Kauai diving

[Oside Jimc]

It amazes ME how someone who has a "whopping few dives" here on the island comes on to speak so accusingly about something they have very little insight on.

Hey Scubaman, here's a news flash, I never claimed to be a complete expert on Kauai diving. What I gave was my firsthand experience of the dives I had on the island, and I found Koloa quite enjoyable and I had a great time diving with Aquatic Adventures, these are facts I do know.

When fools like you go on a public board to slam shore diving to get digs in on your competition guess what?, this is a complete turn off to divers planning their vacations for later this year. While you're dragging down sites you're dragging down Kauai as a whole. '09 is going to be a badass tough year so go ahead and chase tourist divers to other locations (We do have a LOT of options, and thanks to the escilation in airfares since Aloha went under a LOT of them are now much less expensive than Kauai!), but when you're done come back on the board and let us know how your new job at the ABC store is working out for you, enjoy your new career.

 

[kauaidiver]

We live in Ohio. We have vacationed on Kauai several times over the past few years. We always have and will dive with Kauai Scuba Center/Kauai Aquatics/Mana Divers. We have dove at Koloa Landing several times and it is a neat dive, but it does get old after a couple dives. We're not saying that they're aren't other good companies, but chekc their safety records. We were there last year and a company lost (died) a diver and this year still claim to have an excellent record?? Anyway, Kauai Scuba Center's crew is AWESOME for first time divers (my wife) and experienced divers. They can and do accomodate all levels of diving and are very, very careful and attentive. We are most impressed with how safely they dive. Highly Recommend them without reserve!

 

[ravish5150@me.com]

I'm visiting Kaui on May 14th - 21st and staying at the marriott in lihue. Looking for a good dive shop my wife and I have to pay for baby sitting so we don't want to go too far from the hotel. Want a good boat dive fairly close to our Hotel. any recommendations?

 

[PuMpUi]

Aloha !!!



Mahalo (a Hawaiian word which means ÅÕhanks? for your email! This is Scuba Steve, with Akamai Divers of Kauai, welcoming you to a wonderful world of diving !!!


You have picked an excellent time to visit us as the dive conditions are generally calm and the waters are still comfortable and most divers find that a 3mm wetsuit is more than sufficient for protection from ÅÄoral kisses and UV protection !!! We cater to those divers - both novice and those more experienced - who seek something off the beaten (boat dive) path and who are looking for quality tours or classes without being crowded or rushed.


We can offer you some exciting Adventures Dives AND some Specialty Diver Certifications - as well as incredibly fun Guided Reef Tours and ůo Certification Required Scuba Tours - that most of the other dive companies cannot! For example:



Ž· Hawaiian Sea Turtle Observer Distinctive Specialty Diver Unique and Totally Cool!

Ž· Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse Diver Available ONLY here !!!

Ž· Hawaiian Reef Ťritter Gitter ItÃÔ an undersea treasure hunt !!!

Ž· Nitrox / Enriched Air Diver - Dive More ... Feel Better !!!

Ž· Multi-Level Diver - Plan Your Dives ... Dive your Plans !!!

Ž· Fish Identification Diver - Be the First in Your Group to See These !!!

Ž· Search & Recovery Diver - Find that missing Engine Block !!!

Ž· Underwater Navigator Diver - Trust Your Compass ... NOT Your Instincts !!!

Ž· Night Diver - Check out the night life ... ala "Disco Fever" !!!

Ž· Underwater Naturalist Diver - No, we STILL wear out wet suits for this one !!!

Ž· Peak Performance Buoyancy Diver - Perfect the "art" of staying where YOU want to be !!!

Ž· Digital Underwater Photographer - Take pictures of REAL things doing REAL stuff ... not just birthday parties and trees !!!

Ž· DPV (Diver Propelled Vehicle) a.k.a. Å´cooter Dives UN-BE-LIEVE-ABLY F-U-N !!!

Ž·

These are some pretty cool ways to gain dive experience, work towards and reach your next Certification Level AND pick up some pretty cool "merit badges" at the same time !!! When we talk I'll go over more options with you.


Our dive site has been rated as the #1 dive site on Kauai and #4 in the State of Hawaii, and is located on the south shore of the island. It is easily accessible from all parts of Kauai and offers easy parking and even easier diving !!! We generally meet our divers at the dive site and will give you directions the afternoon before your dive.





Some divers have asked us why we prefer to do shore dives instead of boat dives. There are several reasons.




We consider shore dives more of a "biological" dive while boats are considered to be more of a "geological" type of dive ... this means that you will see MORE types and species of fish, eels, shrimp, crabs, cleaning stations, and all that "biological" kind of stuff when diving with us on our guided reef tours than you will from a boat ... so unless you like colder water, stronger currents, less fish, and a few more big rocks to look at (sorry, there are NO wrecks to go see on Kauai) ... stay away from the crowded boats and come dive with us in a more relaxed style !!!


Consider this fact we have never had any diver get "green in the gills" or try to "feed the fishies" or "chum the waters" (these are nautical terms for "becoming violently nauseous") on our shore dives how many times has this NOT been the case on a crowded boat ???


When the ocean is "calm and flat" for our shore dives .... there is AT LEAST a 3-4 foot (most times even more) rolling swell offshore ....


Kauai does NOT have any sheltered boat dive sites (like some of the other islands have) so you will always have to deal with the pitch and roll onboard. The smaller the boat ... the rougher the float !!! Sometimes this is enough to make diving awkward and uncomfortable, to say the least! Certainly NOT our idea of fun group activities !!!


