Diving in Big Island

[friscuba]

Re: shore diving- Jack's, Eco Adventures, Torpedo Tours, Wanna Dive and Mara's Dive all have or still do lead shore dives.

The entrance to Volcano National Park is at 4000'+ and there is no way to get there from Kona without hitting 4500'. Since you intend to hit there and Hilo on separate days I would recommend you head south on the way to the volcano and check out both South Point and Punalu'u black sand beach on the way. On your trip to Hilo head north and check out the waterfalls and the botanical park. I would not recommend the trip to the east side following diving, wait to the next day to be safe. Both Hilo and the volcano take roughly 2.5 hours from Kailua if you take the routes I recommend.

Those going to Mauna Kea need to follow time to fly recommendations and then some. Airplanes are pressurized to the equivalent of 7000'-8000' I beleive, and the visitor center is at 9000' and the top is above 13,000'. Saddle road is roughly 6500' so I would follow time to fly rules if you intend to visit the east side using that road.

Waipio Valley does have horesback tours you might want to look into. Everyone I've talked to who's done it has enjoyed it.

Have fun,

Steve

 

[jnylaw]

Did anyone taken any tour to the Waipio Valley? The pictures
look really nice! Any recommendation on which tour to go
with? Thanks!!

 

[raviepoo]

friscuba once bubbled...
Re: shore diving- Jack's, Eco Adventures, Torpedo Tours, Wanna Dive and Mara's Dive all have or still do lead shore dives.

To me it seems kind of ridiculous to pay $65 for a one tank shore dive or $85 for a two tank shore dive. I'd rather just get information about the local dive sites, get a buddy, rent a tank and go.

 

[reubencahn]

Big Island Revealed also has some good info about shore diving in Puako and at City of Refuge.

 

[RSdiver]

We dove with Kona Coast Divers for a week and they were great.
They had very good lights to place on the bottom to attract the mantas and 3 arrived within 5 minutes. This dive seemed a bit contrived for my liking prior to the dive, but my prejudice was quickly quelled and ended up as one of the most memorable of the trip.


I don't know what Doc found objectionable when he went with Kona Coast, but we thought they were very good.

DocVikingo wrote.....

For diving in general & shore diving/snorkeling in particular, check out web sites of Big Island Divers, Kona Coast Divers (but don't dive with this op) and Dick The Diver.

 

[jnylaw]

Anyone has any recommendation on dive shops that will take
us to do one or two easy shore/boat dives in the afternoon?
We will arrive in the morning. :boom:

 

[munkispank]

I have to agree with the above poster- I went with Kona coast divers for a week too- I got a pretty good deal. The diving in hawaii is expensive, but I paid around 300 for 3 days of 2 tanks, a manta dive and 3 days of unlimited shore diving.
I found their operation really helpful and professional- we saw tons of awesome fish and had a pod of spinner dolphins with us on two occasions.
The Manta dive is awesome- if a little chilly (I wore a farmer john and shortie-in May-brrr) But well worth it. We bought the vidoe too- very cheesy but it does get viewed often in our house.

For me the undeniable best thing was the Place of Refuge-also known as honaunau bay (spelling).

It is located in captain cook and is about 20 min drive from central Kona. There is a little parking lot and portable toilets and you walk out over lava rocks to the biggest aquarium you have ever seen. There are a number of shore dives to do around the Kona coast, but we just kept coming back to POR.

I spoke with someone who advised us that the amount of fish there now has dropped-which I cannot imagine- the place was full oif all the rare hawaiian natives. There were at least 20 turtles and we got to snorkel and dive with yet another pod of dolphins-spinning around us as we were diving- the best ever.

The entrance is really easy- just plop off the convenient rock slab- and exiting is just as easy. Most of the site is in about 35 ft of water-with the usual Hawaii big blue slope off- to who knows how deep. This is a great place you can snorkel and dive together as the reef is shallower in parts with deepere areas for divers.

I hope you have a great time- I cannot wait to return.

Jacqueline

 

[mr3047]

Just got back from a trip to the Big Island. Thanks for all the feedback from the other posters.

This was our first diving trip and we had an amazing time! Makes me wonder why I waited till now to start diving. It was very cool, and after getting certified in Seattle, down right luxurious.

Anyway, based on the feedback here on the board we tried 2 outfits, Sandwich Island Divers and Jacks Diving Locker.

Each operator had its strong and weak points, but in the end Sandwich Island was by far the best. That's not just from a newbie perspective, but from experienced divers perspective as well - we shared our trip with 2 folks who each have well over 5000 dives behind them.

Sandwich Island Divers offers you a small, intimate experience, with an extremely knowledgeable captian and dive master - Steve Myklebust, it was like going out with a really good friend who knows his stuff and cares about you. The other operations were far more corporate. Steve takes a max. of 6 people out on the boat and that's a large part of the attraction as far as I am concerned. They know their marine biology and really relate to you as people and visitors to their wonderful spot of the world.

Based on all the positive feedback I have read about Jack's I was really surprised. It was far more "cattle car like" and run somewhat impersonally. The folks were professional, but I could definately tell most of them were doing this because its a job for them, not because they really love dealing with people. I can't say it was terrible, but I will never dive with them again. The difference between the two operators was much like the difference between going out to eat at really good neighbor resturant you frequent often and they know you well and a Dennys Dinner in a strange town. Both fill you up, but one experience stands out in your mind.