Sea Paradise/Aloha Dive Co. Kona, HI

Has anyone used Sea Paradise in Kona? Are there any recommendations for or against this operator? I've searched the archives and haven't found any previous posts on them.

There are many recommendations for Aloha Dive Company, but I have sent them a couple of emails and they don't respond. Also, based on their website, their prices seem higher than others.

Thanks,
Stacy

sholbert:

Has anyone used Sea Paradise in Kona? Are there any recommendations for or against this operator? I've searched the archives and haven't found any previous posts on them.

There are many recommendations for Aloha Dive Company, but I have sent them a couple of emails and they don't respond. Also, based on their website, their prices seem higher than others.

Thanks,
Stacy

Click to expand...

Mike (Aloha Dive Co.) may take a little while to respond to e-mails but he will get back to you. Aloha is definitely worth the extra cost. This is very personalized service, not a cattle boat. Mike and Earl have a good sized, comfortable, fast boat. They take no more than six people. They will take you to sites others won't. They will take the time to point out the various interesting critters you might otherwise miss. I couldn't recommend them too highly.

I dove with Sea Paradise in the early to mid 90's before I knew better. They are (or were then) a slap-dash, quick in and out operation that went repeatedly to the same close-by places (to conserve both time and fuel, I guess). On one trip, I recall that it took over a week of nagging in order to go as far as Kealakekua Bay...and that's from Keahou, which is already halfway there going south from Kailua.
After I became a little more experienced and discerning, I went out for several years with Dive Makai - a class operation...they introduced me to occasional trips to remote south sites and I fell in love. Unfortunately, they only go once a week and not always then.
That was when I found Aloha and now dive only with Mike and Earl when I'm on the Big Island. They are not only a superb operation (the very opposite of Sea Paradise) but they regularly go to remote sites and are very responsive to individual requests.
There's really no comparison! Unless price is your only criteria, don't bother with Sea Paradise.