Will be on Oahu, Diving ?'s Beginner..

Hey guys,
First and foremost, thanks in advance for any response to this. Me and a buddy of mine(several of us going but only me and 1 guy can dive) are going to be on Oahu from Aug 28-Sept 4th. We are wanting to dive while we are there but are unsure of where to dive. We have little experience but always have had safe practices in our few dives that we have done. Price is always a consideration but a few $$ difference will not break a dive if it's worth the extra. I have been to Oahu 1 other time about 3 years ago but was not certified to dive at that time (wanted to but it would of taken up ALL my time), and this trip to Oahu I want to make sure I dive... I doubt I will be able to go back for a couple more years. I am very interested in seeing sea life while under. If it makes a difference we are in very good physical condition (28 years old if that matters, haha) and don't mind to swim a little to get to a good location. Bottom time is an important factor. We also only have our open water cert, and NOT advanced so I know some depths would be off limits to us.

Just let me know,
Thanks!

Oh also... We are trying to decide if we should bring our basic gear out with us. I only have the essentials (still have to rent gear),This is what I have that I can bring: Mask,Snorkle,Boots,fins,weight belt,& gloves. We are of course flying to Oahu from the states, so what all should we bring with us, If anything? Is it better to just rent it all?

I would recommend Island Divers. They are located at Waikiki and Hickham Base. I dove with them several times when i lived at Oahu and i was always very pleased. Just tell them that you want to do shallower dives and they will find good stuff for you. I did a lot of shallow boat and shore dives with them but boat divers are preferable @ Oahu.

As for the gear, i'd bring my basic equipment. you can do some nice snorkeling with it too (for example Hanauma Bay).

hope that helped a bit...

Thanks for the advice, I will look them up to see what I can find.
Thanks!

Island Divers is a great operation - I belong to their dive club. FWIW, no one will check for an AOW certification prior to a dive - but most of the boat dives will do a deep dive first - anywhere between 80 - 105 feet. You will have to decide if you feel you have enough experience to do them.

However, with all of the things you mentioned - bottom time being of importance - I would recommend you also do some shore dives on the North Shore.

Late August the surf will still be down, and there are several great sites close to each other. There is Three Tables, Firehouse and Shark's Cove. Since these sites are only diveable during the summertime, the marine life is more diverse and abundant than many of the other sites that can be dove year round. Max depth is about 45 feet - but usually we stay around 35 feet - so the dive is at least an hour long.

Shark's Cove is also a protected marine reserve. However, you will need to get to the North Shore early to get parking - especially on the weekend.

Cost to rent tanks will run between $6.50 per tank (in Aiea) and $10 per tank (in Waikiki). Cost to do a 2 tank boat dive will run you between $80 - $100 (more if you rent gear).

While I prefer boat diving, during the summer you can't beat spending only $13 for 2 dives.

chepar:
The north shore looks like a nice area from what I have read (I have searched all over this forum for info on Hawaii, and there sure is alot here). We don't have all of our equipment that we would need to do a dive so we will have to rent some of it (bcd,regulator,tanks,weights). But I'm sure that the shore dive would still be much cheaper. We are not renting a car while we are there (staying in waikiki area), so what would be the best way to go up to the north shore and get equipment (rent a car?)?

George_ORH:

chepar:
We don't have all of our equipment that we would need to do a dive so we will have to rent some of it (bcd,regulator,tanks,weights). But I'm sure that the shore dive would still be much cheaper. We are not renting a car while we are there (staying in waikiki area), so what would be the best way to go up to the north shore and get equipment (rent a car?)?

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If you don't have a car, that really complicates things. You can rent tanks and gear on the north shore - but the closest shop I know of is in Haleiwa, which is still a 5-10 minute drive to the dive sites - and I don't think you can get that stuff on The Bus.

If you really want to shore dive, I recommend renting a car for the day (or days) that you are shore diving - there are several car rental desks located in various hotels in Waikiki - you can pick up/drop off there, I believe.

For the boat dives, most dive operators offer shuttle service from Waikiki.

Leave your weights at home. I'm guessing that you'll need anywhere from 10-16LBS...won't be fun carrying on the plane.

What chepar says, for the noth shore dives it would be best if you have a car and get there real early as the parking fills up fast.

Check out this post. There is a map of most dive site...you pretty much can dive your way around the Island.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=690705&postcount=1

I'd say take your mask fins & snorkel. I don't like renting anything anymore. (Had some bad experiences with rental gear on the Big Island. :15a: ) Besides, that way it's there when you want it. Most of the dive shops around Waikiki will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel, & almost all of the morning dives are done by 1:00 so you have most of the day to do what you want.

You won't need a car if you can get out to Haleiwa, Oahu and dive with Deep Ecology! We met them at their shop in Haleiwa and they drove us in their van up to Sharks Cove for a nice two tank shore dive. Ask to speak to Pat, she was wonderful and worked with our schedule a lot. 808-637-7946 or dive@deepecologyhawaii.com We dove with them twice (the other time was a night dive). Our guides were both named Steve and both did nice pre-dive briefings on what to expect marine life wise.

Good luck, we really enjoyed it and were there just last month. Nice warm temps and calm water!

A different dive operator, Ocean Concepts, picked us up at our hotel and took us to their boat from which we dove the M/V Mahi wreck (approx 85 ft) and then the Makaha Caverns (shallower). That was nice service. www.oceanconcepts.com