Could use some HI diving info

Hi Folks,

Was wondering if any kind souls could point me in the direction of a reputable dive shop on Oahu for an upcoming vacation in May. Also, any ideas on dive sites would be appreciated greatly!!

P.S. I've seen ave. water temps in the high 70's for May in HI. Does that seem about right? Do the temps vary quite a bit based on dive sites? (i.e. South shore-Waikiki area versus North Shore area)

Thanks!
Phxcamera

Are you looking for a dive shop that also charters boat dives, or just a dive shop you can rent tanks/equipment from that will point you in the direction of some good shore diving?

Assuming you are looking for boat dives, I have found Ocean Concepts to be a well run and friendly operation. Recently recommended them to another member of the board recently, she just emailed me after returning from her trip and let me know that she also found them to be very organized and professional.

I haven't been able to dive with them yet (and I keep saying I'll get around to it), but I have heard that Captain Bruce's is also a good operator. The difference between the two being that Captain Bruce's offers dives out of the west, south and east harbors - Ocean Concepts only operates out of the west shore, I believe.

Many of the set schedule dives on the west side of the island are the Mahi wreck and Makaha caverns; there are a few other wrecks off of Waikiki and closer to the Kahala/east area. To get to dive sites "off the beaten track" it would probably be better to schedule dives on the weekdays - the operators can be more flexible, if you ask them about it.

By May, the north shore is diveable - many of the best dive sites are on that side of the island.

As far as water temps - to be honest, I've never really noticed a difference in temperatures on the different sides of the island. In general, water temps should be around 76-77, maybe a bit higher.

Hope this helps.

Hawaii, in May?? Sounds like fun! Wish I was going there....wait, we are. We'll be hitting 3 islands over a two week period and hope to get our OW cert there.

Bear