OPINION - HELP - Best dive spot in Hawaii on a budget

[Big'Un]

Hello SBF,

I'm going to Hawaii at the end of September and I'm looking for a day-trip dive recommendation. I'm traveling with a group of non-divers so I am only able to get one dive in during the trip. They didn't want to allow for even that but I couldn't go all the way to HI and NOT get at least one dive! Please no ads or commercial offers. Just recommendations from real people who've had a spectacular experience diving in an amazing place.

Here's the particulars:
Islands - Oahu, Maui, & The Big Island
Shop - Reasonable rental rates. (Since I'm only going to get the one dive I'll just rent all my equip from the shop I book with.)
Price - Never been to HI so I'm not sure what the "average" price I can expect but perhaps in the neighborhood of $200
Type - Boat trip, shore, deep, coral reef, other?
Cert - AOW with nitrox cert. 200+ dives

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

2 Dive morning boats are about $100 + tip and will probably be your best bet, a single dive not really worthwhile. The will have a deep dive (wreck or wall) followed by a shallower reef.
There are dozens of worthwhile dive sites on each island. The reefs are not as lush as some other tropical locations, but the water is warm and clear, hard to go wrong.
The morning boats are nice because you can often be back by lunch before anyone misses you. Best advice from a main-lander to another is sneak in more dives.

 

[diversteve]

I'd look into something on Maui. Molokini Crater is one of the signature dives there. The crater protects the fish life so there's a lot of it. Also a lot of snorkelers closer in. There's some good deeper dives done off both points also. They also dive the Back Wall which is not as picturesque but more dramatic. Often a live drop - it exceeds rec depths.

Since you only get one, possibly do Ed Robinson's 2 tank Adventure dive. They'll go to a better dive site with more experienced divers on the boat. There's also a 3-tank Adventure that gets back about 2 hrs. later. The 2 tank is $129, the 3 tank is $169. They have rental gear available also - I think every shop does. If not there's likely a Maui Dive shop near you - there's about 7 or 8 of them.

Since they leave out of Kihei early in the morning - around 6AM to beat the tradewinds coming back, it would be helpful if you're staying nearby in Kihei or Wailea. 2 tank trips with anyone are usually back well before noon. Mike Severns or B&B Scuba are other options also - Severns has more of a naturalist flavor since the DM probably is one. Shaka Divers or Maui Dreams Dive Co. also do escorted shore diving in that area but it's really not much cheaper. Most Maui shore diving is pretty shallow.

If you're staying in the Lahaina/Kaanapali area allow an hour for the drive down. In that case you might also consider Lahaina Divers or Extended Horizons in Lahaina. EH will likely dive the other signature Maui dive - the Cathedrals off Lanai. So will Lahaina Divers but they also go to Molokini since their bigger boats can take the ride coming back. They tend to have more divers so often group by skill levels. All boat dives on Maui are DM escorted - it's the rules. The other thing Lahaina Divers does is advanced drift dives off West Lanai. Maybe once a week? I saw at least 500 Moorish Idols once and as many Tangs 20' away once at Sharkfin there. Octopus along the wall and a couple of reef sharks off in the distance.

If you can sneak away one night on the Big Island, the Manta Night Dive is probably the best one there. There's quite a few Youtube videos about it. Several of the operators also do a dusk dive first so you can see the reef starting to go into night mode. My buddy also did a day dive there once with several hundred spinner dolphins. He dove with Kona Diving Co.

 

[Big'Un]

GrumpyOldGuy and diversteve, THANX for the input!! I actually "misspoke" when I said "one dive". What I actually meant is one excursion. (trust me I'll get in as many dives as I safely can in a single excursion!) But because this is a group trip my friends have agreed to let me take a partial day for a dive and I've agreed not to dive the ENTIRE TRIP! LOL In any event, these sound like great ideas!! I'll be checking out these locations via Internet. Thank you!

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

One last remark. If you are on Oahu, some of the dive ops pick you up at the hotels and drop you off. This allows your group to do it's thing for the day with the car while you do yours. You could in theory do 4 dives in a day (morning dives are deep, afternoon shallow). On Maui, the boats are mostly morning to dive before the trade winds pick up. In Kehei, the boats are trailed in and the ramp congested so the boats have worked out a schedule. B&B leaves really early (5:45 I think), then Ed Robinson then Severn's. I say this because sometimes you want to leave as early as possible to be back earlier so you can rejoin your group before the are fully awake. I can't imagine just one trip or dive. I would try to sneak more in. I head out next week and have 4 days of boat diving reserved and will do 3-4 more days of shore diving while my wife attends a conference. And that is taking it easy so we can have "quality" time together before and after.

 

[Big'Un]

Fantastic! Thank you for the info!

 

[Quero]

If I were you, I would do shore diving for the smallest expense with the greatest flexibility. I have found the best diving in Hawaii to be on the Big Island. In your position I'd aim to do a dive or two at Place of Refuge park, specifically at "Two Step." You can rent tanks, weights and gear from Seaspace dive center near Captain Cook.

 

[DeputyDan]

The Maui shore diving is the best bang for the buck if bugget is a real issue.
the op. kona honu does the manta ray night dive on the big island as a two dive trip - at least they did when I dove with them in 2005.