Need Honolulu dive experience...

[MO-Diver]

Thanks for the information so far and I may be in touch closer to the date to see what conditions are - especially with those of you who live on the island.

I'll be staying on the west shore near Makaha -- anything over that way? I realize that the ocean is a little rough in Feb. though so I don't want to go over my ability at this point. That's why I had hope Hanauma Bay would be a good choice - I have snorkeled there in the past and it seemed so calm, but I know it's also overrun with people anymore. Will definitely go with a guide on any dive I do while there. Thanks for the posts and any other info you may have.

 

[chepar]

If you're staying in Makaha you're way over on the west side of the island - very close to the Waianae boat harbor, where Ocean Concepts pretty much headquarters their boat dives out of.

The drive into town will take you at least 45 -60 minutes, depending on traffic. Figure another 20 minutes on top of that to get to Hanauma Bay, which is on the far east side of the island.

Shore diving on that side of the island - not much, in my opinion, unless you're willing to do a real big surface swim out to Makaha Caverns. I suppose there are other sites that are doable - Stars (Keau Corners), for example - but I've never seen anyone do those as shore dives. Electric Beach (Kahe Point) is a shore dive, but as mentioned, sometimes the current is a bear and the site itself is just ok.

 

[justleesa]

Electric Beach (Kahe Point) is a shore dive, but as mentioned, sometimes the current is a bear and the site itself is just ok.

Don't leave any valuables in your car...... :frown:

 

[MO-Diver]

I have also heard the beach around Kahe Point is nice? I wasn't in control of where my group was staying but have read that Mahaka is an area to be sure to lock your cars, unfortunately -- and yes, a long way "from town". But, we'll have two cars so that will help. Hope the area has some nice features though.
I'll check out Electric Beach -- thanks!

 

[justleesa]

I have also heard the beach around Kahe Point is nice? I wasn't in control of where my group was staying but have read that Mahaka is an area to be sure to lock your cars, unfortunately -- and yes, a long way "from town". But, we'll have two cars so that will help. Hope the area has some nice features though.
I'll check out Electric Beach -- thanks!

Kahe Point = Electric Beach
Out Makaha way you can do the Lava Tubes and the Mahi. There are dive ops that run out of Waianea Harbor every day (weather permitting). As for the area Makaha is on the dryer side of the Island so you'll see more red rock than green mountains (unless it rains alot then red turns to green pretty quick ). There are no real attraction over that way...

 

[Outlaw14]

Hello

We will be in Hawaii for a two weeks: One week at the end of July in Honolulu (gotta love APA for picking the conference site!) and then the first week of August in Kona. My daughter and I are newly certified, and while we will have a few more dives under our belts before we get to Hawaii, we will have had no ocean experience. Since she is 12, we have depth limitations.

We are scheduled to dive with Jack's Diving Locker in August, but I would like to find a place to do a dive in Oahu/Honolulu for the 27th and /or the 30th. We need more of the individualized, training, teaching, gentle guidance set of dives, than the group sorta on your own but not really string along oooh and ahhh dives.

Any recommendations for a dive site or a dive shop or a dive charter in Honolulu (or one that comes and gets you at the hotel) would be appreciated.

Post here or email or PM me.

Thanks

Michael

Michael,

Try Sharks Cove with Deep Ecology. They are located in Haleiwa on the north shore and are super people to deal with. Owner/manager Pat made our experience diving there a success. We just got back from Oahu today. DE dives only on the north shore in the summer (both boat and shore dives). Their boat only takes 6 so it's not a cattle car. In addition to the Sharks Cove guided dive (two tank shore dive in the morning), we also did a one tank night dive there (our first). Both experiences were memorable (in a good way). You can email them before you go at dive@deepecologyhawaii.com or call toll free 800-578-3992 (or locally at 808-637-7946). There were lots of fish at Sharks Cove and turtles, eels, and no spearfishing or other fishing to worry about. It's a protected area.

Good luck and hope you have fun. We also did the boat dive with Ocean Concepts out of Wainane Harbor to the Mahi wreck and then Makaha Caverns. We really enjoyed that too, but if you have depth restrictions the Mahi might be too deep. My max depth there was 85 feet and it's a shorter dive due to the depth. We got over an hour of bottom time with Deep Ecology as it much less deep (average 35 feet maybe). http://oceanconcepts.com/oc/Page.asp?PageID=BoatSchedule

Good luck with your visit. We had a great time.

Lauren