Maui/ Big Island in July looking for suggestions

[booth22]

We've got some free flights on Southwest saved up and probably plan to take a swing out to the islands in July. We're looking at staying on Maui and the big island for 4 days each give or take. We plan to do the usual tourist stuff as my wife hasn't visited before- things like the road to Hana, the sunrise at Haleakala, etc. but we also hope to get some good dives in. Aside from a Manta dive on the big island (assuming thats the place for that sort of thing:huh: ) we're open to suggestions.

Good shore dives suit us just fine, but we're not opposed to boat trips either. So, any preferred ops out there for trips? Is july a good time of the year for the diving? And if anyone has any suggestions for places to stay on the islands, let me know as I'm just starting to plan things out.... thanks!

 

[Wildcard]

Do the manta on the BI (only place) and follow it upwith the balckwater dive, most awsome! Also on BI, Two step and Puako are great shore dives. For Maui, back wall of the crater. The inside is soso but the back wall is world class. Also dont miss Maui Ocean Center. Go check it out very early in your visit and think about doing the shark dive, also most awsome. A helo trip around BI is a must do if it's in the budget. Book online for a 25% discount.
Enjoy your visit!
Aloha

 

[scottitheduck]

Does Southworst fly to Hawaii.... me thinks not?

G

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

They have contractual partners I believe. I have used SW miles to travel Maui to New Mexico, via Texas (and back of course).

 

[ItsBruce]

I was in Maui in December and had a very good boat dive with Lahaina Divers. We did the Mala Wharf (a sunken wharf) and Shark Pit. Both were good dives, though not real demanding.

On the BI, I've done the manta dive a couple of times over the years. I'll put in a plug for Kona Hanu Divers. It has one of the bigger boats, which makes gearing up and putting away in the "dark" a lot easier than doing it on a small boat. The manta dive is not to be missed.

 

[booth22]

Does Southworst fly to Hawaii.... me thinks not?

G

you are correct- sort of. Southwest does not, but ATA does and your free flights on SW are good on ATA. Not many people know that, but if I'm using a free flight, I might as well get my money's worth.



Thanks for the suggestions everyone- we'll be looking into the black water dives- saw a video of it on one of the dive ops websites and it looked pretty sweet.

Wildcard (and others)- who's the suggested op for the helicopter tours?

Right now we're looking at July 20-30th and we're thinking about adding two days on either Kauai or Oahu- anyone have a suggestion on which to choose?

 

[mchiapetto]

You might want to consider extra time on BI. We are going in the first part of July. On BI, several of the non-diving things we want to do involve altitutde and it was tricky to juggle dive times with altitude activities. We are starting to think we should have allocated more time on BI to do the things we wanted to.

Driving from Kona to Hilo or driving from Kona south to the lava flows or helicopter rides all involve altitude. So you should leave 24 hours after diving before doing those things just to be safe.

We have booked with Blue Hawaiian for a helicopter tour. Their new Eco-Star helicopter looks and sounds very nice. We are really looking forward to doing a 2 hour tour with them. http://www.bluehawaiian.com/

Hope you have a great trip.