Help with October trip to Kona

[DennisW]

My daughter, new open water diver, and myself will be visiting Kona the third week of October. We are planning on doing a couple of days of boat diving and a couple of days of shore diving as well some hiking. Volcano Nat'l park is on the list. I would love some recommendations for dive operators, good shore diving sites (nothing too difficult though since my daughter is new to diving), and good hikes on the island. I would love to see Mantas while there. Is there a particular site or operator where I'll have a better chance of seeing them? Thanks for any help you can give. :06:

Monty and Kini gave excellent suggestions. Dive Makai are very good operators and will do their best to make your dive pleasant and memorable. See my trip report on this forum from June. The Place of Refuge is a great shore dive, watch the entries and exits as there are plenty of urchins to put your hands on. Don't put your fingers in any holes in the lava as you enter or exit.

 

[kogara]

Check out www.divemakai.com. They do an excellent job with new as well as experienced divers.
Montyb

Sent an Email to Tom at divemakai to get info. Thanks for the help!

 

[kogara]

Thanks to all for the help. We'll be arriving on 10/16 and would welcome anyone that would like to join us for a dive. Pigletfish - I'm going to see about ordering the Big Island Revealed book. Thanks for the tip. Wildcard - I prefer smaller boats for boat dives if you have dive operator recommendations. I am wondering if we should just shore dive the whole trip. Looks like there a lot of good spots. Any thoughts on shore vs boat dives in Kona? Sea nmf - thanks for advice on the altitude. I think we'll try to plan the volcano visit early in the week prior to diving.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

We just spent two weeks on the Big Island in August-September. It was absolutely fantastic and incredible diving. I did a lot of snorkeling and scouted some shore diving for next time. I have to second the votes for Place of Refuge/Honaunau (Two Step). Just make sure you find the little lava bench for entry/exit and you're set. Other entry/exits can be a drag.

I went out on a number of dives with Jack's Dive Locker and I would never go with anyone else. They have an incredibly friendly and helpful staff. They take you to great places, and are in general a lot of fun. They have a ton of return customers it seems, and the whole thing feels like a happy family.

The only mantas I saw were during the day (one just off Honaunau while snorkeling of all things). They were a no-show on the night dive. But the night dive was still amazing. We saw tons of hunting morays of all types, stonefish, crabs, octopus, and all sorts of other cool stuff. It was well worth it just to see a moray snatch a yellow tang, wrestle with it for a while, and then see the tang escape unharmed.

No one has mentioned Kealakekua Bay, which is a marine sanctuary with a ton of spinner dolphins. I only snorkeled it, but I'm definitely diving it next summer when we return.

FWIW, if you're staying on the Kona side, the volcano drive is FAR. And at least when we were there, you could only see lava at night. If you want to do that, I'd consider getting a room in Volcano village. Then you can explore Hilo, Waipio or whatever the next day.

Big Island Revealed is an *indispensible* book. We had it on us at all times. They turn you on to good food, things to do, places to go. Another book I was glad I had was Snorkel Hawaii by Malinowski. It's pretty snorkel-centric, but can turn you on to some good shore dives too. Their opinions on what is a good spot seem very accurate, and they give great directions to places like the free parking at Honaunau and where to enter/exit.

OK, I'm getting jealous now Have a great time in Hawai'i and say hi to the Humu's!

Gregg

 

[kogara]

Gregg
Thanks for all the info. Based on what you saw, do you think the shore entry and exits will be difficult? Was the surf a problem and if so, was it smallest at a certain time of day?

 

[pigletfish]

Did you know that humuhumunukunukuapua'a means (roughly) "fish with a pig snout"? (Long story, but it is supposed to be an incarnation of Kamapua'a, the Pig God). I love this fact, but -- with the screen name "pigletfish" -- I guess that's not surprising! =)

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Gregg
Thanks for all the info. Based on what you saw, do you think the shore entry and exits will be difficult? Was the surf a problem and if so, was it smallest at a certain time of day?

The first place I would go is Honaunau (two step). Get there early and you'll have good parking. When I was there it was almost always calm in the morning and an easy entry from the lava step. Not as easy as a calm beach entry maybe, but you could give it a go with just snorkel gear to get wet and get a feel for it. Make sure you find the right entry off the lava. Even easier is to enter from the boat ramp which is generally very calm and just slopes into the water. In the afternoon the swell came up usually. It was never enough that it freaked me out with snorkel gear on, but you could get tossed about entering/exiting if you didn't time it right. Key thing is to go ahead and quickly get in or out...not take too much time lingering on the rocks.

For a *really* placid entry/exit try Kahalu'u just a little south of Kailua Kona. It's pretty darn shallow, but I think if you swim out past the breakwater it's good diving (I didn't dive it, but folks talk about it). It can be pretty crowded and is not pristine, but you will see a ton of fish and turtles. If you're staying near there, it's a great spot to get wet and do some snorkeling the day you arrive.

Morning always seemed like the calmest in any case everywhere I went. I can't wait to hear about your trip and what spots you like! We're planning next summer's trip to Kona already

Gregg

 

[Henryville]

We just spent two weeks on the Big Island in August-September. It was absolutely fantastic and incredible diving. I did a lot of snorkeling and scouted some shore diving for next time. I have to second the votes for Place of Refuge/Honaunau (Two Step). Just make sure you find the little lava bench for entry/exit and you're set. Other entry/exits can be a drag.

I went out on a number of dives with Jack's Dive Locker and I would never go with anyone else. They have an incredibly friendly and helpful staff. They take you to great places, and are in general a lot of fun. They have a ton of return customers it seems, and the whole thing feels like a happy family.

The only mantas I saw were during the day (one just off Honaunau while snorkeling of all things). They were a no-show on the night dive. But the night dive was still amazing. We saw tons of hunting morays of all types, stonefish, crabs, octopus, and all sorts of other cool stuff. It was well worth it just to see a moray snatch a yellow tang, wrestle with it for a while, and then see the tang escape unharmed.

No one has mentioned Kealakekua Bay, which is a marine sanctuary with a ton of spinner dolphins. I only snorkeled it, but I'm definitely diving it next summer when we return.

FWIW, if you're staying on the Kona side, the volcano drive is FAR. And at least when we were there, you could only see lava at night. If you want to do that, I'd consider getting a room in Volcano village. Then you can explore Hilo, Waipio or whatever the next day.

Big Island Revealed is an *indispensible* book. We had it on us at all times. They turn you on to good food, things to do, places to go. Another book I was glad I had was Snorkel Hawaii by Malinowski. It's pretty snorkel-centric, but can turn you on to some good shore dives too. Their opinions on what is a good spot seem very accurate, and they give great directions to places like the free parking at Honaunau and where to enter/exit.

OK, I'm getting jealous now Have a great time in Hawai'i and say hi to the Humu's!

Gregg

I second Kealekakua Bay, it is a nice dive. Also the point on Volcano. Big Island means big. If you're staying in the Waikoloa or Kona area you better plan on an early start and an entire day (like past dinner) to get near the lava and back.