diving Hawaii - how is it??

[Juergen_187]

Vanuatu is a remarkably adventurous totally unique place on many levels, including the diving. There is a recent thread on it here on SB. I love and live on Hawaii but would pick Vanuatu (or Fiji or Palau) over it any day unless you're needing/wanting a packaged typical tourist experience in a First World country with all the medical, travel and infrastructure implications.

Having said that there is good diving in Hawaii and occasionally great animal experiences but the reefs are impoverished compared to Fiji or Palau or Indonesia (Komodo blows it away). Vanuatu's reefs are better than Hawaii but not as good as other places like Fiji but it also has the Coolidge, Million Dollar Pt, fresh water Blue Holes, an accessible amazing erupting volcano, an amazing diversity of tribal culture and a choice of remote adventure or developed "spoiled" civilization (sometimes a bit of both simultaneously.) Vanuatu is a new nation, rough around the edges to say the least, comprised of many tribes and expats and developing in fits and starts. Australia and New Zealand are helping out. The diving operations seem to be all run by Australians and are quite professional imho. Guides are usually locals and they're great too so I always felt safe diving, You absolutely need guides to dive the immense Coolidge.

I'm diving here on the Big Island regularly (in the next 8 hours) and enjoy it greatly. It's a beautiful place. Very convenient from the US mainland and has great reliable flight connections with Japan/Asia. (Scoot airlines ) I have encountered whale sharks, Mantas (of course) hammerheads, lots of dolphins, tons of eels and nice fish life. However, that is from tons of diving and except for the common mantas you might or might not see those things on vacation. (Whale Sharks are very unusual,) Moreover, Hawaii is biologically isolated by vast distance and is too far from the coral triangle (or any other reef systems) and a bit too far north to have Fiji level diversity. We have only a few coral species, for example, and they're beat up in many places. Fish species are far less diverse than Fiji etc.- larval stages often can't make the 2500 mile journey so they never got to Hawaii.

my 2 cents.

Thanks, you seem to know all the places on our list!

Well, Palau and Fiji, we've been just there in the past years...after Sipadan and various places in the Philippines....hard to find new places that can still awe you. Komodo and Raja Ampat would be great options, too...Indonesia is still kind of a blank spot on my diving map, probably because I was not overwhelmed by Bali (underwater! otherwise beautiful) and Lembeh (I'm not a macro fetishist).

From your post Vanuatu seems really exciting as we're also looking for adventures on land and would actually prefer a place that doesn't feel very developed. I'll give it a thorough check...thanks again!

Cheers

Juergen

 

[Juergen_187]

As stated above, Hawai'i is a different experience from the coral triangle. I personally love diving the Big Island and Kaua'i (especially Ni'ihau), but you have to set your expectations accordingly. There is a high degree of endemism in the Hawaiian islands - you'll see critters here that you won't find anywhere else in the world. The appeal of Hawai'i for me is that it offers more than just diving - there is a ton to do on land as well as in the water.

You may want to post your questions over on the Hawai'i board, as quite a few locals frequent it and can offer helpful tips.

Hawai'i

Thanks! I'll check it out.

 

[Juergen_187]

Hawaii is a beautiful and interesting place to visit above water. And there is some nice diving, unique in many ways. If I were based in Hong Kong, I doubt I would go there for a trip meant primarily for diving, given all the other options in the region. But I might go if I were interested in visiting the place in general. If you decide to dive there, I think it helps if you know what to expect (or not) and appreciate whats there like the volcanic features, endemic fish, and a good shot at some big stuff. And not expect too much of the coral.

...exactly, we consider Hawaii, because it's also interesting on land, we're looking for a good balance. Which places you find best to dive?

 

[Juergen_187]

Ni'ihau is worth the trip if you can make it. It's more of a geology dive but there are critters there to. When we went we saw sandbar sharks, one large blacktip shark, monk seals, and some of the endemic fish species.

When we went diving on Maui we mostly ended up diving off of Lanai with Extended Horizons. There seemed to be more fish there than anywhere else in Hawaii and I've been diving off of every major island in the chain at least once, and lived on Oahu for four years.

The Big Island also has it's charms both for geology and fish. We saw a tiger shark on one dive, monk seal on another. Caught a glimpse of a manta ray on a night dive. Some of the sites Jack's Diving Locker goes on their extended range trips are pretty pristine.

thanks for these details, interesting!

 

[outofofficebrb]

If you are in Hong Kong, you are within striking distance of the coral triangle and I would think you are crazy if you don’t go there!

Indonesia and Philippines has much better diving than Hawaii without a doubt - and for a lot less money per tank and for food/accommodation, etc. Sipidan, Thailand are also options that are close by. Definitely Indonesia - my favorite. Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Derawan Islands, Triton Bay...so many options. Philippines comes in at second for me - Tubbataha is not to be missed.

Thailand has great topside adventure. Diving is not as good but still very good in the Similans. Great beaches and a lot of varied activities topside.