Trip Report Hawaii - Kona/Big Island May 2023 trip report/dive shop comparison

[Judy Uhlar Craig]

Last thing I would say is, depending on your temperature tolerance, I found the diving to be COLD!! So much so that I purchased a Sharkskin titanium exposure layer to go under my 5mm semi-dry. I'm a bit of a wimp with temperature, so you may be fine, but just wanted to flag that it is chilly if you're primarily used to warmer waters.

Yikes. Good to know. They only rent 3mm wet suits so I just thought that would be enough. Obviously not!
I'll go prepared.

 

[mauimel]

I think you mean Kohala Divers on the Kohala Coast (North of Kona). Knowing the Hawaiian islands, there is probably a Kahala somewhere else that is completely different.

We dove with Kohala Divers for the first time on Monday of this week and they were awesome. Really interesting sites on on the Kohala Coast that are different from those down by Kailua-Kona. We dove Black Point South and Ulua Caverns and they were gorgeous sites. There was some current around Black Point that made it a little more challenging, but nothing unmanageable.

How far were the Kohala dive sites from the boat take off point?

 

[mauimel]

There are many good dive ops out of Kona but they all hit the same sites if you dive with them enough so really just find one you vibe with but the next time you come back it may be different as the guides jump around. We usually dive with a few different ops each time we go and mix in some shore diving. Below are my favorite ops depending on the area of the coast. Kahala Divers is my favorite op as they go to part of the coast that none of the boats out of Kona will go to so usually your are the only divers there. Blue Wilderness is run out of the General Store on Puako Road and can help with shore diving and renting anything you need.

Kona Area:
Pacific Rim Divers
Kona Honu
Aquatic Live Divers
Big Island Divers

Puako:
Blue Wilderness "small boat usually 6 divers or less"

Kahala:
Kahala Divers "My favorite"

Shore Diving:

Kahala:
Black Sand Beach at the Mauna Lani, Mahukona

Puako Road:
House 40, House 56, Catholic Church, End of the road

South of Kona:
Mile Marker 4, Two Step, Black Pebble Beach "My Favorite but not good on south swell"

Hilo:
Some good shore diving but the op we used is now retired so not sure who anymore.

Have fun, the more I dive the Big Island the more I like. We are lucky enough to get to go 2-3 times a year and we just got back last Friday and already miss it. Also we stay in a condo in Waikoloa Village which puts us kind of in the middle.

Where did Kohala go? Any specific spots?

 

[OrcasC205]

How far were the Kohala dive sites from the boat take off point?

They are all within 20-30 minutes, whether going north up the coast towards Black Point or south towards Puako.