Dive Hawaii trip- have no idea where to start.

[devinesigns]

My husband and I just realized we have enough airline miles to fly to Hawaii for free. We normally like to just eat, sleep, and dive on vacation, but for this destination we're looking to spend about 2 weeks; 2/3 of which will be diving and 1/3 spent sightseeing and going to the beach.

The problem: having never been to Hawaii, I have no idea which island(s) to go to that would satisfy our diving and sightseeing needs. Given the 2 week timeframe we are willing to split up the trip on more than 1 island if necessary. We prefer staying at resorts that cater to divers so we could have on site equipment storage and boat charters. If that's not possible, we prefer renting a condo that's a convenient distance from the dive operation.

Anyone have any recommendations for an itinerary? We are experienced divers (advanced certified; nearing 100 dives) and prefer boat entry over shore diving.

Thanks!

 

[acooper]

You face the classic "Which island?" question. The argument is bounced around regularly here with a few consensus answers. Big Island, Maui and Oahu regularly seem to be the most popular answers, in that order. (Cue disagreeing posts here) The truth is that they all differ a bit. My take is that the Big Islands reefs are the best, least spoiled by population pressure. Islands that have more rainfall tend to have less visibility due to runoff. Oahu has a number of WWII era wrecks that are quite popular dives.

I am not aware of any "diving" resorts in the islands and suspect a condo is your best best. You do not have to pay for the extra resort services you will likely never use.

I may be a bit biased, but then I live 15min from some of the best reefs in the islands along the coast of south Kohala, we usually dive at least once a month. Of course we have the night manta dives and the blackwater dives, two unique offerings for which Kona is famous.

 

[friscuba]

At least here in Kona, many,possibly most, dive charters will store your wetsuit/bcd/reg between charters. I know we ask people to take all their small stuff (mask/fins/booties/snorkels) with them because there's such good snorkeling they may want to use it, plus it's less to track. I suspect that wherever you end up you can find someone to take care of your gear.

 

[DiveMaven]

If I'd never been to Hawaii (for diving or otherwise) and had 2 weeks to spend, I would spend a week on the Big Island and a week on Maui, unless you're really interested in Pearl Harbor/history, etc., then you would be better off on Oahu. That would give you the best blend of diving, sight seeing, and beaches, with a lot to do on all three of these islands.

Keep in mind that boat diving in Hawaii is VERY expensive compared to many other parts of the world. Be prepared to pay $120+ per person for a 2 tank charter.

 

[devinesigns]

I've done some research based on the recommendations and it looks like splitting our time between the Big Island (Kona area) and Oahu would make the most sense since they offer diving, Volcanoes, beaches, history, etc (we do not want to miss Pearl Harbor and my husband is interested in doing the WW2 wrecks).

A follow up question- how long are the boat trips to the reef? We are accustomed to doing a 2 tank morning dive, returning for lunch, then a 1 tank afternoon dive. I notice that the dive ops in Kona tend to offer a 2 tank morning dive returning around 1:30pm, and then the night dive departing around 4pm (1 or 2 tanks). Not sure I'm thrilled with that schedule; while we like night diving, we prefer not having to do a night dive everyday if we want a 3rd dive. I'm not sure that's available though.

I have to check into pricing as well, to see if there are discounts on multiple dives. We typically pay around $200/person per day for 3 tanks; it's looking like that same number of dives is closer to $300/person/day on Hawaii!

 

[JIsgren]

We spent a week on the big island and then a week on Oahu several years ago. If you are interested in the WWII land history, the I highly recommend the Home of the Brave Victory tour:

http://www.pearlharborhq.com/pearl_harbor_tour.html

They pick you up very early and you are on one of the first launches out to the Arizona. After that you get to tour the on-base museums at several locations and end up with lunch at the officers club. Very interesting tour and very efficient since the wait for the Arizona can be very long later in the day.

We were not diving at the time but did do a lot of snorkeling. I enjoyed snorkeling Kona on the big island as it had the best reef with the most large fish and turtles.

 

[Mark Derail]

Maui was beautiful, including the diving, the "hidden" beaches with amazing dives / snorkeling.

However, based on my research, Big Island is better, for diving and beautiful locations you can drive to.

We just came back from Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman - we both liked Maui better.

We went to Maui because I had to work there for 3 days, or else, Big Island would have been my destination.

Two words: Active Volcano

 

[diversteve]

Steve at WannaDive - friscuba above - will do 3 tanks if there's 2 or more that want to. Not on days they're night diving though. $120 for 2 dives/$45 for the 3rd.
Awesome boat diving on the big island in kona hawaii with Wanna Dive
Kona Diving Co. also does 3 tanks on the Mid/Long Range trips - $200 but it's a 5pax minimum. Mid to Long Range Dives Good operation my buddy dove with them last summer.

Jack's also does 3 tanks for $225. IDK anything else about it or them. http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/charters2/threetank.htm

The two dives not to miss there are the Manta Night Dive and Pelagic Magic. I'm sure you've heard of the Manta Dive - this is Pelagic Magic:
http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/charters2/PelagicMagic.htm

Kilauea is definitely worth the drive - non-dive day as it's to elevation. IDK when you're going but it's supposed to be pretty active now. Another option is Akaka Falls but it's a fairly long drive from Kona.

Many of the dive operators leave out of a marina just north of Kona. So look for something in town or just south of there. There's a lot of options on vrbo.com. We found a couple of very nice looking units for around $100/nt. - but moved to a house near White Sands beach when more people joined us. This was one but they're across the street from the beach and it's a larger complex. http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/hawaii/big-island/kona-coast/kailua-kona#a7122

 

[grantwiscour]

When on Oahu we rent a house at Waimea Bay. I found it off of vacation rental by owner @ Waimea Bay Vacation Rental - VRBO 73249 - 2 BR North Shore Oahu House in HI, Heart of North Shore: $135 Night! Permit #90/Tvu-0352
I like to stay on the North Shore away from all the hustle and bustle in town. It is only @ 30-45 minute drive from Honolulu but worlds away in pace.

There are some good dive ops on the North Shore. We like Surf and Sea and have also used Deep Ecology. Both are good outfits.
Shore and boat dives are available depending on the time of year that you travel.

In Honolulu there are still some good hotel prices to be found. Betterbidding.com provides recent winning bids, suggestions and strategies for priceline and hotwire. Lots of good info.
I don't think that there are any "dive resorts" but most of the hotels are probably happy to have divers. One trip we stayed at the Royal Hawaiian and the bellhops carried gear up and down for us three days in a row.

Gabe at Kaimana Divers is a SB member and always gets positive feedback and strong recommendations. If he's not diving he's usually lurking the SB threads. I like to dive with Marco at Waikiki Divers. He was the DM on my first Discover Scuba dive a few years ago. It's always fun to dive with him again.

There are plenty of dive sites on Oahu. Skim through the Ohana Forum and talk with a shop or two. They'll happily get you fixed up and diving. almtree:

 

[scottitheduck]

Not only do I lurk....... I also post!

Looking like you will split time between Kona and Oahu and there have been several great posts thus far. True, we do have an excellent assortment of wrecks (Corsair, YO-257/San Pedro, Sea Tiger and Mahi) to name a few and can certainly arranged to do an AM 2 tanker followed by a PM 2 tanker. Kona ops are flexible as Someone mentioned earlier. Wanna Dive will do 3 tankers as will the staff and crew at Kona Diving Company...... give em a shout!

Aloha!

G