MeiLing
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catherine96821:
Waikiki also has a lot of old time beachboys who are quite experienced surfing teachers. Some are even legends like Rabbit Kekai.
Diving and surfing in Hawaii at Thanksgiving
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Waikiki also has a lot of old time beachboys who are quite experienced surfing teachers. Some are even legends like Rabbit Kekai.
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I see a lot of lessons all over the place..even Hawaii Kai now, I just see brand new people actually getting up in Waikiki, in general. Those long even sets give them a chance on the timing.
Oh another great place is out by you...what that place? A big park, lots of parking.....near military housing?
I've surfed there a couple times..blanking. West of Honolulu..
Oh another great place is out by you...what that place? A big park, lots of parking.....near military housing?
I've surfed there a couple times..blanking. West of Honolulu..
I think you mean "Chun's Reef". I agree that Waikiki has the best smooth long rides, I guess it depends on what you want for a backdrop when surfing, city or country. I just don't like the idea that the north shore is off limits to beginners in the winter. I did my surf lesson in Feb at Puena Pt.....yes I needed a lesson. The inside break was clean and made for good 10 to 15 second rides.catherine96821:
"Wakiwaki" is where to go for lessons but IMO it's too crowded. The oldtimers (I live next to Wally Froiseth) said that it was better before the Ala Wai Canal was built. That diverted some streams and the loss of runoff changed the bottom topography; cleaner reefs, junker surf. Cockroach Bay is just about ideal; easy waves, great scenery, some snorkeling opportunities, just around the curve from Makapuu Beach. On a small day, Makapuu is good but boogie boards only!
The Surf'n'Sea shop in Haleiwa has been around since the 60's and they offer surf classes. Puaena Pt. or "Police Beach" is the site of the old Haleiwa airfield where Lts Welch and Taylor took off on Dec. 7 '41. A few years ago, the Nat'l Spearfishing Championships were held there; Gene Higa died, probably shallow-water blackout; that was really sad; his wife and son were on the beach. In general, the beaches in the Papailoa neighborhood across from the former dairy are fairly sheltered; the surf can be small but the outside currents strong; be careful. That's also where my truck's door locks got punched out and my truck was just a junker with nothing inside: be warned.
The Surf'n'Sea shop in Haleiwa has been around since the 60's and they offer surf classes. Puaena Pt. or "Police Beach" is the site of the old Haleiwa airfield where Lts Welch and Taylor took off on Dec. 7 '41. A few years ago, the Nat'l Spearfishing Championships were held there; Gene Higa died, probably shallow-water blackout; that was really sad; his wife and son were on the beach. In general, the beaches in the Papailoa neighborhood across from the former dairy are fairly sheltered; the surf can be small but the outside currents strong; be careful. That's also where my truck's door locks got punched out and my truck was just a junker with nothing inside: be warned.
IMHO...Since you are also looking for nightlife and are alone, I wouldn't stay at the north shore. I'd stay in town (Waikiki). Then if you have transportation you can drive up north to surf. If you won't have a car, then this is also your best bet for surfing. Can't say much about where to surf since I go where the waves aren't.
But as for scuba diving, most shops do hotel pick ups in Waikiki. If they aren't diving the south shore, then they will take you either to east side or more than likely the west side where diving conditions are more predictable.
As for dive shops, there are many good ones. As an instructor who taught on Oahu for 7 years, make sure you ask questions. This will make sure you're doing the type of diving that you want, and are comfortable with.
1 - Do they own the boat or are they going to buy a seat for you? (Many shops all book on the same few boats so you wind up with 3 or 4 different groups all on the same boat)
2 - Do they know for sure (conditions permitting) where they will be diving on the days you want to go out?
3 - Since you're not from Hawaii are they guided dives?
4 - Will you be buddied up with someone with about the same amount of experience as you?
5 - What ammenities (creature comforts) are there on the boat? For example, if they advertise that the boat only holds six divers, there may not be a marine head (toilet), camera table, easy access to water, food etc.
I would suggest looking at Ocean Concepts. They do a great job with visiting divers. But definitely ask questions about all the shops before you book a trip. Most will also offer multi-day discounted rates if you are going to be diving 3 or more days.
Have a great time, I loved my time on Oahu. The nightlife in Waikiki sometimes doesn't get going until 11:00 at night so you can even get in a night dive before hitting the clubs.
Aloha, Cheers and Safe Diving,
R
But as for scuba diving, most shops do hotel pick ups in Waikiki. If they aren't diving the south shore, then they will take you either to east side or more than likely the west side where diving conditions are more predictable.
As for dive shops, there are many good ones. As an instructor who taught on Oahu for 7 years, make sure you ask questions. This will make sure you're doing the type of diving that you want, and are comfortable with.
1 - Do they own the boat or are they going to buy a seat for you? (Many shops all book on the same few boats so you wind up with 3 or 4 different groups all on the same boat)
2 - Do they know for sure (conditions permitting) where they will be diving on the days you want to go out?
3 - Since you're not from Hawaii are they guided dives?
4 - Will you be buddied up with someone with about the same amount of experience as you?
5 - What ammenities (creature comforts) are there on the boat? For example, if they advertise that the boat only holds six divers, there may not be a marine head (toilet), camera table, easy access to water, food etc.
I would suggest looking at Ocean Concepts. They do a great job with visiting divers. But definitely ask questions about all the shops before you book a trip. Most will also offer multi-day discounted rates if you are going to be diving 3 or more days.
