Diving in Kauai

[saf_25]

Hi all,
I just found out that i'll be heading to HI for work for 1 week in August. I have to work pretty much all day M-F; Mon.-Wed. we'll be in Oahu, then Thurs & Fri in Kauai. My boss told me I could go the Friday before and stay through Sunday if I wanted. I'm definitely going early and diving in Oahu the weekend before, but with flying after diving restrictions, am not sure if I will be able to get any dives in on Kauai. Since I'll be by myself, I'm debating whether I should come home Saturday (and have a day to relax, do laundry, clean gear, etc... before going back to work), or Sunday (I have to pay for the extra hotel room if I do this, since it's not work related).

So, my questions are:
1) Any suggestions of a dive op/locations in Oahu for diving Sat and Sunday? I'll be traveling by myself, so will need to be assigned a buddy.....
2) Is the diving off of Kauai so good, that I should figure out a way to get it in and stay through Sunday evening? I think I might have something like half a day on Thursday to dive on, too, but am not sure how easy that would be. Any suggestions?
3) I know most people would tell me I should stay through Sunday anyway, but it's going to be a busy month for me - I'm going for a week vacation in Roatan in a few weeks, I'll come back for a week, to leave for HI, then I'll be back Monday to go on a 3-day liveaboard here in CA that Thursday (after Honduras and HI, that water is going to be cold!!). So, if the diving in Kauai isn't great, I'm leaning towards coming home on Sat. and having some down time here.

Sorry if this isn't the most organized post - I just found out so my head is spinning with many thoughts. Any advice you can offer is appreciated, though.
Thanks!

 

[-=>Larry<=-]

Hi all,
I just found out that i'll be heading to HI for work for 1 week in August. ...., but with flying after diving restrictions, am not sure if I will be able to get any dives in on Kauai.

So, my questions are:
2) Is the diving off of Kauai so good, that I should figure out a way to get it in and stay through Sunday evening? I think I might have something like half a day on Thursday to dive on, too, but am not sure how easy that would be. Any suggestions?

So, if the diving in Kauai isn't great, I'm leaning towards coming home on Sat. and having some down time here.

Wow - bunch of stuff to respond to - I think the Kauai diving is that good - but then with the type of opportunities you quote..maybe not..

but anyway - My son & I will be hanging out at the shore diving spots, primarily Tunnels. He's there now & I'll be there about July 15th. We both return about August 18th. We loved the shore diving with "Sacred Seas Diving" and my son worked up the courage to ask for a job and ended up there for his summer vacation. I'm losing vacation from my day job, so joining them will be a nice way to fix that.
So - some comments - depending on how tight you follow which Fly after Diving rules - there are a number of nice shore dives that give you a nice tour and don't press your nitrogen obligation.
Similarly, the snorkeling isn't bad - look to the shore diving book, but I enjoy Lawai Beach, Lydgate State Park, Anahola Beach,and of course - Tunnels!

 

[bikefox]

Tunnels reef (Princeville area) on Kauai is a fun shore dive. Be sure to get your tanks the night before so you can get there early. It is a popular beach so if you get there after about 7:30 you will be carrying your gear for a long way. If your staying on the other end of the island the Po'ipu area has some shorediving with easy entry. There are also several dive shops to grab tanks. If you need to rent any gear though, you may want to reserve it ahead of time.

 

[makichan]

Tunnels reef (Princeville area) on Kauai is a fun shore dive. Be sure to get your tanks the night before so you can get there early. It is a popular beach so if you get there after about 7:30 you will be carrying your gear for a long way. If your staying on the other end of the island the Po'ipu area has some shorediving with easy entry. There are also several dive shops to grab tanks. If you need to rent any gear though, you may want to reserve it ahead of time.

Hi there- we just flew back this AM from Kauai and the Tunnels diving situation is a bit politicized (to put it mildly) and we didn't even get a chance to get out there this weekend. I'm not sure what *EXACTLY* is going on, and the local rumour mill runs amok, but apparently the local landowners in the area are NONE too keen on having divers in the area and are trying to keep divers away, especially on holidays (and also weekends?? not sure on that one.)

Anyway, it's truly disappointing that some parts of Kaua'i seem to be evolving into an elitist neighborhood that tries to 'privatize' their beaches.... (which for me, coming from California, makes as much sense as privatizing someone's available oxygen in a given room.)

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes. There is definitely limited parking in the area and it seems pretty clear from the multiple "NOT THIS ROAD TO TUNNELS- next 1/4 mile!!!" signs along the road that the 'landowners' in the area are pretty ticked off at scuba divers coming into their 'hood.

Fathom Five in Poipu are great folks who can give you the run down on what is going on- they used to do shore dives off tunnels but i think they don't do them as frequently anymore. Definitely contact them or another one of the good local dive shops. Have fun!!!!

