Wife and I flying to Oahu, advice needed

[landlocked!!]

We're going to be spending 5 days in Oahu in February, staying in Honolulu. I've never been anywhere in Hawaii before, so I have no idea what to expect, or what dive operators to consider. What are the water conditions this time of year, such as temperature, visibility, current. Looking for recreational diving recommendations. Looking for some relatively easy dive destinations, doesn't need to be deep or technical. Not more than about 100' max. No difficult entries/exits, or very strong currents with long surface swims. Wife still new at this, certified for about a year with 20 dives, and while I've been diving for much longer, I'm not getting any younger either. We have all our own equipment, but for ease of traveling will not be bringing tanks, and maybe we'll leave some bulkier gear like fins at home. Will bring our own BCs, regulators, gauges/dive computers, wet suits, masks. Any suggestions welcomed. Hope this is not posted in the wrong area. Did some searches but did not find exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Any other info needed in order to maje good suggestions, just ask away. Thanks in advance.

 

[TartanFrog]

Sounds like a fun trip. I'm thinking of heading that way in the fall. You can do a basic google search for scuba shops on Oahu and check out what they offer. I would also call a couple of them. There are some wreck dives near the island and some other opportunities. I would also check out the Hawaii travel section here on Scubaboard under the United States forum. You should be able to get more specific responses there. Water temps should be in the mid to upper 70s this time of year, so plan accordingly depending on how you and your wife do in that type of environment.

I'm not sure if you have been there before, but between dives there are lots of things to see on Oahu. I lived there for 8 years as a kid and adult and I never ran out of things to do or see. This time of the year you might see some big wave surfing on the north shore. Of course the regular tourist stops of Pearl Harbor, Diamondhead, Punchbowl and Honolulu are there. The Pali lookout is really cool. Hanauma Bay is awesome for being in the water with lots of sealife around you. There are also museums and other stuff.

Anyway, whether you are in the water or on land you should have a great time.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

I did 3 of my certifications with Oahu Scuba Diving | Tours, Activities & Dive Training | Oahu Dive Shop | Scuba Diving Oahu Hawaii last year, they were a great outfit, and did discover years ago with SeaBreeze Water Sports Hawaii - Scuba Diving - No Experience Necessary, they were okay, but only give you 20 mins underwater, but they have other water sports that you can do on the same trip. Ocean Legends doesn't have there own boats, but it wasn't overloaded either. The water is cool this time of year.The current and visibility can change from day to day. This time of year the south shore is usually calm with better visibility, and the north shore is has the large waves so diving over there will have more surges, poor visibility. If you're staying in Waikiki, the mariner isn't to far from there. There are a few ops there who have their own boats.and most do hotel pickups. Try this site,it has most of the dive ops in Honolulu. Hope you have a great time.

Hawaii Scuba Diving - Complete Guide to Diving Hawaii

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I have not dove Oahu, but have done lots of diving on Maui and Kona. Several reputable shops on Oahu will take you where there is not rough current. Some boat rides may be choppy, so stay on south and east side of the Island this time of year for calmest conditions. Water temps will be in 75-77 degree range. Visibility varies by site and weather, from 50 feet to 120 feet or more.Get on line, find shops near where you are staying, and call them. They will be very helpful. NOTE: you should NEVER take air tanks on an airplane. Or weights. It's cost prohibitive, and the tank valves have to removed and it's a hassle, and you don't need to take them. Take everything else. If you don't want to take gear, know that Hawaiian dive shops all have quality gear to rent.
All will talk to you on the phone or respond to emails.
DivemasterDennis

 

[landlocked!!]

Thanks for the above replies, very appreciated. Before the thread has a tendency to take an unnecessary direction, let me clarify that I'm not needing recommendations on how to travel, or what not to bring with me. I've never been to the Hawaiian Islands before, and thus I had no 1st hand knowledge of the region, the dive operators, dive sites, water conditions, etc.

Here's where I'm at so far:

Water temps in the mid-high 70s
Lot's of neat things for us to do when out of the water
Visibility somewhat unpredictable, varying between 50-120+ ft
Calmer water to the south, more active waves to the north

I'm reading up on the dive operators that advertise at the Hawaii Scuba Diving - Complete Guide to Diving Hawaii link provided above. I'll call a few for more details, but wondering if any members on the forum have specific recommendations for 1 or the other. From what has been posted so far, I might look into the Ocean Legends link that was provided, and avoid the SeaBreeze outfit.

The dive companies listed on the Hawaii Scuba Diving - Complete Guide link above include the following:

Dive Companies : Surf-n-Sea We specialize in small group tours catering to the specific needs of our customers, from seasoned veteran divers to first time divers. We will provide each diver with the maximum enjoyment possible and memories that will last a lifetime! Introductory... [More] Aaron's Dive Shop Aaron's have a variety of different boats, but our specialties are the 6 -12 passenger boats, which allow our customers the greatest flexibility, comfort and diving possible 365 days a year. We are a full service PADI 5 Star IDC Center, ready to serv... [More]

Hawaii Nautical Hawaii Nautical provides the utmost service and quality, aboard our fine dive vessels that offer comforts and luxuries uncommon in the industry. Itineraries include the West Side along the Ko Olina coast, and also the south and east shores of Oahu ne... [More]

Alex's Aquatic Adventures Aloha and welcome to Alex's Aquatic Adventures I look forward to taking you on an amazing adventure SCUBA diving in the crystal clear blue waters of the beautiful island of Oahu Hawaii. My name is Alex Mason, I am a PADI Master Instructor which is... [More]

