Dive near Waikoloa or head down to Kona?

[bennyscuba]

Hello All,

I will be going to the big island at the end of the month and am just starting to think about diving. We will be staying on the north end of the kona coast at Hapuna Beach. It seems that there are group of operators in Waikoloa - however from reading it sounds like people like a bit south better. I was wondering if I was better off diving out of Kona (and driving a bit in the morning) or staying closer to home. The things I like are big fish (who doesn't) and really cool formations like lava tubes etc and always prefer a drift dive if possible. One other consideration is my wife who will be pregnant will likely come around for snorkeling so a locale that would be appealing to her would be good.

Finally, I would really like to do a manta dive - When I was on the island a few years ago the conditions weren't good for it - and it doesn't seem like any of the Waikoloa operators do it - however one does a manta snorkel. I always prefer diving with one operator if possible so was wondering if the manta diving is always a better bet closer to Kona?

Anyway, thoughts on north or south (or even operators) would be great...

Thanks,

bg

 

[spoolin01]

... my wife who will be pregnant will likely come around for snorkeling...

Have you let her in on the plans yet? She might prefer to wait until after the vacation...

The main manta site is down by the airport, so you probably don't have much choice with that one (and it's definitely one to do!). I've only done a few shore dives up near Waikoloa so I can't offer a real comparison, and I've heard good things about Kohala Divers up in Kawaihae, but don't know about the Waikoloa operators. I'd stick with a bona fide dive shop or charter op, and stay away from outfits based at the hotels, from the few of those I've seen. There is reportedly great coral at some of the Kohala boat dive sites.

The Kona operations mostly go out of the small boat harbor, just south of the airport, which can't be more than about 20 miles south of where you'll be. From there they have access to dozens of great sites. Most of the Kona sites are within swimming distance of the island downslope, so big fish and creatures are a possibility almost anywhere (this is not Maui, after all!). It may be possible, once your gear and paperwork is squared away, to skip the farther trips into town and just meet the boat at the harbor.

I go with Big Island Divers, one of the two big shops in town. Jack's Diving Locker is the other. There are also a few smaller ops that get good reviews here as well, and I just remembered - a shop across from the harbor, near Costco.

 

[bennyscuba]

Thanks for the feedback. Good to know that it is better to head down for the Manta Dives. Still may stay local for the boat dives just cause it's ~40 min to the harbor but worth considering if the fish are definitely better down there...

bg

 

[MaxBottomtime]

One of my favorite Big Island dives is Hapuna Beach. There are lots of turtles near the hotel, and the south side of the beach has coral heads that stretch perpendicular from the shore. With a fresh water shower, easy entry and a snack bar it is the easiest dive on the island.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Puako is a very short drive south from Hapuna, and has an extensive reef with easy shore access. Collapsed lave tubes, swim thru's, and at depth a sand flat with garden eels (about 80' or so).

I shore dive Puako, but have also seen dive boats moored there at one of the permanent buoys.... not sure which dive company, but possibly out of Waikoloa?

And of course Kona provides a lot of opportunity for either boat or shore dives.

Have fun!

 

[Tunaman68]

Shore dives at Puako were some of our favorite dives of the whole trip! Save your boat money and call Jackson at Pricing | Dive Puako Hawaii

He'll show you some great dives, and you don't need to set foot on a boat to do it!! Manta dive is awesome and must be done by boat, but that drive from Hapuna to the harbor BLOWS IMHO.

Have Fun!

 

[RockyHeap]

Going to be diving Kona this next week, enjoy a GoPro moment from my last Kona Aggressor live-aboard..........

the manta dive can get very very crowded on day trip boats, as well as on the bottom...I enjoy the Black Water Pelagic Magic dive almost more than the Mantas........

https://vimeo.com/63344312

 

[Chocoholic]

We dove with Blue Wilderness Divers in the Queen's Shops at Waikoloa Beach area. They do a manta night dive but they don't start until around 7pm when all the other boats are quitting. We were the ONLY dive boat in the area and the mantas were surrounding just us, it was awesome! We also did several days of diving with them and did some really good dive sites in the Puako area and along the coast there. The lava tubes were so much fun.

---------- Post added October 9th, 2013 at 08:29 PM ----------

I dove four days in the Kona area out of Honokohau Harbor last year and I liked the diving there too. The sites up in Waikoloa area have fewer divers visiting so are more pristine.

 

[jonhall]

I dove several days this past Feb. with Jack's Diving Locker in Kona. Could meet at the shop and ride with them to boat or meet them at the Honokohau Harbor as mentioned in earlier posts. We did the latter so we weren't waiting around and could hurry off after diving for other adventures! Never dove with anyone else, but would recommend Jack's Diving Locker...nice boats.....nice, knowledgeable people. They also have a pool at their store where you can try out new gear.

We also did the Manta dives through Jack's. We did the snorkeling because one of our group is not a certified diver. To be honest, I don't think you can go wrong snorkeling or diving to see the Mantas. The only disadvantage to snorkeling is it can seem crowded because it is such a popular activity, but I took great pictures and video anyway.

To answer your question though, the diving was good south of where you will be for big animals. Saw a couple of sharks, a monk seal, and my highlight, about 100 spinner dolphins swimming by! Also able to swim through a few lava tubes.

Have a great time!

 

[acooper]

A second on Blue Wilderness, Dave and Denise are great to dive with. They usually launch at the Puako or Kawaihae ramps, both within minutes of Hapuna. I prefer north out of Kawaihae, do Horseshoe and the caves! Dove with Dave last weekend there, a nice day on the water.

Puako can be done easily from shore, End-of-Road is a favorite with local divers, with good reason. Do some boat, do some shore, either way you will do pretty well.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msi...l=19.937205,-155.803986&spn=0.923042,1.058807