Maui and Big Island questions

[choiahoy]

Hi SB,

My wife and I are planning a 16 day trip to Hawaii around Labor Day, eight days with my mother in Kona and then the other half on Maui, four days in Kihei and four in West Maui. We’ve been to both islands, but this will be our first time diving on either.

We’re planning on doing the Manta dive on the Big Island and a Carthaginian/ Mala Pier night dive on Maui. We’ll probably do a guided shore dive on both islands as well. But we’re planning on shore diving the majority of the time and hoping for a slightly different experience from the Caribbean—dolphins, sharks, seals, and whales would be most welcome, but with realistic expectations.

All the shore diving we’ve done has been limited to Bonaire and Curacao and I’m hoping to get some clarity in the similarities and differences.
Thanks in advance for your help.

1) On the Big Island, we’ll be using my mother’s sedan. Apologizes for the simple question, but how do I not destroy her car while shore diving? All my experience is with Bonaire white pickups or onsite dive shops. I’m thinking garbage bags, tape, and large towels, but I’m hoping someone has something better for me…

2) Any recommendations for type of car and rental company on Maui?

3) From the reading I’ve done, it seems like due to parking and trade winds, we should plan to do our shore diving in the mornings. But if we were looking to do another afternoon dive, are there any sites with calmer conditions and easy parking on either island?

4) Would love to hear some of your favorite local good cheap eats.

5) Can anyone recommend a good shore diving guide on the Big Island?

 

[spoolin01]

I always rent a 4-door compact for two divers when on Kona or Maui. The wet stuff all goes in the trunk, but it quickly gets wet in there. A tarp or a couple of large waterproof duffles would go a long way towards keeping the suits and BCs from soaking the trunk. Sand is more of an issue on Maui than Kona. I get one of those roll-up or fold-up bamboo mats from a local store, and use that to stand on while dealing with gear to stay a little cleaner. There are plenty of shore sites on either island with good access roads, so I don't worry about using a small car, except to try to get one with decent ground clearance.

Mornings are usually better, you're right. On Kona, Two-Step/Honaunau usually stays decent even when other sites get rough - and is a great spot for diving - and Old Airport (west end) faces south so it's often OK even after the winds kick up. There's a minimum of 2-3 different dives at each site.

Dolphins are a regular sight around Kona, but it can take a couple of days to get lucky. The bay at Honanau is a regular resting spot for them. Sharks are more easily found on Maui I'd say - go down to Makena and look in the many caves for white tips. There's a spot near Lahaina where daytime manta sightings are not uncommon. A shore guide would probably up your odds of success at most anything.

 

[TSandM]

If you can find a rental company that rents Dodge Calibers, they're great for diving, and not as expensive as Jeeps or SUVs.

Where you dive on Maui depends on where you stay. We have had a lot of pleasant dives at Ulua Beach, and a few amazing ones -- we saw a manta there one day, and two days later, a pod of dolphins. But we have also done a bunch of dives there where you had to be happy with sleeping turtles and a few nudibranchs.

Makena Landing is a very good bet for reef sharks. It's also a very good dive for other things, if you go slowly and inspect the reef carefully. I found my only zebra moray there, and we have found octopus and frogfish on the reef, too.

 

[DancinDiver]

When we're shore diving with a rental car, our first stop after leaving the airport is at Wal-Mart for two large, cheap plastic tubs and a big beach towel. It's a small investment money-wise. You lay the towel out in the trunk to put your tanks and dive flag on. The tubs become your wet gear totes, and can go in the back seat.

The tubs are really only good for about two weeks before they start to fall apart. So don't bother trying to save them from trip to trip. Just call it a scuba expense and run with it.

Have fun!
DnD (and The SO)

 

[muddiver]

The beach dives on Maui I like are Airport Beach, Ka'anapalli Beach, around the Sheraton and Mala Wharf. Ka'anapalli behind the Ka'anapalli Beach Club is a sand entry into a channel between the reef. Once out side the surf zone there are loads of crevices and channels where sharks and turtles hang out.

