Aloha Cathy!
Really glad you have had luck with SB and suggestions for dive operations. It really is an amazing source of info. As you look into reviews such as Trip Advisor you'll see a pretty cool trend of near perfect reviews for just about every company. There are so many really great operations here - and even more professional and talented DM's / instructors. Soooo ..... depending on what type of diving you are interested in I'd love to guide/help you. I've been diving in Hawaii for over 20 years (about 16 of which has been on Kauai) so I have a fair amount of knowledge regarding the sites, critters, etc. You'll find Kauai is considerably different underwater than the other islands in my humble opinion.
While I work currently with Nick and Jessie at Explore Kauai Scuba, there are several additional options for diving the south shore and potentially even Niihau if that sparked your interest. In Poipu the largest shop is Seasport Divers. Kauai Down Under and Fathom Five divers also have smaller shops in the area. Traveling to the west our boat departs from Kekaha and Garden Isle Divers goes out of Port Allen along with Bubbles Below.
If you are open to doing a shore dive - the dive at Koloa Landing (also known as Whaler's Cove) is simply fantastic for divers with 5 or 1000 dives! The critters there are simply fantastic! Endemic Freckled Snake Eels, Leaf Scorpion Fish, Devil Scorpions, Octopus, Commerson's Frogfish, rare Morays including Peppered Morays, countless Green Sea Turtles, AND CURRENTLY A MASSIVE BAIT BALL that is bringing in predators! Anyway, you get the point. I've done over 14,000 dives in Hawaii and I dive this location quite often on my days off. The max depth is for all intents and purposes 50 ft with an average of 30ish so you can do fantastic long dives there!
From the boat there are so many options. Largely the dive sites are part of what was the old coastline of Kauai about zillion years ago. Lava tubes, arch ways, small caverns and caves are common. The majority of the dives are 40-65 ft range with some less frequented deeper sites. Turtle cleaning stations and resting spots are part of essentially any 2 tank boat dive that you will do. It's early yet - but it's very exciting that Humpback Whales are arriving now and being spotted in small numbers daily. There has also been an increase in manta sighting over the last couple weeks.
You can feel free to send me a personal message with specific questions or interests if you like. I'd be happy to help you out with anything that may make your stay and dive experience more enjoyable. Even if it's something as simple as a bin for your rental car for your gear, or a cooler to take to the shore. Please feel free to contact me regardless of the company you choose to dive with. Again, I'd love to help however I can. I'm sure some suggestions will start coming in for you from other great SB members.
Have a fantastic end to your week! You must be getting excited for your upcoming trip!
A
