Welcome to ScubaBoard, an online scuba diving forum community where you can join over 205,000 divers diving from around the world. If the topic is related to scuba diving, this is the place to find divers talking about it. To gain full access to ScubaBoard (and make this large box go away) you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:
Participate in over 500 dive topic forums and browse from over 5,500,000 posts.
Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
Post your own photos or view from well over 100,000 user submitted images.
Gain access to our free classifieds marketplace to buy, sell and trade gear, travel and services.
Use the calendar to organize your events and enroll in other members' events.
Find a dive buddy or communicate directly with scuba equipment manufacturers.
All this and much more is available to you absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact the ScubaBoard Support Team.
I am starting to plan a trip the big island of Hawaii. I am thinking that renting a VW camper will be my best bet to see a lot and to not end up paying a fortune. The other thing is I want to go to the Arizona and check out the memorial also whil there.
So I am wondering if anyone else has done the VW hippie type deal and what they thought. That being said I grew up tent camping, unfortunately my girl friend is not very crazy about the idea but also understands saving $$.
any recomendations on dive sites, operations, ect. I plan on taking our own gear except for obviously tanks and weights.
any recommendations on how to get from the Big Island to the Pearl Harbour memorial preferrably with out going broke.
I guess lastly any recommendations on dry land activities that shouldnt be missed.
I look forward to reading any advise that you have to give.
To go from Big Island to the Arizona, your only option is flying. Hawaiian airlines and mokulele are the only two carriers doing inter-island flights at the moment. I've lived on Oahu now for five years and still have yet to go to the Arizona Memorial.
You can get a condo in Kona for $100 a night if you're not picky and then cook all your own food. This is how we do Hawaii on a budget.
Shore diving is the only inexpensive way to go, as the dive ops charge $120 for 2 tanks from a boat. We dove with Big Island Divers last time and had a good time. Be sure to book the Manta dive, its a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The Arizona Memorial tour is 75min including the boat ride and a 20min theater presentation but you can often wait up to two hours or more in line - it's pretty popular - especially in the summer. So plan your flights accordingly unless you spend the night on Oahu. IIRC - it's about a 20min. ride from the Airport to the Memorial also. Not counting traffic which there will often be in Honolulu. World War II Valor in the Pacific - World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
Volcanoes Nat'l Park is obviously the must do on the Big Island besides diving. Plan it on a non-dive day as the drive is to elevation.
You might not save anything camping since you're still going to be paying for food - pricey. And boat diving is also pricey - generally around 2dives/$100+. However there are about a dozen shore dives: Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: The Big Island, Hawaiian Islands - several operators in Kona have tank rentals.
You might look at renting an inexpensive condo on the Kona Coast instead. They're cheaper if you stay off the beach. We found some last summer that were in the $600-700/wk. range near a golf course. Several mentioned that business was down so they were offering better deals than in years past. vrbo.com lists a bunch of them. http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...st/kailua-kona
There's also a shuttle that runs all along the Kona Coast area - from the Kahuluu area north to Kona/Kailua. Because car rentals are also pricey.
Last edited by diversteve; May 28th, 2012 at 10:35 AM.
On a large pile of smokin' A'a, the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. 2,175 miles to Alaska, 2,390 miles to California; 3,850 miles to Japan; 4,900 miles to China; 5,280 miles to the Philippines.
You can get a condo in Kona for $100 a night if you're not picky and then cook all your own food. This is how we do Hawaii on a budget.
Shore diving is the only inexpensive way to go, as the dive ops charge $120 for 2 tanks from a boat. We dove with Big Island Divers last time and had a good time. Be sure to book the Manta dive, its a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Don't know anyone who has rented a camper.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2
Originally Posted by spikemn
I am starting to plan a trip the big island of Hawaii. I am thinking that renting a VW camper will be my best bet to see a lot and to not end up paying a fortune. The other thing is I want to go to the Arizona and check out the memorial also whil there.
So I am wondering if anyone else has done the VW hippie type deal and what they thought. That being said I grew up tent camping, unfortunately my girl friend is not very crazy about the idea but also understands saving $$.
any recomendations on dive sites, operations, ect. I plan on taking our own gear except for obviously tanks and weights.
any recommendations on how to get from the Big Island to the Pearl Harbour memorial preferrably with out going broke.
I guess lastly any recommendations on dry land activities that shouldnt be missed.
I look forward to reading any advise that you have to give.
I refuse to believe that corporations are people until Texas executes one.
"Too often ... people enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought" - Leapfrog
"They are the McDonalds of diver certification. Quick, inexpensive and tasty. Pardon me for saying so, but I also believe it to be a health hazard." - DCBC
"It truly does boil down to motivation ... if you believe something is hard, or unnecessary to learn, you won't learn it ... even if it's completely within your capability" - Bob (Grateful Diver)
I did this, didn't like it. I will NOT recommended. There are just better ways to enjoy the scenic. The thing is that you are NOT biking on a bike trail in the forrest, natural trail ... Nothing like that. You are biking on the main road to the top of the mountain. There is no difference if you are just driving. And because biking tour take a few hours, you are not likely to spend enough time at the top of the mountain. Probably not long enough for the fog to clear up before you have to head down. So unless you like biking, I will spend my time doing something else.
5Likes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Visiting Hawto Hawaii
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by RoatanMan
Facebook 
Quero
