Diving in Hawaii...

[cowcio]

I'm planning a trip to Hawaii in late October (my fall break + a few days) and I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions for me. I will be on Oahu and Maui.


I know about the Molokini Crater and the Kapalua Bay Hotel (thanks Travel channel)... but I don't know about any other places.

Any help is appreciated . I'm not opposed to island hopping for a day to find a really nice dive spot.

 

[lokikegs]

we were in maui in april, we dove the backside of Molokini Crater and also a place called turtle town, both were very cool, alot of nice diving throughout that area, not too bad of pricing either considering everything in maui and the other islands are god awful expensive.

 

[DaveOSU]

Check out www.shorediving.com. Also you can get a shore diving map from any Maui Dive Shop - that is their actual store name and they're everywhere on the island. If you plan on doing boat diving you may be in for sticker shock; I believe we paid $110 per person for a two tank trip to Molokini. Shore diving is much more reasonable as you can do multi-day tank rentals from Maui Dive Shop; I think we paid like $110 for two tanks per day/five days.

If your staying on the north end of Maui I recommend Honolua Bay, Slaughterhouse (right next to it), Kapalua Bay, and Old Airport Beach. Honolua is a little rocky and can be an ankle twister but great diving when conditions are right. Old Airport Beach is a public park so there are restrooms, rinse showers, picnic tables and lots of good parking.... plus a nice beach. Black Rock is a popular snorkel/dive spot and always turtles but can have some current; I really recomend Black Rock for a night dive as there is usually lots of free swimming eels out hunting. I found a guide with an area dive shop so I had a buddy.

One lesson learned; if you go to a sight and vis. or conditions look bad - move on to a backup. We always had great vis at Old Airport; head north for best reef. Honolua Bay can be great vis one day and terrible the next depending on rain and wind directions. There is an overlook if you drive past where you can check out visibility.

If your interested in Oahu I can check with a freind who has dove there quit a bit but the attraction there is usually a boat out to some of WWII planes and such on the bottom.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Dave

 

[Buckeye1]

I've been to Maui twice and I can agree with Dave about old Airport beach. I was snorkeling, not diving so keep that in mind.
We snorkeled Molokini, Honoloa, black rock, turtle town and Airport. I like airport the best of all of them. Its rarely ever crowded and you will see tons of marine life there. Look down in the overhangs and caves and you will see turtles.

Black rock was beautiful as well but only first thing in the morning. By ten o'clock its very very crowded. Everything also seemed to be more active in the morning at Black rock anyway.

Molokini was o.k. It would have been better if we were diving. It gets VERY crowded with snorkelers there. We were able to see a couple sharks there though.

Honoloa was blown out both times we went. Visibility sucked and the water was COLD there. Its a beautiful place to see and looked great from the cliffs above. We just didn't have good water both times we were there.

On Oahu, we snorkeled in Hanauma Bay. Really nice when it's not crowded or the Man-o-wars aren't in the water.

Hope that helps! Have a great trip!

 

[cowcio]

Wow! This is sounding more and more exciting. As far as the actual diving goes, I will only get one day to do that. This will be my honeymoon and the wife-to-be doesn't want to dive, just snorkel.

As of right now, the plan is to do 3 days in Oahu, the follow it up with 6 or 7 days in Maui. In Maui, we will have a car, so we will get to travel the road to Hana and see the great wildlife reserve there, as well as a bunch of other great things on the way. I would imagine that there would be better diving away from where most of the tourists are, but I could be wrong.


You all have given me a lot to look into... THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

If there are any more suggestions, I'd appreciate them. Once I figure out what will be possible, I may have some more specific questions, thanks again!

 

[lokikegs]

cowcio if you do the road to hana, rent the gps system its under 40.00 if you get the coupon from your hotel. Money well spent. Just make sure you shut it off on the way back from the road to hana gets kinda annoying..

 

[DaveOSU]

If I can play travel agent here; it looks like you won't have time to dive on Oahu; there is a lot to do and see, you can both snorkel Honololua Bay, and the first day you'll be up at 4:00 am. anyways.

