This past year I was given the good fortune of covering Oahu for work. You couldn't wipe the 
from my face. During my first few visits I was inclined to go out with AAA divers. Alex the Englishmen does a decent job and he's more geared toward the sites where you're likely to see some really interesting stuff like sharks and rays. He's also dives some really aggressive profiles. When I'm feeling froggy, I'll still go out with them. Waikiki Divers is another shop I've gone out with. Nick and company frequent much easier sites and usually have a planned wreck, then reef, dive on the weekend. I've found myself diving more with his shop the last few trips because I'm more into a shallow 1hr dive than I am a 20 minute dive at 110ft especially if I've only got one day to dive.
Finally, the last 2 trips I decided to do a solo dive off of Oahu's Hanuama Bay. Hanauma Bay is a tourist trap where the tourists have completely destroyed the inner reef which protects a very nice beach. This place usually draws a crowd on the weekend and its the last place that would hit you as a nice place to dive. On a whim, I decided to shore dive back in April. What I found was an outer reef in perfect health and a plethora of things to photograph. The dive profile is such that you could spend well over an hour on a single 80. With a depth of around 70ft at the outer edge it drops off slowly from there. There's even a reef farther out that is suppose to be spectacular. I think wetpixels Fdog has written this up on his numerous dives with his DPV. On a single 80, I'm quite contect just swimming around the crater and exploring. Schools of convict tangs 
, turtles, and even some really wierd and cool stuff like this Dragon Wrasse 
which I wish I would have stuck around and photographed more. The dive is so easy and the surface interval iis such a delight that I've made this a must do when I come out.
For starters, diving on Oahu usually runs between 90 and 180 dollars which is quite expensive for a single, 2-tank dive and 4-tank dive respectively. Renting tanks is $8 with 2 tanks and weights running about $22 at Waikiki dive shop off of Nahua Ave. After you rent tanks you simply drive South on the H1 where it turns from a highway into a major street. About 3 miles you'll come to a hill...at the top is the entrance to Hanauma Bay. Its roughly a 20minute drive South from Waikiki. Its a dollar to park. Its another $5 to get into the crater and then finally the trolly will charge you roughly $5 bucks to take your tanks into the crater. The hardest part is getting your gear from the car to where the trolly picks you up. Its about a 75yd walk. I've found a rather large suitcase which will fit two tanks nicely. Since its a rolly, it wheels nicely from the car to where the trolley takes you down. BTW, if you arrive earlier 8AM you can skip the little movie they make you watch and you won't have to pay the park entrance fee of $5. The bad part? The trolley isn't running either so you'd have to wheel the tanks down the sidewalk into the crater. Once down in the crater you simply drag your gear past West past the showers, snorkel rental, information booth and finally the restrooms. I usually settle on the grass just on the other side of the restroom about 150ft from the waters edge. There are lockers you can rent from the snorkel rental house but I usually just take an otter box with me to put my wallet and keys in. The life guard tower is now just to your left in front of the restrooms. That's the entry point. The gap in the reef is marked by two Buoys about another 100ft from the shore. Its best to time the start of your dive with the tide going out if you have that luxury. The water clarity will be better and your swim back through the gap won't be as rough once the tide is out. If you find yourself fighting a retreating tide and the surge coming through the gap can be a little tough but the water is usually no more than about 6ft deep at that point. Once your out through the gap you'll notice two cables. You can follow the cable on the left as far as the outer reef. It will disappear below the sand on occasion but re emerges. If you ever lose sight of it and can't find it again the shore is 120 degrees. Just follow your compass. The best thing to do is to kick out on the surface to the end of the first point, or until you see a huge mushroom shaped coral head and then drop down. If you go right at this point the reef goes up to about 15ft and gets even shallower in places. I'd encourage you to explore this area as it has many drop offs and ledges. As you get farther out, just past the first point, you should see some turtles as they hang out here frequently. 
You should leave about 1000lbs to get you back to the shore from the first point. That'll put you on the beach with about 600lbs left in the tank. On the surface interval lay in the sun and enjoy a great beach. The nice thing about a dive like this is you decide when to go back in. Pretty cool. Also, just one item of note, they don't sell food or drink in the crater but they don't mind you bringing it in either. If you're ever there, I hope you enjoy this dive as much as I have. 
