Going to Oahu

[jerseydiver]

Hello all, I am going to Oahu in March. I've checked the past posts and other boards, but seem even more confused. I've read the horror stories about the cattle boats, ho-hum DM's, and all the rest. I am looking for some reccommendations as to who to use and/or who to avoid and hopefully why...

I am certified to the OW level and was thining about going for AOW while I was at it, wrap it up in a package.

I could call/write/e-mail all the operators, but I've read what they say isn't always what you get...

I was hoping to get some no nonsense info before I drop some money on a bad and possibly dangerous operator.

Thanks in advance....

Ed

 

[cstreu1026]

I dove with reef trekkers when i was there in March. They were nice and had excellent service. I wasn't thrillled by the quality of rental gear, but hey it was rental gear after all. I also wasn't thrilled by their seeming lack of environmental concearn, but from what I have hear dfrom other divers that seems to be kind of standard among dive operators in Hawaii. They were not at all concearned with Bouyancy contol and protecting what is on the bottom, but since it is mostly sand and lava rock really doesn't matter. All in all I enjoyed diving with them and wouldn't hesitate to recommend checking them out. We did dive with a small group of only 6 divers and the dive master. They were also very considerate of the fact that I was on my first ocean dives and first since OW certification.

 

[chepar]

If you are looking to do your dives off of a boat, as a general recommendation, I would recommend Ocean Concepts. They are extremely organized and efficient. They will buddy and group you with other divers of a similar experience level as much as possible. I know that you can do your AOW with them (I always see AOW divers on the boat), but I can't say much about the quality of the course, as I didn't do my AOW with them.

I also like to dive with Island Divers - they're a smaller operation and don't run their own boats, but I've had nothing but good experiences with them.

Hawaii Sea Adventures is the LDS that I've done my OW and AOW with, and they are more of a local shop than one that caters to tourists, i.e. they don't have shuttle service from your hotel. If you have a rental car, then the shuttle service is not a big deal.

What I would recommend really depends on what you're looking for, but with any of the 3 shops I mentioned before you would be ok. If you needed more detailed info, feel free to PM me.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Check www.oceanconcepts.com

Make sure to dive the "Sea Tiger" - a nice wreck west of Waikiki