As I know it, Rainbow Reef is outside of the Magic Island lagoon. It is a considerable walk with gear from the parking lot between Ala Moana beach and the Ala Wai harbor out to the end of Magic Island. Entry is on the harbor channel side, in an elbow of the rock wall (small sandy area).
If you start your dive at the first harbor channel marker I would call that dive Magic Island. Many cheap OW classes do their confined water in the lagoon and then open water skills near that channel marker (very silty both places). The area farther out under the boat traffic is interesting, with lot's of turtles around a bunch of cement poles scattered around the outer channel marker and big boats going overhead.
I prefer to surface swim all the way out past the end of Majic Island to a nice sand channel west of the harbor channel. Skills are easier there due to much less silt and I have had excellent dives going farther out and west from there; feeding eagle rays, octo, eels, scorpion fish, lots of turtles and plenty of fish. That's Rainbow Reef.
It's best to come back to the sand channel with a minimum of 800psi so you can stay under all the way to the inner channel marker. If the tide is going out and the trades are down on the water the surface swim back is extreme to impossible. Do not do these dives without a dive flag. This area is a last resort dive, even with 3-4ft at e-beach I would go there.
If you start your dive at the first harbor channel marker I would call that dive Magic Island. Many cheap OW classes do their confined water in the lagoon and then open water skills near that channel marker (very silty both places). The area farther out under the boat traffic is interesting, with lot's of turtles around a bunch of cement poles scattered around the outer channel marker and big boats going overhead.
I prefer to surface swim all the way out past the end of Majic Island to a nice sand channel west of the harbor channel. Skills are easier there due to much less silt and I have had excellent dives going farther out and west from there; feeding eagle rays, octo, eels, scorpion fish, lots of turtles and plenty of fish. That's Rainbow Reef.
It's best to come back to the sand channel with a minimum of 800psi so you can stay under all the way to the inner channel marker. If the tide is going out and the trades are down on the water the surface swim back is extreme to impossible. Do not do these dives without a dive flag. This area is a last resort dive, even with 3-4ft at e-beach I would go there.
