Diving on North side of Kauai (summer) near Princeville?

[davidbaraff]

We've been to Kauai before and stayed near Poipu. This time around, my wife wants to stay on the North side (i.e. near Princeville perhaps). Is there an op on the North side of the island that will take me out diving? I see the dive places near Poipu, but I'm not seeing much of anything on the North side.

Would love to go out boat diving, but if they want to take me shore diving, that's OK too.

I've also heard Nihau (sp?) island is great, though it sounds like a long trip there/back? Does anyone leave from the North side? Or is the North side just not a good place to go if you want to dive?

My wife heard that the surf conditions are gentler on the North side of the island during the summer, so that you want to be north, not south, in July. True/False?

Any opinion/advice gratefully accepted.

 

[diversteve]

Your wife heard right, the north side shuts down for diving when the big waves roll in during the winter months. But I think the south is better all the time since it's protected by the island. During the summer, Tunnels Beach is one of the better shore dives. I'm short on time tonite so contact Fathom Five: http://www.fathomfive.com/about.html

Fathom Five Divers is located on the south shore of Kauai in Old Koloa Town, just 5 minutes from sunny Poipu Beach and Kukuiula Harbor, where we launch our custom dive boats for some of the best Kauai SCUBA diving! From there it is just a few minutes more to the most spectacular diving on Kauai. Ocean Quest Watersports operates a just minutes from the North shore and our favorite Kauai SCUBA shore diving location, Tunnels Beach. Having these two locations allows us to dive virtually anywhere on Kauai.

I'm pretty sure all the boats for Niihau leave from the Poipu or Port Allen area.

 

[fisheater]

The BEST for diving Tunnels (which is a great beach dive, BTW) is Jeanette Thompson from Fathom Five.

And, yes, the Ni'ihau boats all leave from Poipu or Port Allen. That, too, is a fantastic dive and well worth the cross-island drive.

 

[Jnsey]

Ni'ihau is on my bucket list for my next Kauai trip (hopefully in the summer of '14) and I want to dive Tunnels also so this topic is something that interest me. I will probably use Bubbles Below again for the Ni'Ihau trip but I'm open to other ideas for the Tunnels

 

[AquamanKauai]

Aloha!

Diving is very limited on the north shore of the island and for all intents and purposes the only dive is the shore dive at Tunnels beach. It's a stunning back drop for a dive and a very interesting dive. There is NO question that Jeanette at Tunnels knows and loves this dive better than anyone on the island.

Be aware however that it is on average the lowest day to day vis' of any site that you will visit. I wouldn't say that it is representative of what Kauai diving is like in terms of vis' or marine critters. At the same time the lava tubes there are fantastic and a true blast to dive. A dozen or more can be visited over a two tank morning there.

Niihau on the other hand is the very best of Hawaii in my opinion. It's a full day but a slam dunk as a vacation highlight. Endangered monk seals, sharks, rays, huge caverns, dolphins, ..........

I personally work for Seasport Divers but feel free to send me a personal message with any specific questions that you may have. I can put you in touch with Jeanette at Fathom Five should you decide to dive the lava tubes at Tunnels.

Feel free to send questions that are not dive specific as well. Happy to help out anyway I can

A

 

[caslav]

Hi,
I will stay on north shore this summer. What is closest dive shop to north shore and is any place that I can rent tanks.

 

[diversteve]

Hi,
I will stay on north shore this summer. What is closest dive shop to north shore and is any place that I can rent tanks.

Ocean Quest Watersports operates a just minutes from the North shore and our favorite Kauai SCUBA shore diving location, Tunnels Beach. Having these two locations allows us to dive virtually anywhere on Kauai. http://www.fathomfive.com/about.html

IDK what their situation is there for tank rentals since I only dove the south side with them.

The other option might be Seasport in Kapaa. Contact Us Not really north shore though - it's the east side.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I got tanks from Seasport in Kapaa while staying in Princeville. Easy, pleasant, reasonable prices.