There are three whale watches that I recommend that go out of Lahaina. Ultimate is at the top of the list! Although… they’re expensive and both Maui Adventure Cruises and Hawaii Ocean Rafting are a bit cheaper and also pretty awesome.
However, Ultimate has the fastest raft-type boats in Lahaina, has great naturalists, and a small number of guests… in these crazy Covid times there’s no more than 12 people on the boat. Pretty ultimate!
So while they are expensive, I’ve never had anyone come back and say they didn’t get what they paid for. (and this is _usually_ the company I use when I go out photographing whales. But if they’re booked I don’t have a problem booking Adventure Cruises or Hawaii Ocean Rafting instead)
90% of the whale photos and videos on this site were shot on Ultimate. (Yep! I took the above photo hanging over the side of one of their rafts!)
You might think being on a small boat is dangerous when around 50 ton whales. But, actually, it’s freaking amazing! They’re very aware of the boats and since they aren’t being attacked, mostly they’re just curious. So they’ll cruise by the boat, look up at us, while we’re all freaking out looking down at them. If you’ve never been a few feet away from a 50 foot/ 50 ton animal… it’s pretty life changing. That’s why the raft companies are awesome.