Manta Ray dive ?

[jdubdiver]

Hello to all, I have a question for people regarding the Manta Ray night dive, I have emailed various dive ops on the big island and have received replies from only 2 of them. I would like to get some opinions on who all of you would go on the Manta dive with. I will be there in a little bit more than a month and it is getting to be time for me to make my reservations for diving. I have to time my boat diving because I have my family with me and they are not scuba divers. On Maui B&B has the perfect dive time frame for my situation (back from 2 dives by 10am or so) are there any dive ops who have a similar time frame on the Big Island? That is why shore diving is appealing to me because it doesnt involve going to the harbour and motoring out to the dive sites. I would like to know who is a big shore diving shop or if there even is one. I am contemplating just renting some tanks and lead and just going for it, but I would of course like to have some tentative buddies I could possibly dive with. I am staying at the Outrigger Keauhou how is the dive op there?Many thanks for any input or opinions.

 

[Teamcasa]

I went with Big Island Divers, they were great. Several others have recommended Jacks Diving Locker and as a bonus, they post here as well! We booked the manta dive twice in our trip last June. Once in the beginning of the week and again at the end, that way if weather or the mantas did not cooperate on one trip, we might get lucky on the second. Fortunately, we made both dives and had good conditions and plenty of mantas both times.

This is a world class dive. Don’t miss or discount it, just book it and go!

 

[caymaniac]

One thing that we are happy about was that with Big Island divers there was a video diver that was along and we purchased the video latter of the Mantas with us in the video.
Remeber, if the water is only 76F you'll get cold in a 3mm, I had a hood and still got cold.
The Manta dive is quite memorable as it is one of the few places in the world that you have a chance to dive with Mantas. It is not gauranteed either, asbefore our trip diving with B.I.D. we went with Jacks and we had the whole dive with nothing to see, no Mantas, so it can be a hit and miss dive.

 

[friscuba]

You are kind of out of luck as far as early morning operators. Most of the dive operators here meet up between 7:30 and 9:00 am and get back later than you are used to. You might want to check with Aloha Dive Company, they're probably back in the earliest and I think they get a fairly early start.

Most of the shops are happy to rent out gear and give you advice on where to shore dive. There's not a lot of guided shore diving going on here any more. I think one or two operators will do it if they have enough interest, and there's the guy down at South Kona Scuba that does dives at the Place of Refuge.

I hope this helps some.

 

[Teamcasa]

We rented steel tanks for Divetek Hawaii and did some shore diving as well. Two Step was a terrific shore dive and one I will do again on my next visit to Kona.

Jacks and Big Island Divers both videotapes the manta dive.

A shameless promotion of my own Kona diving highlight reel.

 

[Jim Holt]

We still offer guided shore diving, as long as we have the free time, as well as quality rental gear. I'm sure that most every operator here should be able to give you the information you need on some of the top shore diving spots. Tim at South Kona Scuba does a good job with shore dives at the Bay of Refuge - Two Steps. We do as well. Regardless, I encourage you to consider adding this dive to your shore diving itinerary; however know that it does involve about a 40 minute drive from town, so it may not work with your family situation.

Like most Kona operators, we offer the Manta Ray Night Dive, as does "friscuba" and his op Wanna Dive.

I agree that Aloha Divers is one of the first to leave and return. They are a 6-pack. Another option is Dive Makai, who are probably the next earliest. They take out about 10 - 12 divers, split into groups of 6, or less. Both are good operations and I have referred people to both of them, when we were already booked.

FYI, our A.M. dives meet at 8 A.M. After two dives, you're returned to the harbor at approximately 1 - 1:30 P.M. Six divers max.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip, and check out the amazing diving we all enjoy here on the Kona coast.

BTW, the reason Maui dive operators leave and return so doggone early is that they need to avoid the oftentimes strong winds and associated ocean conditions, which that area frequently experiences. In other words, they schedule it so that they try to get out-on-the-water and back, before that tends to occur. We are comparatively very blessed weather-wise here in Kona, and don't have to deal with that.

Have fun. Safe diving.


Sincerely,

Jim

 

[KrisB]

BTW, the reason Maui dive operators leave and return so doggone early is that they need to avoid the oftentimes strong winds and associated ocean conditions, which that area frequently experiences. We are comparatively very blessed weather-wise here in Kona, and don't have to deal with that.

