Best island/Best operator? - new divers

My wife and I are new divers, taking a very last minute trip to Hawaii in a week - from the 7th to the 14th. Recommendations?

Which Island are you going to? If it's Maui I have sent many of my former students to B & B Scuba and they've been well taken care of.

If you are stopping in Kaua'i try Bubbles Below and ask for Zack... he is an extremely good DM. Or Seasports on the main road to Poipu. I would suggest you email for reservations as they are always full.

If you have not been to the islands before, buy the specific books from www.wizardpub.com.

cheers,

Al Mialkovsky:

Which Island are you going to? If it's Maui I have sent many of my former students to B & B Scuba and they've been well taken care of.

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Which island to go to is actually part of my question!

My daughter and I are relatively new divers and we just got back from a trip to Maui. While there we dove the Cathedrals I and II, and Molokini crater. Both sites were breathtaking and should be on your "not to miss" list. We went to Molokini with Lanai Divers. They are a great group. It's a bigger boat (there were 17 divers plus crew), but it wasn't crowded and the crew is fantastic. (They have great cookies too!) We went to the Cathedrals with Action Adventure Tours (i think that's the right name) and while the crew was great, I didn't particularly like the pontoon boat, especially for such a long ride to the divesite. We dove in Oahu last year, but definitly prefer Maui.

Good luck and have fun!

jmax:

Which island to go to is actually part of my question!

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This time of year, I'd go to Maui.

There's a lot of easy diving off Maui, go with Lahaina Divers or B&B Scuba. Molokini and the Cathedrals are the classic dives, but there's a lot of other diving also. There's also some easy shorediving there, Black Rock at the Sheraton, Airport Beach outside Lahaina are two good dives. And 1/2 dozen sites south of Kihei, although some of the entries are a little harder. You can also go on escorted shore dives with Shaka divers or Pacific dive among others.

If you do go to Maui, pick a dive op near where you're staying. Nothing further south than Lahaina if you're in the Kanaapali/Kapalua area and if you stay around Kihei, pick someone who leaves from the boatramp there. Otherwise it's a 30-45min. drive each way to the diveboat. And there's a lot of non-dive activities on Maui as well centered around Lahaina/Kaanapali. The helicopter rides are spectacular, you see parts of Maui people can't get to.

Hawaii(the big island) would also be a good choice, it's much less crowded and they have some really interesting dive sites, especially the Manta dives out of Kona. But they're generally at night, so consider that given your skill level. Kona's a nice, though quiet town. Most people stay north of there in the resorts. And see the volcanoes on a non-dive day.

Kauai's North side will be all but closed to diving due to winter surge so you'd be limited to the sites in the south. Good diving in the Poipu Beach/Sheraton Caverns area. We dove with SeaSports on the south side of Kauai. Princeville to the north will have lots of winter visitors this time of year, so the traffic between there and Lihue can be awful as it's the only major road.

I don't like Oahu, it's too crowded, so I've never dove there. Waikiki beach reminds me of Manhattan, it's all high rise hotels that block the sun. And thousands of tourists everywhere. In one day on the island we were caught in two different traffic jams trying to get to the aquarium on the east side. And it wasn't worth the trip.

I've been to all the major islands except Molokai. Next time I go back it will be to Hawaii, but Maui's a close second.

Well, if you are interested in Wreck diving, Oahu is the place to be....
Waikiki is very busy and traffic is sometimes pretty bad (especially with all the construction going on)...but just one dive to our wrecks is worth it.

I visited Hawaii (Oahu and the Big Island) for the first time back in March, and IMHO I think Oahu unfairly gets a bum rap.

Yes Honolulu is crowded, but no more so than other touristy destinations like the Grand Canyon, or Yosemite, or Paris. Oahu is more than just Honolulu though; the towns along the Waianae Coast and the North Shore are quite laid-back and more resemble the Hawaii people dream about.

One of the best things about Oahu is you can have the best of both worlds. If you want peace and solitude, you can find it in places like Ka'ena Point, where cars aren't allowed (you must hike in from the end of Farrington Hwy). If you want the things that only city life (shopping and nightlife) can offer, then Honolulu is only a 30-60 minute drive away, depending on traffic of course.

I just got back from Maui a week ago and I did five dives.

First was a shore dive with Scuba Shack in Wailea at the five caves / five graves site. The conditions weren't that good but we did see a lot of turtles and went through some interesting terrain. Unfortunately, we decided to try to go that morning and we didn’t get out until around noon when the trade winds started to pick up.

The second two dives were from a boat with Scuba Shack. We did the back wall at Molikini and the St. Andrews wreck. We saw eagle manta rays at the back wall. On the St. Andrews dive, we saw a bunch of turtles, the frog fish, a reef shark and other fish.

Fourth and fifth dives were with Ed Robinson's. We did the mid reef at Molikini and the St. Andrews wreck.

I think both operations were similar but I definitely preferred Scuba Shack. First of all, the trips with Scuba Shack were cheaper and the equipment and boat were better. We had the same number of people per guide (6) with both companies. I think the leaders of the dives were very knowledgeable for both companies. Ed Robinson's showed some pictures of the fish we might see and talked about the trip a little more, but I don't think it was of that much more value. We had the same boat driver at Scuba Shack and Ed Robinson's.

Dave at Scuba Shack was a great guide.

Marty

Big Island has great diving, day and night. I have often heard that the Kona coast is the best in the state. As a new diver, I found it not overly intimidating at all. I did night dives as well.

When there, I dove with Jack's Diving Locker. Great folks. Took me to some great sites. I plan on doing it again

If you're new, *anywhere* in Hawaii is going to look awesome. It's warm and colorful and...awesome Have fun!

Gregg