Kona Questions [macro photography, shore diving, LDS that offers packages, etc]

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chris.evans

Contributor
Messages
72
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Location
North Carolina
# of dives
200 - 499
I recently found out I am going to Kona. I have been contacting different LDS, but few seem to offer packages or discounts for multiple dives, some are like 175USD for a single dive (6 divers/guide). I had some questions:

1) Can anyone recommend an operator who offers discounts for 3 or so dives a day for 4-5 days? Equipment packages?

2) Kona shore diving, can anyone recommend a great shore dive location for macro photography or photography in general?

3) Good operator for blackwater dives? Operator with knowledgeable guides and a low guide to diver ratio?

4) Recommend a place for camera odds and ends, eg. if I need to cut a sea&sea fiber optic cable and screw on a plunger end?

Thanks SubaBoard brains!
 
If you do shore diving, you'll get a discount for multiple tanks at Hawaiian Scuba Shack, 808-331-8708. Something like "you use 5 tanks, get 1 for free" but I am not sure I remember the exact deal right since it's been 2 years already. And their tank rentals are the least expensive on the island anyway.

The best dive sites overall are "2-Step" (Honaunau) and Hookena. Not only these sites are rich in fish but these are the only 2 sites where you can spot spinner dolphins. Other good sites include Alula ("Dog Beach") and Puako ("Village End") in the north; Mahukona and Kapa'a (far north); Miloli'i ("The Rock" and "Village") in the far south. But all these sites have their limitations. At Puako, for example, explore the arches and lava walls but do not go deeper into the finger coral fields, there's nothing there. At Mahukona, watch for large schools of Lemon Butterflyfish at 55-65 ft, and so on. As for macro in particular, you best luck is to find small cleaning shrimp on isolated coral heads deep at 70-130 ft. You can find BCS at any depth but I've seldom seen scarlet shrimp above 70 ft. Small nudis, on the other hand, are more common in the shallows.
 
I've been to the Big Island several times over the past couple of years and done multi-day dives with different dive ops in the Kona area. Most of the dive ops in the Kona area tend to dive the same locations. If you want to cover more territory, I recommend doing a couple of days with an op from the Kona area and a couple of days on the north end of the island with an outfit like Kohala Divers.

Kohala Divers has a good boat and I've never had to dive with a crowd.

Jack's is well-known for the Blackwater Dive thing. Folks I've talked to tell me Jack's does a great job with the dive if it's your thing. Personally, the dive doesn't appeal much to me, but that's just me.

The Night Manta Dive is really good and most of the dive ops in the Kona area do it. I've done the dive at both the Sheridan site and Garden Eel Cove. I had a better experience at Garden Eel Cove. Food availability tends to determine which site the mantas use. I usually book the manta dive on the front end and tail end of my trips to increase my chances of scoring a good night with the mantas.

When I return to the Big Island, I'll probably opt to hire a private dive master/guide. As a serious photographer, I don't care much for the dive profile the dive operators seem to do day-after-day. In my experience, the ops do a reef tour that starts in shallower water where there are lots of critters to photograph and drops into deeper water where there's not much to see or photograph. I'd rather hang-out in shallower water in a target rich environment.

-AZTinman
 
We always stay in the Waikoloa area and dive with Kohala Divers. Great crew, good boat, small dive groups. Plus, they pretty much have the dive sites to themselves up north. Highly recommended.

Not sure about shops that carry specialty items like fiber-optic cables etc. I try to have backups on hand in case of a mishap.
 
I believe Scuba Shack is out of business according to what some of my friends have said. Jack's Locker is probably the most high tech for your needs although Big Island Divers might satisfy your needs. They also have a good black water dive for their guests. When we take our guests out on shore dives (sugar-inc.com) we have had a lot of luck at Pebble Beach finding the critters you are looking for.
 
I believe Scuba Shack is out of business according to what some of my friends have said. Jack's Locker is probably the most high tech for your needs although Big Island Divers might satisfy your needs. They also have a good black water dive for their guests. When we take our guests out on shore dives (sugar-inc.com) we have had a lot of luck at Pebble Beach finding the critters you are looking for.
Scuba Shack's website still works. I'll call them tomorrow and check.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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