Need some help choosing the right island

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MatthiasDE

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Location
Virginia
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Hello everyone,

I'm planning to go to Hawaii for the first time, mainly for diving with some sideseeing attached. I have done some research, but now I feel I have more questions than before. I hope you can help me.

I plan to go between 11/24 and 12/3 and I've heard that it's not too stupid an idea to go there during Thanksgiving :)

The best flight goes to HNL (Oahu). Going to Big Island already adds a layover, and Maui doesn't really work unless I try to book a separate ticket with Hawaiian (ferries don't seem to exist). How do you reach your final destination? And do you move to other islands at all, or do you go to "your" island initially and stay there for the whole trip?

I have some experience and I'm AOWD with Nitrox, so I'm ok with depth, night and wrecks, and I appreciate variety.

Next, I'll be traveling alone, so I need a base with proper guides. So if one of the islands is mainly for self-organised trips (like what I've heard to be common on Aruba), that doesn't work for me.

I hope I can do without a car. Just take a taxi or bus to the hotel (wherever it is, not booked yet) and walk to the base, or be picked up by minibus.

Concerning location, I'd like to be in a hotel to have a restaurant and breakfast onsite, but I don't need any other amenities or nearby party spots. A simple room that's not a dorm, and some food :)

So I'm hoping for some input to the "what's the best island" question, given my constraints:
- Time (November/December)
- Traveling alone (need guide, but don't need to keep a non-diver happy)
- Advanced dive spots appreciated (e.g. wreck, cave, night, sharks)
- Reachable (Oahu or Big Island preferred)
- No car, if possible
- No party location required or desired

Comments and further reading welcome :)
 
I have always rented a car. Driving around is one of the great pleasures on Hawaii, except maybe in Honolulu. Hawaii mostly isn't like the typical small Carribean islands in that it's more convenient and rewarding to get around with a car and do things on your own. Takes a bit more self- guidance but not hard. Much bigger places and way more American.

Maui, Kaui and the Big Island are great places to explore above and below water with an auto. I suppose you could get a guide but I never have. You're in the USA with all the good and bad that entails. Roads are good. The Big Island is...big and varied but Maui is also pretty big and has a great variety to see. Both Maui and the Big island warrant a week imho. Good diving (boat and shore) both places and great scenery and exploring. Lot's of shore diving. Kaui is very beautiful too but limited somewhat in diving ease and variety imho.

Good dives from my somewhat limited experience; Maui...Mala pier was great. Molokini, crowded but good. All along coast by Kehei to La Perouse are shore dive spots. Kapalua.

Big island; two step and many other places near "Kona Coast." Good dive operators in town. Ocean seemed very rough and difficult near Hilo. Conditions vary by day and season too.

There is an excellent series of guide books on Hawaii: "Big Island (or Maui etc) Revealed" that is a wealth of knowledge and the best investment you can make.
 
Thanks for the answer. You're right that it could be interesting to explore the island by car, and I might actually do that on my last 1 or 2 days. But I didn't want to pay for a car on days where I'm under water most of the day.

I did some more research and thinking and concluded that I'll definitely leave from HNL, because I don't want to have a layover in the middle of the night. But on the way to Hawaii I could do that. So I might arrive on Big Island, do 2-3 days of diving (mantas) and a day of sightseeing, then fly to Oahu, 2-3 days of diving (wrecks) and a day of sightseeing, then leave from Oahu. A bit more energetic than originally planned, but still reasonable :)
 
I would keep looking at tickets to see if you can get a good deal on the direct flight from Seattle to the Big Island. If your in Virginia, are you flying out of D.C. ? If so you can fly Alaska Air from D.C. to Seattle non-stop, then Seattle to the Big Island. The Big Island has great shore diving, so I would put that as a good reason to have a rental car, I don't think you will manage without one. If your dead set against renting a car then your going to be better off in Waikiki, and diving with someone like Kaimana divers (Gabe Scotti) who may pick you up from your hotel. Personally I hope to never set foot on Oahu again :)
 
No, unfortunately I'm not flying out of D.C. Also the plan is to make use of united's current offer to fly round trip for 36000 miles, so I have to go with what they offer.
Concerning shore diving... How does that work for solo divers?
 
There's no inter-island ferries in Hawaii unless you count the one between Maui and Lana'i. And if you're going to Lana'i I don't think either 4 Seasons resort has budget rates...lol. There was one once but it shut down within about a year - I think it was the environmental impact of the wake/noise related to the Humpbacks. I know one of the islands had a flotilla blocking the harbor - I saw it on the news.

Besides Hawaiian people go inter-island on Mokolule Air. Mokulele Airlines | Hawaii's Favorite Island Hopper

Kona would be very hard without a car. The airport is about 10 miles north of town, the operators mostly have stores/offices in town and all keep their boats about 5mi. north of town at Honokohau harbor - there's nothing nearby since it's a protected area. Also the shore dives run mostly along the west coast and to the farther ones would be an hour drive or more from Kona.

I could make a case for Maui also. But I won't due to your post below...
 
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Thanks Steve. But I've booked the flights now and I'll be on Big Island first, then Oahu. I've also contacted Jack's and was told they have a shuttle to pick divers up at their hotel. So it should be possible to stay in a classic hotel/resort at what looks like Kailua center (Kailua Bay) and do without a car on my dive days. Or I might pick a Bed&Breakfast for a more "authentic" Hawaii experience not in town, and have a car. Not decided yet :) Has someone been to this coffee plantation? What's your thoughts?
 
