Kauai, Oahu, Maui or Big Island for Diving?

[Damselfish]

Thanks!


Thanks! Will definitely look into whale season. What have been your most memorable dives on Maui?

Inside Molokini crater, just us and a manta hanging with us for a long time. Backside Molokini (not a beginner dive. Also memorable because a diver got lost and turned up on a different boat, in 10ft waves because we dove in the afternoon which isn’t typical.) Someplace with lots of huge turtles tucked in ledges, like condos. Someplace with lots of sharks lying around on the bottom. Don’t recall names of those 2 or know if they’re still the same.

 

[living4experiences]

I've been diving on the Big Island (Kona side), Lanai, and Maui. In Kona, my diving has been with Jack's Diving Locker and they do a nice job with the manta night dive, which I've done three times now. It is a spectacular show with the mantas doing barrel rolls right above your head. Usually you'll get 15-20 mantas coming in. It's become quite an attraction in Kona and there's a few careless companies that don't teach proper interaction with the mantas, and that is to say you should have NO interaction with them. Just sit on the sandy bottom and watch the magic happen. The reefs are bleached in some areas. For topside activities, you can visit and hike the volcano or visit a Kona coffee farm. If you're a coffee lover, this is a fun tour. Punalu'u Black Sand Beach is beautiful! You'll see resting turtles, which are protected (no touching or harassment) and the landscape is awesome!

I've been diving in the cathedrals on Lanai, but this dive is not for the beginner diver. The crossing from Maui to Lanai was 2 hours of rough seas each way...lots of seasickness on the boat. On another trip to Lanai, I took a snorkel tour. It's a shorter and more smooth ride and we had a pod of dolphins following us and the boat captain stopped a couple of times so we could enjoy the dolphins for a few minutes. I wasn't sure what to expect from the snorkeling, but it was actually really good on Lanai. You want to do the early morning tour for the calmest seas.

Maui is where you want to be in January because of the humpback whales. Whale season is December to April, but the best time to see a lot of whales is January and February and you'll want to stay on the west side of the island, like Lahaina or Kaanapali. The very best time to see the whales is in the morning when the seas are the calmest, and especially memorable is a sunrise whale watching tour. There's nothing like seeing a whale breach on water that is smooth as glass with the sunrise in the backdrop. There's so many whales in Maui that your head will be on a swivel. It's really quite an experience to hear the whale song while you're diving. It's a sound you'll never forget and it reverberates through your whole body. Molokini Crater is a great dive and snorkel spot. Again, the early morning dive is the best because the seas are calm. Molokini is full of sea life. On the dive boat trip to Molokini, which is about 45 minutes, you'll see lots of whales, and there's been times when our boat had to stop to let the whales pass. Another fun spot is Turtle Town, which is a location for a large aggregation of sea turtles.

If you're going to Hawaii and this is your first time, I would recommend Maui because the whales are seasonal. In Kona, the manta dive is done all year long. In general, Hawaii is not a bucket list location for diving, but I enjoy it for the variety of activities available besides diving.

 

[RogueClimber]

Maui reported it's first whale sighting today!

 

[Steve Eady]

Aloha
Maui is Awesome for shore and boat diving. We can accommodate all of you if you are looking for Small Personalized service.

Mahalo
Scuba Steve
Maui Dive Connection
Www.mauidiveconnection.com

 

[Justin Smith]

Wife and I will be going to Kauai in May 2021 for a week. I am a newly certified diver and will have about 20-30 cold water dive under my belt by then. Who would be a good choice to use for diving there? Dive shop or private guides? Can do either.

 

[Steelyeyes]

Kauai is really nice if its the season to also hit up Ni'ihau, but they only do the channel crossing certain times of the year.

My wife and I got on the last boat to Ni'ihau a couple of years ago. It was mid Oct. if I remember right. It was worth the money and the 32 miles each way in rough water. We had five people chumming over the side on the trip back.

 

[Steelyeyes]

I've been diving on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, and the Big Island. The dives on Molokai and Lanai were on boats based in Maui, either Extended Horizons (two thumbs up!) or Maui Divers. Of all of the places I've been in that island chain Maui and the Big Island are my favorites. We used Jack's Diving locker in Kona, we also did shore dives at Black Pebble Beach and Honokohau Harbor from the crescent beach there. We did see a nice tiger shark on that dive and I'd love to go back. The boat dives we did were Manta dive, Black Water dive, and a couple of their extended more advanced dives with long boat rides. All of those were cool.

 

[jonhall]

I am a newly certified diver and will have about 20-30 cold water dive under my belt by then. Who would be a good choice to use for diving there? Dive shop or private guides?

Here's a copy and paste of what I just posted recently (with a few changes) in another thread: "diving is pretty much on the South side of the island. We dove with Fathom Five Divers in Koloa which is only about 10 minutes from Poipu and the water. You park at their shop and they take you to the boat. A couple of shore dives can be done at Koloa Landing. Fathom Five will guide those also. Well run op, max of 6 divers on boat, and good communication. Crew (usually 3) was very friendly and helpful." If you wind up doing shore dives at Koloa Landing, be sure to wear fin boots - another way of saying forget the full foot fins and don't go barefoot walking into the water.

Niihau island (17 miles away) is said to be a great place to dive and would take some extra planning on your part. We were there the wrong time of year to take the trip. Find the op with the fast boats and plan for it to take a day if you do it.

Water temps should be in the upper 70's when you're going.

 

[JohnN]

My $0.02

As a bit of reference, I've been diving on Oahu, Kaua'i, and the Big Island.

Your evaluation of Hawai'i diving is going to be influenced by what you're coming from. If you live where quarry diving is all that is available, you'll probably love it. If your frame of reference is the Caribbean, (or Bonaire/Curacao/Roatan/Cozumel) you're going to be less than impressed.

Given this, I'm on the Big Island and the manta dive was absolutely fantastic, and the black-water 'Pelagic' dive was also quite good. The shore dives I've done are 'meh', the coral isn't as varied (both color and only hard coral) and the fish quantity and variety are not as diverse. As other posters have noted (and IMHO) Hawai'i is not a diving destination if you've been to other warm water destinations

 

[GRH]

I did the manta night dive through Jack’s Diving Locker and it was amazing. I was also able to do some shore diving near our hotel in Hapuna Beach. There is a cool turtle cleaning station I really enjoyed but the return was a bit tricky with shallow water and lots of coral to navigate.

On Maui the highlight was whale watching. I had my camera both topside and UW. My wife isn't a diver so most of our activities were above water or snorkeling on Maui but we usually meet neighbors on the Big
Island and the men dive while the women sightsee.

Humpback Whales, Maui, March 2019 by George Holland

I must have had bright lights because the Manta’s would swim right at me, swerving up over me while very lightly brushing against my hood as they swam over. I was a new diver at the time and even newer at UW photography.

big_island by George Holland