Kauai Kona or Maui

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mikeyjoe

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Ok, I don't mean to be redundant as I have already taken a look at the Maui-Kona thread, but I'd like to add one more island to the mix. My wife and I are planning a trip - one week on Oahu with friends and then one more week at our time share on either Kona, Maui or Kauai. It will be next July - I need to book the timeshare one year ahead. In reading the other thread, I am thinking Kona is out as my wife is a beginner diver and really struggles with rocky entries - she has MS and struggles with weakness in her legs at times - so a nice sandy entry would be perfect.

We will only be diving every other day, so a nice island to visit would be good too. We won't need bustling nightlife as we will have had our fill of it on Oahu.

Things we'd really like to see are mantas, sharks and coral reefs as apposed to rocky reefs.

Any advise will be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Michael
 
There are a lot of nice easy sandy beaches on Maui. Ulua is one of the easiest. I had a pretty sort back once and I was still able to dive as my wife hauled my gear out into the water. You might think about that for your wife.
 
Rocky entries are not necessarily difficult entries. I can't tell you how many times I've been knocked over trying to walk in or out on a beach with a foot or two of surf. Add to that, the fact that sand is not necessarily where fish hang out and you might be in for a swim.



You'd be hard pressed to find an easier entry or exit in Hawaii than the Place of Refuge... maybe Mahukona up north (it's a step off a concrete wharf, and last I was there, there was an aluminum pool ladder to clime back out). The fish are litterally under your feet in 12 inches of water at many spots in Kona, and the reef (probably the healthiest and most plentiful reefs in the state) is a few kicks away in many spots. Sure there are some more challenging entries, but one can keep busy for days getting to know a few of the spots with easy entries. You can carry to your gear to the entry, don it, take one step, and submerge and be diving reef immediately at the Place of Refuge. Once you know what to look for in entries, there are other spots along the coast you can do the same.
 
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