Help needed!!!! Kona advanced or not?

[mrbeast1414]

Hey guys,

Coming up in April my family and I are traveling to Kona, Hawaii. This is my first time to Hawaii and first time to warm, tropical diving (I got certified in Monterey). I have an advanced certification from diving in Monterey that I got recently.

In Hawaii, I am planning on diving with Jack's Diving Locker. I have two days to dive, since I have to allow time for flying there and back. I am planning on doing the Manta Ray two tank dive Monday Night (I heard this is a must see) and then on Tuesday, I am more undecided....

I am leaning towards the 3-tank advanced because I feel like I would experience Hawaii and its diving more than just a few hour classic dive with 10-15 other divers...

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Also has anyone done the advanced dives?

Thanks!!

 

[fisheater]

Hey guys,

Coming up in April my family and I are traveling to Kona, Hawaii. This is my first time to Hawaii and first time to warm, tropical diving (I got certified in Monterey). I have an advanced certification from diving in Monterey that I got recently.

In Hawaii, I am planning on diving with Jack's Diving Locker. I have two days to dive, since I have to allow time for flying there and back. I am planning on doing the Manta Ray two tank dive Monday Night (I heard this is a must see) and then on Tuesday, I am more undecided....

I am leaning towards the 3-tank advanced because I feel like I would experience Hawaii and its diving more than just a few hour classic dive with 10-15 other divers...

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Also has anyone done the advanced dives?

Thanks!!

You should fine on a Jack's advanced dive. You'll be amazed at how much easier buoyancy control is in warm, clear waters. You'll also likely be disappointed in the general skill level of the warm-water, only-on-when-on-annual-vacation divers.

I took my AOW in Hawaii, after only five Monterey/North Coast dives and felt like a buoyancy god. Got back home and was still struggling.

 

[merxlin]

+1 on the above. Enjoy the warm water and great viz. Our conditions on the west coast are quite challenging compared to most.

 

[Lopaka]

then on Tuesday, I am more undecided....

I am leaning towards the 3-tank advanced because I feel like I would experience Hawaii and its diving more than just a few hour classic dive with 10-15 other divers...

Couple thoughts. First off, the 3-tank does not go out that often as I recall, should call Jack's about the day you have in mind to see if they can arrange a trip that day. It is not cheap. They can also tell you if it is a good idea for the freshly certified.

Second thought, if you looked through recent posts, you will see what the 2-tank advanced vs. standard trips entail. If you have not dived Kona, I suspect you would be amazed at what you see on just the basic dives. Just ask the captain to go to sites with known abundant fish.

The dives are not a big herd of the whole boat chugging along, but broken into groups depending on perceived skill. You suit up at staggered times as well as go into the water separately. Only time I felt irritated with the crowd was when snorkeling kids were on board and got in the way, clogged things up, took forever to jump in while we sweated, etc. Ask for no snorkelers on your trip. Students are not an issue, they go elsewhere.

 

[Jack'sDivingLocker]

Aloha! We look forward to diving with you. Give Jack's a ring and ask for Angela. I can help you determine which trip would be the best fit for you. I did post a description of the differences between our advanced trips and our classic trips...so you can try to find that.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Mahalo, Angela

 

[Jack'sDivingLocker]

Just so you don't have to hunt down that previous post...here is a copy of it.

On our classic 2-tank morning dive we take a wide range of experience levels. It's a great trip for everyone. There are a ton of dives sites from which to choose, so if you haven't done a lot of diving in Kona, this is an excellent option. We do our best to group people according to experience. We wouldn't put you in a group with students who are doing their open water training or an intro dive (unless you request it...which people sometimes do!). So on a typical day we might have a group of students, a group of divers who have done 20-50 dives, and a group of divers who have done hundreds or even thousands of dives. We tie up to a mooring and do our first dive to 60-ish, then relocate and do another dive in 30-50-ish. We offer this trip every day.

On our advanced trips we ask that divers be comfortable and have been diving fairly recently. We have more details on the prerequisites on our website. We extend the range of sites to further north or south, though we may also dive local sites. 130 is the max depth...but usually we only go to around 115 or so. We can sometimes do a drift or live boat dive. We would not have intros or open water students. We have more flexibility in where we go and what we do. We offer these trips by request with a minimum of four divers.

The advanced trips are not necessarily better than the classic trips...they are a different style of trip.

My advice...If you haven't done a lot of diving in Kona, I would recommend a day or two of classic dives, a 2-tank sunset/night manta dive, and if you fit within the prerequisites, an advancecd 3-tank and a-tank pelagic magic

 

[merxlin]

BTW- I had a great time diving with Jack's when we were there 2 years ago.

 

[scubamarketing]

The 3 tank dive is great, more intimate and shouldn't be a problem even for a freshly certified advanced diver. Jack's is great, I'd even suggest the manta specialty course if you're interested in learning about some of the most amazing animals in our oceans.

 

[mrbeast1414]

Couple thoughts. First off, the 3-tank does not go out that often as I recall, should call Jack's about the day you have in mind to see if they can arrange a trip that day. It is not cheap. They can also tell you if it is a good idea for the freshly certified.

Second thought, if you looked through recent posts, you will see what the 2-tank advanced vs. standard trips entail. If you have not dived Kona, I suspect you would be amazed at what you see on just the basic dives. Just ask the captain to go to sites with known abundant fish.

The dives are not a big herd of the whole boat chugging along, but broken into groups depending on perceived skill. You suit up at staggered times as well as go into the water separately. Only time I felt irritated with the crowd was when snorkeling kids were on board and got in the way, clogged things up, took forever to jump in while we sweated, etc. Ask for no snorkelers on your trip. Students are not an issue, they go elsewhere.

Great points. They do have an advanced dive that day so it is definitely an option. And also, with sooo many divers each day at certain dive sites that ordinary open water certs can go to, wouldn't the marine life go away or the coral die? I know I'm relatively inexperienced but I can't imagine those that only dive once a year....

 

[mrbeast1414]

Just so you don't have to hunt down that previous post...here is a copy of it.

On our classic 2-tank morning dive we take a wide range of experience levels. It's a great trip for everyone. There are a ton of dives sites from which to choose, so if you haven't done a lot of diving in Kona, this is an excellent option. We do our best to group people according to experience. We wouldn't put you in a group with students who are doing their open water training or an intro dive (unless you request it...which people sometimes do!). So on a typical day we might have a group of students, a group of divers who have done 20-50 dives, and a group of divers who have done hundreds or even thousands of dives. We tie up to a mooring and do our first dive to 60-ish, then relocate and do another dive in 30-50-ish. We offer this trip every day.

On our advanced trips we ask that divers be comfortable and have been diving fairly recently. We have more details on the prerequisites on our website. We extend the range of sites to further north or south, though we may also dive local sites. 130 is the max depth...but usually we only go to around 115 or so. We can sometimes do a drift or live boat dive. We would not have intros or open water students. We have more flexibility in where we go and what we do. We offer these trips by request with a minimum of four divers.

The advanced trips are not necessarily better than the classic trips...they are a different style of trip.

My advice...If you haven't done a lot of diving in Kona, I would recommend a day or two of classic dives, a 2-tank sunset/night manta dive, and if you fit within the prerequisites, an advancecd 3-tank and a-tank pelagic magic

I believe I would be qualified to do the advanced...but I just don't know if it's the right option