Oahu Dive Shop Help

[jviehweg]

I'm going to be in Oahu in about a week and a half and I want to book my dive days/nights now. But there are so many shops. I had been leaning towards Breeze Hawaii but after reading some of the posts it seems they are more Japanese friendly (and I'm not Japanese). I had also been looking at
Aaron's Dive Shop
Island Divers Hawaii
Has anyone used these dive shops and can tell me about them? I want to go out on about 3 two tank charters (shore dives may be ok), one of them being a night dive.
Thanks.

 

[justleesa]

a few days ago another user asked about Aarons, you might want to look here

We have many operators on the Island here is a list of a few of them.

 

[waternow]

We'll be looking to dive on the west side in a few weeks...any suggestions on good operators?

 

[justleesa]

2 - 3 boats run out of Waianae Harbor. The South Seas - which is mostly Ocean Concepts, The Beach from Captain Bruce and the Hapa - which would be Aarons. Some ops that don't have a boat or don't have a boat over there will whole sale seats.

 

[pacificparadisedivers]

Aloha-

If I may suggest- call and speak to as many dive operators that you can. Make sure that you are getting a shop that is there for the love of the sport, our oceans, and the critters that live in them- not for the love of money!

Diving on the west shore is great- there are other great dives as well around the other sides of the island. There is tons of information on the web about the dive sites available island wide.

Enjoy~

 

[waternow]

Chris & Lisa,

Which boat do you dive from on the West side? How often do you dive the West side? How much time does it take to get from Ko Olina to the Honolulu harbor (Kehalo Basin?) in the morning? We would rather not sit in traffic (we're from Southern California, after all).

 

[chepar]

I've done many dives with Ocean Concepts and several dives with Captain Bruce's (albeit the last time was at least 2 years ago and it was with their dive clubs). No experience with Aaron's.

Both Ocean Concepts and Captain Bruce's were good to dive with - in my experience, Ocean Concepts was a more of a "slick" operation (not in a bad way) - just everything they do was super organized and efficient. I noticed more "vacation only divers" with Ocean Concepts that I did with Captain Bruce's - it was not uncommon to meet someone that that had not done a dive in over a year or more. However, Ocean Concepts was really good with grouping people according to experience.

I agree that you should call and chat a bit with whoever you're considering going out with - it will give you more of a feel of the personality of the operator and if they're what you're looking for.

 

[SecondCoussens]

Which boat do you dive from on the West side? How often do you dive the West side? How much time does it take to get from Ko Olina to the Honolulu harbor (Kehalo Basin?) in the morning? We would rather not sit in traffic (we're from Southern California, after all).

I wouldnt suggest trying to get from the west side to Kewalo Basin in a hurry on a weekday morning. Traffic looks horendous coming from that way into town, I'm usually going the other way against it on the H-1 (west)in the morning and am always thankful I dont have to be on the H-1E in the morning. It should be smooth sailing on a weekend though, or even a bit later in the morning, just not rush hour.
I have been on Captain Bruce's boat from the west side and it was pretty nice. Good op as far as I can tell.

 

[chepar]

How much time does it take to get from Ko Olina to the Honolulu harbor (Kehalo Basin?) in the morning? We would rather not sit in traffic (we're from Southern California, after all).

Missed that part of your question. Anyway, ditto on mohneys1's recommendation to avoid the weekday if you don't want to sit in traffic.

I live in Aiea, which is about 15 minutes closer to town than Ko Olina with ZERO traffic. From my house in Aiea to Kewalo Basin on a weekday morning it would take a minimum of 45 minutes if you want to arrive somewhere between 7:45 - 8:00, which is around the typical show time for the morning dives. I have no idea how long it would take to drive from Ko Olina to Aiea on a weekday morning.

Even if the show time is at 8:30, you will still encounter some traffic (but not as bad).

Saturday and Sunday mornings are no problem - I can get to Kewalo Basin in about 15-20 minutes.

 

[waternow]

Thanks for all your feedback...I think we'll stick to the West side during the week and go to Kewalo Basin on the weekend. By the way, how far is the drive from Ko Olina to Haleiwa (Shark Cove & Three Tables/Ledges)?