spoolin01
Contributor
I've only ever gone with Big Island, and have no complaints about their boat dives or their rental gear policies, which I like. I do primarily shore diving, and it's my impression that a very few locations are highly favored by the main dive ops - I see one or the other of their boats at many of the same places I am, pretty much every day. Not that they don't use the other options, but a few sites seem favored due to conditions above and below the water. I've heard them discussing site selection in reference to mixing things up for multi-day divers on board, many times.
The boats all use fixed moorings at the various sites, of which there are many dozens. Almost all are well within 50 yards of shore. A fair proportion can be accessed from shore, with some experience and skill. There's a lot of overall topologic similarity among the sites on the Big Island - the narrow margin extending from shoreline (mostly lava bench where you can often get right to the shoreline) out to modest depth along the cone slope. Bio-diversity drops rapidly with depth, the best is 60 ft or less. The differences among sites tend to be on the smaller scale - quality and types of coral, existence of small "caves" up close to the shoreline, abundance of fish/species. There are a few sites with a little more in the way of variable topography.
The long range option usually means to run 10 miles or so down south, to the Red Hill area, or beyond. It's a different locale, with slightly different feel, but not a lot different. I've never asked, or heard much, about more advanced dives, though there is one giant crack farther south you could ask about, and while most of the "caves" are more properly termed either small holes, or open semi-overheads, there is an enormous lava tube down south - the Twin Sisters - that is fun. You might have more luck with a six-pack than one of the big ops, but the big ops also have smaller boats and at least the possibility that you might be able to semi-tailor your trip. As a solo or paired diver, you'll have to be more clever than I to get the ops to give up the dive plan prior to embarking.
That I've seen and heard, the dives are all DM-lead, though you can usually burn your remaining tank under the boat after the heavy breathers have finished.
Having said all this, if you've been to the other islands, I think you'll like the clarity, conditions, and fish life around Kona.
The boats all use fixed moorings at the various sites, of which there are many dozens. Almost all are well within 50 yards of shore. A fair proportion can be accessed from shore, with some experience and skill. There's a lot of overall topologic similarity among the sites on the Big Island - the narrow margin extending from shoreline (mostly lava bench where you can often get right to the shoreline) out to modest depth along the cone slope. Bio-diversity drops rapidly with depth, the best is 60 ft or less. The differences among sites tend to be on the smaller scale - quality and types of coral, existence of small "caves" up close to the shoreline, abundance of fish/species. There are a few sites with a little more in the way of variable topography.
The long range option usually means to run 10 miles or so down south, to the Red Hill area, or beyond. It's a different locale, with slightly different feel, but not a lot different. I've never asked, or heard much, about more advanced dives, though there is one giant crack farther south you could ask about, and while most of the "caves" are more properly termed either small holes, or open semi-overheads, there is an enormous lava tube down south - the Twin Sisters - that is fun. You might have more luck with a six-pack than one of the big ops, but the big ops also have smaller boats and at least the possibility that you might be able to semi-tailor your trip. As a solo or paired diver, you'll have to be more clever than I to get the ops to give up the dive plan prior to embarking.
That I've seen and heard, the dives are all DM-lead, though you can usually burn your remaining tank under the boat after the heavy breathers have finished.
Having said all this, if you've been to the other islands, I think you'll like the clarity, conditions, and fish life around Kona.
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