Heading to Hawaii for the first time...Need Advice...

[AKmountaineer]

I'll be heading to Hawaii in two weeks to visit Kona, Hilo, and Poipu on Kauai. Can you expert Hawaiian divers recommend the best dive shops and dives for these locations? I dug up some of the old posts to get some info and got mixed and bad reviews on some of the places mentioned, so I'd like to get a fresh look here in case things have changed.

 

[slingshot]

Tough question, what are you looking for in a dive? Shore or boat? Interesting topography, critters, etc? Offhand I'd say the most popular dives people have brought up here have been the manta night diving on Kona and Niihau (charters leave from the Poipu or Port Allen area). For shore dives I'd said Two Step near Place of Refuge on Kona, and Koloa Landing on Kauai. Tells us more about what makes a dive good for you and you'll get more advice I'm sure. Not that many operators in the Hilo area though.

Slingshot

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I'll take a stab at answering your Hilo questions... I live and dive here.

There are currently 2 dive shops operating in Hilo. Nautilus Dive Center has been in operation the longest, and was where I got certified (in 1976 ). It is a small "mom & pop" LDS, but the owner (Bill) is an "expert" on Hilo-side diving, and can give you good advice if you decide to dive in Hilo.

There are no dive boats that I am aware of regularly operating out of Hilo. I believe a company called Lobo Del Mar does do some limited runs, but nothing regular that I've seen.

Why? Weather. Hilo is on the windward side of the Big Island. This means we get the wind and rain when the Trades are blowing (they blow year-round). There are some good dives, but they are very weather-dependant.

Leleiwi is probably the best dive spot close to Hilo (just a few minutes from downtown) and is a good shore dive with a fairly easy entry off a low lava ledge. It is a good multi-level reef dive, lots of large green sea turtles (I usually see over a dozen each dive), cleaning stations, reef fish, eels, nudibranchs, the occasional spinner dolphin pod.

There can sometimes be a deceptively strong longshore surface current at Leleiwi, but no current at depth (so navigation is important... you want to return to the entry/exit underwater if possible to avoid a tough swim against current). The reef is a very short swim out (30 yards), and goes from about 10 feet to a bit over 70'. Viz and water conditions are variable. While you can probably dive there 90% of the time, the viz and surge can make the dive conditions poor (compared with Kona). Viz probably averages 50-60 feet, 80-90 feet on a rare day, but can drop to 10-20 feet if there is a lot of surge. Kona divers on the other hand would consider anything less than 60 foot viz to be "low viz diving"

I typically recommend, unless the diver has lots of time on the island, to plan on diving exclusively in Kona. The water conditions are good-to-excellent all year, there is the Manta Ray night dive (awesome, don't miss it), and TONS of dive spots from both boat and shore to explore.

Enjoy your trip

 

[AKmountaineer]

Tough question, what are you looking for in a dive? Shore or boat? Interesting topography, critters, etc? Offhand I'd say the most popular dives people have brought up here have been the manta night diving on Kona and Niihau (charters leave from the Poipu or Port Allen area). For shore dives I'd said Two Step near Place of Refuge on Kona, and Koloa Landing on Kauai. Tells us more about what makes a dive good for you and you'll get more advice I'm sure. Not that many operators in the Hilo area though.

Slingshot

I'm used to boat diving, but if the shore diving is just as good, then that's even better. I like interesting topography, wrecks, critters....Hmm, come to think of it, I guess I pretty much like everything.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Scuba G]

You definately don't want to miss the Manta Ray night dive while in Kona. It's a boat dive and I can recommend Wanna Dive. Steve is running a great boat and has a perfect crew. Plus, since it's a smaller boat, they can tend to your preferences much easier than the bigger operations. I had a great experience with them last December.

Regardless of which dive operator you choose, I suggest to make reservations now for the Manta Ray dive for the beginning of your vacation. That way, if no mantas show up (unlikely right now but I does happen), you'll have time to schedule another one.

