I'm looking at traveling to Hawaii in August for a couple of weeks. Both myself and my girlfriend will be going there primarily for diving. We prefer quality dive resorts as we did Ramone's DR in Belize and really enjoyed that. We're hoping to find a similar type setup somewhere in the islands. All inclusive is preferred but not required. Does anyone know of similar dive resorts on any of the islands of Hawaii? My girlfriend is advanced certified and I have much more experience/training beyond that.
Hawaii dive resort recommendations?
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Damselfish
Contributor
"dive resorts" aren't really a thing in Hawaii. You might consider the Kona Aggressor.
MichaelMc
Working toward Cenotes
On Maui, the Kihei area has several dive operators, hotels and restaurants all within walking distance of each other. Though a car would be handy.
At the higher end, the Grand Wailea had scuba on site in their pool and shore.
Several shops leave out of the Khei Boat Landing, including Maui Dreams, which I dove with. Also Ed Robinsons.
At the higher end, the Grand Wailea had scuba on site in their pool and shore.
Several shops leave out of the Khei Boat Landing, including Maui Dreams, which I dove with. Also Ed Robinsons.
Yea, when I did some research, I was finding that dive resorts don't seem to be much of a thing on the islands. Seems like booking lodging and diving separately are the way to go. Anyone know of reliable/dependable dive operators that do the manta ray night dive there? Any good operators for wreck dives? What's the best island to dive from?
mcohen1021
Contributor
+1 Kihei.
I recommend s private condo. I paid like $1400 low season for 10 nights. Plus you'll be near the boat ramp to get away to where the boat leaves from... lol
I recommend s private condo. I paid like $1400 low season for 10 nights. Plus you'll be near the boat ramp to get away to where the boat leaves from... lol
Damselfish
Contributor
We’ve done more diving off the Big Island, but found Maui diving mostly more interesting. YMMV. We almost did Kauai, but found it a tricky place to set up diving convenient to places we were wanting to stay, less critical mass of sites and ops there, and conditions limiting access to some areas for parts of the year.
On Maui we dove with Ed Robinson's out of Kihei, stayed at some resort in the area. (But that was long ago when Ed still owned it.) There’s a number of ops up in the Lahaina area but we never dove out of there.
On the Big Island we did the Aggressor once, and dayboats out of Kailua-Kona on several occasions. The op we used to use was great but also changed hands long ago. We stayed at the King Kam which is still there but now a Marriott Courtyard. Right by the pier so quite convenient. If staying further up the coast there are a number of ops out of Honokohau marina. (We dove one day out of Kailua-Kona after moving up to a timeshare in Waikoloa to meet family - traffic sucked, I hear roads got improved but I still wouldn’t do that again.)
On Maui we dove with Ed Robinson's out of Kihei, stayed at some resort in the area. (But that was long ago when Ed still owned it.) There’s a number of ops up in the Lahaina area but we never dove out of there.
On the Big Island we did the Aggressor once, and dayboats out of Kailua-Kona on several occasions. The op we used to use was great but also changed hands long ago. We stayed at the King Kam which is still there but now a Marriott Courtyard. Right by the pier so quite convenient. If staying further up the coast there are a number of ops out of Honokohau marina. (We dove one day out of Kailua-Kona after moving up to a timeshare in Waikoloa to meet family - traffic sucked, I hear roads got improved but I still wouldn’t do that again.)
MtnDiverColorado
Contributor
We did the big island earlier this year, stayed in Waikoloa Village Marriot and dove with Big Island Divers. This made for about a half drive to and from the port each day, but it actually wasn't too bad, and the hotel was nice.
We did do the manta night dive with them, which was amazing, and definitely worth doing.
We did do the manta night dive with them, which was amazing, and definitely worth doing.
Damselfish
Contributor
Big Island gets you the mantas and more volcanic scenery (edpecially on the Aggressor which will get you further south.) Also blackwater dives are a thing there.
Maui gets you Molokini crater, Turtletown, and maybe Kahoolawe. And Lanai cathedrals, but I think only out of Lahaina.
Kauai might get you Niihau, in season.
Oahu for wrecks.
Oh yeah whale season, if you’re lucky.
The islands are so different above and below…So you might need to make a few trips.
Maui gets you Molokini crater, Turtletown, and maybe Kahoolawe. And Lanai cathedrals, but I think only out of Lahaina.
