Hawaii diving for beginner help?

[2 Bar]

I'll be hitting Oahu, Kuai, and Maui like it's nobody's business for a hardcore honeymoon mid Sept. The little lady got certified in Cozumel and only did her checkout dives there. She did very well for her discovery dive and four checkouts. But she had buoyancy issues at the quarry with a 7mm, hood, and extra weights. So I am a bit concerened because we may not have time to tweak her skills anymore. She may be ok in tropical water.

What dive companies are good with newbies? Are there decent shallow dives?

Any advice on with whom and where I should be planning our dives?

 

[TSandM]

My husband and I just came home from Maui. We did two days of boat diving with B&B, at the recommendation of our LDS. The first day, only one person other than us was a certified diver -- the rest had never been diving before! I would say that B&B is VERY good with beginners.

Molokini crater is a wonderful place to dive. The center of the crater is pretty protected in most weather, so no current to deal with, and it's a marine preserve, so the sea life is dense and fascinating. B&B started each dive here, and then did a shallower dive closer to shore for an encore.

B&B is based in Kihei, which may be a factor, depending on where you are planning to stay on Maui.

 

[DiveMaven]

If you're staying near Lahaina or Kaanapali, I'd recommend Lahaina Divers. They do run big boats, but the DMs are really great guys. We dive with them when we're in Maui since we say in Kaanapali, and IMO they do a fabulous job taking care of anyone who asks for help...or shows they need help.

I'll second the recommendation to go to Molokini. Great, calm diving with visibility in the 100+ foot range almost all the time.

 

[Mantasscareme]

Real shame you're not going to the Big Island. It seems to me that Kona's where all of the great beginner dive sites are (although Maui's supposed to be beautiful, I've never dove there myself).

 

[mossym]

ed robinsons on maui are a great outfit, they run advanced boats seperately, so if you tell them you are a beginner they will look after you..

 

[ch0ppersrule]

get with pacific paradise divers on oahu. Really great bunch of people. They also know the dive sites and very people friendly.

 

[jwlast]

On Oahu, try Oahu Dive Center. Great folks, very laid back. Owner of the shop, Bob, has incredible patience with new divers and is a great dive leader. Shore dive or boat dive, they'd be my choice on Oahu.

You can check out ODCs sight at www.oahudivecenter.com.

 

[KrisB]

I'd suggest a shore dive or two to get the bouyancy things worked out... check out Maui Dreams Dive Co. in Kihei for the equipment and guided shore dives. They are very patient and great with beginners.

An advantage to the shore dive is that the hard bottom is still close enough to the surface to do a "panic ascent" without too much risk of injury...

 

[chepar]

You've got several good recommendations so far. As another recommendation, check out Ocean Concepts. Very organized, efficient and friendly. Offers shuttle service from Waikiki. They dive mainly off the west shore out of Waianae harbor.

Many divers here on vacation are either beginners or have not been diving recently - Ocean Concepts is very good about making sure you're comfortable with the dive and grouping you with people of like experience.

I would call all of the operators you are interested in and talk to them about what to expect while diving with them. Listen to what they say (and how they say it) - and go with the operator that feels right for you.

 

[rje634]

My wife and I have done a bit of diving on Maui and Kauai.
Check out my posts within the Hawaii O'Hana forum.
Do an advanced search for my user name rje634 within the Hawaii O'Hana forum and click display posts only..