How does diving in Hawaii compare to Bahamas, Cozumel, Cancun, Cayman, etc..?

[qwimjim]

I'm considering coming to Hawaii for two weeks in late October and I'd really like to spend some time diving. I'm coming from Montreal so I could just as easily go to Mexico, or Cancun, or Grand Cayman, or the Bahamas.. my question is, is Hawaii world class diving? Or is it decent diving in an area that has lots of other things to offer? The Manta Ray night dive looks unique and interesting, Niihau sounds like a great place for those who have the ability and timing to dive there, and Molinkini seems like a great spot (right?). But what about the rest? What are some of the other can't miss areas or dives this time of year (late Oct)?

I'm used to diving fresh wrecks in the thousand islands in Ontario, and when I went to the Red Sea I thought that any dive with some coral and sea life would blow me away, but it didn't. Coral/sealife wise the dives I did were mediocre and even to my virgin eyes I wasn't really impressed. What did impress me was the topography, shafts, caves, and canyons. I want to go somewhere on this trip where my jaw will drop! I want to see teaming sealife or big fish. What does Hawaii have to offer in that respect?

Based on the other things we like to do (hike, camp, see volcanos) we were planning on spending one week on the big island and one week on Kauai but are flexible if it means getting the best possible diving experience. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[samtihen]

Black Water Night Dives seem to be a local specialty, as well. The idea is that you go out into the open ocean at night, drop to about 12 meters, and watch all the crazy stuff float by.

Jack's Diving Locker : Pelagic Magic Black Water Night Dive

I didn't have time when I was there, but I'll make sure to try it soon!

 

[DiverDebbie]

hmmm... You have some pretty big expectations.
I’ve only been diving in Hawaii one trip - Maui, but we’re thinking of returning, so I’m hovering here.
I’ve been to a few other places (not as many as I’d like), such as Grand Cayman, Turks & Caicos, BVI, GBR - Australia, Jamaica... and around BC. Hubby has been to Bonaire and still likes it best. It truly depends what interests each diver.
For me, I like healthy corals and lots of sea life - the bigger the better, lol - and warm water with great viz. So the more places I’ve been diving, the more I appreciate Maui. It was a few years ago now, but I enjoyed the endemic species and variety - not just lots of colourful fish of all sizes, but eels, rays, turtles, dolphins, sharks. We did Molokini crater as well as back wall and Lanai cathedrals, which was rather different. Ya, looking back - I really enjoyed it.
Mind you, I also loved Turks & Caicos, and Australia was amazing for the sheer amount of life. BVI was also very good. Grand Cayman was good, but didn’t wow me as much as I expected. I guess my expectations were too high, which can be a dangerous set up for disappointment. Too many divers. Lots of swim thrus if you’re into that. Not enough big stuff more me. Hence I’d like to do Bahamas for the shark dives. Jamaica made me appreciate places that take care of their ocean environment (which they don’t - it’s sad). I hear Cozumel isn’t what it used to be, so it may not wow you enough, and I personally wouldn’t bother with the Mayan/Cancun unless you cave dive. The more I’ve been diving the less and less I want to dive in cold murky water and the more I appreciate anything warm and clear and colourful. So I guess it’s all relative for me. Come diving in BC if you want some nice wrecks... or how about Great White diving out of California?
So all that said, I don’t know how you’ll feel about Hawaii. I think you can get the teaming sea life, and some interesting topography if you do the cathedrals, and I think Pelagic Magic would be big on wow factor for me... but will YOUR jaw drop? ...I honestly don’t know.

P.S. But if your jaw drops your reg will fall out of your mouth.

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

It doesn't compare. Hawaii is very different to the Caribbean. Folks expecting colorful soft corals and Caribbean conditions usually end up feeling ripped off. Hawaii is different. Based on the seasons, different sides of the islands get pounded by strong seas at different times of the year, so tall sponges and delicate soft corals wouldn't even last five minutes. Instead, the corals are many hard and low-laying, and they have a deceiving uniformity to the unaccustomed eye. But once you start recognizing what you're looking at and appreciate the fact that many of the animals you're seeing live nowhere else in the world, the diving becomes nothing short of amazing. Some sites have remarkable topography-lava tubes, boulders and all the records of a violent volcanic past-and that's very special, too. Read some books about the islands' geology before your trip and browse books on Hawaiian marine life, and you'll appreciate the diving a lot more.

Niihau is remarkable-some truly unique diving for sure-but operators favor traveling there in the summer. The channel can get very bumpy during the winter-even during the summer it's by no means a smooth ride. On Oahu, the north shore may be undependable at that time of year, otherwise I would recommend the shore diving there. But the leeward side is very reliable-if you can dive Airplane Canyon, Wedding Arch and Turkey-Lurkey, you will be one happy diver. The south side, which has been getting pounded of late, will be getting calmer, so you might have decent boating in addition to god dives. Fantasy Reef is great, and if you can make it to Sea Cave, excellent. Enjoy.


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.829684,-73.910433
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DiverDebbie]

Well put Vinegarbiscuit. I think you've sold ME on going back

Oh ya... the time of year. I wasn't paying attention to that, but Oct. is still the hurricane season in the Caribbean. Even if you don't get a hurricane, nothing like heavy rains, wind and angry seas to mess up your dive plans. Another thing to consider.

