scubawife:
Given your requirements and limitations with the new divers and their confidence levels I would like to suggest that you take a lot more into concideration other than price. Make sure that you get a captain and a dive guide that has experience in dealing with new and/or un-confident divers. Notice that I said "dive guide" instead of DM or instructor. Anyone can pass the tests and become a DM or instructor, but that does not mean they can handle the situations that come about with new and un-confident divers in the water. When you call around to the different shops for pricing be sure to ask about the captains and dive guides and their experience levels.
For the record, I have nothing for or against any dive oporator in Kona. Including where I work now, have worked before, or may some day work in the future. You need to decide for yourself who you want to dive with. That being said, most any dive oporator will allow you to charter their boat exclusively for yourself. Some quick recommendations include Big Island Divers, Jacks Dive Locker, Pacific Rim Divers, and Torpedo Tours. This not a complete list of recommendations, but these are some of the experienced oporators that have boats that can accomodate a small private group at realistic prices. Big Island and Jacks both have retail shops and several boats including six pax that you can charter privately. Both Pacific Rim and Torpedo Tours have boats that only take 6 passengers max.
One last note. When calculating pricing for your charter be sure to take rental gear into concideration. Some places might have a higher inital price but cheaper rental prices and visa versa. Also miltiple days of private charters will effect total pricing too. You might be able to negotiate a better overall deal for more than one day of diving. Early bookings and early payment by check instead of credit card can effect final price too, so don't wait until the last minute.
