Aloha!
Excited for you and your summer trip! August generally has awesome diving and it is a GREAT time of year to be here. Curious if you are an active So.Cal diver? That tells me a little more about your experience level and can help me suggest dives for you.
You'll be minutes away from the number one shore diving location on the island - Koloa Landing. It doesnt have a beach but also has good summer snorkeling. It is also a great spot for a Discover Scuba experience if any of the folks with you want to try diving. The site is great for Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles, Dragon Morays, Endemic Lionfish, Octopus etc... It's a protected cove (from the winds) and is a non boating zone. The depth is typically 15-45 ft.
The "must do" for experienced divers is without a doubt the "Forbidden Island of Niihau." It is without a doubt some of the very best diving in all of Hawaii. First and foremost it sets you up with almost certain encounters with the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals. It is also very common to see pelagics such as Mantas, Eagle Rays, Tuna etc... Sharks are common as well (Whitetips, Grays, and Galapagos sharks commonly - Occasional Hammerheads, Tigers, and even Whale Sharks). Large lava tubes and walls - steep vertical drops to 90-250 feet on some of the sites. Depths are usually in the 50-80ft range with brief drops to 90-110 for rare marine critters. Crossings to Niihau often include viewing of False Killer Whales, Pilot Whales, Dolphins (Spinner, Bottlenose, Spotted) etc...
Niihau is an all day run doing 3 tanks that is always an vacation highlight!
Locally there are about 16 different sites within 20- minutes of the Poipu harbor. Deeper sites allow for viewing of our Whitetip Reef Sharks, larger Yellowmargin Morays, deep water Pyramid and Pennant Butterfly fish and occasional pelagics. Diving the Hawaiian islands you'll see that it is not a "fishy" destination - but we do have more endemic fish than any other location in the world. Kauai also shares some rare critters with the northwest Hawaiian islands that can seldom be seen on the other islands. Bandit Angels are common for example. Morwongs, Boarfish and knifejaws are other great examples.
Sheraton Caverns is the number one Green Sea Turtle dive on the south shore. It is a 30-65 foot lava tube dive loaded with cool critters like Leaf Scorpion fish and Nudibranchs. Turtle Blufffs and Zac's Pocket are two of the favorite sites for DM's on the island.
Temps will likely be approaching or at 78-79 degrees. No true thermoclines at depth.
Snorkeling is great at 1.Poipu Beach 2. Lawai Beach 3. PK's. Stop in the SeaSports shop and get a free snorkel map for these spots if you like.
I have been here diving professionally for over 12 years and have worked with all three primary shops on the island. If there is anything I can do to help you with planning / information etc. just let me know.
Have a great rest of your week and drop me a PM if you have any questions...
Anthony
We are headed there in Feb.... Starting to look at diving options now. But I will be partially limited to a max of 40 ft for half my dives (diving with a kid), the other half, I will do with my husband so we can go where we want!
