Hawaii Recommendations
Tim McDonough
been to Oahu before, and want to go another island this trip. What do folks
here recommend? What island offers the best dive opportunities? Any
recommendations on dive operations that have given you good service (or to be
avoided)? How 'bout recommendations on a hotel or place to stay?
Thanks!
-Tim
Greg Mossman
I like Maui. There's decent shore diving and good to great diving
around Molokini, plus several excellent dive operations. A lot of the
diving is out of Kihei, where there are all sorts of condo-type
accomodations and resorts nearby.
Try googling the topic. It's been discussed quite often.
-hh
> My wife and I are thinking of a trip to Hawaii
> this coming October. We've been to Oahu before,
> and want to go another island this trip. What do
> folks here recommend? What island offers the
> best dive opportunities?
If you're interested in "stuff other than diving", the volcano on the
Big Island has been very active this year, so that might be worth
consideration. Here's some relevant links:
Park open/closed status (SOx levels have been causing some closures):
http://www.nps.gov/havo/closed_areas.htm
which links to:
http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/kilaueastatus.php
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/images.html
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/maps.html
http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/webcams/parks/havoso2alert/havoalert.cfm
Finding "walk out to see" lava:
http://www.lavainfo.us/
http://www.govisithawaii.com/2008/02/28/hawaii-myth-buster-can-you-hike-out-to-see-the-lava-flow/
http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lavaflows.htm
Guidebook updates:
http://www.wizardpub.com/bigisland/bigupdate.html
Also, if you're thinking about taking a chopper flight for lava
viewing, I'd recommend booking whatever helicopter flight you plan to
take to be during the earlier part of your stay, because weather - or
customer - cancellations can happen at any time, and then you're left
without the time to rebook...they won't fly unless they have a full
load.
Similarly, be aware that it takes a good chunk of time to drive around
the Big Island, so you might want to split overnights between Kona and
Hilo, particularly if you want to take a morning flight out of Hilo
airport (closer to the Park & lava = slightly better and cheaper).
The Chopper company we used, out of Hilo, was:
http://www.tropicalhelicopters.com/hilo_adventures.php
...as they offered a "door off" flight in a Hughes 500, which gives
excellent views. FYI, there's a similar company in Kauai that does a
doors off on a 500 that's also a blast through the canyon & old lava
cone...can't recall offhand what their name was, but they're the only
company that flies out of the airport next to Port Allen on the
southside.
-hh
Dillon Pyron
We were in Maui last month. I personally like Mike Severens, we've
gone out with them about a dozen times.
One strong recommendation. Don't do the bike ride down Hale'akala.
I've been told that the ER gets 2 to 3 visits a week from people who
take a tumble and that there are probably twice that number who don't
need treatment.
I have the souvenier splint and a CD full of x-rays. Maui Memorial
Medical Center ER is a crap place to spend 5 hours of your vacation.
Your second day of vacation.
D
"Tim McDonough" <t...@sdd.hp.com> wrote in message
news:g36aig$90e$1...@epgc969.sdd.hp.com...
Tim McDonough
searching we've decided to head to Maui. We've got our flights scheduled,
and a car reserved, now we just need to make lodging reservations (we've been
looking at vrbo.com) and hopefully get some dives planned/reserved. Any
recommendations on dive operations that folks have had good service from (or
are to be avoid) would still be most welcome!
-Tim
"D" <d...@cox.net> writes:
>
> what island?
>
Dillon Pyron
>what island?
I don't think he knows. I personally like both Maui and the Big
Island, specifically Kona. Maui has slightly better diving, but I
feel like Hawai'i has more land type things to do. For whatever
reason, the condos are cheaper, but the hotels are more expensive.
Greg Mossman
> Partially based on feedback here and talking with friends and some web
> searching we've decided to head to Maui. We've got our flights scheduled,
> and a car reserved, now we just need to make lodging reservations (we've been
> looking at vrbo.com) and hopefully get some dives planned/reserved. Any
> recommendations on dive operations that folks have had good service from (or
> are to be avoid) would still be most welcome!
I've used Ed Robinson's for multiple days on three separate trips
there, suffering the long drive down from the Lahaina/Kaanapali area
each time (morning departure times for almost all Maui dive boats are
brutal). Our last time with them wasn't as pleasant due to the
departure of my very favorite DM in the entire world, Amy. Still,
it's a classy operation and their 3-dive "advanced" trip is great.
According to the website, they have a new "advanced" program with Ed
himself returning to dive with most of the trips. Having never met Ed
in person, that alone would be incentive for me to make a return
visit.
Dillon personally vouches for Mike Severns and I can second that, at
least reputation-wise, Severns comes even more highly recommended than
Ed Robinson. Yet another excellent choice would be B&B Scuba, a
personal favorite of several island residents I know. I'd have tried
both of these outfits were it not for the great trips I had with Ed.