I wouldn't think of going to the Big Island and not rent a car the island is very spread out and you will limit your diving options by not having one. Most of the rental car agencies are at the airport which is about 10 miles from Kailua/Kona with not much but lava between the two. There is very good shore diving in the Kohala area you could do on your own Blue Wilderness in the Queens shopping center can help you with this they have tank rental card you can buy for $60 and get ten tanks. Jacks is a good shop and Kohala Divers up north is good as well each shop kind of stays in their own part of the island so if you want to see several dive spots on the island you're going to have to dive with shops from different parts of the island. Hilo has some good shore diving as well but it is a 2-3 hour drive from the Kailua/Kona area and a pass at about 6000 feet elevation so you have to make a day of it so you can off gas before coming back.
 
Think of it this way - by the time you cab to/from the airport ($25-40) you could rent a cheap car. Find out who provides cars at the King Kamehameha in Kona and price the drop-off to leave it there the 2nd day. And take an early flight, with the time difference you can likely get to Kona early enough to at least check out some of the nearby sites/attractions the first day. Like Volcanoes National Park although that might be pushing it since it's a 2 hr. drive south.

Know also that a cab to the Kohala Coast can be $100 from the airport. This appears to be recent: Taxi Cabs — Official Website for all Hawaii Airports. Also pre-book a car if you decide to do that, I believe Alamo was the best deal we found but walk-up counter prices were $20-30/day more.

Kona Seaside Hotel might be a more affordable hotel option in Kona town since it's a couple blocks from the water IIRC. I think, but am not sure that you could walk to several of the other shops from there - three of them are in the same industrial park slightly NW - Google puts it at around 2000'. (Big Island, Kona Dive Company and one more) Also the King K is a Courtyard by Marriott - if you want to shore dive Kona/Kailua Pier you can't get much closer.

I'd think hard about switching car rental island plans. Locate shore dive sites listed here on Google Maps/Earth. It's better than 50 miles from Puako north to Place of Refuge south. A lot of it is pretty much barren, uninhabited also. Even around the Honokohau boat harbor where everyone - including Jack's - keep their boats. Except for the Kohala/Waikoloa operators - Blue Wilderness mentioned above, Kohala Coast or Waikoloa Divers.

If you plan to do the Manta Night Dive - those boats all? leave from Honokohau also - the Kohala operators will shuttle/suggest you drive down. And use a Kona based operator for their guests.

Since many do a late afternoon dive followed by the Manta Dive, that might be one day you wouldn't need a car if you dove in the morning first then returned back later for it. I think some as early as 4pm?

On Oahu, the airport is closer to the resort areas. So a cheaper cab ride plus I'm reliably sure I saw SuperShuttle there. Or your hotel might have a shuttle. It seems counterintuitive but I'd stay in Waikiki also. Most of the dive operators will pick you up there and there's nowhere to stay on Oahu close enough to a shore dive to walk to it that I know of - plus the shops tend to be in the more populated areas while the sites are all around the island. So tank rental/transport becomes an issue. Kaimana Divers gets good reviews here - I don't personally know them.

From your hotel you can walk to restaurants/shopping/nightlife - even Waikiki Beach although it's extremely crowded. Here's a suggestion for a hotel - there's a lot of them there so that drives down the prices. Given your timeframe you're just entering high-season but may still find some deals since it's the holiday and not yet peak tourist season.

Go on google maps/earth and find hotels that look like they have other hotels directly in front of them. Those will be the cheaper properties since no one wants to pay for a view of the 40 story tinted glass towers between them and the beach. There's quite a few also - we picked a name brand hotel for breakfast at random - sixth floor terrace restaurant (above the 4 story parking garage) Nice food but the view was a 30-40 story bronze tinted hotel in front of us - made for weird reflections.

If you want to see Pearl Harbor or Diamondhead or tour Oahu, there's hundreds of tour buses daily. So that's also probably cheaper. They load all over Waikiki - some streets have dedicated tour bus stops or lanes. I don't know a lot about Oahu - only spent 1 day there. We visited a tired Sea World type attraction on the East end and toured around Oahu. The Waikiki Aquarium, although small was worth the stop, they have outdoor reef tanks, a rare Monk Seal exhibit and Chambered Nautilus in one of the inside tanks.

my .02...
 
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I have always rented a car. Driving around is one of the great pleasures on Hawaii, except maybe in Honolulu. Hawaii mostly isn't like the typical small Carribean islands in that it's more convenient and rewarding to get around with a car and do things on your own. Takes a bit more self- guidance but not hard. Much bigger places and way more American.

Maui, Kaui and the Big Island are great places to explore above and below water with an auto. I suppose you could get a guide but I never have. You're in the USA with all the good and bad that entails. Roads are good. The Big Island is...big and varied but Maui is also pretty big and has a great variety to see. Both Maui and the Big island warrant a week imho. Good diving (boat and shore) both places and great scenery and exploring. Lot's of shore diving. Kaui is very beautiful too but limited somewhat in diving ease and variety imho.

Good dives from my somewhat limited experience; Maui...Mala pier was great. Molokini, crowded but good. All along coast by Kehei to La Perouse are shore dive spots. Kapalua.

Big island; two step and many other places near "Kona Coast." Good dive operators in town. Ocean seemed very rough and difficult near Hilo. Conditions vary by day and season too.

There is an excellent series of guide books on Hawaii: "Big Island (or Maui etc) Revealed" that is a wealth of knowledge and the best investment you can make.

I agree regarding the car. In the Caribbean you can get cheap taxis but in Hawaii they are expensive like everything else. Everything is always more expensive in Hawaii including the diving. I went diving last December with Big Island Divers in Kona and had a great time. Most of their two tank dives are fairly basic but pretty entertaining. Longer trips cost more money!
 
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