Maui dive shops

[maildiver]

We are going to Maui this year and looking for good dive operators. I am considering Maui dive shop or Maui diving in Lahania. I was also considerind tropical divers Maui, but they don't seem to want to answer e-mails or return phone calls. Has anyone dove with any of these shops? Who do you recommend, I want to do some shore dives, and also dive Molokini.

 

[diversteve]

For shorediving in the Lahaina area contact Pacific Dive. For boat diving contact Extended Horizons or Lahaina Divers. LD has a nice big boat so the ride over to Molokini (and more importantly the ride back after the tradewinds pick up) will be smoother. But they also take more divers - up to 24.

Another option is to drive to Kihei to the boat ramp and go over to Molokini with Ed Robinson's, B&B Scuba (PM Blesi Varney - one of the "B's") - or Mike Severns. It's a 45min drive each way with no traffic. But actually faster than sailing over from Lahaina.

In South Maui, two shore dive options are Maui Dreams Dive Co. and Shaka Divers who run a divebus in that area. You can also PM Shaka Doug.

Maui Dive Shop tends towards more crowded, less experienced trips. I've never heard of Maui diving, is that a diveop? It might be one of those all activities booking places, some of those will also try to sell you a timeshare...LOL.

 

[zen_man]

Just to add to what Steve has put:

My wife and I went through Hawaiian Rafting Adventure Maui Scuba Diving, Scuba Dive Equipment Maui, Hawaiian Rafting Adventures,Dive Maui,Maui Scuba Shop, Boat Dives Maui Hawaii,Maui dive shop
for our boat dives and they were great.

I had a horrible experience with gear rental through Maui Dive Shop and I will not be using them for anything, ever again. I don't have time to write the situation out because it is a long story, but it was not a pleasant experience.
That being said, I have a coworker who went on a boat dive with them and he said it was "ok" but the other shops he went through (I think it was Lahaina Divers and Extended Horizons, but I'm not 100% on that) went to better sites.

:zen:

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I've used most of the dive shops and have settled on B&B the past several years.

 

[TSandM]

I've used all three of the dive ops out of Kihei, B&B, Ed Robinson, and Mike Severns. I haven't had a bad experience with any of them, but I liked Mike Severns the best, because of the focus on marine biology.

There's also a LOT of good shore diving on Maui. In fact, after many trips, my husband and I have gotten to the point where we do no more than one day off a boat, and spend the rest of the time shore diving. My favorite shore dive is in the Lahaina area, which is the Mala ramp dive.

You might contact kidspot and see if he's available to show you some Lahaina area shore diving. For the Kihei area, Shaka Doug runs guided dives.

 

[KrisB]

sjspeck was pretty complete, though I find it difficult to recommend Lahaina Divers or Maui Dive Shop.

Lahaina Divers' trip to Molokini is *long* -- you can plan on 2 hours or more each way, whereas the Kihei operators are there in 15 minutes or so.

Also, Lahaina Divers has standardized on 72 cu ft tanks. So, unless you request a larger one (and pay extra, probably), you'll be experiencing a shorter dive... and even if your air lasts longer, they're also less relaxed than Mike Severns, Ed Robinson's, etc. and may have you come up before you're out of air or NDL.

Maui Dive Shop is a large company and your experience can vary wildly based on which boat you end up booking on and the crew that day. Their rental gear is also in the sub-par category, but their prices match the amount of marketing they do.

That said -- if you're looking for shore dive rental gear in South Maui, Maui Dreams has the best and least-expensive gear you can find in active rental (unless you're on the Scuba Shack boat). In West Maui, it's a toss-up between Lahaina Divers (good new BC's & regs, old wetsuits, small tanks) and Pacific Dive (older BC's & regs, newer wetsuits and choice of tanks). Thankfully, those two are across the street from each other and you can get half of it at each location.

 

[DiveMaven]

We've had many enjoyable dives with Lahaina Divers before, and when conditions and weather are nice, the trip to Molokini is a lot of fun. Our most recent charter with them (Christmas) to the Carthaginian was wonderful as they simply put safety divers in the water and we dove our NDL. Our second dive was to Mala Wharf and they simply told us to come back to the boat at 500psi or 55 minutes, whichever came first.....we were back in 55 minutes.

We don't typically dive with Lahaina Divers anymore simply because we feel we've "outgrown" them. They are geared toward the beginning or inexperienced diver who needs more supervision. Because of this, they rarely take a diver deeper than 65', and with the shorter surface intervals that are required, we've always found an AL72 to be adequate with them, giving us at least 45 minute dives.

Because they have those fabulous 46' Newton dive boats, we'll continue to dive with them to Lanai to have a comfortable ride both to and from the sites. After doing the crossing in a 32' boat, I can honestly say I'll compromise on some of the diving to be dry and comfortable on the boat crossing.

For Molokini (and S. Maui), we much prefer to drive down to Kihei and catch a charter out of there (we stay in Kaanapali). Our preferred operator is Ed Robinsons and we enjoy the long bottom times and freedom that they give us.

 

[Turtlepoop]

I have lived on Maui for years and my favorite dive shop is B&B Scuba. I have dealt with most of the shops and they are the best overall. Most importantly they are salt of the earth people. Friendly, caring, and really good at what they do. Small mom and pop, or in their case, husband and wife, operation. Brad and Blessie. Most of the other shops on Maui will blow smoke up your ass about how they are the best dive operation in the USA (Scuba Shack) or how THEY are the best on Maui (Maui Dive Shop). I will save you the time and energy and money of searching for the right shop. B&B Scuba in Kihei. 808-875-2861 Aloha. Oh when you call them, ask Blessie about her great white shark encounter.....

 

[ladycute1]

I'm not sure what you want in a dive operator.... but here's my opinion:

If I want to go to Lanai... I use Lahaina Divers.

For a dive shop for gear support and rental, shore diving, tanks, etc... it's Maui Dreams Dive Co (NOT to be confused with Maui Dive Shop.... it's the OTHER one with Maui in it's name.)

I haven't yet had a chance to try out Maui Dreams' new boat... but I'm looking forward to it! I like B & B, especially if I want to go early and get back with lot's of life left in the day. If you like small boats that will completely customize to your desires... Dive & Sea is good for that. Ed Robinson offers two schedules that I especially like -- a 3 tank adventure dive and an afternoon / night combination.

Enjoy!!!

Liz

 

[DiveMaven]

When did Maui Dreams get a boat??