I did a night dive once with Maui Dive Shop and it surprisingly wasn't
as bad as expected. Still, it's a cattle-boat operation strictly
geared toward new divers and if you have more than an iota of
experience, you'll resent the hand-holding and airhog-limited diving
with them.
I've also been diving with Extended Horizons out of Lahaina which
primarily runs trips over to nearby Lanai island. While my first trip
out with them didn't impress me much, I found the service of the crew
and spotting abilities of the DM to be first-rate on my second try
with them a few years later. That trip unfortunately was cut short
when Janna found herself being chewed by a vicious little moray, but I
can now attest that they do a great job handling marine emergencies as
well. I'll be back to try them again sometime, hopefully soon.
Greg Mossman
> One strong recommendation. Don't do the bike ride down Hale'akala.
> I've been told that the ER gets 2 to 3 visits a week from people who
> take a tumble and that there are probably twice that number who don't
> need treatment.
Bikes scare the crap out of me, after a couple traumatic accidents in
my youth. Therefore, my mountain descent was several hours of sheer
terror, worsened because we exceeded the 25mph speed limit that they
were supposed to enforce, hitting close to 40 in some stretches.
Still, we went with supposedly the safest operation at the time and
they did a great job protecting us from other cars and the equipment
worked as it was supposed to. I didn't fall. Never again, though.
It's much more relaxing diving with killer sharks and morays deep in
treacherous waters.
> I have the souvenier splint and a CD full of x-rays. Maui Memorial
> Medical Center ER is a crap place to spend 5 hours of your vacation.
> Your second day of vacation.
Ouch. Though I have "been there, done that" at the Maui ER thanks to
Janna's confrontation with the moray. Only 4 hours, and fortunately I
wasn't the one being "worked" on.
Dillon Pyron
>On Jun 20, 12:04 pm, t...@sdd.hp.com (Tim McDonough) wrote:
>> Partially based on feedback here and talking with friends and some web
>> searching we've decided to head to Maui. We've got our flights scheduled,
>> and a car reserved, now we just need to make lodging reservations (we've been
>> looking at vrbo.com) and hopefully get some dives planned/reserved. Any
>> recommendations on dive operations that folks have had good service from (or
>> are to be avoid) would still be most welcome!
>
>I've used Ed Robinson's for multiple days on three separate trips
>there, suffering the long drive down from the Lahaina/Kaanapali area
>each time (morning departure times for almost all Maui dive boats are
>brutal). Our last time with them wasn't as pleasant due to the
>departure of my very favorite DM in the entire world, Amy. Still,
>it's a classy operation and their 3-dive "advanced" trip is great.
>According to the website, they have a new "advanced" program with Ed
>himself returning to dive with most of the trips. Having never met Ed
>in person, that alone would be incentive for me to make a return
>visit.
Our first trip to Maui we went out with Mike. Ed's boat was there and
the two were chit chatting away. Pauline said something along the
lines of "they're the second best operator on the island". I won't
quibble one-two. Of course, this was when Mike had an 18 ft Whaler
with two 120 HP Mercs and Ed had a 22 ft RIB with two 135 HP Yamahas.
>
>Dillon personally vouches for Mike Severns and I can second that, at
>least reputation-wise, Severns comes even more highly recommended than
>Ed Robinson. Yet another excellent choice would be B&B Scuba, a
>personal favorite of several island residents I know. I'd have tried
>both of these outfits were it not for the great trips I had with Ed.
>
>I did a night dive once with Maui Dive Shop and it surprisingly wasn't
>as bad as expected. Still, it's a cattle-boat operation strictly
>geared toward new divers and if you have more than an iota of
>experience, you'll resent the hand-holding and airhog-limited diving
>with them.
>
>I've also been diving with Extended Horizons out of Lahaina which
>primarily runs trips over to nearby Lanai island. While my first trip
>out with them didn't impress me much, I found the service of the crew
>and spotting abilities of the DM to be first-rate on my second try
>with them a few years later. That trip unfortunately was cut short
>when Janna found herself being chewed by a vicious little moray, but I
>can now attest that they do a great job handling marine emergencies as
>well. I'll be back to try them again sometime, hopefully soon.
When were you there? It seems that operators in West Maui come & go.
moanakane
I've had good experiences with Ed Robinson, B&B Scuba and Maui Dive
Shop. Go with an operation that is near to where you are staying
because sometimes the traffic can be really bad. The first two are on
the Kihei side while Maui Dive Shop is Lahaina side.
