Hawaii virgin

[nicolle]

Hi Hawaiian experts,
im comming all the way from Australia for a whirlwind hawaiian holiday. i only have 2 days to get in some diving and i need some help. i fly into honolulu and pretty much can only visit 1 other island. i have read through most of the posts well up to page 15 anyway and have information overload.
i am hopeing for some suggestions as to which island i should go to. i figure which ever place polls the most votes is where i will go.
my partner and i are medium level divers i would say and i would love to do some boat dives and im mainly interested in the big stuff, fish, turtles, sharks, rays.

any help on the best place for these would be greatly appriciated.

cheers nicolle

 

[kanonfodr]

Hi Nicolle and Aloha!

I can't speak from experience but either the Big Island or Maui probably have better diving in your interests, especially rays and sharks. White Tips are regular sights around Oahu, and I have heard of sightings of Rays on the south side of the island but simply haven't seen them myself. I'm sure Gabe Scotti will chime in soon, he's really up on where to find certain critters.

Well, I'm no expert on the other islands but if you decide to stay on Oahu for diving I can recommend Makaha for diving with about a hundred turtles including a turtle cleaning station that's a quick dip on the way back to the shore. It's a long shore dive but doable. After that dive I like to finish up with Electric Beach to hang out, watch some newbies, do some skills of my own, and just get some extra bottom time in a day.

Peace,
Greg

 

[scottitheduck]

Considering the short time window and flying after diving guidelines, you might as well stay here on Oahu. Talk about big stuff? Why not check out my bloggy-blog for 2 MONK SEALS on VIDEO!!!! CHEE HOOO!

It's easy enough to get 4 tanks in per day and maybe even more if we can get a night dive together.... all up to you. What days are you here? How many dives are you looking at getting in?

Thanks,

G

 

[nicolle]

Thanks guys, this is super helpful
we arrive on thursday the 19th Nov and leave on the 26th. i was thinking of maybe 2 days of diving?
we wont have any gear with us so i guess the amount of dives really depends on the cost all up. bit far to lug it from oz

thanks again, im off to watch these monk seals

 

[stortecky]

For flying do the flight between islands even hit 2000 feet? I am sure someone on the board knows. If the flights do not go about 2000ft that you do not have to take into account flying according to DAN and Padi.

 

[howard4113]

There's not a commercial flight that stays below 8000 feet - turboprops are the lowest. Jets go higher. Follow the flight rules.

M

 

[friscuba]

For flying do the flight between islands even hit 2000 feet? I am sure someone on the board knows. If the flights do not go about 2000ft that you do not have to take into account flying according to DAN and Padi.

It's been a while since I've been inter-island, for some reason 29,000 feet (yes, that's thousand) comes in to mind for the altitude Hawaiian hits between Oahu and the Big Island.

 

[KrisB]

For flying do the flight between islands even hit 2000 feet? I am sure someone on the board knows. If the flights do not go about 2000ft that you do not have to take into account flying according to DAN and Padi.

As Mark communicated, all the inter-island flights will have you over the altitude requirements to avoid DAN recommendations (which, by the way is in the range of 1000'-2000' elevation, not 8000').

The only way you'll get inter-island below 2000' is if you charter a plane or helicopter with that intent. It won't be cheap. A boat would be cheaper... but you'd probably exceed the 2-day timeframe.

 

[KrisB]

It's been a while since I've been inter-island, for some reason 29,000 feet (yes, that's thousand) comes in to mind for the altitude Hawaiian hits between Oahu and the Big Island.

That would make sense. I can't remember if it was Aloha or is Hawaiian that had something closer to the 8,000-10,000' altitude -- it had been marketed for a while for transport of some special things... including DCS patients.

 

[hydropunk]

All commercial flights between islands fly above limits.

Yes, you could rent a private charter or helicopter and fly that low - if you have the cash...

A boat with faster than 10knot cruise will make it to the next island within 10 hours if conditions work with you... but then again, $$$

Shore diving Oahu is pretty easy if you have a rental car. Oahu is the "wreck capital" of Hawaii... and yes we have large pelagic life... Saw a whale and calf just a few hundred yards off portlock earlier this year.

Have fun!