Keep in mind the latest recomendations by DAN is minimum 18 hours after your last dive before flying; this includes the Sunrise tours on Mt. Haleakala in Maui. Lots of people don't put 2 and 2 together that the summit is 13,000 ft. which is a more significant pressure drop than encountered while flying. So if you do Haleakala on Maui, do it before diving.

Finally, if you have not decided where to stay on Maui; our preference has been the Lahaina - Kanaapali - up to Kapalua areas. Lahaina has lots of restaurant choices, shops, and galeries that stay open late so its great in the evenings. We were told the Old Lahaina Luau is the best on the Islands; book tickets in advance because it sells out.

Finally, if you need someone to carry bags; well you know....

-Dave

 

[CleveYank]

In Maui from what the couple divemasters I spoke to this past Feb. Last year in Oct the Monterey Aquarium research folks tagged 2 great whites on the back wall of Molokini. And a few weeks prior to that 5 very large tiger sharks took up camp in the harbor out by the hotel in which they had to shut it down until they moved off. Nice time to go. Make sure you don't wear your yum yum yellow since you are going during the peak shark season. But since statistics are on your side it shouldn't be a problem...have fun and be safe. Robinson's is tops BTW.

 

[Buckeye1]

Buy the book, "Maui revealed" before you go, especially if you are traveling the road to Hana. It tells you every waterfall, scenic lookout, etc to stop at along the way. It was the best $7 we spent!

Old lahaina luau was top notch. ROYAL lahaina luau sucks. Don't waste your money.

Like Dave said, stay in the lahaina - kaanapali - Kapalua area if you can. The whole island is great though. You'll be in paradise no matter where you stay.

The drive up Haleakala was worth the 3:00am wake up. It is a beautiful site to see the sun rise above the clouds and realize how high up you are. Take a jacket, its cold! Didn't care for the bike ride down afterwards. You have to be part dare-devil.

If you want a fun night out, go see Warren & Annabelles in Old Lahaina. It sounds hokey when you read the description (slight of hand magic show with dinner and drinks), but it is absolutely hysterical! My wife and I were laughing for days. It will also leave you wondering, "how the heck did he do that!" Its not some big vegas, smoke and mirrors, make this elephant disappear show. Its more comedy than anything. We aren't big magic show kind of people, but that was memorable.

Have a great time! My wife and I are jealous!

 

[cowcio]

All of my reservations have been complete for about a month now. I'm staying at the Sheraton Maui Resort and Sheraton Waikiki.
The Sheraton Maui is right on the black rock on Kaanapali beach. So I will be sure to take advantage of some early morning activities around there.

I have also booked my reservation for the Old Lahaina Luau. Sounds fun.

I still have a "diving day" blocked... but no decisions have been made.

 

[Aadler]

I just spent july on Oahu, with a weekend to kauai. Snorkeling on oahu--must visit electric beach (just after the end of the H1), we went three times, someone did get bit by a shark on the arm two weeks ago tho... also if snokeling hit Sharks cove (north shore), and obviously hit hanauma bay... lots of people but it is pretty cool non the less. getting to the dive sites by 7am is best for sure. the last place i would say go for sure is Waimea beach park, amazing beach and if you snorkel the right side of the beach about 200 yards plus out there is a pretty cool reef with a LOT of fish and you can even see a few eels if you keep your eye open, they were pretty mean even for being about 15 feet below us.

you could easily spend time at sharks cove (its small) and waimea on the same day, they are pretty close, but electric beach and hanauma are on the west and east sides respectively.

http://www.hawaiisnorkelingguide.com/oahu_snorkeling.html

kahe point is electric beach he doesnt suggest waimea, but its on the map, waimea was pretty cool.

 

[Aadler]

If you are hikers at all and want something fun with a little bit of scare but not a ton, check out the Olomana hike, 1600ft vert i think with a few steep and or drop offs on either side. fun little hike though.

Pearl harbor is a cemetary, just so you know, might not be the most fun thing to do on honeymoon.

also feel free to ask me any specifics about prices or even a nice local place to eat or two :c).