Looking for best dive operator in Kona

[DDC]

My wife and I are going to Kona in June and I can't decide who to dive with. Right now I'm leaning toward Dive Makai for my morning dives as she doesn't dive and I wanted a smaller less crowded operation. Then go with Kona Hanu Divers for the Manta night dive as they offer a one tank dive for that and would likely have more snorkelers which would make my wife feel better. Now I read Big Island Divers offers a half price coupon if the Manta's don't show. My brother in law used Jack's, said they were great. Any thoughts on this, every trip it seems to be a crap shoot.

 

[Bappelt]

I've used Kona Honu and have been very happy with them. I don't think they have a big boat but its big enough for you to have some space. At least when I go (late Sept) its not very crowded at all. The crew were first rate. When I went they were using steel tanks which also helps drops some weight of the belt.

Also, welcome to the board. You will also find some more information about Hawaii dive operators over on the Hawaii board.

 

[fisheater]

I've have good experiences with both Kona Honu and Big Island Divers. (Jack's canceled a trip on me. Not enough divers for an "advanced" trip. But they were nice.)

 

[Easy Goin' Scubabuds]

I've used Jack's every time I've been to Kona, and have always had excellent service and great dives. We had 13 mantas show up the last time I did the manta ray night dive - don't miss it!

 

[fjpatrum]

This is great timing... I'm headed to Kona in July/August and I was planning to use Kona Honu and do their night manta ray dive, amongst other things. So far, of the shops I've contacted, they've been the most interactive and informative about their setup and other things that I asked about.

 

[DDC]

Although I've heard great thinks about Dive Makai, I think I will go with Kona Honu as well. I can save a little money by booking all my dives them and will be doing the manta night dive the same day as a 2 tank morning dive and can leave my stuff there. The also leave at 8:30AM, Dive Makai leaves at 7:30AM which gives me time to eat something before my morning dives. The Discovery Channel did the Manta dive with Kona Honu so I guess they can't be to bad. Thanks for your imput, hope you enjoy your trip, we are looking forwar to ours.

 

[BradnerBoy]

We have not dived with anyone other than Kona Honu Divers and are always happy with their DMs and crew. Both Honu One and Honu Iki are purpose built dive boats with plenty of room: Our Boats

We always go over the Christmas high season and while the boats are busy, they're never over-crowded.

 

[TeriLeonard]

My wife and I are going to Kona in June and I can't decide who to dive with. Right now I'm leaning toward Dive Makai for my morning dives as she doesn't dive and I wanted a smaller less crowded operation. Then go with Kona Hanu Divers for the Manta night dive as they offer a one tank dive for that and would likely have more snorkelers which would make my wife feel better. Now I read Big Island Divers offers a half price coupon if the Manta's don't show. My brother in law used Jack's, said they were great. Any thoughts on this, every trip it seems to be a crap shoot.

Regardless of who you go with, you are going to love diving in Hawaii Although I live on Maui and love the diving here, I like to check out the other islands. I have done the manta night dive on the Big Island several times and it is always cool. Look for the moray eel named George

I have gone with both Big Island Divers and Jack's Diving Locker. They are both top-notch operations and will give you a great diving experience.

If you want to step it up a notch, ask either of them about the Blackwater Water Night Dive...totally awesome. They usually do it after the manta dive. Say aloha for me

 

[Teamcasa]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moved to Hawaii Forum..

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[friscuba]

Keep in mind, "best" is relative. There's lots of good operators in the Kona area, each is different, their boats are different. If a large boat with a working head is important to you, two of the companies mentioned so far have that. The OP mentioned he wanted a smaller less crowded operation, keep in mind every operator mentioned runs mostly boats holding 12 or more passengers, and during late June and the rest of the summer, those boats are likely to be going out at or near full capacity (hopefully anyway, all the operators are looking forward to the busy season). No 6 pack boats have been mentioned, some people would never try a 6 pack boat while others prefer them over larger companies, to each their own. If a diver's looking for a boat that'll carry a max of 6 passengers, and often has group sizes lower than that, take a look at a 6 pack boat.

At any rate, no matter what size of boat you're looking at, take a look at what they offer for diving if the diving end of things are important for you. How long are the dives? If you're good on air and can do a 90 minute dive, will they let you? What is the typical group to guide ratio? What's on board for eats? Boat size and bathroom facilities (if important to you)? Minimum group size, and what do they do if they come up short, will they cancel on you because there aren't enough other divers? How long has their dive crew been doing this? etc. Lots of variables can go into choosing what's best for you.

Just throwing it out there, there's lots of good options in Kona.