Dive in Hawaii

[Orange]

I’m looking at a cruise for Nov 2005 to Hawaii aboard Celebrity Cruises infinity

Awiliwili (Kauai), Honolulu (Oahu), Hilo, Kailua kona, lahaina (Maui). I would like to know, what are some good (recommended) dive shops for these islands.

[bruce-r]

I can only comment on the Big Island. Most (almost all) of the diving is done on the Kona side. There are quite a few good dive operators, but unless you are in port early, you will probably have a difficult time making the morning dives.

 

I highly recommend the guide book Hawaii, the Big Island Revealed. It is without a doubt the best guide book I have read on any destination. They have links to almost all the dive operators on the island, and their book gives a review of the all. I went with Dive Makai and recommend them. They give the best dive briefings. I also did the Manta night dive with Jacks diving locker, also recommend them. They have a nice, large retail shop in downtown Kailua (Kona). They might be able to accommodate a cruise divers schedule. The only way to know is to contact them directly. Another dive op I considered diving with was Pacific Rim divers.

 

Be prepared for diving in Hawaii. It is good to great diving, but there is a lot less color than in the Caribbean or the South Pacific as there is little if any soft coral or sponges. The big thing for me was that the water was colder than the Caribbean. I was there in July and the water temp was 78f or less. It doesn't get much warmer, maybe a degree, but not over 81f even at the height of summer. I recommend at least a 3mm full suit and a beanie. If you keep your head covered you will stay warmer and enjoy the dive much more.

 

On the Hilo side of the Big Island, the Volcano is the highlight, a not to be missed.

 

On Oahu I would want to see the Arizona.

 

Have a dive circus

[Hilary]

We dive with Lahaina Divers in Maui. Although many complain that they are a 'cattle boat' operation because they operate big boats, I like the bigger boats for their stabillity and comfort, and have found the staff to be extremely professional and a lot of fun to boot.

 

Actually, Lahaina Divers is the operation that does the dive services for NCL. I'm not sure they do Celebrity as well, but it wouldn't surprise me because of their bigger boats. Our charter went out later on the day that NCL was in port so we could accommodate the cruise ship passengers.

 

Other recommendations for Maui would be Mike Severen, Horizon Divers, and Ed Robinson's. Of those 3, only Horizon Divers departs out of Lahaina harbor.

[Orange]

bruce-r and Hilary, Thanks for the info. I will look in to both of your suggestions.

[10X]

On Oahu I dove with Aaron's Dive Shop. On Maui I dove with Maui Dive Shop. I have mixed reviews on both.

 

Aaron's does not own their own boat so we were doubling up with another dive shop, sometimes. The boats were good sized and not overly crowded, but this left you in a position where you could not request a particular dive spot. I wanted to see the Corsair, which is at 105 feet. However, twice, the other dive shop had beginners with them and needed shallower spots to go through dive training requirements. Needless to say, I didn't get to see the Corsair. However, in spite of this, my experience with them was good. Between dive snacks consisted of pretzels and water.

 

Maui Dive Shop owns two large boats. They are a bit of a cattle boat operation with as many as 18 divers onboard. However, they broke us up into groups of six, based on experience, and each group was assigned a dive master. Their service was outstanding and I very much enjoyed my dive trips with them. Between dive snacks consisted of sandwiches, munchies, and a variety of non-alcoholic drinks.

 

I thought both operations covered ground rather quickly, with Maui Dive Shop being the worst of the two.

 

I'll be on Maui again in Feb/Mar 2005 and have booked with Mike Severn's, who seems to have a slower philosophy. I like to take underwater photos so slower is better. I'd rather travel 50 feet and see a dozen things than travel 1500 feet and see two.

 

Although I've never been diving in Kailua-Kona, I understand that Dive Makai has much the same ideas as Mike Severn's, so I'll probably opt to go with them (2006?).

[scubajeff]

I can highly recomend Fathom Five on the island of Kauai. They are known as the best on the island. I highly recomend buying or taking a look at the book, "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook". The author is right on with almost everything on the island.

Fathom Five takes a max of 6 divers per boat. Their Captians and DMs are extremely knowledgable about where to dive and what marine life and coral you will see at each dive location. I cannot say enough about how great Fathom Five is.

Inbetween dive snacks are water or juice, chips, and candy bars (went through about 6 snickers in between dives).

[bruce-r]

I'll be on Maui again in Feb/Mar 2005 and have booked with Mike Severn's, who seems to have a slower philosophy. I like to take underwater photos so slower is better. I'd rather travel 50 feet and see a dozen things than travel 1500 feet and see two.

 

Although I've never been diving in Kailua-Kona, I understand that Dive Makai has much the same ideas as Mike Severn's, so I'll probably opt to go with them (2006?).

 

Dive Makai has 2 speeds when they dive, s-l-o-w and stop. They are happy to let you follow the slow finning guide or let you do your own dive. If you are good on air they will let you stay down while others head up. There is always lots to see in the fairly shallow waters there the mooring balls are located. I usually did the last 15-20 minutes of my dives there and most of my dives lasted just about 60 minutes. Yep, Dive Makai, a quality dive op.

[10X]

Bruce,

 

Thanks for the confirmation of the Dive Makai op. It's just what I'm looking for.