We were just there last month and had a great time! Not the best diving in Hawaii but certainly lots to see!
We booked a couple of weeks in advance with Fathom Five divers. They called the day before our first dive to tell us they were canceling due to lack of interest. They didn't get enough divers to send out a boat. We called Seasport and booked with them for that first day instead. We kept our 2nd day of diving with Fathom Five so I can tell you a little bit about both shops.
Seasport:
They took us on a morning 2-tank after we called the day before. We had 5 or 6 divers on the boat with one DM- Anthony. We had heard the conditions were bad but being from the California Coast, "bad" Hawaiian vis is just fine for us. We were expecting 20-30 ft vis. The captain and Anthony found 2 excellent dive sights with 60 ft vis, Zac's Pocket and Shipwreck Ledge. We were thrilled with the vis. The depth conditions were good, a little surge but not enough to bother us. The temp was 76F. I wore a 3mm full and was a bit chilled at the end of the 2nd dive but not bad enough to wear another layer of neoprene. I had brought my core warmer just incase. SI was a bit rough. One guy got seasick, a couple others felt queasy, including myself.
Anthony wasn't the most friendly or personal guy, but he swam slowly and was great at pointing the Hawaii life out to us. He writes down the names of things on his slate so you know what you are looking at. He also wrote down all the dive info once we got back the shop so we could write it all in our log books. I really appreciated that. On one dive we had a great interaction with a sea turtle. He swam right up to us!!! We also saw 2 octopi, pufferfish, lots of eels, nudis. My biggest complaints about Seasport was the DM could have been more friendly and also it seemed like they expected you to change out your tank. They helped if you asked. I was not feeling well so I didn't want to do a lot of moving around so they changed my tank for me after I asked.
Fathom Five:
A friendlier shop. Also a 6-pack boat with 1 DM. His name was Brian and he was excellent. Highly recommended- if we return to Kauai we will be requesting him!! He also wrote down all the sea life names on his slate. I love knowing what I am looking at! They also did much more of the work than Seasport. Their boat has less room to move around, so they set up your entire kit and when it's your turn, you sit down, buckle up, and backroll in. They change your tank without asking. We did Sheraton Caverns (great dive site, love the collapsed lava tubes that look like arches!) and Breneke's Ledge. Saw lots of turtles and eels. Temp was 76 again. Chilled at the end of the 2nd dive in a 3mm but not too bad. I took seasickness medication so the SI was fine. My only complaint about Fathom Five is that their boat doesn't have a lot of room to sit comfortably so with 6 divers it feels a bit cramped. Also they didn't have a camera rinse bucket, but maybe if you requested it they could make it happen.
If we return to Kauai we will be using Fathom Five and requesting Brian. If you have any questions, PM me! If you are headed to Weimeia Canyon, stop at the Shrimp Station for a bite to eat!!! We ate their twice it was so good!
Shrimp Station - Waimea, HI