cruisegirl
Contributor
I know this is an older review but thought Scubaboard would be the appropriate place to post it. Especially as I see several question threads about Oahu..... So thought I'd share.....
My friends and I flew into Honolulu, Oahu on Sept. 27th... I am the only diver of the group... I had dives scheduled with Alex from AAA Diving on Sept. 29th.... I have to say, he's a honorable man... I originally talked with him in July and got info./prices... Then we talked in Sept. after gas went sky high and he honored the original prices he had quoted me... I respect that... Another great thing is that he has his own boat... so your not competing for space on a dive boat that several other dive shops have also booked...
He provides transportation so on the 29th he picked me up promptly... Then we proceeded to pick up the remaining divers... There were 4 of us that day.. We had 2 with experience, myself included and then 2 who had taken dive3 lessons and were doing their check out/certifying dives... All very nice..
We went out on his boat called the Elysium... Went out of the Honolulu area to a dive spot called The Pinnacles.... It was Alex and another divemaster named Chris... This was my first experience diving in warm waters and diving outside of California which is my "security blanket"... And diving with people I didn't know... So I was a little nervous yet excited... No hood or gloves...
WOOO HOOO.......
Our first dive was to 77 feet.. Visibility was 70-80 feet.... INCREDIBLE... bottom temp was 78 degrees farenheit.... Saw so many fishes I couldn't keep track... Chris went with us on the first dive and we saw a turtle sleeping on a reef and took us to see him... He woke up with a look of "what, what da want".. Quite funny... Lot's of reefs to look at...Now my bottom time was only 29 min. which is poor for me but I was so excited, I was a major air hog...I couldn't get over all I was seeing....
Then we came up for our surface interval and then Alex went down with his students for their checkout dives. They did great...
On to our next spot...Off Honolulu again, a place called Runway Reef .... It was my dive buddy Perry, myself, Alex & the 2 students... Here we only went to 37 feet... Visibility was 30-50 feet.. Bottom temp. was 78 degrees again.. And our bottom time was 42 min. We went on a tour with Alex and then he was finishing up the students and Perry & I got to go on our own for the rest of the dive.. We saw many fish again.. Saw a Tiger Cowry Shell... Quite lovely.....we had a great time... Perry & I complimented each other quite well in our skills... Then we surfaced and headed home... And 2 new divers are in the world... The 2 students were certified...CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM....
I had a blast... I really enjoyed my dive buddy... and Alex, is a hoot... He's British with a crazy, wacky sense of humor but I loved it... I'm sure some aren't sure how to take him but I have a good sense of humor, have friends that are British and gave it right back.... Much to his amazement... I guess I look meek.... Can't imagine that but ok.... So we got along well...... But more importantly, he's very into safety & being careful... The overall best thing is I felt safe with him.... To me that's crucial... And he's very involved with PADI regarding education....
So I highly recommend AAA diving when in Oahu.... Check out the website... Oh, and ignore the date... Forgot to reset my camera.:shakehead www.aaadiving.com
My friends and I flew into Honolulu, Oahu on Sept. 27th... I am the only diver of the group... I had dives scheduled with Alex from AAA Diving on Sept. 29th.... I have to say, he's a honorable man... I originally talked with him in July and got info./prices... Then we talked in Sept. after gas went sky high and he honored the original prices he had quoted me... I respect that... Another great thing is that he has his own boat... so your not competing for space on a dive boat that several other dive shops have also booked...
He provides transportation so on the 29th he picked me up promptly... Then we proceeded to pick up the remaining divers... There were 4 of us that day.. We had 2 with experience, myself included and then 2 who had taken dive3 lessons and were doing their check out/certifying dives... All very nice..
We went out on his boat called the Elysium... Went out of the Honolulu area to a dive spot called The Pinnacles.... It was Alex and another divemaster named Chris... This was my first experience diving in warm waters and diving outside of California which is my "security blanket"... And diving with people I didn't know... So I was a little nervous yet excited... No hood or gloves...
WOOO HOOO.......
Our first dive was to 77 feet.. Visibility was 70-80 feet.... INCREDIBLE... bottom temp was 78 degrees farenheit.... Saw so many fishes I couldn't keep track... Chris went with us on the first dive and we saw a turtle sleeping on a reef and took us to see him... He woke up with a look of "what, what da want".. Quite funny... Lot's of reefs to look at...Now my bottom time was only 29 min. which is poor for me but I was so excited, I was a major air hog...I couldn't get over all I was seeing....
Then we came up for our surface interval and then Alex went down with his students for their checkout dives. They did great...
On to our next spot...Off Honolulu again, a place called Runway Reef .... It was my dive buddy Perry, myself, Alex & the 2 students... Here we only went to 37 feet... Visibility was 30-50 feet.. Bottom temp. was 78 degrees again.. And our bottom time was 42 min. We went on a tour with Alex and then he was finishing up the students and Perry & I got to go on our own for the rest of the dive.. We saw many fish again.. Saw a Tiger Cowry Shell... Quite lovely.....we had a great time... Perry & I complimented each other quite well in our skills... Then we surfaced and headed home... And 2 new divers are in the world... The 2 students were certified...CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM....
I had a blast... I really enjoyed my dive buddy... and Alex, is a hoot... He's British with a crazy, wacky sense of humor but I loved it... I'm sure some aren't sure how to take him but I have a good sense of humor, have friends that are British and gave it right back.... Much to his amazement... I guess I look meek.... Can't imagine that but ok.... So we got along well...... But more importantly, he's very into safety & being careful... The overall best thing is I felt safe with him.... To me that's crucial... And he's very involved with PADI regarding education....
So I highly recommend AAA diving when in Oahu.... Check out the website... Oh, and ignore the date... Forgot to reset my camera.:shakehead www.aaadiving.com
