Just so you can gage yourself, please know that my wife, Tammy, and I are intermediate skilled divers. We have approximately 2 years of experience down under and we felt completely comfortable on every one of our dives in Hawaii. This was due to good preparation before our trip, as well as going down with some solid dive masters who practice safe diving. Furthermore, the dive shops that we dove with in Hawaii were extremely impressive as far as preparing your equipment for you. All we had to do, basically, was show up, check our gear, gear up and go! Having said this, let me go on to share with you the awesome experience that is the Hawaiian islands . . .

Kauai, Poipu Point. Poipu is the sunny, warm and dry side of the "Garden Isle." It is a breathtakingly beautiful island with isolated beaches and excellent restaurants. Poipu Point is the ultimate in romantic and relaxing getaways!

Sea Sport Divers (800. 685. 5889) was the dive shop we chose in Poipu. Our divemaster was "Trey" and he was truly a nice guy! On our first dive, we went to a place called "Ice Box." (Quite the oxymoron considering how warm the water is in Hawaii!) Anyways, it was a 90+ foot dive over coral reefs with lots of fish and turtles to adore. This dive was the deepest Tammy and I have ventured, although we didn’t even feel as if we were down that deep. (I’m thinking that this is a GOOD thing!?)

The second time we went down, we went to the Sheraton Caverns. This is a must do dive. The dive was approximately 50 feet deep with a plethora of fish, turtles and even a Moray eel to make the journey exciting. But the best part about this dive was the tunnels and caverns which we swam through. Navigation got tricky, but as long we stuck by our dive master, we were just fine.

There is one dive that we weren’t able to do because there was a huge swell on the north shore of Kauai. The dive shop is called Bubbles Below and although it is a bit on the expensive side, it is said to be well worth the money. They do a dive off the Niihau coast, which is a forbidden island. The ONLY way to see the Niihau coast is to dive it. It is a wall dive and has the reputation of being spectacular.

The Big Island, Kona Coast. The Kona Coast is also an enjoyable place to vacation. Out of the 26 weather climates that The Big Island has to offer, we found the Kona Coast to be the warmest and most temperate of all. As in Poipu, we were able to do some great snorkeling off the shores, where we found ourselves synchronized swimming with some sea turtles.

The Big Island Divers (800. 488. 6068) was the dive shop we chose on the Big Island. Big Island Divers consists of three fun and friendly guys from Canada, now living in Kona, eh? Unfortunately, rather fortunately, we encountered a little entanglement with a 555 pound Blue Marlin while we were fishing earlier that day, and the two and half hour long struggle with the 12 foot fish caused us to miss our first planned dive. (Oh well, can’t win’em all!) After winning our battle with the Marlin and accepting all brag rights, we got ourselves back on track. By sundown, we were descending the waters for the most magical diving experience we have ever had!

This dive was our very first night dive at the dive site called Manta City. It is the place where Jerry Garcia, of the Grateful Dead, holds a world record with the longest bottom time on a single tank dive. Jerry used to dive with a shop named, Jack’s Locker, which is another reputable dive shop on the Big Island. Apparently, they are responsible for the dive anchors and coral protection programs in the area.

Back to the night dive . . . It truly was PHENOMENAL! We went down only to about 30 feet, which in turn increased our down time to about an hour. We took huge flashlights down with the intent of attracting lots of plankton. The manta rays feed on plankton, therefore, they swoop to feed wherever your flashlight is. It is the neatest feeling ever! They did cartwheels and flips and had no inhibitions whatsoever about being so close to us. These gentle giants offer an amazing show and if you have never dove at night, this is a wonderful first night dive in a very controlled environment.

Although the Hawaiian waters are still recovering from the wrath of the barely noticed any debris or degradation. Most of all, visibility was excellent for every dive. We have videos of both of our dives if any one is interested. You can get in touch with us through Jay and we will be happy to sharing these unforgettable experiences with you!

Until we dive again . . .