 

[Byte Me]

qwimjim,

Just got back from Kauai, live in WI, have only dove inland lakes, Lake Michigan and Caribbean so we may have similar opportunities. I've been to Tulum, Playa, Cozumel, Roatan, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and now Kauai. I've got ~170 dives under my belt an am a DM candidate. Niihau were the best three dives of my life. From the health of the reef, variety of life, endangered monk seals, sharks, snorkeling w/ spinner dolphins on surface intervals, it was unreal. I would go back just for that trip and next time would do it twice instead of just once during the stay. Tunnels is a really nice topography dive, all swim throughs, lava tubes, etc. Sparse life though. The south side diving was, as Debbie and vinegar pointed out - different, but excellent. Not Niihau - and you really do get to see what agriculture and development do to reefs when comparing the two spots - but tons of endemic life, turtles, nudi's, eels, fish you don't see in the Caribbean. If you do see them there, they're different in Hawaii. The diving itself is different, lots of swell, less drift diving than Coz/Playa (save for Keyhole @ Niihau) but still challenging and different.

For me - given the time of year you're looking at going I'll say this - the combination of the fact that it's SO easy to get to the Caribbean from our part of the world and that you probably won't be able to do Niihau OR Tunnels that time of year, I'd go to CoCo View Roatan or someplace with less travel time and probably less expensive overall. Save Hawaii for when you can make the trip over to Niihau. Summers in WI are worth putting up with the crap we have for weather all winter and we gave up 10 nights of that to go to Kauai solely so I could dive Tunnels and Niihau. It was as they said in Dances With Wolves a - "Good Trade"!!

 

[StuartT]

I know this is off topic but so what.

Try Port Hardy B.C. (Browning wall, 7 tree Island,rock of life etc.). If that doesn't make your jaw drop I don't know what will. Rated by many as the best temperate diving on the planet (not my rating) although from my limited worldly diving experience I'd rate it the best I've seen so far.

 

[Tunaman68]

I LOVE Hawaii - Maui in particular....the diving there is good, but the island as a whole is AMAZING. Kona diving is really good (great topo and coral and awesome viz), but the island itself was not the connection that Maui was for our family. Molokini is great front and back, Lanai has some really good diving, and Molokai for the hammerheads is killer, but we only go in the summer when the surf is generally flat, and I wouldn't want to do those crossings if the seas were up - big enough when the trade winds blow during the summer! Kauai was frankly boring. Tunnels, Sheraton Caverns, and a couple of other sites were good (compared to 10 foot viz and 59 degrees that we are used to in Cali), but the island kind of shuts down in the eve, and there isn't really that much to do. I know others will disagree, and some really love the sense of time standing still that you have on Kauai. I did not make it to Niihau but have buddies that thought it was great.

Winter time in HI is the time of large surf and whales, and the shore dives and crossings to neighboring islands are likely to suffer.

I have been blessed to be able to sample diving all over the world, and for my money, I am HOOKED on Cozumel. Australia was killer but impossibly far away, Tahiti was amazing, but $$$, and Micronesia and Chuuk are still on the horizon. We found Coz to have the perfect blend of easy to get to, affordable, sweet people, killer food, and the diving of great viz, amazing topo and fish just make it a slam dunk for me. I enjoy Cayman, but thought it was expensive, other Caribbean islands are all good, (have not done Bonaire but really want to however airfare from LAX is $$$), but I really think for that time of year and $$$ to diving it's hard to beat Coz.

Others will chime in as well - have fun wherever you go. I love HI and go there any time I get a chance, but as a primary diving destination in the winter, I might consider some other places.

 

[TSandM]

vinegarbiscuit nailed it. If you are looking for something which has big, immediate visual impact, Hawaii isn't it. But if you are fascinated with endemic species, it's an amazing place. One of the reasons I like diving with Mike Severns' dive operation is that they are marine biologists and focus one's attention on the unusual and unique animals.

But despite the fact that I really like critters, I'd have to term Hawaiian diving something you do on a vacation, rather than a reason for a vacation. If the Red Sea bored you, Hawaii is not going to light your fire.

The Black Water dive off the Big Island is truly a different experience, but again, you're floating in black water and watching things anywhere from a half inch to four inches or so long float by; it's not big schools of fish or amazing topography. For topography, the Cathedrals off Lanai count, though.

If you were bored in the Red Sea, and like big schools of fish, I'd consider the California Channel Islands. Life is rampant there; you can dance with sea lions, and try (as I do) to sneak up on huge baitballs. It's cold, but it's gorgeous.

 

[qwimjim]

thanks for all the info everyone, it's really helpful. in the end we won't be going to hawaii this october, my wife was able to extend her vacation to a month so we decided to put hawaii off for another time and go to africa! if anyones been diving in zanzibar/mafia/pemba in tanzania, or tofo/guinjata/barra in mozambique, or sodwana/aliwal/protea in south africa let me know the africa forum is not quite as lively as here and comparative information is not so easy to come by, thanks again!

ps. whats the ideal time to dive niihau?