Hawaii bound, need advice

Ok, this might not happen if we don't do well on out taxes next month but just in case I need to start planning now. The game plan as of right now is that I'll get scuba certified between now and July so that my son and I can scuba dive where ever we end up going to in Hawaii (my son is already certified).

Questions:
Assuming I get certified, what are the top places to scuba dive on?

Assuming I don't, where are the best places to snorkel?

Just as general first time Hawaii goers, where would you suggest to stay in Hawaii?


Thanks in advance!

I'm going to pm our Hawaii expert on here and have him get together with you. He knows all the ins and outs of diving there!

Well - question #1 - what island are you planning to go to???

and #2 - why aren't you taking me?? Promise I'll buy ya a Mai Tai!!

Originally Posted by rgrking

I'm going to pm our Hawaii expert on here and have him get together with you. He knows all the ins and outs of diving there!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by estanoche

Well - question #1 - what island are you planning to go to???

and #2 - why aren't you taking me?? Promise I'll buy ya a Mai Tai!!

We don't have an island picked out just yet that's why I'm looking for tips/advice. Sorry, I'd bring you but we only have room for 4 in our car on the drive over there


I forgot to mention, it'll be me my wife, my 16 yr old son and my 18 yr old daughter going.

um car over there? You might wanna fly. You'll get some good scenery either way lol

I've dived the Big Island, Kauai and Ni'ihau. In my opinion, the big island offered the best experience. As with any island, the best snorkeling/diving is on the dry side of the island (Kona). The wet side, which is pretty much the entire island of Kauai has so much freshwater runoff that the mixing makes a lot of bad visibility in addition to the huge quantity of algae. Kauai was very little coral and fish and lots of algae compared to the Big Island.

If I had to point you to a specific spot, I'd say dive based from Kailua-Kona, you won't be disappointed. It's dry and has marine preserves nearby that are teeming with life. Any of the dive operators will take you out on a boat along the coast to all the good dive sites.

If you only want to snorkel, there are three spots on the Big Island I'd recommend. The first one is Puuhonua O Honaunau, also known as the place of refuge. There are lots of sea turtles, tangs and moorish idols there plus lots of other things. There is a surgey pain in the butt part to get in where all the rocks are covered in urchins, but once you're in, you are right on the reef. The other part to the left is calm and sandy, but only has a few fish, mostly moorish idols and goat fish. Really the only drawback is that there is practically no parking because there isn't really a parking lot, so maybe arrive early.

The second place is the Captain Cook monument, same quality of diving as the previous one, but larger. Harder to get to because because it's a hike from the parking to the coast or you can take a boat tour (also fun and they give you drinks and food and stuff).

The third and probably my favorite spot is the Kapoho tide pools on the eastern tip of the island. It's large deep tidal pools that are maybe 15-20 feet deep and maybe 100 feet wide (I suck at distance). The catch is that its a long walk across sharp and slippery lava rocks to get to the parts you can swim and you will most likely be leaving blood trails along the way. But the reward is that you get to see Hawaiin coral reefs that are completely untouched. There is no boating, fishing or diving allowed and its a long drive and long painful walk, but that is exactly what makes it such a spectacular snorkel spot. It's the only place I've found that has large colonies of blue rice coral which are really intensely colored.

Originally Posted by rgrking

um car over there? You might wanna fly. You'll get some good scenery either way lol

That was the only come back I could think of at the time lol