Heading To Hawaii In September. My Question Is Do We Snorkel Or Dive In Oahu?o

[AstridWilson]

Heading to Hawaii in September. My question is do we snorkel or Dive in Oahu?

Keep in mind, I love to Dive, but also love the freedom that Snorkeling gives you. No gear, no time limits. My hubbie is an air sucker, so I dive a smaller tank and still have more air than him when we are done. We are bringing, fins, masks, computers and snorkels but not bringing BCs or regulators so we would have to rent those. Question is for Day 4 in Oahu.

Hawaii Plans are 1 week Cruise followed by 4 nights in Waikiki Beach at The Royal Hawaiian Resort, followed by 4 nights on the big Island. All reservations have been booked. Planning Itineraries now.

Here are my plans for Oahu .

Day 1 - Saturday: Disembark Cruise Ship. Get rental car. Head to Hotel. Hang out at Beach.

Day 2 - Sunday: Pearl Harbor (Arizona Memorial Visitors Center), down town Honolulu, China Town & Ali’iolani Hale.

Day 3 - Monday: Snorkel Hanauma Bay (closed on Tuesday); Halona Blowhole Lookout, Diamond Head crater, Queens beach or Queens Surf (Waikiki Marine Life Conservation district) to snorkel.

Day 4 - Tuesday: North Shore drive, snorkel or shore dive Shark Cove?? Snorkel or Dive Three Tables. Snorkel Kahe Point.

 

[tursiops]

I responded in your other thread about exposure protection. Given the sites you list here, some full body protection is a good idea....you're likely to get tossed around a bit on entries and exits, And I would snorkel them, not dive them, if only to be able to keep an eye on my parked car, in which you should leave no valuables. Given your time on Oahu and the Big Island, I'd snorkel the former and try and dive the latter...but go out on a boat, it can be really good.

 

[AstridWilson]

We do plan to do the manta ray dive on the big island

 

[tursiops]

We do plan to do the manta ray dive on the big island

That's a good one. Awesome, in fact. Take a look at the Pelagic Magic drifting night dive in depth water.

 

[scottitheduck]

Happy to help if you are looking for a boat dive on the South Shore......

AM Boat is one of the deeper wrecks like the Sea Tiger or the YO 257 then a shallow reef

PM Boat is generally two shallow reefs in the 30 to 60 foot range. Good variety of life on all dives and you can generally expect to see turtles, eel, octopus and the occasional ray or shark!

We own and operate our own private 6 passenger boat. Please take a look at our video link below to get a feel for what we do and what a day of diving is like aboard our boat. Mahalo!

G

 

[scubadada]

Happy to help if you are looking for a boat dive on the South Shore......

AM Boat is one of the deeper wrecks like the Sea Tiger or the YO 257 then a shallow reef

PM Boat is generally two shallow reefs in the 30 to 60 foot range. Good variety of life on all dives and you can generally expect to see turtles, eel, octopus and the occasional ray or shark!

We own and operate our own private 6 passenger boat. Please take a look at our video link below to get a feel for what we do and what a day of diving is like aboard our boat. Mahalo!

G

Hi Astrid,

I suggest going diving with Kaimana Divers. I have visited Oahu 3 times on business and have gotten in some diving each time, 31 dives. The Sea Tiger and the YO 257, with or without the San Pedro are a blast. The reef dives are fun, especially the turtle cleaning station(s) and the fish you don't see in Florida or the Caribbean. I love diving, I would not pass on this opportunity.

The operator I used, 2006-9, is no longer in business. Kaimana has a great reputation and the six-pack is very attractive. The boat looks very comfortable in the video. The water in Hawaii is cooler than many people expect, mid to high 70s. I wear a 5mm and a hooded vest, for a few dives I'd be fine in a 3mm instead.

Good diving, Craig

 

[Oldbear]

Why not do both...spend a day diving and a day snorkeling. Both are unique and rewarding. I have only heard good times about Kaimana. I was scheduled to dive with them but at the last minute had to leave Honolulu, but I did dive the Sea Tiger and saw 6 nice sea turtles and one huge eel.

 

[scottitheduck]

Yeah Michael....... Bummer it didn't work out this time around. Give me a shout if you are planning a return trip.

Mahalo!

G

 

[Rocknrone]

I would do one day diving on oahu and two or three on the big island.
On Oahu we saw turtles and wrecks. My wife likes the pretty fishes so we cancelled our other diving days and went snorkeling instead. Sharks cove and hanauma bay are nice. We easily saw more fish snorkeling.

Loved the big island for diving. Manta ray and the night dive are very popular.
If your looking for a cultural "aloha" experience stay topside on Oahu, dont forget the International Market for your trinkets.
If you want a cool diving experience hit the big island for that. We did four dives a day at $10 a day for tank rentals. I'm sure all the shops are great, we went through Big Island Divers.

Lastly, if you dive Oahu.....go with Scottitheduck.....he's the coolest.

 

[AstridWilson]

Where do we rent gear and tanks if we decide to shore dive Shark Cove or Three Tables??