Best Dive Boat? - Big Island

[tangfish]

From what I remember of doing the manta dive off of Kona, they all charged the same (120 at the time) with the exception of one dive op, that charged 100. Once we got out it was clear that they were all the same, literally. Boats just tied up to one another, there wasn't any appreciable difference at all. I can't remember the name of that operator, but a quick search can yield the results. Good luck, that's one of the most interesting dives in the world, imho!

 

[Wildcard]

Big Ilse Divers will burn the fuel to take you to "another" spot if the mantas are not active at the airport. That and you can do the Blackwater dive with Matt after the manta dive.

 

[cuddlefish]

Jack's Diving Locker has two 38 foot boats for 12-14 divers (2-3 dive groups), a ~32 foot custom Newton for 10 divers (2 groups), and will have a brand new 42 foot custom Newton for 18 divers (3-4 groups) by late April/early May. All of these boats have a head. Their 6-pak boat doesn't go out too often and doesn't have a head.

 

[ladycute1]

Who?....Never heard of them....
Most boats have a "head" but mo betta to hang off the boat.

As I described in my lengthier trip report... Torpedo Tours is a family operation. They don't have a shop, but do have two boats. I've watched their business grow over the 7 or so years from a small shore diving operation to a very comfy, full service organization. I've found their operation to be somewhat more welcoming and responsive than some of the other companies.

They have a small 6 pack, and a larger boat that carries probably 12 - 14 divers. They also offer Torpedo brand diver propulsion vehicles and are very willing to customize a package or plan to meet your needs. They also use the 6 pack for some pretty exciting fishing.

Regarding a "head" -- while, personally, it's not that important to me, the original poster in this string specifically asked for boats with heads.

Torpedo Tours larger boat has a fully enclosed, on board head. (In addition to the usual 'hang from the ladder' system).

I've also found their prices to be extremely competitive.

 

[mred]

I dove with Big island divers in Oct... they have a marine head on their boat -- they were also a top notch outfit.

 

[Teamcasa]

Is there a bad op in Kona? So far most of the ops have good reviews.
I'm going in June and will try DiveTek and Wanna Dive along with at least one other.
I'm also taking WildCard's advice and going to do at least one Black Water dive - I really looking forward to that!

Dave

 

[cowjazz]

Kona Honu for me.

Glen had the boat built for diving. Roomy, fast, on board head, camera friendly and diving functionality is definitely not an after thought.

 

[mrjimboalaska]

Big Island Divers..........great crew, great boat, great sites........

 

[MakingBubbles]

I dove the Manta dive with Glen at Kona Honu Divers back in Nov '06. This is a great operation. Very nice boat and the crew was very helpful. They helped everyone don their gear. They didn't rush anyone. They washed our gear for us at the end of the night. I felt like this was "pampered" diving compared to most boats I've been on. The guides were very professional. I haven't dove with the others, but I highly-recommend this dive operator. They do a great job.

 

[SkullDeformity]

I really didn't enjoy my first Hawaiian boat dive. We got on Sandwhich Isle, they only have one small boat, and took us to crowded dive site. Beforehand, they just would not tell us where we were going, nor allowed us to have any input. So, we traveled basically nowhere and were totally surrounded by other boats. We could have easily shore dove the location we were so close in.

It was later revealed that our "dive master" had been diving for 8 months....yeeeaaahhh....

Aside from being able to see 100ft, I was not impressed.