On Kauai 6/10-6/16 need help/advice

[jdubdiver]

Aloha Ohana, I will be on Kauai (1st time to this island) June 10-16. I am an active Divemaster here in California. What are the sights I do not want to miss while on the Island? I know about Ni'ihau but I am a family man and cannot be away from my family for that amount of time, so I think i am going to go to Ni'ihau with them on one of the snorkel catamarans and my daughter and I will just freedive. I was hoping to find someone on Kauai who might be willing to or possibly want to dive with someone from out of town. I was hoping to get at least one day of shore diving in ( I am a strong shore diver). If you come to California I will reciprocate the favor. So if anyone wants a good dive buddy for a morning of shore diving and some lunch or something let me know ( you will see my 7 year old daughter(my protege) freedive and she will impress you.Or can anyone suggest some dive operators who may cater to someone like me? I will be staying in the Kapa'a area but will go anywhere for some good diving (hopefully with someplace for my wife and daughter to hang out while we dive). I have to plan my diving strategically because I want to explore, which leads to my next question, what sites are at higher elevations and should be avoided after scuba diving? Any input suggestions or possible dive buddy's will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jeff

 

[tep]

Funny that.... I'll also be visiting Kauai 6/10-6/16, and from CA.

I'll be staying on the N Shore Princeville area. Any dive op recommendations, or particular dive sites. Certified AOW incl Deep and Rescue, if that matters... Not looking for deep, but not confined to 60' either

 

[Rich-D-Fish]

If either of you are flexible on your dates (I am not unfortunately due to timeshare obligations) I will be there 6/26 - 7/9. Shot in the dark. I've been looking for some local buddies as well with no luck so far. All the Hawaiian divers seem to live on the Big Island or Ohahu. I was recommended by friends to dive with Seasport Divers for the Niihau trip, and signed up for their 7/6 trip. I was hoping to find a local buddy to get in some less expensive shore dives. If no luck I will just do a couple boat trips and follow the DM.

 

[tep]

Sorry, I'm also inflexible due to timeshare obligations.

I get an extra degree of difficulty as our timeshare (which I've never seen) is in the Princeville area up north. I've been told that it's a 45-60 min drive from Princeville down to the south end where most of the boats dock :-(

So, I'm looking for a dive op on the "wrong end" of the island :-(

 

[llqwyd]

Saw your post and thought I would say hello. My name is Shawn and I own and operate Aqautic Adventures here on Kauai. We do shore and boat diving. There are several good companies to choose from here on the island. Seasports and Fathom Five are the most well known, but Bubbles Below is one of the most respected. As for us, we think we are pretty special, but I will let you look through some of the posts here to verify that.

During the summer months, Tunnels is available for a shore dive that is phenomenal. A two tank dive there is standard and because it is in a conservation district, numbers are limited. If you are staying at the St Regis, we offer a St Regis exclusive to dive the Blue Hole in Hanalei Bay. Great one tank dive. Ni'ihau is also available during those times, but I will warn you that although it is awesome, the trip over is very long and makes for a long day of diving. South side offers Sheraton Caverns (which I think is over-dove), which we do not offer. For that, I recommend Seasports, as they do that one regularly. We recommend the West or the Napali during those months as well (Hale O'Honu and Mana Crack). I am happy to answer any questions that you may have. Mahalo for your time and consideration and keep diving

 

[REFLECTIONPOOL]

You're coming at a great time to the island. I travel to Kauai once a year with my family. We've been coming for 7 years. The staffs at many of the shops change frequently which is interesting. I have a couple of dm's I can endorse without question if interested. The south shore is awesome and has great variety. Turtle Bluffs is a family favorite. Sheraton caverns is one of the very best turtle dives on the island and has lava arch ways full of fish, eels, leaf scorpions etc... The guides almost always find a frog fish or two there. The only shop near Kapaa as of our last visit was SeaSports. Dick runs the shop and is super helpful with diving and non diving help. Personally, I have dove the north shore tunnels dive several times and been disappointed in the lack of vis and marinelife each time. The lava tubes and formations are interesting but My family and I prefer lots of creatures. It also tends to be loaded with divers in the summer and parking and logistics seem to be an issue with locals and the dive companies. Should you still decide to try it - everone seems to agree that Jeanete from fathom five is the one to go with. We did our first trip with her and none since compared. Our last visit we had a bad experience with a newer shop that focused on shore diving. Recently we learned that they were suspended by PADI but still operating? I hope that isn't the case but I would research your dive operation choice if you go with a lesser known. Captain Andy's does a great run to Niihau and we go with them every other year. Dukes is our favorite spot to eat near the east side of the island. Hope this does help a bit. If you have any specific questions I am happy to help. RP

 

[Rich-D-Fish]

Hi Shawn, thanks for the info on Aquatic Adventures. Just checked out your website. I may look you guys up for some guided shore dives day or night. I am curious about the Blue Hole you mentioned. Can't seem to find any info on it. I will be staying at the Westin, which is supposed to give me access to St. Regis next door. Their is some sort of partnership. Can you supply more info on that dive? Plus, what type of notice do I need to provide for a guided shore dive? And which nights do you offer, and which dive sites? Thanks.

Rich

 

[llqwyd]

rich...I am working on making it available to Westin guests, but as of now, it is a St Regis exclusive. Not to say that you couldn't get there or that you would be denied access, but it is a MAJOR haul to get your gear there if you do not have direct access (provided to certain companies by the St Regis). The "blue hole" is not the end-all-be-all, but it is a nice site for a single tank. Typically, we can get you in to any shore dive with a day or two notice. We do a lot of night dives at Koloa (south side) but offer a twilight boat on the West side (hale o'honu) when we can. Mahalo and let me know if there is anything else that I may be able to assist you with.

 

[txteachers]

We're returning to Kauai for vacation...it has been about 5 years since we've been! Last time we were able to rent tanks at a resort in Princeville (I don't remember which one!) and go diving on our own. Is this not possible any more??? We made several dives up at Tunnels...then we dove down in the Poipu area...last time were only on Kaui 10 days...this time almost a month. We were hoping to do lots of shore diving on our own...any recommendations?? Mahalo!!!

 

[rakkis]

A work buddy and I will be staying at a Kapa'a hotel June 10-17. We are on Seasports Divers' June 15th Ni'ihau charter.

This is mostly vacation for me, but I'm also coming down to research Kauai'i diving and operators for a trip my shop will want to plan next Summer. We intend to beach dive as much as possible and will probably each have 3 rental tanks every day to do lots of recon. I would love to night dive as much as possible. Had to miss out on that when I visited Oahu. We also plan to do other things like Waimea, ATV's and maybe hang gliding as our off-gassing schedule allows.

I would love to meet up with locals or fellow CA dive buddies This is my first time on Kauai'i so don't expect me to know the local diving (of course it'd be awesome if *you* did!). I've done my homework ahead of time, but nothing beats someone that's been there before.

We're both solid CA divers and will have some camera gear with us.


Some pointers:
From what I've seen, a couple of the larger boats that regularly go to Ni'ihau, are similar to our Island Time (out of Los Alamitos) or the Raptor (out of Ventura)... maybe a bit larger. The ride over takes about as long as LB/San Pedro to Catalina here at home. Also.. looks like everywhere except the west shore is going to get pummeled through the weekend So I would suggest watching the forecasts and making backup plans, as I suspect some Ni'ihau trips June 10-13 will probably get cancelled.

Of course locals will have a much better idea about conditions than I ever will... but it looks like my buddy and I will be diving between Waimea and the end of the 50 (towards and past Mana Crack) for the first 2-3 days as it looks like that's the only place not getting 6-9' swells