Hawai'i Dilemma

[drl]

I'm finding this thread useful too--we're planning a 20th anniversary trip to Hawaii in mid-late August. We have a little more time (2 weeks) so we are going to do the Kona Aggressor, spending a day or 2 in Kona first to de-jet-lag and allow for flight delays. We are trying to decide what to do for the 2nd week. I'm leaning toward the south coast of Maui. Having just done a week of diving, that will be less important here (though I really want to dive Molokini); nice beaches and a chance to relax are top priority. There have been some great tips in this thread and in a couple others on this forum. Thanks, all!
Bob, hope you found the inspiration you needed, and happy anniversary!

Deborah

 

[Hawaii Scuba Divers]

Hawaii is not third world country and so gear is very good for most part...
I would bring only your Reg,Mask,Computer...That should fit in Carry On...
aloha Mark.

 

[ladycute1]

Hmmmmm.... a week in Hawaii.... diving... relaxation... and a little topside tourism -- I have two options that I would have a hard time choosing between.

1) Maui.... Go to vrbo dot com and find a condo in Kihei or Wailea... look for one that has a washer and dryer. Rent a car. Diving... Check in with Maui Dreams Dive Co in Kihei and do a day of shore diving with them... and a day on their new boat. Then... I'd probably go with Ed Robinson's 3 tank explorer dive or their evening/night dive combination. I might add an additional day of shore diving... either on my own or again with Maui Dreams. If I wanted to squeeze a bit more diving in... I'd sign up with B&B for a morning boat dive... they leave early and get you back early so you still have a whole day to do "stuff". In terms of topside activities... I would try to get to Haleakala either for sunrise or sunset... and... possibly... if you like the rain forest kinda thing... drive to Hana. One afternoon after driving I would drive to Lahaina for a little touristy stuff... see the sites.. take in the old port town. Another winner for a day time activity would be the Maui Ocean Center. A quickie daytime stop would be the Sugar Museum -- lots of info about the immigration and essentially indentured servitude in the early days.

OR

2) The Big Island.... again, go to vrbo dot com -- rent a condo in Kona. Then, I'd go to Torpedo Tours (I think it's Hawaii Scuba Diving Kona ) and talk to Mike and Nickie and book several days of diving with them... tell them what you want... and let them tailor the program for you... if you want three dives a day... they'll do it. I would also go to Big Island Divers and book the Manta Ray Night Dive with them, followed by the Black Water Dive. If I wanted to do shore diving -- I'd go to Place of Refuge... and for an easy, quick one... I'd do the Kona Pier.... amaaaaazing stuff.... all kind of hiding in plain sight. For topside activities... I might do a coffee tasting on my way to or from City of Refuge. While at City of Refuge I would visit the National Park there. Then I'd spend a day... maybe even an overnight and a second day at Volcano National Park. If time allowed I'd either do another day of boat diving...or shore diving at Puako or... topside... I'd go to the Parker Ranch.


Oh.... and for packing... the majority of my gear goes in one bag. I may carry on computer, camera, and reg. Clothing in another... but I don't need much... several bathing suits, some shorts, tee shirts... one pair of jeans for anything at altitude. One mildly dressy something -- a pair of slacks and Hawaiian shirt for the gentleman... a skirt or sundress for the lady. If you choose a condo with a washer & dryer... you can easily throw things in the wash and save on space.

Good luck -- I'm sure that whatever you choose will be wonderful.

Liz

 

[redrover]

Gee, if you did the Aggressor (only is off Kona side) all you need to bring is dive gear, slippas, shorts and a tank top. Then you can see from the coast what you’re missing of that big rock over there and come back for it later.

 

[TSandM]

Well, I've been to almost all the islands, although I've only dived off Maui.

If I didn't like touristy stuff, and I wasn't going to be upset if the weather wasn't perfect, I'd go to Kauai. I loved Kauai. It's very wet, and very jungly, and not very built up. The helicopter tour is ABSOLUTELY worth doing -- The views of the canyon are astonishing and very beautiful. I understand the diving generally gets better as you move north among the islands, so Kauai should be quite good.

I enjoy Maui, and I've done some fantastic diving there, but it's very built up and very touristy, and has gotten more and more that way over the years. Kauai was more like my husband remembered Maui from 30 years ago.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I understand the diving generally gets better as you move north among the islands, so Kauai should be quite good.

The latitude has little to do with the diving, so the two ends of the above statement are not related. As mentioned by Friscuba, soil (sand) and run-off (rain) can have a large impact on dive conditions. Kauaii is the oldest of the Main Hawaiian Islands, with very likely the highest percentage of soil. It is also evidently the optimum height for producing rain from our trade winds (one of the worlds wettest spots).

In general the visibility is better as you move South East (younger islands - less soil - less rain). There are notable exceptions to that rule; Ni'ihau is a small rocky island off Kauai with arguably the best diving in the Islands (summer only), West Oahu is pretty darn dry normally and the Mahi Wreck / Makaha Caverns boat trips are very popular and of course there is rarely less than 100' vis at Molokini off South Maui. In general, the Big Island (Kona) has the best vis, and is home to the only viable live-aboard.

Both Kauai and Oahu have epic cavern diving in the summer (Tunnels and Pupukea), with Kauai's turtles possibly being largest due to more limu and algae to eat. Oahu has the best wreck diving, Maui might have the best over-all shore diving and Hawaii has the best Manta Ray diving (night). Lanai has a couple of the most mentioned dive sites (Cathedrals I & II) but most divers go with a Lahaina charter, not from Lanai.

My wish list for major Hawaii dives I have not done is; Ni'ihau (Kauai, 3-tank boat), Moku Ho'oniki (Molokai, 3-tank boat), North Shore Explorers (Maui, 2-tank RIB), Au'au Crater (Kona, 3-tank boat) and the Maui Ocean Center aquarium dive (arranged in descending price). Dives I will never tire of; Pupukea (Sharks Cove - Three Tables), Tunnels, Makena Landing (Makena Caverns!?!) and Molokini in February by kayak (on second thought, that dive does tire me)!

 

[berick]

Thanks again for the help. I'll get my wife on here to read all the recommendations.

Bob