Charter Co. Question on Big Island

[off the grid]

Will be on the Big Island late in the month and was planning on using a variety of charter companies for dives. We are thinking about Honu Sports, Kona Honu Divers, and possibly others. Looking for reviews and suggestions.

Thanks

 

[jameseg]

My wife and I dove with Kona Dive Company when we were there in 2015. We had a great experience - the crew we had were terrific, full of energy and enthusiasm. Among other things, they pointed out a harlequin shrimp and frog fish that we never would have found on our own. I would use them again in a heartbeat. I've dove with other companies in the past, including Kona Honu, but it's been way too long to post any kind of review. All were good experiences, though, so I don't think you can go too wrong.

James

 

[AquamanKauai]

As an Instructor here in Hawaii for almost 20 years I've dove extensively on all the islands. While six pack operations aren't the norm on Big Isle we have been diving with several larger boat there. With your experience I think you would enjoy Pacific Rim Divers. They are the only company that we dove with that allowed us "to dive our bottles." We we happily allowed to do two 90 minute dives! That's certainly bang for the buck. We didn't expect (and never do) to be able to do over 1 hour on the dives - and were thrilled to have a guide that was happy to spend the time with us.

As another thought for you - look into Diving Bell Scuba. Chad is GREAT and leads a number of dives from the shore. That sometimes means compromising vis or being more work.....but not on Big Isle. A number of great boat dives there are easily/safely done from shore with an expert local guide. Give them a call and see what they have to offer. It can be a big money savings as well - and it sure is nice to have the personal touch of small/private groups.

 

[AZTinman]

In my experience, the dive ops out of Kona tend to use the same dive sites and dive similar profiles. If you're considering using different Kona-based boat operations to achieve a variety of different dive locations, you'll likely see boats from the operations you've listed at the sites you are diving. A search of the Hawaii forum will get you a lot of dive op reviews.

AZTinman

 

[KauaiScuba]

Another vote for "Diving Bell Scuba"!

 

[off the grid]

Thanks for the info everyone!

 

[NorCalDM]

Kona Honu Divers and Big Island Divers are both very good but I would pay a little extra and go on their advanced trips "less Divers on board". Blue Wilderness are fun and they use a RIB out of the Puako boat ramp. Kahala Divers is another good outfit that is usually the only boat at the dive sites they use north of Kona.

 

[AZTinman]

Diving with Kahala Divers on the north end of the Big Island is exceptional. Great dive sites and no crowds.

-AZTinman