Trip Dates: 15-22 April 2023
TLDR: A great spot for beginner CCR divers to rack up hours. Highly recommend Extended Horizons for your dive charter on island.
Trip Background: This was a combined family trip with my parents and also some scuba diving for the wife and I. We are also working on gaining hours on our rEvo rebreathers for an upcoming course. So we decided to try and gain some of those hours in the warmer Hawaiian waters.
Travel: We flew on southwest with an overnight in Phoenix to meetup with the family for the combined trip direct into Maui. We ended up with 5 checked bags (two pelican cases, 1 clothes bag each, and 1 combined scuba gear bag) plus the carry-ons. If it was just the wife and I think we could have done 4 bags, but we brought nicer clothes and some other things instead of just swim suits and t-shirts like if it was just us on a diving trip. Southwest made this possible and didn’t blink an eye, overall no problems at all and had a great flying experience both ways. It did make us appreciate the 75lb bag weight limit when we fly out of Tijuana though.
Lodging: We stayed at the Hyatt Residency Club on Ka’anapali. The resort was simply excellent. The 2 bedroom unit we had was an excellent setup. The main/master bedroom had access to the very large patio area and a very nice bath. The backroom (ours) didn’t have a view but did have a private bathroom and laundry area. The main area had a full kitchen, dining table, and seating area. The balcony was very large with multiple seating areas and expansive views of Lanai and Lahaina. Despite being on end of the season we could still spot whales frequently from the balcony. The resort had a nice pool area, pool bar, and some quicker eats. It’s location on the Ka’anapali beachwalk meant it was a short walk to restaurants at other resorts or in Whaler’s village. We didn’t go but it would also be a short walk to black rock for snorkeling. The drive to Mana wharf and Lahaina was short and easy. So overall an excellent location for divers and families. Parking was only via valet if that matters to anyone.
Rebreather logistics and issues: We ended up getting in touch with Silent O Solutions on Maui, as they are the only place in fact to get Oxygen fills, sorb, and bottle rentals. Overall it was a good experience. We bought a keg of sorb and were able to sell back by weight the unused sorb (as rEvo divers, the sellback weight was a considerable amount). The owner/operator was traveling during our stay so we coordinated for an initial rental of 8 3L bottles (2 sets each), the sorb keg, and 2 bailout bottles, and we planned on swapping them during our non diving day, which was also his return day. Unfortunately, his flights got delayed heavily and we weren’t able to make that happen. We were able to work around this, and that was obviously totally out of his control. Our preference would have been for a little more communication, but overall it worked out ok.
One thing we hadn’t encountered that was unique to us, was that the majority of charters would not take rebreather divers on board. We were clear we would be sticking to recreational depth limits, staying out of deco, and would honor any time restrictions. We were repeatedly told that nope, we don’t take rebreather divers anymore.
TLDR: A great spot for beginner CCR divers to rack up hours. Highly recommend Extended Horizons for your dive charter on island.
Trip Background: This was a combined family trip with my parents and also some scuba diving for the wife and I. We are also working on gaining hours on our rEvo rebreathers for an upcoming course. So we decided to try and gain some of those hours in the warmer Hawaiian waters.
Travel: We flew on southwest with an overnight in Phoenix to meetup with the family for the combined trip direct into Maui. We ended up with 5 checked bags (two pelican cases, 1 clothes bag each, and 1 combined scuba gear bag) plus the carry-ons. If it was just the wife and I think we could have done 4 bags, but we brought nicer clothes and some other things instead of just swim suits and t-shirts like if it was just us on a diving trip. Southwest made this possible and didn’t blink an eye, overall no problems at all and had a great flying experience both ways. It did make us appreciate the 75lb bag weight limit when we fly out of Tijuana though.
Lodging: We stayed at the Hyatt Residency Club on Ka’anapali. The resort was simply excellent. The 2 bedroom unit we had was an excellent setup. The main/master bedroom had access to the very large patio area and a very nice bath. The backroom (ours) didn’t have a view but did have a private bathroom and laundry area. The main area had a full kitchen, dining table, and seating area. The balcony was very large with multiple seating areas and expansive views of Lanai and Lahaina. Despite being on end of the season we could still spot whales frequently from the balcony. The resort had a nice pool area, pool bar, and some quicker eats. It’s location on the Ka’anapali beachwalk meant it was a short walk to restaurants at other resorts or in Whaler’s village. We didn’t go but it would also be a short walk to black rock for snorkeling. The drive to Mana wharf and Lahaina was short and easy. So overall an excellent location for divers and families. Parking was only via valet if that matters to anyone.
Rebreather logistics and issues: We ended up getting in touch with Silent O Solutions on Maui, as they are the only place in fact to get Oxygen fills, sorb, and bottle rentals. Overall it was a good experience. We bought a keg of sorb and were able to sell back by weight the unused sorb (as rEvo divers, the sellback weight was a considerable amount). The owner/operator was traveling during our stay so we coordinated for an initial rental of 8 3L bottles (2 sets each), the sorb keg, and 2 bailout bottles, and we planned on swapping them during our non diving day, which was also his return day. Unfortunately, his flights got delayed heavily and we weren’t able to make that happen. We were able to work around this, and that was obviously totally out of his control. Our preference would have been for a little more communication, but overall it worked out ok.
One thing we hadn’t encountered that was unique to us, was that the majority of charters would not take rebreather divers on board. We were clear we would be sticking to recreational depth limits, staying out of deco, and would honor any time restrictions. We were repeatedly told that nope, we don’t take rebreather divers anymore.