Completely clueless about Hawaii

[Wijbrandus]

My wife and I are wanting to go somewhere other than the Caribbean this fall, and Hawaii came up.

I've browsed the Hawaii forum here a bit, but I've still got some questions.

When is the best time to visit Hawaii? Our plan is for sometime in Oct or November. Is this still a good time?

There is a direct flight from Denver to Honolulu, so that's where we are most likely going to land. Makes a seven hour flight out of what would otherwise be a 12 hour (or more) day. Is it easy to get a hop to the other islands? I have visions of TC's chopper in my head (Magnum PI).

What island has the best boat diving? We were thinking Maui, but being clueless, we are open to suggestions. Shore diving we are not so keen on. Did some of that in Monterey CA, and are a bit less than excited about surf entry, but maybe a shore dive or two there can change our minds.

Boat diving seems to be a bit pricey. Is $120 for a two-tank pretty typical? I can pay it if it is, but it's a good bit higher than what we are used to. I don't want to fall for the tourist trap pricing, but I'm quite willing to pay fair market value out there.

Most of our diving has been the typical 80/80 Caribbean stuff. How is Hawaii different? I know there's a lot more fish to see and fish we'll never see anywhere else. Is the water much colder?

Are there any dive sites that non-locals should probably avoid? I read the story about the Spitting Caves - any others to be wary of? Molokini looks very nice, but how difficult is the back wall?

We've got some experience with current and heavy (but still divable) seas. What are typical sea conditions like? Should I be packing lots of dramamine?

Thanks for any advice you care to dispense.

 

[Wildcard]

Maui has awsome boat dives and the back wall is not difficult at all but you do need to know what your doing. Big Isle has great shore diving, not like your past experence. Owning a boat on the big isle I still shore dove moat of the time it was so easy and good. Most flights go through LA but you can look online to see for sure. Lots of hops available with yet another airline in the business. Cheap tickets, even free one day!
When you pick an island or islands, I can fill you in on the bad spots, if there are any.
Fall is nice as it has cooled off some but it can storm at any time so it's just a crap shoot as far as month.
Aloha

 

[artusor]

Hawaii is one of my favorite places. It is also what got me into diving (via a Discover SCUBA program), but I have not been diving there since I became certified, so I'll have to leave specifics about diving to others.

As far as times, weather there is good most any time. Winters your daytime temps are usually up in the 70s, so if you're from a cold part of the world that can be a great change. Summers are usually fairly mild (more likely mid 80s than mid 90s). I find summer there nicer than home (NY- Long Island).

You can easily fly short hops between islands on either Aloha or Hawaiian air. Personally, I find all of the islands slightly different so on my vacations there I generally split time between islands. It is possible to fly in from the mainland to most of the islands. Also, the airlines relax there rule about flying to/from the same destination for a "round Trip" ticket. To hawaii you can fly into one island and home from another and your still OK.

For my money, I prefer Kauai and Maui to Oahu, but thats personal preference. Just PLEASE dont just stay in Waikiki and say youve been to Hawaii. You get a different flavor from the other islands. Personally, because of how long flights are from NY I prefer to fly with a connection, it does allow me time to stretch my legs between flights.

As far as diving, as I said don't consider me an expert, but the water temps there are slightly cooler than the Caribean. Also, the reefs are not quite as big/varied as some of the better know Carribean spots. But, if your looking for somplace with topside activities, and some diving too, I'm not sure how Hawaii can be beat.

I know you'll have agreat trip any time you go.

 

[TSandM]

I've only dived Maui of the Hawaiian Islands, but I'd say from three trips' experience, don't write off shore diving! I am not a surf entry person (I've done a grand total of two, and one got me knocked down) but I've had so much fun shore diving on Maui that this last trip, we only went out on a boat once. Since the boats ARE expensive, this made the trip much more palatable from a financial standpoint.

The reefs around Maui are not as lush with invertebrates as the reefs in the Virgins Islands are, nor are they as colorful, but you see large animals like sharks and turtles on almost every dive. And there is the added interest that so many species of fish are unique to the islands.

And Maui has its own SB local guide, kidspot, and he's a great guy who knows the shore diving well. And he's really fun to dive with!

 

[limeyx]

My wife and I are wanting to go somewhere other than the Caribbean this fall, and Hawaii came up.

I've browsed the Hawaii forum here a bit, but I've still got some questions.

When is the best time to visit Hawaii? Our plan is for sometime in Oct or November. Is this still a good time?

There is a direct flight from Denver to Honolulu, so that's where we are most likely going to land. Makes a seven hour flight out of what would otherwise be a 12 hour (or more) day. Is it easy to get a hop to the other islands? I have visions of TC's chopper in my head (Magnum PI).

What island has the best boat diving? We were thinking Maui, but being clueless, we are open to suggestions. Shore diving we are not so keen on. Did some of that in Monterey CA, and are a bit less than excited about surf entry, but maybe a shore dive or two there can change our minds.

Boat diving seems to be a bit pricey. Is $120 for a two-tank pretty typical? I can pay it if it is, but it's a good bit higher than what we are used to. I don't want to fall for the tourist trap pricing, but I'm quite willing to pay fair market value out there.

Most of our diving has been the typical 80/80 Caribbean stuff. How is Hawaii different? I know there's a lot more fish to see and fish we'll never see anywhere else. Is the water much colder?

Are there any dive sites that non-locals should probably avoid? I read the story about the Spitting Caves - any others to be wary of? Molokini looks very nice, but how difficult is the back wall?

We've got some experience with current and heavy (but still divable) seas. What are typical sea conditions like? Should I be packing lots of dramamine?

Thanks for any advice you care to dispense.

Maui is gorgeous in october (well, any time of year really
But watch out. We were there in oct one year and someone mentioned that Hawaii equiv of Mardi Gras was happening in a weeks time where hell seemed to be descending on the island (although lots of girls with their boobies out can't be an entirely bad thing

The back wall is cool. You can do a swim or a drift dive, and we maxed out at about 90 feet. Also plenty of turtles, a decent wreck by Kihei (St Anthony) and lanai is close.

The whole place seemed quite uncrowded the two times I've been there. Highly recommended.

Sea out to molokini can get a bit bumpy (I've seen people feeding the fish on the way out)

Plenty of good shore diving too.

 

[skierbri10]

I would rather fly on go! for the island hops, newer planes and faster service.

 

[ronrosa]

.......
Most of our diving has been the typical 80/80 Caribbean stuff. How is Hawaii different? I know there's a lot more fish to see and fish we'll never see anywhere else......

I like the diving in Hawaii a lot. To me, Kona edges out Maui, mainly because of the incredible manta ray night dive.

You won't see colorful coral or plant life. You will see plenty of fish life, eels, turtles, mantas, sharks. Temps are a little colder than Caribbean, figure mid to high 70's.

Want to know the differences ? See for yourself. I have scuba videos from Maui and Kona on my website. Click the link in my sig.

 

[ch0ppersrule]

NICE videos ronrosa.

Oahu has nice diving, but you might possibly like it better in Kona or on Maui. I dive in a 5mil (year round), but I get cold fast.

Melissa

 

[Wildcard]

Yes she does! ya ready to dive again ? Having lived on the big three, Maui is pretty and touresty (humm) oahu sucks but it has pretty good wreck diving and big isle just rocks. So much to do above and below.

 

[justleesa]

...oahu sucks...

:shakehead :shakehead You forgot to mention the great dive buddies that are available on Oahu....