Maui for the first time ever in October. Where and who should I dive with.

[scubawho]

Hi there,
I just got back from Maui as a matter of fact.
Let me tell you what I learned.

First of all - FORGET SCUBA SHACK! They are the cheapest and they don’t charge for equipment, however they make there money by shuffling the heard to the fastest place they can dump you in the water and meet the obligations of your agreement. The boat captain is a jerk, the crew isn’t going to show you much. I was very surprised that the captain strongly encouraged to NOT use a snorkel. In fact he even stated that if you went snorkeling you "were not going to be diving with him again". I am a very experienced diver and a snorkel is a key piece of safety equipment e.g. if you should find yourself on top with no air and in rough water. Both dives I did were drift dives and they dropped us in the water and made us swim against the current using all our air. The current was very strong and by the time we got to the area of interest the dive was over – ridiculous. They have a fast boat and the captain likes to spin it around to show it off at the end of the dive.. I have a fast boat too and while I enjoy that sort of thing I could see the rest of the passengers getting sick - that maneuver was just childish. Is the equipment they use new? not really..
I thought it was funny to read someone else’s review mentioning "not my cup of tea and no pea in wetsuit policy" lol that was in 2004.. believe me nothing has changed. Also he leaves at 6:15 sharp if you miss it, the owner does not care at all, will not refund your money and will make ZERO effort to put you on another boat.
if at all possible you should use your own. I also dove with Lahaina divers Scuba Dive Lanai, Molokini, Molokai, and Maui | Lahaina Divers
Did a day and night dive. Very professional, helpful and courteous. B & B leaves from the same boat ramp.
Overall I would highly recommend diving in Belize for the greatest bang for you buck.
Good luck!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

On the west end I am a big fan of Lahaina Divers. Lots of good shore diving there too, and if you have the skills, particularly nav skills, and comfrot level, you don't need a DM for a lot of the sites. Maui Dive Shop has a nice free shore dive site brochure/ ad catalog. Pick one up while you are there for any of there several locations.
DivemasterDennis

 

[RSF]

Have gone diving with B&B. Leave out of Kihei boat ramp at 5:45 am. First ones out mean that they get to popular dive sites before the traffic builds up (particularly nice at Molokini). Only possible downside is that they may not get you to some of the more advanced dive sites as they often have beginners aboard the boat. That said, wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Also, you may want to see if you can find an outfit that will take you to the cathedrals at Lanai. About a 40 minute boat ride from Maui but great dive. Have fun!

 

[Mark Derail]

Correction on my post above - it was Mike Severns' boat op I went on. Highly recommend for pro-level deep dive & detailed fish specs.

Consider the "where" the boats leave from, at what time. Usually first boat out is at 6am, meaning you have to be there 15-20 min earlier to hand off your gear, and they do a visual inspection.

Getting a local guide, and doing shore dives, while being cheaper also makes for a sense of adventure, going off the beaten trail. I wish I had done that.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

We only dive wtih B&B after trying everyone else. Not that the other shops are bad or horrible, we just love them the most.

 

[ChrisM]

We've used Ed Robinsons, Mike Severns (although neither in the last few years) and B&B. I was partial to B&B until the last trip last month. They had a lot of beginners on board, which is actually fine, you get what you get when you get on a boat. But the DM, Eric, was awful. My wife and I pointed out more to each other than he did, which wasn't hard because he pointed out exactly nothing. I've dived Maui a few times, so I am OK on my own, butit's always nice to get the local knowledge about where the usual critters are. The message I got was that he couldn't wait until we were done so he could get out of the water at Reefs End

The second dive was at Wailea Point. After he led us through murky, green water, we basically dithced him and went inshore where the water was clear and the stucture was better, ended up with another DM (Dave? maybe? Tall, mustache, used to live in L.A. area.....) who was much more involved and interested.

This has NOT been my experience before with B&B, so don't know if it's a one off, or he was new, or what. But it was really disappointing

 

[Mark Derail]

Comments, good or bad, consider posting also on TripAdvisor. I have.

Hi there,
I just got back from Maui as a matter of fact.
Let me tell you what I learned.

First of all - FORGET SCUBA SHACK! They are the cheapest and they don’t charge for equipment, however they make there money by shuffling the heard to the fastest place they can dump you in the water and meet the obligations of your agreement. The boat captain is a jerk, the crew isn’t going to show you much. I was very surprised that the captain strongly encouraged to NOT use a snorkel. In fact he even stated that if you went snorkeling you "were not going to be diving with him again". I am a very experienced diver and a snorkel is a key piece of safety equipment e.g. if you should find yourself on top with no air and in rough water. Both dives I did were drift dives and they dropped us in the water and made us swim against the current using all our air. The current was very strong and by the time we got to the area of interest the dive was over – ridiculous. They have a fast boat and the captain likes to spin it around to show it off at the end of the dive.. I have a fast boat too and while I enjoy that sort of thing I could see the rest of the passengers getting sick - that maneuver was just childish. Is the equipment they use new? not really..
I thought it was funny to read someone else’s review mentioning "not my cup of tea and no pea in wetsuit policy" lol that was in 2004.. believe me nothing has changed. Also he leaves at 6:15 sharp if you miss it, the owner does not care at all, will not refund your money and will make ZERO effort to put you on another boat.
if at all possible you should use your own. I also dove with Lahaina divers Scuba Dive Lanai, Molokini, Molokai, and Maui | Lahaina Divers
Did a day and night dive. Very professional, helpful and courteous. B & B leaves from the same boat ramp.
Overall I would highly recommend diving in Belize for the greatest bang for you buck.
Good luck!

 

[thirtyfivefox]

I certified with Tim from Tiny Bubbles Scuba. Really great guy, all around pleasant experience. Would recommend him for any training you are wanting! He is affiliated with Scuba Luvs Maui but I don't know if he does any tour dives.

 

[ScubaERDoc]

Thanks for all the great recommendations.

My girlfriend just booked a condo right next to Maui Dreams. Has anyone dove with them before?

 

[diversteve]

Rented tanks from them once. Seemed like a nice operation.

They don't have their own boat so book the Maui Diamond II out of Ma'alea - the operators listed above that leave from the Kihei boat ramp are closer.

I thought someone had already posted this - some shore dive options in that area: http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/Maui/index.htm