Info about Kauai

[nmbonfire]

Im headed over to Kauai at the end of March and was hunting information reguarding water conditions: temp, clerity, current, sea state, and the like. Any feedback would be great...

 

[DMJulie]

March is a great time to come out. We should still have whales during that month, so diving at Koloa Landing or anywhere else on the south shore could mean you get to hear the whales while diving.
North shore diving will most likely still be unavailable to possible high surf, but thankfully the south shore offers great diving year round. Koloa Landing in Poipu, is my favorite shore dive on the island. Entry/exit is very easy (walk in, down an old boat ramp). There is so much to see at this dive site (green sea turtles, dragon eels, leaf scorpion, morish idols....the list goes on and on).
If you are interseted in night diving at all, I just went last night at Koloa Landing and it was fantastic. Viz was amazing with and with out lights.
I would suggested a least one guided tour. The dive instructors and DM's dive this location every day and can show you some really great things.
I dive for Aquatic Adventures Scuba. They are located in Poipu, less then 5 minutes away from this dive site. We can set you up with gear and give you great info on where to dive while you are here.
aascubagirl is on here and can give you all kinds of info on Kauai and where to dive.

Hope this helps. Maybe we can go diving.


Happy diving.

Aloha

 

[aascubagirl]

Im headed over to Kauai at the end of March and was hunting information reguarding water conditions: temp, clerity, current, sea state, and the like. Any feedback would be great...

Aloha!

1. Temp: Water temp should be around 74-76 degrees and generally speaking, all diving will be on the south shore of Kauai (no north shore diving unless there is an unexpected abatement of the north swells). Most divers will be wearing a 3mm or 5mm full-length suit at this time of year.
2. Clarity: As long as there is not a lot of rain or out-of-season south swells, viz should be pretty good. Anywhere from 40-80 feet on average at the shore diving sites and beyond that at a lot of the south shore boat diving sites.
3. Current: At dive sites like Koloa Landing, there is not a real current to speak of . We'd love it if you came out diving with Aquatic Adventures in Poipu for some great and easy (but not boring!) shore diving. But if you are doing boat diving, there are usually some strong currents to contend with. Fathom Five is a great boat dive operation for the south shore dive sites and their guides are all experienced w/handling the currents.
4. Sea state: Same as above - I think I might sound like a broken record...as long as there are no unseasonable south swells, the south shore of Kauai should be pretty calm and quite dive-able.

As DM Julie mentioned, the beautiful humpback whales are usually still around during March and there is nothing like being serenaded by these majestic creatures while you are diving. My single-most favorite thing in the world!

Good luck w/your dive planning - let us know if you have any other questions!

 

[Teamcasa]

nmbonfire, I would second Aquatic Adventures Scuba for diving the South side of Poipu. They know the place better than most and thier DM's are great.

There is also boat diving if you perfer. (But really, don't miss Koloa landing for shore diving.) Seasports, FathonFive and KAS run good operations as well.

 

[jumblies]

Just returned from Kaua'i.

Horrible weather. It rained for 5 days nearly nonstop with flooding of many areas. Sewage overflowed into the ocean. Needless to say, only safe to dive for the most hardcore. Best Vis 5'.

I cannot recommend this based on my experience. The island turns into a soggy mess and the vast majority of activities are off limits during heavy rain and flood. This island has the least amount of public works improvement of all the major islands and it shows.

Be advised that your trip is a gamble, and could range from perfect to horrible. Oh, and don't hold out much hope for decent dining. It's pretty much a wasteland, even at $30/person. Hit the costco and cook in your kitchenette.

 

[DMJulie]

Wow jumblies, sorry you had such a terrible visit to our island. The current weather is not the norm for us.

If you come back, give us a call at Aquatic Adventures and we can give you some great suggestions on places to eat (that dont break the bank, but are very tasty) and some activities to do when diving is not an option.

 

[aascubagirl]

Aloha, jumblies...sorry to hear that you had a horrible time - it definitely is not always like that here! See DM Julie's other post..."Rain, rain go away..." and you'll find that all of us have been hating the weather and anxious to get back into the water. The good news is that the weather has been improving each day this week and it's actually sunny today (hooray!). We might get to scuba hopefully this weekend. Speaking of diving, even the most hardcore of us called off even just diving for fun last week and this week...in fact, all but one company shut down diving operations for the entire period of bad weather/brown water/downpouring rain/south winds as conditions were too disgusting to even contemplate getting into the water.

Also, as DMJulie mentioned, there are some great restaurants and food to be had w/o spending a fortune. I always recommend Costco to guests who have the ability to cook and want to save $$$ but on the few occasions these guys do go out, Kauai boasts some truly excellent dining opportunities...it's not a total wasteland :O)

So, I hope you don't write us off for future vacations! Bad weather can hit anywhere but that does not mean Kauai's not worth visiting and diving...

 

[psumike]

Nothing to eat. We stumpled upon the Shrimp Station and JoJos within hours on the island.
I think the kids visited JoJo's at least daily for shave ice

We were not blessed with a great weather week, but snuck in some snorkeling and got to watch a monk seal as well as honu.

Mike

 

[cuddlefish]

We did the Ni'ihau trip (only offered in the summer) with Seasport Divers and had a blast. I can't remember which restaurants we chose...but we had great diving and great dining.

 

[mpgunner]

I had a great 2 weeks last year. Love diving on the north shore.

But those D*&M chickens roaming all around.