Best wishes
Peter Forster
Dillon Pyron
>On Jun 19, 4:20 pm, Dillon Pyron <invaliddmpy...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> One strong recommendation. Don't do the bike ride down Hale'akala.
>> I've been told that the ER gets 2 to 3 visits a week from people who
>> take a tumble and that there are probably twice that number who don't
>> need treatment.
>
>Bikes scare the crap out of me, after a couple traumatic accidents in
>my youth. Therefore, my mountain descent was several hours of sheer
>terror, worsened because we exceeded the 25mph speed limit that they
>were supposed to enforce, hitting close to 40 in some stretches.
>Still, we went with supposedly the safest operation at the time and
>they did a great job protecting us from other cars and the equipment
>worked as it was supposed to. I didn't fall. Never again, though.
>It's much more relaxing diving with killer sharks and morays deep in
>treacherous waters.
That's an environment I'm comfortable with.
I like my bike, but I also know it inside and out and it's tuned for
my ass, legs and hands. And I don't ride in misting, cold 12 knot
winds at 6700 feet.
Oh, did I say that three people were killed in six weeks last year?
The whole industry shut down for a month and now you have to start
below the park.
>
>> I have the souvenier splint and a CD full of x-rays. Maui Memorial
>> Medical Center ER is a crap place to spend 5 hours of your vacation.
>> Your second day of vacation.
>
>Ouch. Though I have "been there, done that" at the Maui ER thanks to
>Janna's confrontation with the moray. Only 4 hours, and fortunately I
>wasn't the one being "worked" on.
I'm assuming that blood got her a little more attention. I sat in the
waiting room from 12:59 pm to almost 3:30.
Sadly, while the lady was taking my x-rays, we talked shop. I was
kind of surprised that they did a Stetcher and ulnar deviation in one
view.
I'd rather have been bitten by a moray. At least that would mean I'd
dived at least once.
Greg Mossman
> Oh, did I say that three people were killed in six weeks last year?
> The whole industry shut down for a month and now you have to start
> below the park.
What would be the point of that? The only thing that got me up so
early was the prospect of a nice sunrise from the top before donning
helmet and coasting all the way down to the sea.
> >Ouch. Though I have "been there, done that" at the Maui ER thanks to
> >Janna's confrontation with the moray. Only 4 hours, and fortunately I
> >wasn't the one being "worked" on.
>
> I'm assuming that blood got her a little more attention. I sat in the
> waiting room from 12:59 pm to almost 3:30.
We had already seen the "Doctor On Call (tm)" who works at the Hyatt.
The Extended Horizons boat captain called for an appointment there
while we were still onroute back to Maui. That doc gave her a $90
pain/AB shot and cleaned and rebandaged it for another $120 then sent
us to the ER. The post-triage wait in the ER was only about an hour
before she was finally admitted. Then we saw a nurse, then the doc,
then he took x-rays, then we waited for x-rays, then he gave her
several painful anaesthetic injections before cleaning and suturing
all the lacerations. The four hours was time from entering to exiting
the hospital. With travel time to/from Kaanapali, the time at the
Hyatt doc's, and the boat ride from Lanai, it was a loooong day.
Notwithstanding health insurance that covered the incident, plus DAN's
Master Plan as a backup, we're still, 14 months later, working to get
fully reimbursed. And it's only now dawned on me that we were
probably entitled to a few bucks from DAN for missing the second
dive. Oh well. At least she still has all her fingers intact, ready
to wiggle at morays another day.
> Sadly, while the lady was taking my x-rays, we talked shop. I was
> kind of surprised that they did a Stetcher and ulnar deviation in one
> view.
Uh, yeah. Very surprising.
> I'd rather have been bitten by a moray. At least that would mean I'd
> dived at least once.
Barely: "#506 4/14/07 Lighthouse, Lanai, HI, Extended Horizons, 72'/
19 min." We managed to do a slow-enough ascent from 60' or so with me
clutching whatever was left of her hand trailing green blood, but no
safety stop! The hardest part was letting go of her hand to see the
damage, not even knowing if she still had all her fingers, or whether
I'd have to go back to try to find the eel and barter for them.
Fortunately the bones were still there and most of the flesh too, just
sort of rearranged a bit.
Kind of makes me wonder what would have happened had we not had the
services of a large first-aid kit immediately upon ascent. This sort
of thing would really suck if shore diving 45 minutes away or more
from the nearest civilization, such as Bonaire where even if one were
to keep a first-aid kit in the truck, it would surely be stolen. I
hope she's learned her lesson. Heck, I hope I have.
Greg Mossman
> Our first trip to Maui we went out with Mike. Ed's boat was there and
> the two were chit chatting away. Pauline said something along the
> lines of "they're the second best operator on the island". I won't
> quibble one-two. Of course, this was when Mike had an 18 ft Whaler
> with two 120 HP Mercs and Ed had a 22 ft RIB with two 135 HP Yamahas.
