Kona & Maui: May 17 - 24th

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Laura Sharp

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Location
Vancouver, BC
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I'm in the process of planning my first ever SOLO trip and I've decided on Hawaii. I'm still quite new to diving and from what I've read there are some fabulous dives that I would fit right in with :). I thought I would reach out to the community and see what advice you all have to offer as I don't have a travel buddy to bounce ideas off of.

1. I would really like to split my time between Kona and Maui (enough time for diving on both islands) that being said, which one should I plan to spend more time at?

2. As far as getting around, do you think I should rent a car? or is transit easy enough?

3. For the days I don't plan on diving I was hoping to see a few things around the islands, any suggestions for what I should check out are welcome!

4. I've already decided on the dives I'd like to do in Kona, but Maui is still up for debate.

Lastly, as I'll be travelling alone if anyone feels like having a chat or meeting up I would welcome the company! A friendly Canadian from the west coast :)

Cheers,
Laura
 
I haven't been to Maui, but I've been to Kona many times. I would say that a rental car is a necessity there, especially if you are going to be doing some of the awesome shore dives up and down the coast. You might be able to squeak by without if you have a hotel close to the dive shops in Kona and can catch rides to the harbor with them, but that will severely limit your diving options there.

Regarding things to do in Kona when you are not diving, be careful about going too high in elevation if you are still in your "no fly" window. Even the saddle road between Kona and Hilo tops out at over 7000 feet. You can drive up the coast from Kona past Kawaihae and and around to the north shore where there is a great hike down into the Pololu Valley. There are also some nice beaches between Kona and Kawaihae.
 
I'm in the process of planning my first ever SOLO trip and I've decided on Hawaii. I'm still quite new to diving and from what I've read there are some fabulous dives that I would fit right in with :). I thought I would reach out to the community and see what advice you all have to offer as I don't have a travel buddy to bounce ideas off of.

1. I would really like to split my time between Kona and Maui (enough time for diving on both islands) that being said, which one should I plan to spend more time at?

2. As far as getting around, do you think I should rent a car? or is transit easy enough?

3. For the days I don't plan on diving I was hoping to see a few things around the islands, any suggestions for what I should check out are welcome!

4. I've already decided on the dives I'd like to do in Kona, but Maui is still up for debate.

Lastly, as I'll be travelling alone if anyone feels like having a chat or meeting up I would welcome the company! A friendly Canadian from the west coast :)

Cheers,
Laura
At 2 step in Kona I saw dolphins 14 it was fabulous did the manatee night dive awesome
 
I haven't been to Maui, but I've been to Kona many times. I would say that a rental car is a necessity there, especially if you are going to be doing some of the awesome shore dives up and down the coast. You might be able to squeak by without if you have a hotel close to the dive shops in Kona and can catch rides to the harbor with them, but that will severely limit your diving options there.

Regarding things to do in Kona when you are not diving, be careful about going too high in elevation if you are still in your "no fly" window. Even the saddle road between Kona and Hilo tops out at over 7000 feet. You can drive up the coast from Kona past Kawaihae and and around to the north shore where there is a great hike down into the Pololu Valley. There are also some nice beaches between Kona and Kawaihae.

I'd rather have the car just in case then not have one and feel like I missed out haha. Plus I'll have some gear I'll be lugging around so that will be easier on me.

Thanks for the recommendations! I'm making a little planner and will be sure to add these highlights in there :)
 
You could do Kona part of the time w/o a car but it would be limiting. The boats all leave from Honokohau harbor a few mins. drive north of town. Most shops have offices in town so you check in then meet at the boat.

One option would be to dive with Jack's Diving - they're on Alii Dr. on the south side of town. If you show up there, they will shuttle you to the boat. They also do guided shore dives in the afternoons.

