Best 3rd-party scuba excursion?

[brianlojeck]

I'll be taking Princess to Hilo, Honolulu, Kauai, and Maui in 2014.

 

Normally I'm very paranoid about a 3rd party tour company getting me back late or some such, but what with the islands being so easy to travel between I figure this is a good time to try something new.

 

Can anyone suggest a favorite 3rd-party scuba tour that will work with cruise passengers' schedules? this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so I'm not opposed to paying a bit more if it helps keep the crowds down, as well.

 

Thanks for your suggestions!

[Astro Flyer]

Most of my diving has been on Maui & we've enjoyed "Ed Robinson Diving Experience" for their smaller groups & shorter boat rides from the Kihei Boat Ramp. Ed is a well known underwater photographer & his crews provided a wonderful diving experience.

 

There may be less expensive options on larger boats such as Maui Divers but I'm not aware if any of them are good options for cruise ship passengers. A 2-tank boat dive is $130 & 3-tank is $170 which I think are similar to other dive shops.

 

Water activities are generally best in the morning before the tradewinds increase such as today which was 25-35 MPH here in Maui.

 

http://www.mauiscuba.com/

[brianlojeck]

Thanks!

[diverearl]

The diving on the islands is often not as good as people might expect if you've been diving in the Caribbean, Thailand or many other great diving destinations. On a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands we often just do a shore dive so we have time to enjoy the rest of the port time seeing some of the beauty of each island, which is often a lot better than a lot of other places that boast better diving. Here is a link to many of the better shore diving locations for all the Islands of your cruise http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/index.htm

 

Personally Kona would be my pick of ports to shore dive (Two Steps / Captain Cook area) but it didn't make your list of port stops. Next on my list would be Maui but most of the better dive sights around Maui require a boat dive and I've only been shore diving on this island (which on Maui can be far more difficult that a lot of other islands).

 

Depending on the time of year you are going though Maui has great whale watching which can make the boat dive well worth the time spent off the island.

 

Kauai has some of the best critter dives I think of all the islands (not including the night Manta Ray dive from Kona) but again time of year is important. During good weather on the North Shore of Kauai at Tunnels Beach there is almost a 100% chance of diving with White Tip sharks which constantly hang around the northwest part of the trough between the inner and outer reefs. This is the same place where Bethany Hamilton (young surfer girl in the movie Soul Surfer) was bitten by a Big Tiger Shark. As a diver though the possibility of seeing a Tiger is as good as it gets, right.

 

Really in 20 dives at this spot I've always seen White Tips and never encountered a Tiger :(

 

The Landing at Koloa on the Poipu side of Kauai has always produced great small critter diving for us while on Kauai. We usually spend several weeks a year on this island so I dive it a lot without giving up to much topside time which on Kauai is some of the very best of all the islands in the chain.

[zelker]

Another thumbs up for Ed Robinson. My DH has been diving with them for 20 years, if that tells you anything. If you decide you want to go over to Lanai and do The Cathedrals, you'll most likely have to go out of Lahaina (check out Lahaina Divers - John's gone out with them a couple times because Ed R. doesn't go over there any longer).