Have a great time, I loved my time on Oahu. The nightlife in Waikiki sometimes doesn't get going until 11:00 at night so you can even get in a night dive before hitting the clubs.
Aloha, Cheers and Safe Diving,
R
rdbean -- on Maui, your advise would be opposite:
1. do they own a dive boat -- if so, they might not be your best choice for small groups, personalized service
2. do they know for sure where they will be diving -- any boat operator on Maui that knows for sure is not the one you want to take... the smaller, personalized service poll the group of divers to decide on locations they want to see
3. I'm not aware of any non-guided dives booked through dive shops (especially boat trips) on Maui.
4. on Maui, most ops use a loose buddy system -- you get buddied when the two of you need to ascend.
5. this is a good point -- there's only one 6-pax that I would feel "comfortable" on, and that's because they voluntarily choose to run it with a 6-passenger maximum... it's actually licensed for 12-16 or so.
general: since you haven't decided on islands, my best suggestion would be to do a bit of research on the different islands topside activities, then pick your destination.
If nightlife is very important to you, Oahu is probably your best bet, with Maui a reasonably distant second.
But if getting out of the city, and not seeing a concrete jungle is important, consider Kauai, the Big Island or Maui over Oahu.
1. do they own a dive boat -- if so, they might not be your best choice for small groups, personalized service
2. do they know for sure where they will be diving -- any boat operator on Maui that knows for sure is not the one you want to take... the smaller, personalized service poll the group of divers to decide on locations they want to see
3. I'm not aware of any non-guided dives booked through dive shops (especially boat trips) on Maui.
4. on Maui, most ops use a loose buddy system -- you get buddied when the two of you need to ascend.
5. this is a good point -- there's only one 6-pax that I would feel "comfortable" on, and that's because they voluntarily choose to run it with a 6-passenger maximum... it's actually licensed for 12-16 or so.
general: since you haven't decided on islands, my best suggestion would be to do a bit of research on the different islands topside activities, then pick your destination.
If nightlife is very important to you, Oahu is probably your best bet, with Maui a reasonably distant second.
But if getting out of the city, and not seeing a concrete jungle is important, consider Kauai, the Big Island or Maui over Oahu.
Kris, All good points!
And diving on Maui is great. Gotta love the outside of the crater...partying in Lahina isn't bad either.
There's also nightlife (albeit small) on the Big Island in Kona, but not sure about surfing. Love the shore diving in Kona.
All the islands have something to offer. Just partial to Oahu after living there!
As for the differing opinions on small or bigger operators, as I said, she needs to ask questions to find a shop that fits her needs.
Polling divers is great if you have a more local crowd, but if you only have two days to dive and you want to do say "the Mahi", then I'd want to know for sure that I'm gonna make it there and not be out voted.
Heading off for a dive here in the chilly Indian Ocean! Love my 7mm....
Cheers and Aloha,
Rich
And diving on Maui is great. Gotta love the outside of the crater...partying in Lahina isn't bad either.
There's also nightlife (albeit small) on the Big Island in Kona, but not sure about surfing. Love the shore diving in Kona.
All the islands have something to offer. Just partial to Oahu after living there!
As for the differing opinions on small or bigger operators, as I said, she needs to ask questions to find a shop that fits her needs.
Polling divers is great if you have a more local crowd, but if you only have two days to dive and you want to do say "the Mahi", then I'd want to know for sure that I'm gonna make it there and not be out voted.
Heading off for a dive here in the chilly Indian Ocean! Love my 7mm....
Cheers and Aloha,
Rich
Rich, I totally see your point -- around here, there isn't *usually* that strong of a desire from most... but there's often repeat customers that have been diving for the last couple days that don't want to do the same sites over and over again.
I know that around Maui, the sites chosen often have a lot to do with the day's conditions and the experience level of the divers on the boat -- this is the case with virtually every operation, and as a result it's often the less-desirable operators that "guarantee" a specific dive. For instance -- to guarantee one of the dives to be done on the Carthaginian is extremely foolhardy. The currents there can sometimes make the dive unpleasant at best -- though that won't necessarily stop some operators from doing it, as it was "guaranteed." Likewise with some of the other popular destinations -- e.g. the Molokini Backwall, Pu'u Olai (Red Hill) and the 85' and 110' Pinnacles.
I'm thinking both on Maui and the Big Island, few good operators will guarantee specific dive sites ahead of time. There's too many variables, swell, windchop, what people want to see, what sites people have already dove, who's already on the water and where they are moored, etc.
On Oahu, if you want to do the Mahi I suspect you just have to hit someone who dives the west side and check... I've heard the exact opposite problem from some who've dove Oahu - signing up for a week of diving and ending up doing the Mahi and Makaha Caverns almost every day. One guy I taqlked to said he signed up for 5 days of diving and ended up doing those two dives three days in a row, so he cancelled the last two days and figured he'd sidestep the problem by changing operators, guess where they went both days.
I would think the more important question would be not where they intend to dive, but will they dive something different every day for you unless you're really diggin' a particular site.
On Oahu, if you want to do the Mahi I suspect you just have to hit someone who dives the west side and check... I've heard the exact opposite problem from some who've dove Oahu - signing up for a week of diving and ending up doing the Mahi and Makaha Caverns almost every day. One guy I taqlked to said he signed up for 5 days of diving and ended up doing those two dives three days in a row, so he cancelled the last two days and figured he'd sidestep the problem by changing operators, guess where they went both days.
I would think the more important question would be not where they intend to dive, but will they dive something different every day for you unless you're really diggin' a particular site.
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