2-3 Days in November, Kona or Molokini

Hey ScubaBoard,

As always, i am thankful for the opinions and insight here. I will be on Oahu in November for business and I want to tag along some diving while there. Last year I hit Kauai'i and had a blast. This year I am considering two options and I will only have 2-3 days of diving to enjoy, so I am looking for the best experience I can pack in to 2 days of diving. I am thinking of either going to Kona for the Mantas and whatever else is there, or maybe Maui for Molokini, maybe two days to Molokini to try for both sides???

Obviously I would love to hear about dive ops, places to stay etc., but more so I would love to hear of anyone's experiences in November or similar part of the year at either of these places, any other experiences in November that I should consider and insights into what might make one area different from the other.

Thank you!

---Wes

Go to the Big Island , do the manta dive.

+1 for mantas - other choices are good too, but the Manta dive is an experience like no other!! Kona Honu or Jacks for a dive op IMHO.

OK, thanks for the input and Kona seems to be the early favorite. I will likely have more specific questions on Kona soon. In the interim, can anyone speak to the realities of diving Molokini in November? Are there great things to see on the back side that time of year? Hammerheads? Other pelagics? Is it a long shot to get to dive the back side in november based on weather conditions? If weather makes the back side of Molokini unlikely, how does the inside of the crater and/or other rough water options shape up in comparison?

I am definitely interested in Kona, but it seems it is mostly about the mantas. I am interested in seeing them, but I am going on a liveaboard in Raja Ampat, Indonesia in April and I am confident in seeing some great manta action there. So, if mantas are not the main draw, how does Kona stack up to Molokini?

Thanks all!

---Wes

I would also recommend Jack's Night dive where they hang out in the blue and use blue lights. I've seen some videos of that and it was amazing.
Really enjoyed Jack's dive shop on a couple of dive trips to Kona.

Last Kona trip I was blown away by Kona Honu's Black Water dive.

IMHO the diving overall in Kona is more colorful and more fishy than Maui including Molokini and there is MUCH more good diving to be had than just the Mantas. On Maui, the back wall at Molokini is a cool geographic feature and a wonderful dive, but not really that colorful and fish life can vary greatly. We've seen something cool every time we've done it, but I wouldn't choose it at the exclusion of other available diving. However, Maui has so much more diving to offer than just the back side of Molokini. With Lahaina Divers and Extended Horizons, you can get over to Lanai and dive one of the Cathedrals and the surrounding reefs which I really enjoyed. Molokai has the hammerheads if you get lucky, but I don't know what the availability of those trips are in November. They really are both worthy destinations, so it's really just a matter of price, time, and availability, then plan to go back and do the one you didn't choose on your next trip!!

All of this is only my opinion and other may have a different view! Have Fun!

Hello all, thought I would offer a post-trip update for those who may want to read this in their research. I did a day of 2 tanks in the AM, then the 2 tank twilight/Night Manta dive withe Kona Diving Company, then another two tanks the next AM. So, six total tanks with KDC in a two day span. In all, the diving in Kona far exceeded my expectations. The manta dive was off the charts, what an experience. Definitely recommended, not sure where else you can see such a display. Beyond that, the other five dives were all fun. Much more coral than on Kauai'i I think. Not nearly as many turtles, but we saw a lot of cool stuff. Lots of octopus, and the usual reef characters. Compared to the Caribbean, there are some really unique things I have found in Kona. I asked the guides at KDC to show me frogfish, I saw one on my first dive, and another on my last. I asked for white tips, got those too. I asked for harlequin shrimp, got a pair of those too. Zebra, moray? Check. All things I have never seen in the Caribbean on many more dives logged, although some divers may have. I also got to see a pod of dolphins on a dive at Turtle Heaven, right outside the little boat harbor. 6 dives, manta madness, frogfish, harlequin shrimp, dolphins, and so on. Hard to complain when you get all that and a great dive op/crew as a tag on to a business trip. Thank you to KDC! In all, highly recommend KDC and Kona. I do think it is worth noting that diving in Hawaii in general is expensive compared to the Caribbean. Maybe twice the cost per tank when compared to places like Belize or Cozumel. But, in about half as many dives in Kauai'i and Kona, I have seen much more really unique stuff than I saw in places like Cozumel, Belize and Jamaica. Hope this helps someone some time, PM me if you are interested in some of the video from this trip.