June 11-18 Dedicated dive trip

[Quero]

Hey Hawai'i Ohana!

I thought I had it all figured out, and then my Plan A hit a snag.
I'll be in Hawaii (Big Isle) to visit family from June 4-11, and then afterwards a former student wants to take advantage of my being there to dive with me for a week. Plan A was supposed to be Kona Aggressor from the 11th to the 18th, but this former student is a male and the boat only has berths open for females. I'm disappointed, not only because I expect it would be a great trip, but also because it would be easy--just one booking and all set!

So now I have to figure out a Plan B. I've done a limited amount of diving at the Big Island and at Maui. For ease of logistics, the Big Island would be best for me. So some questions:
1) I know of no other liveaboards in Hawaii. Is this in fact the case?
2) If this is true, then does it make the most sense to choose one operator and stick with them? Will they offer enough variety of dive sites over a week of diving to help me forget I couldn't get the Aggressor booking?
3) Is it better to hire a private dive-guide-cum-agent to take care of all of the diving logistics if using several operators is the best route (in other words, somebody who does in Hawaii what I do for my SE Asia customers)?

Please feel free to PM suggestions if you want to maintain your neutrality in the public thread (I do this all the time in the Thailand forum).

I only have a little while to get this sorted out, so I would be very grateful for insights!

 

[diversteve]

I know of no other liveaboards in Hawaii. Is this in fact the case?

Yes...

2) If this is true, then does it make the most sense to choose one operator and stick with them? Will they offer enough variety of dive sites over a week of diving to help me forget I couldn't get the Aggressor booking?

We're going with Kona Diving Co. in July. They told us if we dive with them all week they won't repeat a site unless asked. They're also slightly less expensive than some of the others with a 5-6 day package. [user]Friscuba[/user] owns Scuba diving in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii with Wanna Dive. Boat diving charters, classes, intro dives., it's a six-pack. We may do some dives with them also.

 

[smellzlikefish]

+1 for Kona Diving Company, although I haven't heard about anyone to avoid on the Big Island either. Get on one of their long range dives if you can.

 

[friscuba]

Kona has loads of dive sites and it''s pretty easy for the smaller boats to try not to repeat sites. It's good that Kona Diving Company will do that, we also try not to repeat sites at Wanna Dive. Once you get beyond a certain number of groups of divers on the same boat it gets tougher to make that promise, just too many overlapping schedules, so it can get tougher for the larger boats to do that. We've got customers going back mutiple visits, not single trips, that we try to avoid repeating sites with if possible, that is a promise we can't make, but we try to vary it as much as possible.

I think if you go with multiple operators you'll risk getting quite a few repeat dives at 3 or 4 of our more popular sites. Most DMs do the sites slightly different from each other so it wouldn't necessarily seem overy repetitive.

Look at "Sunseeker" to see if they're still doing liveaboard stuff. They have over the years, but you don't hear much about them. Their boat's been out of it's slip a bunch lately so they may be more active in that area these days. I think they're tied in with Hualalai watersports at the Four Seasons somehow, but I know little of their business.

 

[Quero]

Thanks diversteve. I'll contact Kona Diving and Wannadive.

Smellzlikefish, given that I've got family on the Big Island, I've dived with a number of ops over the years. I have definitely been with some I won't give my business to again. I take pictures, so I'm pretty slow underwater. With one op, the owner was leading the dive, and when I asked for a site briefing and general route in case I lagged behind (with my buddy), he refused and told me to simply follow and make sure I kept up. Well! And another one pulled a little octopus out of its hiding place to pass around to the divers. He handed it to me first and I let it go, of course, but he grabbed it again and harassed it so much that it squirted its ink. That's another one I won't give my business to. So there are definitely bad ones, at least in my estimation, at Kona.

Friscuba/Steve--thanks for the information. I checked Sunseeker, and they appear to offer only charters for up to six. I like my student, but I doubt I have enough affection for him (nor him for me) to be each other's only companion for a whole week on a liveaboard chartered just for the two of us, and since they don't do join ins, I guess that's out! I'll PM you about rates and itineraries.

Any other insights?

 

[WetBoy101]

Quero - is your family right in Kona?

 

[Quero]

WetBoy101, no they're not on the Kona coast at all, though not too terribly far! They are in Volcano. But that's not an issue at all. I'll spend a week with them, and the next week diving. I don't have to drive up and down the mountain every day. I expect to stay in town or at least somewhere along the coast.

 

[scottitheduck]

Kerry at Kona Diving Company has always taken care of my guys when I send em to Kona. Best of luck!

G

 

[Quero]

Any other input? I've written to both ops recommended here, and am (still) waiting to hear back.

I'm also looking for lodging. Any good tips?