Who to dive with in Oahu

[EvaL]

Second vote for Aaron's Dive shop in Kailua. Safety conscious and helpful crew.
I dove with Deep Ecology on the north shore 3-4 years back. I find they're more environmentally conscious than most other ops, had small boats (which weren't quite big enough in the winter waves of the North Shore), friendly & helpful crew. Also has a nice retail store selling non-dive apparel as well.
Dive safely.

 

[crab lover]

I will be getting certified by Aaron's this weekend, so I can't tell you about the dives yet, BUT I can tell you they have all been very friendly and helpful!!! Kirsty actually talked me into waiting on some gear for a bit until I get comfortable in the water. This tells me that they are not just in it for the money, but building relationships with their customers.

 

[mfalco]

I dove with Captain Bruce's dive charters, and had a great experience. They own a large boat. They picked us up at our hotel in the morning and drove us to the boat.

When we dove there were 3 of us + DM. There was also someone on the boat getting a private lesson. EvaL mentioned "Deep Ecology". Deep Ecology had the other half dozen spots on the boat. If you are going with them you might save money by diving with the boat owner, instead of a company that rents space on the boat.

 

[vel525]

I had a great experience with Dive Oahu. Their rental gear is scubapro (which was great for us since we left our scubapro gear at home and had gear we were already familiary with). Service was great and very friendly. They picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off. Also, at the time they were doing an unlimted diving package (not sure if they still do that)....so I did A LOT of diving.

 

[JJM1631]

I spent a couple years in Hawaii while in the military and had no problems at all with Ocean Concepts. I would recommend them. Also, you dont need a dive operator for Sharks Cove, its an easy shore dive if the surf is calm.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

If you want to really see sharks cove (or three tables/firehouse) you need to go with a guide. There are many caverns and lava tubes that are the reason to go and you will see way more of them with an experienced guide.

 

[Whale Whisperer]

I can't say that I'm crazy about Ocean Concepts either. Most of the staff there seem like they're really high on themselves (I used to call them Dive Pre-Madonna's). There was one dive charter I took with them and the person leading the charter had a way of talking to everyone like we were all children. I can say alot more but I'll just leave it at that.

On a lighter note, Island Divers is terrific. It's been a while since I dived with them but I always thought that their operation is terrific!

 

[ODC diver]

Lets start by talking about Sharks Cove. The north swells are still coming in so the north side of the island is out of the question, we are hoping that the swells will calm down by the end of the month or mid May. As far a dive company I may be a little biased because I am a Instructor for Oahu dive center. Yes most of you are right everyone experiences every company differently all I will say is that Scuba Drew is a great videographer I have dove with him on the boat many a times. Boats here are charter boats so many different company's all use the same boats which means our competition may be on the boat as well. Best dive on the Island in my opinion though is the wreck YO-257 off Honolulu followed by a shallow reef dive. Morning boats are deep then shallow afternoon boats are two shallow dives. Hope the info helps.

 

[fishb0y]

I agree with ODC... YO-257 is my favorite dive on the Island... although Shark's Rock, off Hickam AFB is a distant 2nd for me (Easy to dive if you are a Sea Lancer's member or guest)

 

[HarveyO]

On the West Side I really like Capt. Bruce's operation. They are the best run operation(in my opinion) on Oahu.

On the South Side I like Island Diver's or if you prefer smaller boats (less crowded dives) Aaron's. If you dive Aaron's try to dive with Jeff or Melanie.