 

[makichan]

Just wondering, ? for the original poster...
(I'm from LA but got certified after college so am totally curious..)

how is the diving off the coast of Orange County?? I've done a few boat dives off the channel islands which was superduper COLD and superduper nauseating on the boat, i've gotten to the point where i'm turned off from diving in Southern California- what would you suggest? (I'm not keen on the kelp diving idea- it honestly scares me that I need to carry a knife to make sure i don't get caught on anything... also, as my husband just got certified and our diving has been in HI and in warm places so far- what can break us in?)

thanks

 

[saf_25]

WEll, seeing as I've got approx. 120 dives, all in CA, I guess it's one of those things where you take what you can get. My personal feelings are that, while it is cold (there's no denying that), it's worth it. I also have a high tolerance for cold, though, so that just might be me (I actually have more of a problem overheating while waiting for buddies to gear up).
I do carry a dive knife with me, but have not ever needed it, so am not sure that is a valid concern (if you do get caught in the kelp and can't untangle, kelp breaks easily, so no need for a knife). Plus, you quickly learn the "CA crawl" when going through kelp, so it's not a problem. I think that places like FL where fishing wire is more common is much more scary than what you'll find here (of course, the wire is possible here, which is why I carry something, but I've not had ot use it yet).
Of course, I'm biased, but to me, there is no place more magnificant than the bottom of a kelp forest - when you can look up and see the kelp forming a canopy above you. It's beautiful.
Others will disagree, but my feeling is that shore diving isn't great - vis even on a good day (and we get those rarely) isn't anything to write home about (20 feet is good, anything above 30 is excellent, and that's usually only found in the autumn). But, diving in CAtalina, or any of the Channel Islands, really, is amazing, and better conditions seem more common there, too (I've seen a number of 60-100' days in CAtalina). I do get seasick, but have learned a few tricks to help minimize that problem (peanut butter bagels, Queasy Pops , stay outdoors, be well-rested, etc...). I'm assuming that you live in So Cal? My advice for you would be to start at CAtalina, as oppossed to a shore dive (or, you could do the Avalon dive park, which is technically a shore dive, but in the best conditions possible). Conditions there are almost always better, so you can see if you're going to like diving locally enough to bother with a shore dive.
I would also suggest to go with an experienced local diver first. A couple of ways to do this are: 1) find a dive club that's close and fits your schedule, go to meetings to get to know people and see if their style fits yours, then dive with them and mooch off the knowledge of the experienced people. There are a lot of dive clubs locally (pm me if you want my personal recommendations) - if you don't like one, then try another until you find a group you're comfortable with. 2) Look in the So CAl Section here (under N. America, then USA, than CA, than So CAl) - there's an active local group there that does get-togethers and lots of dives, so it's a good way to meet people and find someone who's willing to give you a pointer. 3) IF you haven't been diving locally, and have just been a "vacation diver", then you might want to check out a local dive shop, or your instructor if you already have one. I now that my instructors were happy to include "graduated" students in their upcoming dives (we were often paired with other certified divers looking for experience, but were allowed to follow along with classes). OR, if you don't already have a local instructor/dive shop you like, find one and see if they won't do a local diving orientation - possibly they'll be able to do one along with a tune up class. For the bit of money they might charge, it would be worth it.
I hope that helped. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Oh, and thanks to everyone else who responded ot this thread. SOrry it got a bit off topic....

Just wondering, ? for the original poster...
(I'm from LA but got certified after college so am totally curious..)

how is the diving off the coast of Orange County?? I've done a few boat dives off the channel islands which was superduper COLD and superduper nauseating on the boat, i've gotten to the point where i'm turned off from diving in Southern California- what would you suggest? (I'm not keen on the kelp diving idea- it honestly scares me that I need to carry a knife to make sure i don't get caught on anything... also, as my husband just got certified and our diving has been in HI and in warm places so far- what can break us in?)

thanks

 

[justleesa]

Where on Oahu will you be staying?

 

[saf_25]

For Oahu, my company got us rooms at the Outrigger Luana Waikiki. They had trouble getting rooms for us, actually, called something like 4 different hotels before they found this one that had enough rooms to accomodate all of us. Are you familiar with it? Not having made the plans myself, and knowing that it was our 5th choice, I wonder how nice it will be..... Especially since it sounds like it's away from the beach.
Oh well, I guess I really can't complain about a free room in Hawaii, right?

Leesa, did you see my thread I started a few days after this one on my Oahu trip? It's probably on the second page here now, but i know that you are affiliated with a dive op in Oahu, so any advice you have there would especially be appreciated....
Thanks!

 

[rje634]

We were in Kauai in December and dove with SeaSport divers, they were very good. If you like turtles I highly recommend Sheraton Caverns, lots of turtles and swimthroughs. One dive they took us to a reef with reef sharks, another good dive. If you can swing doing Ni'ihau do it..
Have fun....