Diving Kauai Feb 2005

[MO-Diver]

Hi
I'll be in Kauai Feb. 12-17 and was looking at diving options there. I'll be traveling solo on that leg of the trip, so not only looking for advice, but perhaps a dive partner as well! I've read about "Blue Dolphin" tours that have excursions up the Napali coastline with snorkeling and diving ... any knowledge or opinions of this company? Also, I know the waves are likely to be more rough in winter - how is the diving in Feb.?

Thanks for any advice about diving Kauai!

 

[Wildcard]

It can be kinda crappy that time of year, or it can be great. I don't know the operators up there so no help with that. Good luck.

 

[BDub]

Generally, in the winter time you're going to be confined to the south end (Poipu). The north end and the Napali coast are usually way too rough for diving/snorkeling that time of year. I was there last Feb and stayed up north, the weather was beautiful, but there was no way we could dive up there. Ended up going to the south end every day (about an hour drive) to dive.

As far as ops go, Bubbles Below have a very good reputation, but I can't speak for them personally as we only did shore dives while there.

Have fun!

 

[pigletfish]

Ditto the above posters -- we dove Kauai in March and the Poipu sites were the only option; too rough everywhere else. Water temp was about 72 degrees. But Kauai is lovely and has great hiking as well -- have fun!

 

[MO-Diver]

Hey thanks for the information -- shore diving off Poipu sounds like an excellent option for me. I'll check out Bubbles Below, or if there are any others that have good reputations, please let me know.
THANKS!!

 

[r37691]

A buddy of mine has been working as an instructor for Blue Dolphin for over a year now. He just came back for the holidays, & brought some great pics of the diving there. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

 

[scuba jeff]

Hey, I dove Kauai in Oct 2003,

The two dive ops with the best reputation are Bubbles Below and Fathom Five Divers.
We went with Fathom Five and they were great the whole time. I understand Bubbles Below is for the more advanced divers and when we called, they were rude. So, we called Fathom Five and they were great. In Oct, water was 78 and vis was about 50 to 60 feet but they said it was usually better. let me know if you have any questions.
If you buy the book, "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook" (or just read it at Borders), they have a write up of about 10 dive ops.

 

[scubanimal]

I've done 4-5 trips to Kauai over the past five years and logged about 60 dives there, and have enjoyed the diving. I have tried most of the outfits on the island and like most folks have an opinion. I really liked Bubbles Below, their diving is off of port Allen and mostly drift dives, very nice and different from some of the other dives.

The original Fathom Five outfit was awful, last out first in, and did not listen to their customers at all. They were taken over by Ocean Concepts ( I think ?). While much nicer and more in tune with requests, the daily routine and most of the dive masters were the same, but its been 2 years since I went with them, so maybe they improved.

SeaSport was my favorite all around. Its the wrong time of year for it but the forbidden island is a great adventure. I recommend these guys highly.

Dive Kauai, was horrible, I would never recommend them to anyone.

Koala Landing (SP?) is an easy shore dive, be sure to go westernly vice east. Makes a nice night dive as well.

Happy diving!

 

[scuba jeff]

The original Fathom Five outfit was awful, last out first in, and did not listen to their customers at all. They were taken over by Ocean Concepts ( I think ?). While much nicer and more in tune with requests, the daily routine and most of the dive masters were the same, but its been 2 years since I went with them, so maybe they improved.

You are correct, Fathom Five had a terrible reputation, then they were bought by Ocean Quest and from what I have read and experienced, they are a good outfit now. I cannot speak about how they were before, but I have heard they were horrible. Give them another try, we really enjoyed our dives with them.

 

[kfds]

Go with Fathom Five. Ask for Kevin Mince as your guide. The guy was great. Best diving experience my fiance (she's been diving for a couple of years) and I have had (I'm fresh off of my OW).

Small boats = small groups. There were only three of us on a 6-man boat.

They do things right. They handle 100% of your gear, including your bring-along dry stuff. You'll gear up on the edge of the boat from your drop in position. You'll remove your gear in the water at the edge of the boat. No struggling to get in or out of the water. Can't tell you how much energy you don't waste as a result. My experience has been that I use more energy getting into the water and back on the boat than I do diving. All that was removed. The "gear portion" was down right pleasant.

Kevin knows the reef, communicates extremely well, and is very patient. From one NOOB to another, spring for an underwater camera too. He'll make sure you see everything that you want to, upclose.