Have fun!
Gerald

 

[Kksmama]

We're just back from diving the Big Island and Kauai. Good info already on this thread - do NOT miss the Manta dive, it is spectacular. We did a two tank dive on the site with Scuba Shack (and got Nitrox certified while we were at it) and the late afternoon dive was great too - saw three active white tip reef sharks. Bought the video (Martina, an independent operator) and liked that, too.

The other dives we did were shore dives at Two Step (Place of Refuge) and Pukoa. They were both fantastic and cheap, as we brought our own gear and only rented tanks. I wish we'd gotten a dive in with Patrice (recommended in The Big Island Revealed - forgot the name of her operation). I talked to her several times and was amazed at how friendly and helpful she was, true Aloha spirit. If we ever make it back there, I'll definitely dive with her and do a LOT of Big Island diving, it is fantastic.

In Kauai we did a guided shore dive at Tunnels. Guides are highly recommended at that site because people go in and out of overhead environments. We're cave divers and didn't have our newly certified children with us on this dive - and I'm glad. I think it is goofy to pay that much for a guided shore dive, and dangerous to go through tunnels with people who are not used to that environment. There is a LOT of awesome stuff to do on Kauai, I don't think I'd dive it again....though the Niihau trip is tempting (and a rough ride back, I've heard).

Shore diving is more work than boat diving, but cheap if you have gear, and shorediving.com is a very good resource (combined with Big Island Revealed).

Aloha!

 

[smellzlikefish]

I just got back from a day trip to Kona. I've been to Knoa many times, but for the first time I left my scuba gear at home and just brought a mask and fins and had a blast anyway. I usually recommend Crescent Beach, Honaunau, Ke'ei, Puako, and Old Airport for shore dives, but pretty much anywhere along the Kona coastline is good if you can access the water. If you swim out (snavigate underwater as this is a boat channel) to the green can outside of Crescent Beach for a shot at seeing a tiger shark.

I just did my first manta dive on my last trip here and have since learned how to access the water behind the Sheraton. This is like the boat dives, only cheaper (free). Be careful, though, as the rocky exit can get hairy in any kind of surf. I'd save the boat diving for a blackwater dive, offered by Big Island Divers and I think Jacks Dive Locker runs one as well. Blackwater dives are pelagic night dives, so you get to see the critters that make up the deep scattering layer as they make their nightly migration to the surface. DEFINITELY worth the money and I liked it better than the manta dives.

 

[tarponchik]

As for shore diving, I definetely recommend Puako (both "Church" and "Village End") and Place of Refuge. I need to add that there is also excellent snorkeling on Big Island. And because there isn't much life in the deep waters (or so was our impression), snorkeling can be even better than diving. For example, diving in Pahoehoe Beach Park was not interesting at all. But 2 miles south, at Kahalu'u Beach, snorkeling was incredible-I've never seen that many sea turtles in one place. Somehow the crowded beach 200 ft away didn't bother them at all. Also, a great place is Captain Cook's Monument. We liked it so much we snorkeled there twice. Once we rented a kayak and got there by water (did stop to snorkel with dolphins on our way), another time we hiked down the dirt road (take plenty of water if you do this!). Another interesting place to snorkel is Lapakahi St Park, where we saw some tangs that live where the waves crush (I forgot what they are called). If you go to Place of Refuge or Cpt Cook, get there early cause by 9-10 am it is packed. If you dive at Puako stop by on your way back at Waialea (aka "69") beach to rest and snorkel.

Big Island is a fantastic place with so much to see that diving somehow was low priority for us.

 

[Teamcasa]

Here is a link to a report from a recent dive trip to Kauai.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/hawaii-ohana/243333-kauai-dive-report-links-video-pictures.html

Diving on Kona was amazing, just make sure you take the Manta dive. Book it twice, once at the beginning and once at the end of your trip. You won't be sorry!

 

[llqwyd]

Aloha from Kauai!

You definitely want to try Tunnels while your are here in Kauai. Teamcasa report is very useful and includes a link to some of his great video shots. If you are going to do Ni'ihaua while you are here, I highly recommend Linda over at Bubbles Below (best of the best)!

Good luck and have fun blowing bubbles!