Canadian99999
Registered
Hi everyone!
I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
I am as new as they come - I LOVE swimming, but I have never snorkeled before, but I am arranging to take a lesson here at home before I come to Hawaii this winter.
I want to try snorkeling, or possibly SNUBA while I am there, from December 30 2010 to January 13, 2011. I will be on an inter-island cruise for the first week (I should have enough time to try snorkeling in Oahu one day before the cruise, then Kona for one day, and Maui for one day - but I am tied to the Pride of America schedule for ports of call...). Then, I am going to Kauai for 5 days, so I might try it there, too.
Any recommendations of the best tours, etc. would be great, and for the best spots to try it (bearing in mind the cruise ship limitations, which unfortunately rule out night dives, etc.). Also, I suspect I will have to deal with motion sickness (although I don't know for sure yet - but it's a pretty good bet that I would get it, because my mom gets it really badly).
I think I will try to get to Hanauma Bay in Oahu while I am there, to try snorkeling, but further recommendations on the following would be most appreciated:
On my one day in Kona, should I try snorkeling in Pawai Bay (Body Glove) or Kealakekua Bay (I think it's through FairWind)? I can't decide...
Or should I try something else, entirely in Kona?
Is Molokini Crater worth a try? I had decided to do this, but now I have read several posts that state there aren't as many fish around there as there used to be...
I want to see lots of fishies, and turtles and dolphins, etc., too, if possible (so long as the tour doesn't hurt the dolphins - if it does, I would just take a tour that didn't disturb them). Do you have any snorkel tour operator recommendations???
Should I try booking any of these excursions myself, instead of going with a cruise ship based tour?
What do you all think about SNUBA? Any recommendations about companies that provide that?
As an aside, I also might like to try one of the shark cage expeditions on Oahu (assuming this doesn't hurt the sharks???).... I think sharks are awesome, particularly if I have a grid of metal bars strategically placed between me and their teeth! Hahaha! Any recommendations on that would be great too. I saw 2 different companies offering it: North Shore Shark Expeditions and Hawaii Shark Encounters.
Any thoughts?
All advice is most welcome.
Cheers!
Claire.
I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
I am as new as they come - I LOVE swimming, but I have never snorkeled before, but I am arranging to take a lesson here at home before I come to Hawaii this winter.
I want to try snorkeling, or possibly SNUBA while I am there, from December 30 2010 to January 13, 2011. I will be on an inter-island cruise for the first week (I should have enough time to try snorkeling in Oahu one day before the cruise, then Kona for one day, and Maui for one day - but I am tied to the Pride of America schedule for ports of call...). Then, I am going to Kauai for 5 days, so I might try it there, too.
Any recommendations of the best tours, etc. would be great, and for the best spots to try it (bearing in mind the cruise ship limitations, which unfortunately rule out night dives, etc.). Also, I suspect I will have to deal with motion sickness (although I don't know for sure yet - but it's a pretty good bet that I would get it, because my mom gets it really badly).
I think I will try to get to Hanauma Bay in Oahu while I am there, to try snorkeling, but further recommendations on the following would be most appreciated:
On my one day in Kona, should I try snorkeling in Pawai Bay (Body Glove) or Kealakekua Bay (I think it's through FairWind)? I can't decide...
Or should I try something else, entirely in Kona?
Is Molokini Crater worth a try? I had decided to do this, but now I have read several posts that state there aren't as many fish around there as there used to be...
I want to see lots of fishies, and turtles and dolphins, etc., too, if possible (so long as the tour doesn't hurt the dolphins - if it does, I would just take a tour that didn't disturb them). Do you have any snorkel tour operator recommendations???
Should I try booking any of these excursions myself, instead of going with a cruise ship based tour?
What do you all think about SNUBA? Any recommendations about companies that provide that?
As an aside, I also might like to try one of the shark cage expeditions on Oahu (assuming this doesn't hurt the sharks???).... I think sharks are awesome, particularly if I have a grid of metal bars strategically placed between me and their teeth! Hahaha! Any recommendations on that would be great too. I saw 2 different companies offering it: North Shore Shark Expeditions and Hawaii Shark Encounters.
Any thoughts?
All advice is most welcome.
Cheers!
Claire.