This is the time of year when you book a snorkeling tour and expect to see dolphins, turtles, and myriad tropical fish as well as the ocassional manta ray, but you had probably not expected a humpback whale. There are quite a few whales out there, not enough to justify an entire whale watching tour but you are likely to spend some time with them on your next snorkeling tour. Maui snorkeling and whale watching often intermingle as we head into winter. Our snorkeling tours can take you to the island of Lana’i, to get there we travel through the area with the highest concentration of whales in the islands. The waters between Maui, Molokai, Lana’i, and Kahoolawe are rather shallow and the whales seem to prefer it. So don’t be surprised if you book a private snorkeling tour in the coming weeks and end up with a whale watch thrown in. Another thing to remember this time of year is to listen carefully while you are snorkeling the waters around Maui and Lana’i. The whales are singing right now and their songs travel clearly through the water. Whines, snaps, grunts, all kinds of sounds woven into songs can be heard just below the surface. We have hydrophones aboard our vessels and can play thier songs through the speaker above board aslo.