly, know what they’re talking about, they’re willing to keep following the whales so you can continue to watch them closer up.
We went on the 4pm raft so we got to watch the sunset on the way back to shore (2 hour tour). The group was only about 15 big so everyone got to see equally! If you’re looking to go out and whale watch, this is definitely who you want to do it with!