Hawaii: Good island/operation for novice divers

[Wabbit]

We are newly OW certified divers (about as green as it gets), and would like a recommendation for an island and dive operation that could cater to novice divers focused on shallower sites while we work on our buoyancy control and "comfort" level. We are available for a week in late July/early August, and thought Hawaii might be a good option that isn't horribly hot or muggy at that time of year. As an alternative we're thinking about St. Thomas. We're in Denver, so there's not a huge difference whether we head west or east.

HELP!! and thanks.

 

[DiveMaven]

I'm a bit biased, but I think Maui is a great choice for you. You can dive 3 different islands as a novice diver (Maui, Lanai, Molokini), giving you a lot of variety. IMO the best operation on Maui for the beginning diver is Lahaina Divers in Lahaina. They rarely go deeper than 60-65 feet on their regular charters and offer discounts for multiple days. They also have excellent rental gear and are totally geared to the newer diver

Another option on Maui is to shore dive with Shaka Doug out of Kihei. he has everything you need on his dive bus, doesn't go deep, caters to his diver's experience level, and from what I hear, you're pretty much guaranteed a good time. B&b in Kihei does a nice job with beginners as does Ed Robinsons.

Oh, and a good thing to note about Hawaii is that dives are all guided, so you never have to worry about navigation.

Regardless of where you go or who you dive with, make sure you tell the crew of your experience and comfort level. Also, although Hawaii isn't near as humid as the Caribbean or Florida in the summer, you should still expect 88-91 degree weather with some humidity, but trade winds to keep you cool in the hottest part of the day. The only time we use our A/C in the summer is when the trades die.

 

[diversteve]

I second the recommendation for Maui over St. Thomas - been to both, Maui diving is better. The fish life is a lot better also. And the chance of seeing smaller sharks and lots of turtles on many of the dives. Many of the dive sites off Molokini sit in protected water in front of the island(submerged volcano) so it's typically pretty calm.

Cathedrals off Lanai are fairly easy dives that are uniquely interesting. Lahaina Divers go there regularly. Around 2:22 on this video - http://www.lahainadivers.com/content/lanai-scuba-diving-with-lahaina-divers

There's more shore dive options off Maui also. Sites like Old Airport Beach, Black Rock, Wailea Beach and others are simple entries off the beach. Old Airport stays shallow for a very long time - it used to be a sugar cane loading site - lots of debris - we saw a few octopus there one day. At Wailea Beach a short swim takes you out to the south point where there's a bunch of jumbled rocks/lava - we never broke 45' there and had a very good dive. Some idea of what to expect: Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Maui, Hawaiian Islands

St Thomas wins if you like soft corals/fans etc. There's some shallower wrecks also but that's not my thing so I can't comment on them. Coki Beach would be a good shallow dive - it doesn't exceed about 40'. But I can't name another one, the Sapphire Beach site was a good snorkel but I wouldn't dive it. The East End dive operators can do shallow dives around the Cays - we did several in the 40-50' range but they weren't great. Saw some stingrays and a few lobsters but the fish never showed up. It's also really shallow diving but the visibility is probably 1/2 that of Maui. A couple of times we may have had 60' off St. Thomas - off Molokini once I'm sure it was 200'+ - strained your eyes trying to see further.

There's similar but better diving in the BVI's - an hour+ fast ferry ride from St. Thomas. Many of the sites there are in the 40-60' range. No shorediving though - the islands are too vertical. If you're interested DiveBVI has a lot of good site information on their website. We did much better dives off Virgin Gorda than off St. Thomas. It's a little pricier though.

 

[frostfire]

Go to Hawaii. St Thomas is the only place I've ever been to that I literally said to my DH 'If I were on a cruise and it stopped here I wouldnt get off the ship'. The diving part was actually fine, but there was a constant and pervasive rude/sulky/nasty tone towards the tourists much like Jamaica had in the 70s and 80s. Hawaii on the other hand is delightful, and you would be helping the US economy spending your tourist dollars there!

