Big Island: Mid-Sept or Late-Oct/Early-Nov?

[Viva Luigi]

We're traveling to the Big Island in 2022 and staying 2 wks in Kona at a condo. Does anyone have any insight on when it's best for diving (both shore and boat dives in Kona and Kohala areas)? We'll also do snorkeling and beach time. We're trying to decide between these 2 windows of time: Sept 10-24. vs. Oct 22-Nov 5? Any insights from anyone? Many thanks in advance!

 

[OrcasC205]

You may want to check when the Ironman Triathlon is in October -- the island gets crazy busy then.

 

[jonhall]

We traveled to the Big Island just about the same Oct./Nov. dates you mentioned, in 2019. The Ironman Triathlon occurs earlier in Oct., so not an issue. Stayed in Waikoloa which is located in South Kohala. Have also stayed in Kona before. The water temps diving were consistent at 82º F the 2 weeks we were in Waikoloa. Not that it would sway my decision, but the wettest (rain) month on the Big Island is September.

Diving is good in both areas, but different, IMO - saw larger sea creatures (spinner dolphins, sharks, monk seal) and volcanic topography in Kona; saw more reef type structures and smaller sea life (frog fish, dragon wrasse, and more) in Waikoloa.

Jack's Diving Locker in Kona was a very good dive op as was Blue Wilderness in Waikoloa. In Kona, you want to be sure and do the Manta night dive/snorkel - we snorkeled it as we had 2 non-divers in our group - you see the same thing either way - either mantas swimming up to the surface or mantas swimming toward the bottom.

You can find several threads about diving/snorkeling the Big Island. Below is a link to my 2019 trip review.

Big Island Kohala Coast Trip Report

Spent 2 weeks at Paniolo Greens in Waikoloa Village which is located in South Kohala about 25 miles north of Kona and about 5-6 miles from the shore. Was a little worried about elevation and diving but Waikoloa Village is just under 1000'. On non-diving days we hugged the coast site-seeing and...

scubaboard.com

 

[lowflyer]

I did the pelagic night dive with Jack's Diving Locker. It was very interesting dive and extremely well briefed beforehand.
Did a two tank dive out of Kona with Pacific Rim Divers. It was well run, but I was not impressed with the underwater scenery. Maybe diving further away from Kona is more interesting.

 

[NorCalDM]

The Ironman for 2022 is October 6th & 8th so if it were me I would go late October as late September there will be a build up to the race. We go to the Big Island 2-3 times a year and no matter what month we have had good diving. Shore diving on Puako road is good and there are many sites, south of Kona Two Step is a good shore dive and my favorite farther south is Black Pebble Beach on both sides. For boat diving in the Kohala area we use Kohala Divers and out of Kona, Kona Honu, Big Island Divers, Pacific Rim Divers are all good. We use Blue Wilderness for boat diving in the Puako area. And if you want to venture to the Hilo side Nautilus Dive does guided shore dives in Hilo.