Dive Oahu Aloha! Whether your just visiting the island or you call O'ahu your home, Dive Oahu will give you the best dive experience around. We dive beautiful sites all around the island from shallow reefs to deep wrecks. We have daily boat charters for certif... [More]

OahuDiving.Com Let Oahudiving.Com take you on an adventure of a lifetime. We dive daily to all points of Oahu making us Oahu’s truly only island-wide dive operator/dive certification company. Our dive locations are all chosen carefully using the latest weather info... [More]

Waikiki Dive Center, LLC The Only Way to Dive Hawaii Since 1979! If you're want to dive Oahu for the first time or the 1000th time, we are ready to take you diving. We have our own USCG certified boats, a PADI 5 star rating, and excellent instructors ready to explore the u... [More]

Honolulu Scuba Company Join Honolulu Scuba Company for some of the best scuba diving the Hawaiian Islands has to offer. Located on the island of Oahu, our custom built dive boats and our friendly, knowledgeable crew will delight you with the best dive sites on the island. ... [More]

Deep Ecology Established in 1996, Deep Ecology is a full-service, five-star PADI Dive Center located on Oahu's famous North Shore in historic Haleiwa. Our history includes ghost net recoveries and over 50 endangered Green Sea Turtle rescues, resulting in the crea... [More]

RainbowScuba.com Oahu's lowest price leader for quailty scuba diving boat charters & PADI Scuba certification, 7 days a week. Explore Oahu's Ship wrecks and turtle reefs aboard the 40' catamaran. 100% saftey record, Waikiki beach hotel pick up, and Free underwater ph... [More]

Ocean Legends Hawaii No worries diving with aloha! Ocean Legends is a full service PADI dive center, offering the full range of PADI certifications at most competitive prices. Also a TDI and IANTD Platinum Training Facility, we offer technical and Rebreather diving. Di... [More]

Pearl Harbor Divers Welcome to Pearl Harbor Divers: Your friendly, full service local dive shop. We offer training from beginning SCUBA to Instructor and beyond. We also offer technical and rebreather diving and training. Pearl Harbor Divers has daily boat charters... [More]

Does anyone have any 1st hand experience, good or bad, with any of the above outfits that they would like to recommend for or against, or any others not on the list? Thanks again for all the help so far.

 

[scubafied]

+1 for Sean @ Reef Pirates. I didn't see him advertised but I did my OW cert with him a couple years back and had a blast. Still need to go back and thank him because had things gone differently, I may not have pursued becoming an Instructor.

 

[lonebrave]

I recommend you contact Gabe (scottitheduck on here) with Kaimana Divers (Scuba Diving in Hawaii with Kaimana Divers | Dive Oahu with the pros). They're a small shop about a block from Kewalo Basin (where all the boats from Honolulu are). They're great people that love what they do and are good at it. They are always professional, but fun to dive with. They don't have their own boat, but they will dive all over the island.

I just did with a charter with them yesterday out of Honolulu (Sea Tiger and Kewalo Pipe). Max depth on the Sea Tiger was 102', water temp was 75F, just a little current on the Sea Tiger, and a bit of surge at the Pipe. Viz was probably 60+. This time of year, the North Shore is off limits due to high surf, but a great place to watch surfers. West, South, and East sides of the island are diveable depending on daily conditions.

 

[NCadiver]

The Mahi ,YO-257, Sea Tiger and their is a drift dive on the east side I think it's Dominique's Wall are so good dives. The Mahi is falling apart do to a hurricane picking it up moving it several years back.

I haven't been to Oahu in a few years but you may want to give these guy a shot Aquazone a good place to use and Alex is not bad, he a little quirky but he does a good job also give Dive Oahu a shot.

And I would pass on aaron dive shop.

 

[lonebrave]

Oh, and check out the Hawai'i 'Ohana section on here...a lot of good local info there.

 

[Hoomi]

We went to Oahu the last week of September, and did two dives with Ocean Legends, and one with Aaron's. The dive masters with both were friendly and helpful. Two of the trips left from Waianae Harbor, about twenty miles or so northwest of Honolulu. Since our hotel was also in Waianae, those were very convenient and low-stress. The third dive left from Waikiki. Making the drive down there put us into heavy traffic for quite a bit of the distance, and we barely made the boat (despite allowing a bit more time than we had been told for travel time). We were the only divers with Ocean Legends that day, and we were sharing the boat with at least two or three other dive operations. The boat was crowded, and the largest group was a foreign tour group that basically treated us like we were invaders on THEIR boat. One of the other dive operations was led by a loud-mouthed lout that had all the tact and social sense of a drunken boor, and even the limited amount of time we spent anywhere near him was too much. If I remembered his name, I would say to stay away from that jackass, as from what I saw, he messed up the trip for one of the divers in his group with his caustic ways.

Still, we had a great time diving while we were over there. We didn't make it into Ocean Legends actual shop, but did drop in on Aaron's. They were friendly and helpful, and located in a nice shopping area if you're in the mood to wander some other stores.

We made our dive bags our checked luggage, and managed to include all the dive gear we would need, plus a few other items, and keep the bags under the 50 pounds limit. We packed some of our other clothing into our carry-on bags, and did not take along any of the heavier toiletries such as shampoo, body wash, etc. There are ample places to buy such things on Oahu, and for the weight/cost considerations, we decided it made more sense to just get it there, and leave behind the remaining when we came back. Same for batteries for the dive lights, etc.