I'm with DancinDiver on getting a cheap tub from Costco or Wal-Mart. I just walk down to the beach from my room, rinse in the pool after the dive and wear everything back to the room.

Best eats on Maui is the Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahina behind the Cannery Mall. Most reasonably priced on the island.

When I rent on Maui, I have found Enterprise always has the best rate. You can go to one of the local rental companies for way less, but the one time I did that my wife had issue with the roaches that crawled out from under the dash.

Morning or afternoon diving really pertains to the boat trips. On Maui you will most likely dive the leeward side or west side of the island. The conditions from morning to afternoon don't change much for shore diving. Shore dives at night are really cool.

 

[diversteve]

5) Can anyone recommend a good shore diving guide on the Big Island?

Jackson Seay was recommended to us up north in the Puako area. We never connected. Not sure if he's still there since the link I have (divepuako.com) goes to another company. There's still some info here:About Jackson Seay | Dive Puako Hawaii

Jack's in Kona does guided shore dives also. Shore Diving - Kona, Hawaii | Jack's Diving Locker | Jack's Diving Locker I know a couple people who've gone out with them. They dove Alua which is also one of the sites boat operators regularly dive so there's boat traffic to watch for. Supposed to be a pretty good dive, high chance of seeing spinner dolphins there. Scuba Shore Diving Site Page for: Alua Beach of The Big Island Place of Refuge being the must do shore dive on the Big Island. Scuba Shore Diving Site Page for: Place of Refuge of The Big Island

Labor Day is too early for whales. I've seen sharks many times off Lanai but obviously from a boat. The Manta "spot" referred to above is off Umekaheme(sp) Beach but is really best done with scooters as it's a long surface swim otherwise. Maui Scooter Divers - Maui's Scooter Diving Specialists - Come scuba Diving with us! goes out there IIRC.

I like Wailea Beach in Kihei also. The dive is off the south point and an easy beach access. Small parking lot so you may have to drop gear and drive around a little while till someone leaves. I think it could be accessible all day - I've been there at different times. It's adjacent to the Grand Wailea resort. We also dove Old Airport all afternoon once up near Lahaina. Parking shouldn't be a problem there - it's a big lot. I'd guess Kapalua Bay is pretty accessible all day as well, it's rated one of the nicer beaches on Maui but I haven't dove it. We did stay nearby once and I don't recall any significant wave activity in the afternoons - probably that trip was late Sept. Napili Beach is in that area also, just around the south point.

There's convenient tank pickup at Maui Dive Shop in Kahana Gateway - they also have about 3-4 other locations near all the dive sites. They also have a map/handout you can pick up on-site. And they rent flags which you'll need. I have heard the DLNR checks at Mala Pier regularly and I've seen someone with binoculars at one of the south Maui sites also - can't remember which one but it was probably Makena.

The best advice for shore diving in Hawaii....slow down. The islands have the largest endemic species count in the world but they're harder to find. We went right over some debris at Old Airport once, later with a guide we stopped and found octopus in the old bottles/tubes laying around. Compared to B&C it's going to appear bleak at first, there's not many soft corals or fans but the terrain is far more varied than either of them. Some of the vertical walls in Hawaii are some of the best diving. Off Shark Fin on Lanai's west side we probably saw 4-5000 tangs/butterflies/moorish idols. And it's not the "fishiest" site out there. Bring a light even on day dives - if you get into any dives with lava tubes shine it on the ceiling - there's often something interesting hanging there.

Pre-book a car b4 you arrive, we've found that a lot cheaper. I think Alamo was the best deal we found a few years ago but they were offering a low-season deal. On Maui get something fully lockable - I wouldn't leave anything in a soft-side jeep at some of the more popular beaches.

A nice - but not cheap - meal we try to do once a trip is Mama's Fish House in Paia. You can watch the kitesurfers while waiting...

 

[choiahoy]

Great stuff!

Thanks to everyone for all the fantastic information.