Best shore dives for Maui and Kona???

[DiveMaven]

If you're good on air, you can do 5 Graves and Makena Landing in the same dive. Sometimes we'll enter at Makena, since its an easy beach entry and has good parking, and swim out to 5 Graves, poke around, then slowly swim back checking out the caverns on the way back. You'd have to be able to comfortably get 75-90 minutes out of an AL80 to get the whole site in, but with a max depth of 35 feet, is doable for a lot of divers.

 

[StuartT]

Mala wharf, 5 graves/makena landing. Honolua bay is great too. Just walk down first and ask the locals living there if you can drive down first otherwise it's a PITA of a walk with gear. Wailea point, and white rock beach either side is very nice.

 

[Steve Eady]

Best shore dive is www.mauiscubadivers.com At least my favorite

 

[divergal65]

Update - we're here now, and just tried Ulua beach Sunday morning. Got our tanks and weights at Maui Dreams in Kihei - really friendly people, in and out in 20 minutes. We got to Ulua beach, and dropped off the gear near the showers. Parking was no problem. The visibility was pretty murky the first 25 yards or so, but once we got near the outer reef, it cleared up alot. Saw a a very curious Honu (turtle) near outer reef and it kept doing flybys - hubby got it all on video camera. Fish life was ok - lots of goatfish herds and only a few humuhumunukunukuapua'a.
Couldn't have been any easier. Thanks for this suggestion!
I think Makena landing is next - we checked the site and it looks just as convenient.

 

[Shaka Doug]

On Maui 5 graves is best overall for me, it is not busy but sometimes cares are broken into, mostly on night dives. Makena and Ulua are fine with regular lots. Parking is an issue, plan to dive 8-9 in the mornings and no problems. After that you are fighting the swimmers. Dive flags are required by the life guards, bring an extra 5-6lbs weight and ditch it on the start of the reef unless you feel a need to tow it around.

There are NO LIFEGUARDS at either Ulua Beach or Makena Landing.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

There are NO LIFEGUARDS at either Ulua Beach or Makena Landing.

Are you saying there is no enforcement of dive flags in Maui or just that there are no lifeguards on these 2 beaches.

Obviously I am an occasional Maui diver, you are working at ground zero. Please clarify.

 

[Shaka Doug]

There are No Lifeguards at those Maui beaches. In fact, more beaches here Do NOT have Lifeguards than Do.

We do have Dept. Of Land and Natural Resources Officers (DLNR) who will occasionally enforce the dive flag laws. They are severely understaffed and make the rounds but are typically not seen by most visitors.

The dive flag laws are there to help boaters and divers share the same area safely. They also help to prevent divers from becoming separated and aid them when they do. I always tow a flag when I dive during the day. I do not tie it off in shallow reef areas near the beach unless I plan on staying in the vicinity of the flag. Tying it off and leaving it by the shore gives a false signal to boaters and that's probably not a wise idea. I see a lot of divers do that and always wonder "who taught them that dumb trick?".

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

There are No Lifeguards at those Maui beaches. In fact, more beaches here Do NOT have Lifeguards than Do.

We do have Dept. Of Land and Natural Resources Officers (DLNR) who will occasionally enforce the dive flag laws. They are severely understaffed and make the rounds but are typically not seen by most visitors.

The dive flag laws are there to help boaters and divers share the same area safely. They also help to prevent divers from becoming separated and aid them when they do. I always tow a flag when I dive during the day. I do not tie it off in shallow reef areas near the beach unless I plan on staying in the vicinity of the flag. Tying it off and leaving it by the shore gives a false signal to boaters and that's probably not a wise idea. I see a lot of divers do that and always wonder "who taught them that dumb trick?".

Thanks for the clarification, no lifeguards, awesome breaches, occasional enforcement.

As for tying off the flag, I am sure the liability issues for you as a processional would preclude that.

I stay within a reasonable distance of the flag, I used the term "at the beginning of the reef", although reasonable distance is open to speculation. My 2 cents is the usefulness of a dive flag varies depending on your location, your buoyancy skills (or lack of), depth, how many beers the boaters have downed, presence of jet skis and environmental impediments (kelp, float from lobster pots, etc). YMMV.