We'd love to hear some opinions on diving out of Kona and Ko' Olina.

[DukeAMO]

Hi all,

We're taking a trip to Hawaii in May, and we would appreciate a little advice to help us plan our dive sites. I've read quite a few of the threads on this forum, but I'm still a little lost.

This is an 8-night trip where we're trying to make sure everyone in the family does a few things that make them happy. That means we won't be diving all of the time; one or two diving days on the Big Island (Kona) and two days on Oahu (Ko' Olina). Grandma and Grandpa will watch our kids for us so we can get some diving in.

DH and I have 25-30 dives and AOW; DH has Rescue too. We've enjoyed many types of dives: deep rec, drift, boat, shore, wreck, night, among other things. We're hoping for sites that are distinctively Hawaiian. Big waves/swells (3+ ft) are one thing I would rather avoid, because of seasickness on the surface interval and difficult entries/exits. I'll put up with some of that for a great dive under the water, because DH loves wrecks, and I love big ocean creatures.

With four nights on the Big Island, we can dive any time on day 2, and on the morning of day 3 (with a late afternoon flight on day 4). If you had one day to dive out of Kona in May, what would you do? What if you had a day and a half? Should we focus on boat diving, shore diving, or a bit of each? What are the can't-miss dives in that area? (We plan to fit in the Manta Ray night dive for sure.)

We have four nights on Oahu as well, and we plan to dive on two days. We could do some dives out of Waikiki, since we plan to spend a day or two in that area anyway. We probably don't want to haul our whole family out of bed at 5 AM to make it to Waikiki for a 7 AM departure, though, so it would have to be later in the day. We're also wondering if the diving near Ko' Olina is nice? It would be convenient to have our dive trip start at our resort on at least one of the two days. We're not sure if most of the diving is done out of Waikiki because the diving is better there, or if Ko' Olina just has fewer dive operations because it's smaller.

So... if you were me, where would you try to dive?

 

[RickyF]

If you want to dive in the vicinity of Ko'olina, there are several operations that run out of Waianne boat harbor which is about 15 minutes from you. Ko'olina does not have any real shore dive sites. The Mahi wreck is a great dive. Waikiki has a bunch of dive operations and several great wreck dives. Normally the deep wreck dives are done early in the morning and the shallow dives are in the afternoons. Check with Gabe at Kaimana Divers. He is on Scubaboard as Scottytheduck.

 

[fisheater]

As for Kona, a Manta dive is a must. You should also see if you could do a Blackwater dive. For day dives, you could take a boat trip from the harbor or shore dive.


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[DivemasterDennis]

On Kona, the manta ray nights dive is, as fisheater says, a must. I would opt for bot dives over shore dives. CHeck out Kona Honu divers- we had great success with them on two trips to the big island.
DivemasterDennis

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

..... With four nights on the Big Island, we can dive any time on day 2, and on the morning of day 3 (with a late afternoon flight on day 4). If you had one day to dive out of Kona in May, what would you do? What if you had a day and a half? Should we focus on boat diving, shore diving, or a bit of each? What are the can't-miss dives in that area? (We plan to fit in the Manta Ray night dive for sure.)

Shore diving in Kona is great; but with your schedule you may be best doing boat dives rather than shore for the following reasons:

1. Convenience: It is more of a "valet" experience. You'll probably do 2 dives, and pretty much everything is taken care of. You'll be "guided" to the interesting fish and reef structures.

2. Ease of diving: You just flop off the back of the boat, and you are at a cool site. The same site may be accessible from the shore, but the entry / exit can range from easy to extreme. And you have to find the site, haul your gear, and be a capable underwater navigator in order to find the entry / exit point... on the Big Island, much of the coastline is lava rock, and at many dive spots there is only one safe entry point.

But there are some terrific shore dives, and I do recommend shore diving over boat diving for folks who have more time, are comfortable leading their own dives, and have good navigation skills.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[DukeAMO]

Thanks for the tips - greatly appreciated!

Can anyone comment on the quality/quantity of dive sites out of the west side of Oahu (near Ko' Olina / Waianne) vs. Waikiki? Is Waikiki's diving better in some way? I wonder if it's worth getting up at 5 AM to catch a dive out of Waikiki at 7 AM, or should we just stick with the westside diving that's close to our home base?

---------- Post added March 5th, 2014 at 04:26 PM ----------

LeadTurn, I guess I agree with you -- on a tight schedule, it's probably best to just do boat dives. Some places like Grand Cayman or the local quarry have super-easy shore diving, but it sounds like that's not the case where we're staying, anyway. I like easy diving.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Hi DukeAMO,

I really don't want to totally discourage you from shore diving. I've been diving here since the 1970's, and have maybe only done 15 or 20 boat dives; 99.9 % of my dives have been shore dives.

When I re-read my post, I made it sound like diving on the Kona side is a life-or-death undertaking, and that is not at all the case. It is very possible for you to go to a dive shop, rent tanks, get directions, and do 2 or 3 shore dives anywhere along the coast.... and the shore diving is great. It can just be more "work" than the "valet experience" you'll find boat diving with most of the dive ops.

Really, you will not go too far wrong either way.

Have a great trip!

 

[scottitheduck]

After 9 years of almost daily diving on Oahu I can honestly say that I like the West Side diving just as much as the town diving. There are ups and downs to everything I suppose but here's my take:

1) Westside has amazing topside views and a good chance of seeing whales and/or dolphins while in transit to the site.....

2) Townside has quicker boat rides and good views of Diamond Head

3) Westside has the Mahi Wreck and Makaha Caverns which seem to top most people's to do list. Other sites like Makua (Stars) and Land of Oz are awesome too as well as the smaller wrecks but unless you are a macro enthusiast or wreck kook these sites might not leave you with the WOW factor

4) Townside dives seem to have more critters and coral diversity. Lots of frogfish, eel, nudibranch, octopus and turtles. You can find these on the West Side too but it has always been more hit and miss for me. If you are looking for Eagle Rays the Mahi is THE spot on this island.

Let me know if you have further questions. I've always offered our guests charters on both sides of the island as well as shore diving on the North Shore in summer months. I always think that if you have a few days to dive it is worth it to do the town wrecks like Sea Tiger and YO 257 as well as a day on the Mahi.

A hui ho,

G

 

[DukeAMO]

As for Kona, a Manta dive is a must. You should also see if you could do a Blackwater dive. For day dives, you could take a boat trip from the harbor or shore dive.

Is a Blackwater dive something like the Pelagic Magic night dive? Pelagic Magic Black Water Night Dive | Jack's Diving Locker | Jack's Diving Locker

If that's what you mean, that does sound very cool and different. We love night dives too; they have a certain surreal feeling to them. I suppose if that was our only dive for that day, we could get away with it on the day before flying (only a 12-hour no-fly wait required, and we'd have about 18 hours). Hmmm...

 

[fisheater]

Same thing.


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