Diving Kona with non-diving family

[scubacalifornia]

Greetings....

I'm vacationing for 8 days on the Big Island in early August with my wife and two boys, ages 10 and 13. We're staying in Waikoloa and after reading quite a few less-than-stellar reports on Kohala Coast dive operators, I'm planning to make the trek to Kona for at least a couple of dives and the manta night dive. I can't exactly ditch the family for hours on multiple days, so I was thinking I could take them along snorkeling on all my dive trips. They had a great time snorkeling last time we were in the tropics (Turks & Caicos) on vacation. I'm wondering if the dive sites offer enough to keep them fulfilled as snorkelers. Also, does anyone have an opinion on Konahonu Divers?.

Thanks for your input. Other suggestions for family fun on the Big Island are also welcome. We're already slated to do the horseback ride through Waipio Valley, an overnighter in Volcano Village, and a luau (gotta be a tourist I guess). Also thinking about kayaking to the Capt. Cook monument for snorkeling, and doing a coffee plantation tour. Maybe I oughta schedule an extra week for everything we're trying to cram in


Thanks!
Kevin

 

[Kevrumbo]

http://www.konadivingadventures.com/Main/Child care.htm
Also, if you want to rent a Scooter or try on a set of Doubles for an Intro to Tech, Keith Keizer & Chuck Mather of Divetek Hawaii/Konadivingadventures will provide you with everything you need. . .
The diving off Kona is good; great visibility & endemic Fish Life, fair amount of Turtles everywhere, nice to hear the Humpbacks at depth & watch them breach when in Season. Just don't expect to see a lot of colorful coral reefs (the volcanic reefs, tubes and mini-caverns are kind of neat to swim through).
Wish I had a month's vacation on The Big Island: 11 of the 14 known climate zones in the world - from desert lavascapes to tropical rain forests to beaches to snow on the peaks of extinct volcanoes. From the lava flows of the currently active Kilauea Volcano, to the Astro-Observatories on top of the World's Tallest Mountain at 10203 meters (base-to-peak) --there so much to do and see there.

 

[friscuba]

Virtually all the dive ops here will take snorkelers. For the night dive, snorkelers get a great view when the mantas are in- your family will love it!!Most of the Kona dive sites have both deep and shallow water, and many lend themselves to both great diving and snorkeling. Itr shouldn't be a problem for all of you to have a great time together.

All of the other trips you mentioned are worthwhile.

Have fun.

Steve

 

[ronrosa]

I wouldn't worry too much. The Waikoloa resort is very nice and has plenty of things to do for your wife and kids while you dive a few days. The Kona ops leave pretty early in the morning so you'll be back in time for lunch.

 

[Wildcard]

How about SCUBA lessons for the rest of the family?
I lived on the big isle for 14 months and loved every moment of it. Been back twice since then and going again next weekend.
Volcanos Park, Mauna Kea, south point, Kohala moutains. Waipio valley, its all so awsome! If you can swing it, splurge for the two hour helo tour. Book on line for a big discount and do the first flight in the AM for fewer clouds. It's spendy but worth every penny. Enjoy your visit. Aloha!

 

[cowjazz]

I have used Kona Honu Divers, and I cannot think of one thing to complain about. The most diver friendly boat I have been on, great DMs and capatains. They even took myself and one other diver on a two tank trip after another group cancelled. They thought it was unfair to cancel us, and took us out even though they operated at a loss that day. They have dive/snorkel combination trips, and their manta ray dive also accomodates snorkelers. I will use then again when I return to the big island.

I would add picking up this book http://wizardpub.com/bigisland/bigisland.html . It was the key to our trip.

 

[scubacalifornia]

.......I would add picking up this book http://wizardpub.com/bigisland/bigisland.html . It was the key to our trip.

That's great to hear about Konahonu. A friend of mine dove with them and was equally pleased. I do have the Big Island Revealed book already, and it really seems to be an excellent reference source for just about everything Hawaii. It's been my guidebook for planning the trip. Between this book and Scubaboard, I've come to the conclusion there's quite a number of quality dive operators in Kona. I wish that was true of what I've read about the Kohala operators - the three I've found...Red Sail, Kohala Divers, and Mauna Kea Divers all seem to have some amount of negative publicity out there and I've yet to find anyone really up on any of them, unlike many of the Kona shops.

After many recent weeks of diving our local So. Cal. waters at 53-58 degrees, I can't wait to be in warm water again!

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[SwimsWithSharks]

I also used Kona Honu and was very pleased. Glenn, the owner, was great. I loved the boat - very diver/camera friendly. There are also other good operators in the area. I have some links to several dive operators on my web site in the Hawaii information area. Definitely go to see the volcano. We enjoyed the kayak to Captain Cook's monument and were joined by some dolphins. There is also good shore diving on the Big Island.

 

[scubacalifornia]

Is anyone familiar with Ocean Sports, the dive operator running out of Waikoloa? I just came across their website and they're based at the Marriott resort on A-Bay. Very convenient since we're staying at the Outrigger Fairway Villas condos within walking distance of their shop.