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Maui Ocean Center

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Maui Jon
Maui Jon
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
15
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27
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Editor Pick

Well Organized and Presented Aquarium

  • January 16, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by two cruisers from Ames, Iowa
Well Organized and Presented Aquarium

This is one of Central Maui’s most worthwhile attractions. They take you on a tour of the Ocean by starting in the shallows of a Surge Zone and proceeding to ever increasing depths of reef tanks. Our first trip through here we used the talking wands for information. At each numbered stop, we would key in the correct number and hear a detailed description of the type of marine life present in the tank. These are great sources of information, however we noticed that almost everyone is just carrying it by the end of the exhibit. There may be just too much detail given. Also, after awhile my ear hurt! Maybe those used to I-pods would be better adjusted to their use. On this second trip, I toured wand-less. I enjoyed the sense of freedom, being able to move on when it was an unexciting tank. Linger at the more lively ones. I do think the Living Reef exhibit is the best in the center. Moving on from that building, I briefly visited the turtles, hammerhead sharks and tide pool exhibits. At the tide pool you are allowed to gently handle the critters. The next best exhibit is the Marine Mammal Discovery Center. There are a lot of hands-on displays geared at educating groups of school children, but lets face it, as an adult I like to play the games, too. One very small display on the Hawaiians and the Sea seems to be ignored by most tourists as they hurry on to the spectacular jellyfish tanks. The most dramatic tank is saved for last. Visitors walk through a clear 54-foot acrylic tunnel that cuts through the Open Ocean tank. Sharks and Rays and many other "big guys" swim over you and passed you. If your timing is good, a scuba equipped guide answers questions from inside the tank. This could be an all day adventure, especially if you stop for lunch at Seascape Ma’alaea Restaurant where the food is elegant, tasty and the harbor view is lovely. There is more family fare food available at the Reef Café. We haven’t tried their menu as seating is outside in the hot hot sun. They also have a good gift shop with enough variety to please all the members of the family. I paid $25 admission, which may have been the geezer rate.
In the neighborhood are the Harbor Shops which include: Moonbow Tropics a good store for resort wear: and The Whaler General Store where you can stock up on postcards, calendars, candy, coffee, nuts and other must have Hawaiian souvenirs.

From journal Maui Must See

Maui Ocean Center

  • October 3, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Poopita from South Jordan, Utah
If you want to feel like you are at the bottom of the Ocean with all the Ocean creatures, without really going to the bottom of the Ocean, then the Maui Ocean Center is for you. The Maui Ocean Center is located in Maalea, Maui Hawaii next to the Maalea Harbor. As you look through the many exhibits you begin to feel like you are in the middle of the ocean. The Jelly Fish exhibit was one of my favorite. I've never seen a Jelly Fish before, but in this exhibit there is a tank with hundreds. When you enter the Large Aquarium and see the Sharks, Manteray and other fish swimming together and then you walk through the tunnel with all the fish swimming all around you, it is "Awesome." I've never seen the bottom (Or the Top for that matter) of a Manteray.

From journal Hawaii

Maui Ocean Center Aquarium

  • June 14, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by azsunluvr from Mesa, Arizona
Maui Ocean Center Aquarium

Maui Ocean Center
$22/adults, $15/children

We are aquarium enthusiasts, having our own 300-gallon, salt water aquarium in our living room. We go to the local aquarium on every family vacation. The Maui Ocean Center was a great way to spend a couple of hours.

For a change, we were actually in the right place at the right time to watch the divers feed the fish in the huge central tank, and then the shark feeding. The sharks are well-fed and weren’t very hungry, but it was still exciting to watch.
Our favorite exhibit was Turtle Lagoon and we got some great photos of the turtles coming up to nibble the algae from the lava rock. Hammerhead Harbor was also very interesting, with small hammerhead sharks lurking under the surface.

From journal Maui Family Vacation 2006

Maui Ocean Center

  • November 16, 2005
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland
Maui Ocean Center

If you've had your fill of sun and sand, laying on the beach, or hiking through the rain forests of Maui and are looking for a relaxing indoor recreation, this is a good place to stop.
It's a little bit pricey at $18.50 for adults and $12.50 for children, but if you can afford it, this is a great substitute for scuba diving to see the local marine life.
It's a very well-put-together Ocean Center with some very impressive specimens. The seahorse tank I found incredibly interesting, and there aren't many who won't appreciate the 750,000-gallon open ocean tank, where you can stand and watch a host of sharks swimming along the glass, and wander through the tunnel in the tank, where you can get a 240-degree view and manta rays swim right overhead.
They have an excellent gift shop and free parking. This would be a great thing to do with the family or for an informative and relaxing afternoon indoors.
They are open daily from 9 to 5pm. And as with most things on Maui, it is fairly easy to get to.
Take Highway 30 from west Maui toward south Maui, and just past the Ma'alaea Harbor turn right on Ma'alaea Road.

From journal To the Land of Sunsets and Volcanos...

Maui Ocean Center

  • November 7, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by quiltergal from Jacksonville, Oregon
Who would think you could spend 4 hours at an aquarium? Well, we did. It was kind of a drizzly day, so we thought this would be a good activity. It was amazing. As a former owner of a saltwater aquarium, I can attest to how difficult it is to maintain perfect water balance in a closed system. The Maui Ocean Center is doing everything right. The fish all look very healthy and well fed. The water for the size animals it houses is pretty clear. We are one of those geeky fish couples who know all the names of the fish without looking at the card. There is a hammerhead shark tank, a turtle tank, a jelly cylinder you can walk around, and the giant community tank that has everything from the tiniest damsel fish to a very fat tiger shark. Kids and adults alike were obviously enjoying themselves. Maui Ocean Center

From journal Marvelous Maui

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