There's several hotels within walking distance of Jack's - some would be too far to haul gear daily.
I think the Holiday Inn Expres is nearby and the King Kamehameha is a Courtyard by Marriott. It's actually behind the Kona/Kailua pier which is a shore dive - long walk from there to Jack's thouigh. There's also at least one operator with a smaller boat who picks up there - sorry don't know the name. There's also a trolley that runs south along Alii from downtown to around Keahou - they'd probably frown on a lot of dive gear but I have seen snorkelers on it with mask/fins in a bag.

What you'd miss w/o a car is the Volcanoes NP, the waterfalls, the Waikoloa coast area, the observatories. The Big Island really is Big - I'd get a car. Pre-book - the walk-up Kona airport rates are a shock. I think we used Dollar last time.

Maui could work either way also but a car would likely be needed. You could stay in Lahaina, dive with one of 3 shops who keep boats in the harbor - walking distance from some of the smaller hotels - there and have access to all the food, etc. in the area. A lot of resorts are in Kaanapali and Kahana further north - you;'d need a ride for those - between properties is farther than I'd want to walk. The Sheraton at Black Rock is also a known shore dive - easy for beginners.

The Kihei boats all go to Molokini Crater or dive along the south Maui coast. Both suitable for newer divers. Probably stay off any trips that mention the back wall, it's often a live drop and about 400' to the bottom. The other beginner suitable dive would be the Cathedrals at Lanai - I did dive #12 there decades ago.

There's quite a few shuttles running around the island, tour buses to the various attractions etc. so if you planned it you could minimize the days you need a car. I was caught w/o the rental once so called a shuttle to pick me up at our condo in Wailea and went into Kihei for dinner - across the street was a beach and shroe dive. I think it was about $15 one way.

If you stay in south Maui, you'll need a car to get to the boats - they're at the Kihei Ramp a little north of town and there's not much nearby. Some of the resort/condo properties in South Maui are on named dive sites - there's several off Wailea Beach which is a decent dive. Polo Beach adjacent also but you'd need a car for the boats.

Being solo, there's options for escorted shore diving there but you often have to meet at the site.Shaka Divers, Maui Dreams Dive Co. are two in that area. In West Maui Extended Horizons does guided shore dives afternoons (they also own one of the boats) but they're not located near much except Mala Pier but not close enough to walk to it.They want you to check in at the shop then meet at the dive sites nearby.

Honestly it would just be a lot of work on either island without a car. Also the more affordable fares to Maui tend to go into the airport on the east side, all the diving is west. About a 45min. drive but there's hotel/airport shuttles.

Don't fly into Hilo instead of Kona - that's a 2 hr. drive across the island. There's no real diving near Hilo except at a couple shore sites. I don't believe there's even a dive boat on that side and only one shop that I know of - Nautilus.

my .02
 
Both Islands have the Helicopter rides, we did that on Maui. IIRC they would have picked us up. Pricey though. Otherwise Maui is just very picturesque. Lahaina downtown is a lot of shop/restaurants/galleries - more of the same in Kaaanapali at Whalers Village or the other mall. Both waterfront so there's some nice restaurants.
A day trip is the Road to Hana, a twisty road with a lot of waterfalls.

You can find all the watersports on Maui - mostly along the West Maui beches, jetskis, parasailing, sailing - the big Trilogy catamarans sail over to Lanai or Molokini and dive but they leave from Ma'alea so you'd need a car.

On Kona the draw is Volcanoes NP - plan on a whole day to drive down there from Kona. We also liked Akaka Falls - sort of on the way. Both islands have nice beaches - in south Kona there's one that;s black sand due to the volcano.

Lots of driving to really see Kona well - esp. if you go up into the mountains. Which are too high to do while diving - the elevation of the Saddle road is about 6000' - the observatories close to 13,000.
 
