Diving Kona is Great, But Driving From Kohala Isn't

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

So if I'm staying at the Outrigger Keauhou, about how long of a drive can I expect to the Honokohau Boat Harbor? The two dive ops we're deciding between have an 8:30 and 9:00 meet time. Please don't tell me I'll have to leave the hotel at 7am...
 
scubawife:
So if I'm staying at the Outrigger Keauhou, about how long of a drive can I expect to the Honokohau Boat Harbor? The two dive ops we're deciding between have an 8:30 and 9:00 meet time. Please don't tell me I'll have to leave the hotel at 7am...

30 minutes at that time of day, give or take. It'll slow down to a crawl approaching Nani Kailua Drive,
may or may not get stuffed up around Henry St / Palani Rd, and definitely crawl again approaching
Police Station Drive. (there's a new light there and it really seems to confuse some people)
 
Thanks! A half hour doesn't seem bad at all. I can spend that going 6 stops on an express train in Manhattan most mornings.
 
We are staying at the Mauna Lani Point right now and have been diving with Kohala Dive up north (9miles north). No traffic woes and a great little operation. Only 6 of us on the boat yesterday. We are diving with them on Wednesday and Friday as well.

Thursday night we are doing a Manta dive with Jacks, but other than that all of our diving will be up north. I have heard the diving is better up there anyways.

Rick
 
ryoung99:
We are staying at the Mauna Lani Point right now and have been diving with Kohala Dive up north (9miles north). No traffic woes and a great little operation. Only 6 of us on the boat yesterday. We are diving with them on Wednesday and Friday as well.

Thursday night we are doing a Manta dive with Jacks, but other than that all of our diving will be up north. I have heard the diving is better up there anyways.

Rick


It's a matter of opinion of course (you have to work to find a "bad" spot along that coast) but the reefs up north seem to be more developed than down south. I think the main reason is age; the Kohala/Mauna Kea flows are older than the Mauna Loa/Hualalai flows and so the reefs would have more time to grow. The winds and currents are a little trickier in the Kohala region. Shore diving is much tougher because of access -- a friend who had a house up at Kohala Ranch Estates used to regularly go "outlaw" (i.e. trespass) to freedive.

Reviews of Kohala Divers seemed to be mixed recently. I knew and dove quite a number of times with the original owner-operator, Turner, and he was super.
 
We will be diving with Dive Makai and Jack's in 10 days!! Can't wait!

Staying in town though, to avoid the traffic everyday...

J.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom