Hawaii

[TriPodTodd]

Never dove in Hawaii. What is the best island and where should I stay?

 

[Mark Derail]

If you decide on Maui, you'll have much better dives doing shore diving with a guide, than what we did (two boat trips).
Except for the Cathedrals off of Lanai - those were awesome. (just search on my username for details)

Molokini was *meh* because of too much wind, red flag beaches, we only did one dive in the interior part where all the snorkelers go, wasn't a great dive.
Everywhere else was terrific.

Lots of divers living on the various islands, you'll get lots of replies, but please, just search & read the forums, a wealth of info already posted here just in the past year alone.

My next trip out there will be Big Island. I might only go to Oahu when I retire in some 15+ years.

 

[DiveMaven]

I'll have to respectfully disagree that shore diving is "better" than boat diving. Although I've done some pretty bland diving at Molokini, some of my best Maui dives have been there. I have over 200 dives in Maui and Lanai, and nowhere else have I been treated to seeing 7 types of Nudibranchs, Galapagos and grey sharks, Eagle Rays, an enormous Manta Ray, Frogfish, Hawaiian Turkeyfish, octopus, and hundreds of fish (many endemic)....all in 2 charters in the past week. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what we saw at off shore sites like Red Hill and 85 foot pinnacle these past 2 weeks.

Like everything else it just depends on the day. Heck, in the past 2 weeks I've gone shore diving at Makena Landing twice. The first time we saw turtles and a cool Frogfish....but that was IT. The second time about a week later, we saw sharks, turtles, 2 Frogfish, 2 Hawaiian Turkeyfish, Hawaiian Orange Fireworms, and about 4 different types of nudis.

Dive sites change almost daily sometimes.....whether they are boat sites or shore sites.

As far as recommending where you should go, Maui offers you the ability to dive 4 different islands and many land activities. If you come in the winter, you have the whales concentrated into the channel between the islands, providing you with great whale watching and fantastic opportunities to hear them sing underwater.

However, if you are interested in the Manta night dive, the Big Island is the place to go. Great boat and shore diving and a visit to an active volcano is always cool.

 

[grandizer52]

Where are you coming from? then that's the best island to dive
:chairfight:

 

[HonuDiver1059]

I dive the Big Island and stay it Kona at the Sea Village (check vrbo.com) Most all my dives are shore dives. The night shore diving there is awesome when the swell conditions are good. You will need a 4 X 4 for access to many of the good sites. I have only been to Maui and the Big Island I prefer the Big Island.

 

[Midge907]

I have been to The Big Island, Maui, and Oahu. If diving is all your going for my recommendation is the Big Island, with mostly shore diving. Maui if you need to spend a few days topside, hit the beaches, etc. As for Oahu, I will try to never go back there.

 

[CGADivebum]

I have been to Oahu several times and the diving is good, there are hundreds of hotels to choose from and tons of topside activities in Waikiki. If you find yourself in a hotel with limited beach access, make your way to the area next to Hiilton Hawaiian Village. The military owns a large pice of property that is Ft. Derrussy, a military R&R hotel. You have to be military or DoD to stay there but the beach and parks are open to the public, well mantained and not as crowded as some of the other beach front hotels.
On the North Shore I would stay at Turtle Bay. Some cool surfing towns up there.
For diving, the best operation I have found is Kaimana Divers (08-772-1795 www.waikikiscuba.com). Owned and operated by Gabe Scotti, tell him what kind of dive you are looking to do and he will make it happen, safely. I have dove with at least 4 other dive shops on the island and he is leaps and bounds ahead of them.
Big island - I have only been once and it was for one day so no diving. Very cool island, not as crowded as Oahu and I hear the diving is great.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I have dove Hawaii many many times, most recently this past February. Maui #1, Kona a close second. The west side of Maui is best for diving and there are scores of places to stay. The Kaanapali Beach hotel is a great value, or you can step up to $500 a night places like the Hyatt or Sheraton. There is great shore diving on Maui, for sure, but boat trips across the channel to Lanai, as well as to various off shore sites are excellent. They do run from $120.00 to $150.00 for a two tank dive, but you will be pampered. For about $200.00 you can boat to the east end of Molokai and do the hammerhead shark dive- a challenge even for advanced divers. Lots of good dive operators- we have settled in with Lahaina divers. Private message me if you want more information- I'm not a local, but a fellow Coloradan who has a cumulative total of about 120 days of diving there over the past 13 years.

 

[Gunrock]

I don't know which island is the best, but Oahu has to be the worst. Mostly forgettable. A shame b/c if you are not a local expect to pay $120 for a 2-tank trip. If you do come to Oahu for some reason let us know and we can help you find the spots worth going to -- and avoid the ones that aren't.

 

[Midge907]

You can dive with Gabe for $99 for a 2/tank, then it drops to $89 on consecutive trips out. On Maui, you will be between $120-$130 on average. On the big Island expect $120 for a 2/tank, but the operators there have good package deals that will bring it down to about $100 per dive on a 5/day package. When I go back to the Big Island I plan on going out on the boat for one trip out (3-tank long range, or 2-tank Manta) but will plan on doing the rest of my diving from shore. The only reason I will even go out on the boat, is because I enjoyed Kona Diving Company so much, and would love to go out with them again.

I don't know which island is the best, but Oahu has to be the worst. Mostly forgettable. A shame b/c if you are not a local expect to pay $120 for a 2-tank trip. If you do come to Oahu for some reason let us know and we can help you find the spots worth going to -- and avoid the ones that aren't.