On the other hand ... our guided reef tours take place in depths that the fishies actually live in !!!




Did you know that approximately 680 species of fishes are known from the Hawaiian Islands and that about 420 of those species are designated as Reef and Inshore fishes?



A surprising 24% are endemic to Hawaii (found nowhere else in the world) !!! And most of these live in waters between 20 and 30 feet deep !!! You donÃÕ NEED to dive deep to see them ? PLUS you will get longer bottom times in shallower waters !!!



And wait until you see the turtles in their cleaning stations !!! You will be stoked !!!



In reality, some of the advertised boat dives are reachable as shore dives (i.e. Sheraton Caverns). Most boat dives are done as close to the harbor as possible to save on time and fuel costs NOT to give you the very best dive possible!



Our dives will be controlled beach entries from the shore. It's easier and more fun when we prep and dive on *your* schedule, rather than settling for the "hurry up and wait" regime of generic boat diving. If you are concerned about carrying your gear to the waterÃÔ edge, no worries! We will be happy to assist you in whatever way we can !!! (Most of our entries are within 20 feet of the waterÃÔ edge, anyway !!!)



We DO NOT do ÅÔurf entries as a general rule. Only when we are training for the advanced levels of diving (Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Dive Master or Instructor Training Levels) will we enter the waters in surf conditions.



Controlled beach entries means just that ? In conditions that are pleasant and easy; minimal surge and swell. My general rule is to consider whether or not I would take my teenaged daughter or any of her friends into the waters with the conditions present. If yes, then we go. If no, then we reconsider.



As far as meeting times, conditions are generally calmer in the early morning, and if you really want to see the ÅÄhanging of the guard when the night critters go home and the day critters come out to play then may I suggest a Å¥awn Patrol dive ???



We accept traveler checks, money orders, cash and most major credit cards. Remember that there is a 4.16% General Excise Tax added to the total fees.





I would encourage you to make your reservations now as we only take a small number of divers at any one time, and our prime dive times book up in advance and we would like to dive with you !!!! Please call us with other questions you may have.

Let's dive together !!!

Scuba Steve

808-639-0919



P.S. Remember ... in addition to our incredible Critters-N-Creatures and Sea Turtle Guided Tours, why not consider trying some of these Adventure Dives :



Ž· Night Dives

Ž· Peak Performance Buoyancy

Ž· Search and Recovery

Ž· Underwater Navigation

Ž· Underwater Naturalist



These dives are FUN and EASY! PLUS, you will learn a few new tricks and skills that will come in handy no matter WHERE you dive !!!

(Did you know that where we dive there are sunken anchors and chains from the 1800ÃÔ ??? OR that there is an actual V-8 engine down there that somebody has got to be looking for?)

If you would like to know how to perfect your buoyancy control, navigate underwater, locate a missing object, run a float line to the surface and then rig a lift bag ? Hey, letÃÔ go do it !!

Be sure to bookmark us in your Favorites !!! Kauai Scuba Diving and Sea Turtles! Dive Kauai Scuba Dive!

 

[kauaidiver]

I'm visiting Kaui on May 14th - 21st and staying at the marriott in lihue. Looking for a good dive shop my wife and I have to pay for baby sitting so we don't want to go too far from the hotel. Want a good boat dive fairly close to our Hotel. any recommendations?

Hello! Our family vacations on Kauai every year. We only dive with Kauai Scuba Center, also known as Kauai Aquatics Scuba. They have a dive shop at Port Allen. (You might find dive shops closer to Lihue, but as far as we know most of them leave out of Port Allen.) It's about 20-25 minutes or so from Lihue. The crew is awesome! They know where to go, know what they're doing and they are very, very safe. Call and at least talk to them, you can get a good feel for them on the phone. Gina is usually the one answering the phone. Their number is 808-645-6815. You won't regret it! Hope that helps!

I was just reading a bit of the quote above from PuMpUi - I'm not saying that this company does not have good dives, I've never dove with them...however, as a visitor of Kauai and not a business person, I strongly disagree with a lot of what I've read there. FIRST, if you have a tendency to get motion sick, take a motion sick tablet the night before and the morning of the dive too. If you're really bad, take 2 the morning of. (Bonine is a good one with little to no drowsiness that works great, I get very motion sick, using the method above, I get nothing!) SECOND, we've done several shore dives and while they are fun and you do see fish, we have BY FAR seen more fish, shrimp, eels, octopus, sharks, seals, emtremely rare critters, etc., off of the boat! At times it's like you're in a huge aquarium just surrounded by fish. I've not experienced that off of the shore. THIRD, we dove Sheraton Caverns (awesome dive!) and there is no way I would want to swim there from the shore! You'd be exhausted when you get there or if you're underwater you'd burn up your air and not be able to do much once you got there. True, while most of our boat dives are not far from A shore, they're still WAY too far to get to off shore. (I called my husband, didn't tell him this whole story, I just asked him if he would dive Sheraton Caverns from the shore, he just laughed and said, "NO"!) FOURTH, there may be no wrecks, but there is debris from wrecks which is cool! There are a couple anchors, a port hole, odd things but still neat. We would do another shore dive there if that was the only diving we could do, but would always prefer a boat dive. You do a two tank dive off the boat at different locations. True, you can do a 2-tank shore dive, but you're diving the same location.

Again, I'm not bashing anyone! This is just an observation from a vacationer on Kauai who has been diving there a lot. Definitely stick with your plans for a boat dive! It ROCKS! (No pun intended!)