Kauai might get you Niihau, in season.
Oahu for wrecks.
Oh yeah whale season, if you’re lucky.
The islands are so different above and below…So you might need to make a few trips.
jonhall
Contributor
Kauai - Fathom Five Divers in Koloa was good op. Well organized, good staff, with good communication through email. Easy 25 minute drive from where we stayed on the east side to their location on the south side (where most dive sites are.) If right time of season, Niihau is considered by many (I have no experience) to be a good area to go to from Kauai. Depending on your preferences, some ops will take you there, but there is an op somewhere closer to west side that has a fast boat, so cuts the trip time down quite a bit. Staying in Koloa or Poipu area puts you close to dive ops - most dive sites are on south side also although there are some sites on other sides of the island.
Big island - Jack's Diving Locker in Kailua-Kona was a good op. Fun crews. Could meet at shop in town and ride to marina or meet at their small shop at the marina (which we did as we had a car.) We got some good whale watching in during surface intervals. Lots of volcanic topography and some larger sea life to see. They also do the Manta Ray Night Dive. *Just my 2 cents here - we did the manta rays as a snorkel as we had 2 non-diving wives- it's cheaper and you see the same thing - it's either mantas coming up to the surface to greet you before making a u-turn and heading back down or vice versa if you kneeling on the bottom - not much of a dive IMO. One positive though is there are less people doing it as a dive, where at the surface, you can be surrounded by lots of people.
Also on the Big Island, Waikoloa, about a 30 (+ or -) minute drive north of Kona is a nice area. Blue Wilderness Dive Adventures shop is located in the Queen's Marketplace in the Waikoloa Beach Resort, but their boat - a RIB - leaves from Puako Bay about 10 minutes away. Their procedure of donning and doffing BC's in the water quickly became a favorite for me (maybe not everyone else though.) Smaller coral reef heads and smaller sea life - saw a few new creatures.
Can only compare the 2 islands as my dives were cancelled when on Oahu. The Big Island gives you more sites and variety than Kauai, so if it is a 2 week diving trip, Big Island would be my pick. Although I mentioned the 2 ops I dove with, there are many that get good reviews.
Big island - Jack's Diving Locker in Kailua-Kona was a good op. Fun crews. Could meet at shop in town and ride to marina or meet at their small shop at the marina (which we did as we had a car.) We got some good whale watching in during surface intervals. Lots of volcanic topography and some larger sea life to see. They also do the Manta Ray Night Dive. *Just my 2 cents here - we did the manta rays as a snorkel as we had 2 non-diving wives- it's cheaper and you see the same thing - it's either mantas coming up to the surface to greet you before making a u-turn and heading back down or vice versa if you kneeling on the bottom - not much of a dive IMO. One positive though is there are less people doing it as a dive, where at the surface, you can be surrounded by lots of people.
Also on the Big Island, Waikoloa, about a 30 (+ or -) minute drive north of Kona is a nice area. Blue Wilderness Dive Adventures shop is located in the Queen's Marketplace in the Waikoloa Beach Resort, but their boat - a RIB - leaves from Puako Bay about 10 minutes away. Their procedure of donning and doffing BC's in the water quickly became a favorite for me (maybe not everyone else though.) Smaller coral reef heads and smaller sea life - saw a few new creatures.
Can only compare the 2 islands as my dives were cancelled when on Oahu. The Big Island gives you more sites and variety than Kauai, so if it is a 2 week diving trip, Big Island would be my pick. Although I mentioned the 2 ops I dove with, there are many that get good reviews.
Torontonian
Contributor
Manta Ray dive is a must in Hawaii. I dove in Oahu (Mahaka Canyon, huge turtles; and wreck dives near Honolulu), Maui (Molikini was good), and Big Island.
Huge difference as a diver (me) vs snorkeler (wife). Yes most of the dive you kneel or lie at the bottom. But it's still very exciting to see the manta rays dancing in front of you, sometimes pairs in synch. Some come right to your head, 6", and swish. On the way back, at one time, there were mantas in front of you, back of you, to the right of you, to the left of you, all dancing around, some come to you close. We just stayed there, and fortunately the guide allowed us to stay for just a few minutes, before herding us back. There's no way a snorkeler can experience that.
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