Big Island Dive Op Reference Please: Torpedo Tours.

[Rock2r]

Currently doing my research on BI Dive Ops for an upcoming trip in January.

What can you tell me about: Torpedo Tours? Their pricing looks decent, I'm guessing as they don't have the overhead of a dive store?

Used Big Island Divers and Kohala Dive last September and would like to try a different shop in the Kona area this time. Looking to do 4 days with a single house that will care for and securely store my gear between dive days so I don't have to take it to the hotel shower to rinse and dry every evening:

Thanks in advance.

 

[espantoon]

My go to op on the Big Island is Pacific Rim Divers. Patrice runs a great, small (6 pack only) operation and loves her job, and works well with your level of experience. You also get treated to home made brownies!

 

[cuddlefish]

You'll be treated well at both operations. I think I would choose Torpedo Tours over Big Island Divers...but, again, both operators get good reviews. You can also try Jack's Diving Locker. Have a great time!

 

[scubaskipper]

Jack's is probably the biggest operator in the area. They also have boats big enough to get to some of the farther out dive sites. The farther you get from the Kona area the less divers the sites see. The down side is they are the biggest shop in the area and sometimes act accordingly.

 

[Rock2r]

Jack's is probably the biggest operator in the area. They also have boats big enough to get to some of the farther out dive sites. The farther you get from the Kona area the less divers the sites see. The down side is they are the biggest shop in the area and sometimes act accordingly.

Another down side is their prices. I believe they were the highest across the board when I was comparing packages between all the ops.

My short list is: Torpedo Tours, Kona Honu or back to BID.

 

[Grover48]

Dive Makai

Here is one that hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[cuddlefish]

Another down side is their prices. I believe they were the highest across the board when I was comparing packages between all the ops.

My short list is: Torpedo Tours, Kona Honu or back to BID.

It costs more to do things right. If you pretend your employees are independent contractors and don't provide them with the required benefits...you can charge cheaper prices. The consumer may or may not care about this, though.

 

[robint]

We used Kona Honu Divers a few years ago and were very happy with them. They took all our gear (except our reg sets which we kept with us each night) and washed and hung up everything (wetsuits, booties, BCs) to dry back at the shop. It was very nice! We liked their big roomy boat, too, because we have camera & video gear which needs to be up on a table rather than under our feet like on some small boats.
The boat was never really full expect one day on weekend when a group of OW students were onboard. They kept them separate from the rest of us and we were able to get in water first with our DM. So they were doing their skills with a DM and back on boat while we were off on our dives which was really nice. We got back on boat after our hour dives and they were already back and out of our way. It was very nice to see they have a system.
All the DMs were good (we dove with them 5 days and had a different DM each day).

 

[Heymo]

We've been out with Big Island Divers a few times and have always been happy with them. They've kept our gear overnight and rinsed it off unless we had plans for shore diving. And they give a discount for multiple dives...

 

[Rock2r]

Concur. I had a great time with BID last September. Would like to give someone else a try mid Jan. BID will be my "plan B".