Hawaii, where to dive

I have a meeting in Kona in October and plan to do the famous manta night dive. But would like to do other dives in Hawaii. Which island has the best diving and who should I dive with?

Thanks,

Elmer

The other dive to make sure not to miss is the Black Water Dive. I did the dive awhile back with Jack's Diving Locker. There are a couple of other shops that do it too. You can read my Wetpixel post. I was happy with Jack's and would recommend them. If you have time to venture to Maui there is some great diving down south and at Molokini. Ed Robinson's Diving Adventures is my operation of choice in Maui. I have several Maui galleries at my website, along with a couple from Kona.

I have been diving on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island and I would rank the diving Hawaii 1st and Maui 2nd. We use Pacific Rim Divers and would highly recommend them. They have a smaller boat so you are not joined by your 20 closest friends and Patrice is very knowledgeable about all the marine life (not to mention she brings fresh brownies). They don't do the manta night dive but Kona Honu runs a good trip. They have either the traditional 2 tank dive at the site or you can just do the manta dive and skip the afternoon dive.

I'd second the vote for Ed Robinson's on Maui.

Molokini Crater off Maui is a fun dive, particularly on the "outside" when the current is running. There's also some nice dives at Lanai. But... Kona is better. More variety, more dive sites. I haven't done any of the day operators there, just the Kona Aggressor, but a lot of the sites are accessible since they are mostly about 100 yards from shore on one side of the island. If you Google it, you will find a ton of tips on shore diving Kona.

John

I agree wiith the above e.g. Kona is better than Maui, Ed. R. is good on Maui. Do the Peglagic Magic dive; it is awesome! There are many good ops on the big island and many do the Manta dive (a zoo, but fun). See who can book you to hang like bait off a 3,000 foot drop off late in the night.

Bob

Here is a second and a third vote for kona. And for pacific rim. Since dive makai was sold and went to heck, and now out of business, pacific rim has been the best, for 10 years or so.

The other islands all often have much less clear water, as they have more dirt, and lots of rain, and it all clouds the water. You can see it as you fly in, and dive in it.

Lots of easy well known shore dives too.

4 mile bay, (near the 4 mile marker on alii drive) is fun. There are a bunch of arches and short lava tubes out on the south side of the bay, and frequently found white tip sharks. Shallow enough to snorkel for me. It is easy entry, when there are no big waves.

Another fun dive and good snorkel is two step, which is down near the place of refuge, about 20 miles south of kailua kona. Easy entry and doable even when there are big waves from the north. Frequently seen spinner dolphins here.

Thanks guys, I guess I'll be diving the Kona side of the Big Island

Aloha,

Elmer