Which Island To Try First?

[Perrier]

Hi! Newbie diver here. Planning a HI trip next summer. Wondering which island would be best for rookie divers. I have only 12 dives, husband has around 30, other couple going w/us will be brand spankin' new divers, & other friend is experienced (diving for around 10yrs but I don't know how many dives he has).

So.........any one island better over others for us? Or does it really matter? I was originally looking at Maui b/c that's one island husband & I haven't been to; also looking at Kauai b/c a repeat trip there would be welcome (last trip the weather sucked & I was sick). So I decided I should seek advice from the experienced & well, here I am.

Any advice or comments will be welcome. TIA!

 

[VBlueV]

i vote for maui.. 'cuz y'all haven't been there yet.

tho' i'm on oahu and know your newer divers would be well taken care of here.. there are probably comparable dive shops on maui.. kidspot can point you to some good ones there.

have fun in maui.

 

[KrisB]

There are some great shops here on Maui... I can recommend for the South Maui (i.e Maalea, Kihei, Wailea) area. Tim (kidspot) knows the West Maui market really well.

From what I understand, Maui ranks among the top two islands for diving, with there being some discussion on whether the Big Island (Hawaii) is better or not. There is a great deal to do out of the water here, too... which is nice if it's not a strictly DIVE DIVE DIVE vacation.

PM me when you have your dates in mind... maybe we can go diving!

 

[Island Divers Hawaii]

I would suggest doing more than one island. Since inter-island flights are so cheap right now ($19-$39 each way) it really is worth doing. The Manta dives on the Big Island are amazing and the wrecks here on Oahu are great. Every island has its own "personality" so visiting more than can be a bit more rewarding.

 

[KrisB]

The only thing about doing multiple islands is that it takes away a dive day on each end of the hop... even the island hopper flights fly high enough to need the 12-24 hours between diving & flying.

If you weren't diving, I'd agree... what's an hour or so to hop over... but when it means being dry for a whole day... if your vacation is only a week, it really isn't worth doing.

 

[kidspot]

fwiw - When visitors return to the islands, Maui is at the top of the list for "repeat" visits ... So if you have not been here yet, I'd recommend it.

I can't say if it's true or not, but frequently the Big Isle of Hawaii is given top billing for best boat diving in the state, and Maui gets top ratings for it's shore diving in the state - but every island has it's good on and off shore sites.

When you know your dates of travel post them here and maybe some of us can get together for some shore diving.

btw - lots of threads about good shops/dive ops abound here, but if you want more specifics feel free to PM me.
Aloha, Tim

 

[ronrosa]

I've dove Maui and the Big Island. I liked the turtles at St. Anthony's and sharks at Molokini on Maui. Mantas and dolphins during the day and mantas up close and personal at night on the Big Island.

If I had to choose 1, the manta ray night dive on the Big Island is tough to beat.

 

[KrisB]

Ron: would the one manta dive be enough to justify picking the Big Island over the others? To me, mantas are cool... but I wouldn't give up the diving I've done on Maui just to dive with a bunch of them -- especially when there's a chance of seeing them here.

 

[ronrosa]

Ron: would the one manta dive be enough to justify picking the Big Island over the others? To me, mantas are cool... but I wouldn't give up the diving I've done on Maui just to dive with a bunch of them -- especially when there's a chance of seeing them here.

Well, to me, I preferred the overall diving on the Big Island over Maui. The manta ray night dive was just icing on the cake. I spent 1 week on each island, so I don't know if my experiences are typical, but it is all I can go on.

I also preferred the Big Island topside. Flowing lava at volcano national park was quite a site to see.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[trucker girl]

I have to say Oahu.

Of course, it's the only island I've been to, so I might be a little biased.

I would suggest www.oahuscubadivers.com (justleesa is a mod here- she is OSD's Lisa on the site) since your dive expereince is limited. Lisa and Roger are fantastic- very personable and knowledgeable. I spent 3 mornings with Lisa and one evening with Roger and it was all extremely enjoyable. I have been diving with very few dives in the past and I think, after having dove with Lisa and Roger, I'd have had better experiences had I done my early "vacation" dives with them. This time around, I had 63 dives under my belt before getting to Hawaii- and I still felt as though I were a brand new diver. Ocean diving is different from quarry diving- and their expertise took away any concerns I had.

Okay, so just a little unabashed plug for my favorite Oahu dive op. They will go out with just you and your wife for about the same price you're going to pay any other dive op I looked into. And they will give you a mini logbook- designed by Lisa- and provide stamps to put in your "description" section- they'll tell you the names of all the fish/creatures you saw but didn't know what they were AND provide a stamp for many of them so you remember them when you re-read your logs! Lisa drew the pics for the stamps. She's really talented. AND she will make a box lunch for you (and your wife)- it's like kindergarten- stamping and a lunch box! But she makes some killer sandwiches! Perfect for a post dive lunch at a beach park!

They didn't have any other clients when I was there so it was just me and Lisa or me and Roger. MUCH better than a large group- trying to keep from kicking someone or being kicked sucks!

Whichever island you go to- keep in touch with folks here. You may be able to do some shore diving- which is certainly much cheaper than boat dives. I hit Oahu this September right as the conditions on the north shore were changing to strong surf (surfing competitions on the north shore during the winter months) so I only did one shore dive. The summer is the time to do shore diving on the north shore of Oahu.

I am sure the other islands offer wonderful diving, too. But there's something to Waikiki. I'm sorry, but sitting in Duke's listening to the ukelele music, watching the surfers and the surf... it's quite magical.