Has anyone been on Kona Aggressor?

[SeaHound]

I am planning a dive vacation early next year and was looking into liveaboards. To me liveaboards make most sense when they get you to diving not accessible by land. In other words if I can dive Belize by land and
liveaboard, I would do land because why would I want to miss the Mayan ruins??? Is Kona Aggressor worth it? Or does the ship get you the same quality of diving you would get while staying on land in Hawaii? Id
love to hear from those who have had the opportunity to explore Hawaii both from liveaboard as well as land.

Thanks -

S H

 

[Doubler]

I have dove the Kona Aggressor and it goes a far south as you can go in Hawaii. No day boats go down that far. It also goes to some of the more popular sites, like the Manta night dive. It is okay I guess but I much prefer the Cayman or Belize Aggressor. Hawaii diving is very bland landscape wise, has some unusual critters, so if small critters is your thing you will be in heaven. Also you can stay Internet connected for almost the entire cruise.

 

[ron_cooper]

I was on there last year just after the islands were getting high waves from a storm. The surge was quite strong so it was a different experience for me. Swinging anywhere from four to eight feet was a challege. The dive sites were O.K. but didn't see much for larger creatures. We were able to do the five dives a day if you wanted, the staff was great and the food acceptable. There was beer for at night , but I didn't like the beer at all. It was on tap and bitter to me. I prefer a good bottled Canadian beer.
The one thing I thought was strange was. For the night Manta dive they rely on other operations to set up the light boxes. The Mantas never did shoe up, probably because of the high surge we were having. In all though I would do it again if the chance came up.

 

[birdwrasse]

i've been on it... good outfit and the food is good. manta dive was great!


--c

 

[robertarak]

Awesome boat and crew. I went last year and had a great time!

 

[smellzlikefish]

I've heard nothing but good things about the Aggressor but the fact is, Kona is pretty awesome in general. Some of its dive sites are further south than most shops will go. Are these sites worth it? That's debatable, however, it doesn't take you to the volcano or Mauna Kea.

 

[Mossman]

I am planning a dive vacation early next year and was looking into liveaboards. To me liveaboards make most sense when they get you to diving not accessible by land. In other words if I can dive Belize by land and
liveaboard, I would do land because why would I want to miss the Mayan ruins???

Unless you only have a week to spare, you don't have to miss the Mayan ruins. And the Mayan ruins are far from good diving. The liveaboards ply the offshore atolls which aren't easily accessible from land unless you're staying out there (and if you're staying out there, you might as well be on a liveaboard because there are no Mayan ruins on the atolls).

Another reason for doing a liveaboard even in a place like Palau where most of the dive sites are accessible by day boat (albeit with longer boat rides) is to maximize diving: liveaboard offer commonly offer 4-5 dives a day, something often difficult or impossible to do with a day operation. Finally, liveaboards offer convenience since everything is right there, especially for the u/w photographer who often has access to excellent photo facilities only a few feet from the ladder.

The Kona Aggressor does visit sites not accessible by land, but how much they vary from sites that are accessible from land is the question. I think the assets of the Kona Aggressor are more the ones I listed above: more diving per day and much more convenient than land-based. Also, given the costs of Hawaii hotels, food, and diving, the liveaboard might be a good deal to boot.

 

[joewr]

I have dove the Kona Aggressor and it goes a far south as you can go in Hawaii. No day boats go down that far. It also goes to some of the more popular sites, like the Manta night dive. It is okay I guess but I much prefer the Cayman or Belize Aggressor. Hawaii diving is very bland landscape wise, has some unusual critters, so if small critters is your thing you will be in heaven. Also you can stay Internet connected for almost the entire cruise.

Hi,

Actually, some dive shops in Kailua-Kona do go down south. Jack's has a 3-tank Advanced Dive which features some of the same sites the Kona Agressor frequents. However (And this is a big "HOWEVER"), it is a long boat ride and a long day. But if you do not want to spend a week on a liveaboard and want to head south from Kailua-Kona, consider Jack's. Besides Jack's we used Sandwich Isle for those dives, but it is a special dive for them and usually it takes 5-6 divers "chartering" the boat.

The Mantaray dives are done by several shops in Kailua-Kona, including Sandwich Isle, Jack's, and Big Island Divers, inter alia. It is a very neat dive and you will avoid the expense of going Yap!:shocked2:

Re the diving in Hawaii and the "scenary": Hawaii is not the Carib and there is precious little soft coral on Hawaiian reefs. I am told that this is due to the nature of the current. However, the hard coral has its moments and is beautiful in its own right. Also, you really do not see many huge fish off Kona...the occasional shark shows up along with a spotted eagle ray or two. And dolphins are often seen "escorting" dive boats, but in the main, you should expect small to medium size fish. That said, a school of raccoon butterflies can be as breath-taking a sight as a meandering nurse shark off Cozumel...

joewr...Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono...Yep!

 

[ScubaScottNYC]

Aggressor definately worth it. Crew was great, and my diving was waaay better than any of the reports I've heard from land based (and I work in a dive shop, so I hear a lot of stories) divers.

Plus, using your Belize example: You'd be missing the Mayan ruins anyway if you stayed on the Cayes to be close to the reefs and atolls, so make sure you plan a couple extra days in on The Big Island to see the Observatories and the Lava Flows (each a day trip to themselves), etc...

And the Aggressor crew is the best of the best when it comes to Hawaiian dive masters, and boat operators, etc... I know crews change, but the crew that took us out was amazing, and I'm sure they always keep high standards.

Good luck, and SAFE DIVING!

 

[Woodiver]

We've been to both locations. Belize only one but that was enough, we were on the Wavedancer in 2000 but found the diving OK at best, typical Caribbean diving. Hawaii offers the chance to see dolphins and mantas but the hard corals are very mono colored. As others have posted, some operator’s offer extended range trips, long three tank day trips which can get you to some of the mid southern sites but not as far as you can get on the Aggressor. Hawaii, especially the Big Island, has so much to offer other than diving, Volcano, Mauna Kea, waterfall’s, etc. other than diving. You should check it out.

Have you considered other Pacific locations? Fiji is an easy 10hr night flight out of LAX and the diving is on a different scale compared to Belize or Hawaii and the people are wonderful.

Flickr: woodiver15's Photostream