Where To Dive In Hawaii In Jan?

[shafan1234]

2 weeks trip to Hawaii at the beginning of January. 1 week with friends in Honolulu, then we have 5/6 nights - we were thinking Kaui or Maui?? I am an instructor 700+ dives, my fiance hasn't dived and will want to do Open Water or DSD.

1. Where is the best diving?? Where should we go??

2. Which dive operator do you recommend?

3. Any mid-range accommodations thoughts??

4. Is Whale watching possible?

As always, many thanks for your thoughts.

 

[lonebrave]

Call Gabe at Kaimana Divers (Kaimana Divers: SCUBA Diving in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, Waikiki) for Oahu diving. I haven't been diving on Maui, yet, so no recommendations there.

Check VRBO® is Vacation Rentals By Owner for a range of places to stay.

Whale watching is definitely doable on Oahu or Maui...possibly Kauai, but I'm still too new to the islands to know.

 

[RK05]

In Maui it really depends on where you are staying. If you are up by Kanaapali(spelling?) I suggest Lahaina divers. They are close and are one of the few dive companies that go to Lanai to do dives like Cathedral and Cathedral II. other shops up there will go but Lahaina was the most recommended when I was there 2years ago and I plan on using them again next April. If you are staying down in Wailea there are some highly recommended shops per trip advisor but I did not use them due to the drive to get there and generally dive shops based in that area will not go to Lanai.

I don't remember who I used in Kauai but I generally check out the trip advisor ratings and then call the shops to see how they treat me on the phone. I have not gone wrong yet using the trip advisor web site ratings and comments to pick my dive shops when I travel. All i remember about the Kauai dives was almost being mowed down by a giant turtle!!

Good luck and have fun!
Rk05

Oops, almost forgot about the whale watching. Maui is a great place to do it and I would suggest that if you go during whale season you look into a helicopter tour instead of a boat whale watching trip. You get the help tour of the island and also the best view available of the whales since you can see them from above in the water and don't have to find them breaching. If you plan on photographing make sure to bring a polarizing filter for the camera if your will support one as the glare on the help windows messes up the photos.

 

[Thalassamania]

There is good diving on all the island, it kind of depends on what you want. If it is big critters, the Big Island is, I think, by far the best.

 

[scottitheduck]

I love the diving in Jan and Feb here on Oahu. Usually whale sightings or at least songs whilst diving..... Some years it's flat and calm on the south shore and the wrecks are at their best. Might have a few raindrops though, but that never scared off any divers I know!

G

 

[diversteve]

North side of Kauai will be shut down due to big waves so all the diving centers around Poipu in the south.
It's a long drive from the Princeville area so I'd suggest staying in the Poipu area if you decide on Kauai.
The best diving from there is Niihau but no one will be going there in the winter, the crossing is too rough. So maybe save Kauai for another trip.

You should hear Whales off Maui at that time. Lucky people see one occasionally off the Molokini backwall. Traffic sometimes slows along the coast road when whales are spotted - it's a pretty often occurrence in winter. Lahaina Divers does Hammerhead trips to Molokai also - it's advanced and I'm not sure if they go during the winter. Might check with them.

I'll make a recommendation for Ed Robinson's if you're in the Kihei area (or want to drive 45mins. from Kaanapali) They run a 3-tank advanced trip a couple days a week - so do others. Also check out Shaka Doug (Shaka Divers) here on the board for escorted shore diving - he has a dive bus.

 

[Cheeky_Dragon]

Lahaina Divers if you're staying up that end of the island or Scuba Shack out of Kihei if you're in the south. Lots of cheap lodging in the Kihei area and an extremely short boat ride to many of the great dive sites. Scuba Shack also does DSD and did a great job with my 10 year-old daughter, so much so she's finishing up her open water certification dives this weekend

 

[curtissqd]

Hi,

I am always looking for the most out of the way dive spots, which are both low on tourists and great for finding small operators who dive in small groups. Ok, throw in some real nice cheap hotels to stay and again away from the tourists, great. ie. Utila not Roatan in Honduras.

Thx Curtis

 

[scottitheduck]

Lived in Utila for 7 months..... talk about off the grid. We didn't even have power 24/7 and had a rain catchment shower! Miss those days.

We do have a new Shark Dive that I just posted details to on our blog..... come take a peek!

G

 

[knowone]

With