Which Island?

[Thalassamania]

We have a vacation rental on our small farm down in Ocean View. A lot of folks stay up in Kona and do the dives, especially the Manta Dive and the Black Water Dive and then come south and then stay with us for a couple days, hit Ho'okena for a snorkel with the dolphins, South Point and Green Sand Beach (needs 4 wheel drive, but we've got two of 'em), the Black Sand Beach at Punalu'u with the turtles, and maybe a day at the Volcano National Park (remember that's 4,000 feet).

 

[Nwcid]

We did Kona last spring and as fairly new diver (sound like you) it was awesome especially coming from cold water. We had the kids with us last time so had to share time above and below water.

We are headed to Maui in 3 weeks and can not wait. This time no kids so it is all planned around diving.

Keep in mind when looking at surface fun elevation climbs quickly on the islands. Don't expect to do 2 morning dives then spend the afternoon/evening driving in the mountains and star gazing.

 

[cruzbound]

Hi all,
Thanks for your input on the islands - we have booked our trip for November 2013. Due to the overwhelming recommendations of the Big Island and the Manta dive, we will now be going to Maui for a week and the Big Island for 3 and a 1/2 days - this will allow us to do the Manta dive and one more day of diving. Now the main question is what dive operators would you all recommend on both islands? In Maui we will be staying at a condo in Kahana and I don't have a condo for Kona yet. We will have a car rental on both islands.

Thanks again, cruzbound

 

[DiveMaven]

Sounds like an excellent plan!! If you don't want to drive early in the morning, your two choices for boat diving will be Extended Horizons to Lanai and West Maui or Lahaina Divers to Lanai, Molokini, and West Maui. If you don't mind getting up early and driving to Kihei, my favorites are Ed Robinsons, Dive & Sea, and Makena Coast Charters.

Since you're newer divers and coming from Kahana, I'd really recommend Dive & Sea for a couple of reasons: the captain is the owner and gives an extremely personalized experience taking only 6 divers on his very spacious and comfortable boat. Adam the DM is an excellent guide who sizes up his divers' needs quickly and does a great job taking care of them. They also go out a little later than the other operators (7:00am instead of 6:00 for B&B or 6:30 for Ed Robinsons), which gives you an extra 30 minutes in the morning.

For Lanai charters (and I recommend you do one) we prefer Lahaina Divers because of their spacious and comfortable boat for the sometimes rough crossing. They do take more divers, but their groups are broken down into 5-8 divers per guide, so you don't feel crowded.

Shore diving is very good, but I'd recommend hiring a guide if you aren't familiar with diving in Hawaii. There are so many endemic creatures and so many small creatures that are easy to miss, that the new to Hawaii diver will benefit by with a good guide to maximize what they're seeing.

if you don't mind driving to South Maui, I'll recommend shore diving with Sam from Maui Dive Shop, anyone from Maui Dreams, and Shaka Doug. There's also scooter diving....but I'm sure someone with first hand experience will pipe up and give you the scoop on that.