That's only partly true. Some ops leave freaking early (B&B, Scuba Shack, Prodiver) -- with check-in as early as 5:45. I've been diving with ops here that check-in as late as 8:30. There's no reason to start that early, and believe me, in the winter, it sucks when the sun doesn't officially rise until about 7:00 and you're either out on the water, waiting, or enjoying an un-prepared pre-sunup semi-night dive.

 

[goldenbear01]

I did a 2-tank night dive with Kona Honu Divers back in the end of May. The first dive really is a chance to acclimate you to the dive site, as well as give you a chance to see some of the fauna that inhabit the site by the daylight. The second dive begins after the sun has set; this is when you get a chance to see the manta rays performing their underwater ballet. I had a blast on both dives. That said, it also looks like at least two other dive ops shared the same site, so you don't necessarily have to book with Kona Honu Divers in order to do this particular dive.

As for my trip, I really enjoyed my dives with Kona Honu Divers. The crew was friendly and helpful; the ship held 12 divers comfortably; during the briefing the DM whipped out a dive book and showed us what we were likely to see underwater (and we saw many of the fish he pointed out!) during the dive; and during the dive he DM also pointed out some of the more rare fish that many of us would otherwise have overlooked. The diving conditions for the first dive were excellent; the visibility was phenomenal (probably round 20-25' by day), the fish were sufficiently abundant, and just before I surfaced I spotted 2 manta rays gliding effortlessly around 20 feet away.

The only negative to the dive was that I had problems with my reg (I rented theirs) that became really noticeable during the second dive. Depending on the angle of the reg, the air was delivered from a range of "free flow" to "not at all". With the reg's mouthpiece pointed vertically downward, I couldn't get any air at all; with the reg's mouthpiece pointed vertically upward, I couldn't get the air to stop flowing; with the reg's mouthpiece kept in a horizontal plane, I was able to suck up just enough air to keep me alive, but with a burning sensation in my lungs still. I didn't notice the reg problems as much on the first dive, since we swam around a bit. On the second dive, since we sat on the bottom looking up, I really began to notice the problem. I "cured" the problem by looking down repeatedly to get air when I needed it, and looking up at the mantas as they glided overhead the rest of the time. Since no one else seemed to have complained about their regs, I think I may have just had a faulty reg.

In the final analysis, I'd still be willing to dive with them again, in spite of the reg problem. However, I'd also be willing to look at what other dive ops had to offer. More importantly, though, I think I would also include the recommendations of the SB forum contributors as part of an informed decisionmaking process for any future dives off the Big Island (I didn't know about SB until after I returned from my HI mini-vacation).

Happy diving!

 

[tc]

I did the Manta night dive on one of the Jacks Diving Locker boats, nice folks and we were treated well. We did one late afternoon dive and the Manta dive after the sun set.

Jacks will be happy to rent you gear and help you with directions to shore dive spots. We did Honaunau (sp?) bay (aka Two steps also aka place of refuge) on their recommendation and it was a great couple of dives. Coral down to at least 60' and sand below that, lots of marine life, very easy enrty and exit.

Didn't try any of the other operators so no one to compare with.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[Osseous]

I went about three weeks ago with these guys: Sea Paradise They're right out of Keahou bay- a short walk from the Sheraton. It's a large Cat and primarily a snorkel operation that they use for the manta trips- 5 minute ride out of the bat to the point in front of the Sheraton. Unfortunately I picked the one day in about the past 300 where they didn't see any Mantas. I got to see plenty from the bar at the Sheraton- but it was kind of a bummer. The operation did a good job and the snorkelers are just visible on the surface above you, as they don't let anyone free dive at all- I did two days of diving with them earlier in the week and the small 6 pack they run for those trips worked out better than my first impression led me to believe. It's a SMALL boat- looks like a clorox bottle~ but the diving was very good, the staff extremely nice and warm. They gave us a nice little tour of the Kona coast too- Captain Cook memorial, the blowhole... lots of great history along the coast there. One thing to remember about diving on the big island if you're gonna mix in some touristy stuff- beware the altitude that you can easily and quickly drive to- if you were to head to Hilo you'd risk getting tweaked- particularly over the saddle road- and forget all about heading up to Mauna Kea until you've had a nice long surface interval. Have a great trip- is an amazing place! Can't wait to go back for more.