Aloha Laura

Maui offers a lot of very good shore diving and boat diving. I would get a car for sure so you can get around to see the sites. I offer shore and scooter diving in small to private dives.You can always give me a call or drop me a email if you have any questions.
Mahalo
Scuba Steve
Www.mauidiveconnection.com
Scubastevemsdt@gmail.com
(808)727-9464
 
@diversteve can I just say WOW, your input is BEYOND appreciated! I'm definitely going to be making some notes based on your comments here. I think it would help if I were to plan an itinerary so I know how many days I can dive in each location as well as how long I have to wait until flying etc. My purpose for this vacation is to dive so if it means I can't do a lot of the higher elev. tours then I guess I'll have to sit them out this time.

I also think I'm 100% on board for renting a car, I'd rather be comfortable and travelling around on my own time!
 
Given your short stay, age (I'm guessing your younger than me), and the fact you're solo I think you'll be happier with a car and staying nearer Lahaina than Kihei when on Maui.

That said, I'll tell you why I like Kihei and how this could be done without a car if you wanted to.

1. I have my family with me, and we stay for a couple weeks at a time. Proximity to Costco matters to us. Not to mention a couple movie theaters, the ability to run up Haleakala, and, if you wanted to, the drive to Hana. Kihei is just more central than Lahaina and other tourist sites.

2. We stay near the boat launch. The days I abandon the family to dive, I just walk to the boat launch and hop on. Post-diving, I walk back to the condo. This location is an added plus for kid-friendly, lifeguarded beaches (the Kamaole 1, 2, 3 series of parks). There's surprisingly good snorkeling around the headlands between beaches. Our kids love it.

3. I like the back wall of Molokini. As others noted, it's a shear wall to great depth, so perhaps not best for new divers. That said, if you can get out to Lanai from Lahaina, it's worth it!

4. If you want to go carless, once you're in Kihei there's an hourly bus service that can get you to the grocery store, etc.. It also runs out to the aquarium and there's one to Kahalui as I recall.

However, if you're car-less shore diving cool sites is more rugged. Kihei doesn't have the nightlife that Lahaina does. Taxis are expensive, and I don't think Uber exists on Maui, so trying to do dives out of Lahaina and out of Kihei both really benefits from a car.
 
It partly depends on who you fly with locally also. One of the airlines uses jets so they pressurize the cabin and no-fly rules apply. One still has some smaller turboprops they use for island hopping so aren't prettusrized and stay low. If you have to connect thru HNL - you're probably going to get on a jet on one leg. If you fly into the west Maui airport - maybe not - it's shorter/smaller.
I believe Mokolule still has turboprops - you can tell on their flight schedule/booking page.

Also on Kona once you leave the coast - you're almost always driving to elevation. The Saddle Road which mostly bisects the island goes to about 6000' - the volcanoes is about that high also. I believe the town of Volcano is about 7000' and there's even a high spot on the coast road south which is the longer way there.

Our plan is always to dive the first few days then sightsee after that. If you're trying to do two islands in a week, you probably can't do more than about 4 days of diving.

I'm not positive but I don't believe the Kona boats go out real late in the afternoons either so there might be some options for other things then. The Kohala Coast is about 30-45mins. from Kona and is the other tourist area. Several big resorts there including the Hilton Waikoloa where they keep the dolphins. They also offer stand up paddleboarding in their lagoon. If you do get up there, Roy's in Waikoloa is the place for a nice meal. They serve at the bar also since you're solo. Even the apps are yummy. Plan to do more driving than you think on Kona - things are farther than they seem with (in some places) almost nothing in between except lava fields. Also there's really only the one main road around the island so if there's traffic...

I forget your timeframes but don't go to Kona before or on Ironman Week - which is Oct 12th. Prices will be way up and availability way down.


Maui would only be an elevation problem if you do the bike down the Volcano or helo rides.Even the helo rides are OK afaik - we did that one morning after diving the day before. Maui shore dives don't get a lot of depth - you can be way out in 40' at some sites.Black Rock is so shallow that near the back good snorkelers may join you . And Mala is not very deep being a pier - that's one definitely to do. We also dove Kapalua and Old Airport Beach - I don't remember either being deeper than about 40' - we used scooters to get out deeper at Old Airport once.
 
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