 

[WoodyLompoc]

We did our first dive vacation on Maui, and after diving in MANY other locations over time, I think that Maui was the right place to start. (We had a handful of CA shore dives before our trip, so went without a guide.)

I agree that you should go with someone like Shaka Doug (I only know him by reputation) on your first few dives, as you stated you a shore diving novice. After a few dives with him and observing, you should be ready do dive on your own (with your buddy) after a couple of days. Many of the shore sites on the island are easy to navigate, even for a novice.

If you do any boat dives, don’t be afraid to make it clear to the operator that you are novices. They will group you with other less experienced divers, making the dives more pleasant for ALL on the boat.

Never be afraid to ask questions and get comfortable, either on the boat or with someone like Doug. These people live off keeping people safe and happy. They will do their best to make sure you are.

Here are a couple of links, so you can dream about your vacation in advance:

Maui Dive Site and Area Map

Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Maui, Hawaiian Islands

 

[ScubaSherrill]

Go to Maui--calm water in the summertime, stay in the US (no money exchange, no customs, etc), large variety of lodging and lots of good shore diving opportunities which can save you big bucks. You can always find a DM at any of the local shops (I recommend Extended Horizons if you're in the Lahaina area) to do a guided shore dive, but it's really not necessary. Maui Dive has a brochure with many shore dive sites and info listed in it. We purchase their 10 tank punch card ($55) and dive away.

 

[IslandDiversHI]

If you decide on Oahu for your vacation we have a boat dedicated to shallower sites that departs 12:30pm daily. The dive sites in the afternoon are always 30-40ft. The other people on the boat will be other OW divers without advanced experience and possibly people completing their OW training or their 2 tank experience dive after their morning pool session of a Discover Scuba Diving program.

If you get more comfortable during your stay our morning boat does a wreck 65-105ft and then usually a drift dive. I wouldn't be a true PADI instructor if I didn't mention that you could also just move right into your Advanced certification. You'd then be doing those dives under the supervision of an instructor. Very often we do Day 1 of a 6 dive 3 day Advanced class on the afternoon boat anyway, so that people can get a chance to see what diving in Hawaii is like before jumping off/into the deep end,

If you decide on the Big Island, many if not most of their dive sites are multilevel, and you could stay on the shallow end of their sloping wall on just about any dive. Nice calm water over there too.

Hope you have a great time and see lots of turtles!
Cheers,
Matt

 

[TSandM]

I went to Maui as a beginning diver, and it was a great place to go. Most of the dive ops are quite accustomed to dealing with beginner and infrequent divers. If the weather is cooperative, there is easy, low-stress shore diving (and it's a great place to go do your first independent dives, as well). I think I hit a max depth of 30 feet on our last trip! If you stay in the Kihei area, B&B Scuba is one I'd recommend for beginners, and as already mentioned, Shaka Doug has a very good reputation for guiding shore dives. If you do a boat out to Molokini, be sure and let the dive op know that you are beginners and would like to respect your depth limits. They can do it, but many Molokini dives are planned deeper, unless they know someone wants to stay shallow.

I haven't dived St. Thomas, but we did go to the BVI, and there was some very nice diving there, as well. Most of what we did was relatively shallow (50 feet or less) and fairly easy, although I understand that some sites we dove can have current.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Maui wast the place where I did my first open water dive, and where I did my most recent dive (February of this year, and well over 100 other dives. If you are on the west dies of the Island (Lahaina/ Kaanapali area, I really recommend Lahaina Divers. If you are in the South (Kehei /Waimea) Maui Dive Shop runs nice trips. Both go to Molokini Crater, a great dive for new divers. Lots of other close in sites to 50 feet or less, including Mala Pier, Olawalu, Ulua Bay, 5 caves, and a dozen sites all called "turtle reef." Maui is a great choice to dive right after certification. Have a great time!
DivemasterDennis

 

[pjhansman]

Like DiveMaven, I'd highly recommend diving Maui with Shaka Doug for shore dives and Lahaina Divers for boat dives.