Hawaii diving
Hawaii Islands is a Polynesian group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands offer a rare beauty both on land and underwater. Diving in Hawaii is a very rewarding experience. With hundreds of dive sites to choose from both novices and advanced divers will find something to suit them. Snorkeling is also practised. The underwater life is abundant with plenty of tropical fish and the green sea turtle. You can even see humpback whales in Hawaii.
Always dive according to your level of training. Never enter the water without checking with the local dive center for safety, additional information, level required for each dive site and without being accompanied by a professional. All the information provided is purely informative for our readers and shouldn't be used as is to plan your immersion.
Climate:
Average air temperature during the year: 87°F (30°C)
Average water surface temperature: 76 to 81 ° F (24-27°C)
Visibility: Average 80 feet and more (24 metres and more)
Coldest time: January and February it can get as low as 72°F (22°C)
Warmest time: September and October average tempertures 89F (31°C)
Possible to dive: All year round, weather permitting.
Hawaii's diverse underwater opportunities offer every diver, whatever their level of experstise to have an unforgettable experience. Absolute beginners can take their first dives here and go through a course upto certification level. Here you can do wall dives, drift dives, cave dives and much more.
Oahu has both shallow reefs and deep ones. Many dive sites are easily accesible from the shore. The visibility is great and the underwater life vibrant and abundant. For wreck lovers, Oahu is the perfect place. There are several interesting wrecks like the YO257 and Sea Tiger shipwrecks just off Waikiki beach. Another really popular wreck is the Corsair which is still intact and which attracts a lot of life including eels, white tip reef sharks amd sting rays.
Maui has a lot of great dive sites. There's Molokini crater which has a lot of varied diving for both novices and more advanced divers. There is great wall diving on Molokini and the marine life includes spinner dolphins, mantas, lots of tropical fish and turtles. Lanai is famous for its cathedrals which is truly a special dive which looks like you are going through a cathedral. There are some wrecks here which include St Anthony's wreck which was sunk in 1997 to form an artificial reef and Tank and landing craft which are are two world war II wrecks.
Big Hawaii has a lot of dive sites close to the shore. Therefore shore diving is popular and the distant sites are about only an hours boat ride away. Lava tubes, swim throughs, pinnacles and walls characterize Big Hawaii's sites. Kona and Kohala are the most dived places. In Kona you can do the famous night dive to see the mantas feed and other marine life here includes dolphins, eels and sharks. Kohala has caves, pinnacles, caves and reefs where you can see plenaty of colourful hard coral. The Ulua Cave in North Kohala is great to swin though and the visibility is great.
Kauai has both shallow and deep dives. There's plenty of colorful coral and tropical fish, dolphins, monk seals and Hawaiian green turtles. Lehua rock, an extinct volcano and Ni'ihau are two popular dives. On Ni'ihau you can dive in caves, and also on walls. Encounters with dolphins, reef fish, monk seals and manta rays are common. Humpback whales can be seen in Hawaii's islands from November to May. They come to the clear shallow waters to breed and calve.
These are just but a few of the places you can dive in Hawaii. There are many other dive sites which you can visit depending on where you are staying and the weather conditions. There are also many dive spots that are still being discovered.
There is a wide choice of diving schools in Hawaii. They offer various courses from different certification agencies. The courses go from beginner level to advanced levels. You can rent diving equipment for the diving centers. For your convenience, the diving schools can work out a program that best suits your needs according to your level of expertise.