Somehow I ended up diving with Amy on every single dive over two trips
prior to my last visit. She was utterly enthusiastic, cute, and was
very comprehensible speaking underwater. Plus she would find all
sorts of nifty critters. We were inside the St. Anthony on one of my
first dives with them, stroking an injured turtle, when she noticed
something and quickly dug her hand into the sand to come up with a
hairy elbow crab. I was with her another time when she spotted a very
elusive tiny yellow frogfish on the backwall even though it had moved
15' deeper than when anyone of them had seen it last. That was my
first frogfish - it's hard not to remember the first time. She also
taught me her way to mimic a fish to draw the attention of pelagic
jacks and tuna. I miss her. Apparently she went back to teaching
kids, but I'm glad she was able to teach me a thing or two as well.
> >I've also been diving with Extended Horizons out of Lahaina which
> >primarily runs trips over to nearby Lanai island. While my first trip
> >out with them didn't impress me much, I found the service of the crew
> >and spotting abilities of the DM to be first-rate on my second try
> >with them a few years later. That trip unfortunately was cut short
> >when Janna found herself being chewed by a vicious little moray, but I
> >can now attest that they do a great job handling marine emergencies as
> >well. I'll be back to try them again sometime, hopefully soon.
>
> When were you there? It seems that operators in West Maui come & go.
Not Extended Horizons. According to the website: "We've been around
for over 23 YEARS and offer the highest quality dive trips that can be
found departing from Maui's west side."
My first trip with them was in 2002. 11/2/02 to be exact.
Second trip was 4/14/07. We were scheduled for a scooter shore dive
with them later in the afternoon, but they had no problem with a last
minute cancelation due to Janna's bite.
Greg Mossman
> I've had good experiences with Ed Robinson, B&B Scuba and Maui Dive
> Shop. Go with an operation that is near to where you are staying
> because sometimes the traffic can be really bad. The first two are on
> the Kihei side while Maui Dive Shop is Lahaina side.
Traffic at 5:30 a.m.? I've made the Kaanapali to Kihei early morning
commute around 20 or so times now. Worst case scenario is a stoned
slow-driving local on their way to work, but passing is easy enough
with barely any oncoming cars. Cops are all still waking up or in the
donut shop at that hour so the speed limit is whatever you can safely
manage.
On the other hand, never, ever try to drive toward Lahaina on
Halloween afternoon or evening. It literally took us 2.5 hours one
time on a drive that should normally be 35-45 minutes max. That broke
my aloha spirit in half.
Dillon Pyron
>On Jun 29, 7:37 am, Dillon Pyron <invaliddmpy...@austin.rr.com> wrote:
>
>> Oh, did I say that three people were killed in six weeks last year?
>> The whole industry shut down for a month and now you have to start
>> below the park.
>
>What would be the point of that? The only thing that got me up so
>early was the prospect of a nice sunrise from the top before donning
>helmet and coasting all the way down to the sea.
Most of the operators have some sort of trip that takes you to the
summit for sunrise, then goes back down to around 6700 ft.
>
>> >Ouch. Though I have "been there, done that" at the Maui ER thanks to
>> >Janna's confrontation with the moray. Only 4 hours, and fortunately I
>> >wasn't the one being "worked" on.
>>
>> I'm assuming that blood got her a little more attention. I sat in the
>> waiting room from 12:59 pm to almost 3:30.
>
>We had already seen the "Doctor On Call (tm)" who works at the Hyatt.
>The Extended Horizons boat captain called for an appointment there
>while we were still onroute back to Maui. That doc gave her a $90
>pain/AB shot and cleaned and rebandaged it for another $120 then sent
>us to the ER. The post-triage wait in the ER was only about an hour
>before she was finally admitted. Then we saw a nurse, then the doc,
>then he took x-rays, then we waited for x-rays, then he gave her
>several painful anaesthetic injections before cleaning and suturing
>all the lacerations. The four hours was time from entering to exiting
>the hospital. With travel time to/from Kaanapali, the time at the
>Hyatt doc's, and the boat ride from Lanai, it was a loooong day.
Oh, I assure you, the lidocaine only seemed painful compared to having
someone slam a sewing needle repeatedly into her hand.
>
>Notwithstanding health insurance that covered the incident, plus DAN's
>Master Plan as a backup, we're still, 14 months later, working to get
>fully reimbursed. And it's only now dawned on me that we were
>probably entitled to a few bucks from DAN for missing the second
>dive. Oh well. At least she still has all her fingers intact, ready
>to wiggle at morays another day.
>
>> Sadly, while the lady was taking my x-rays, we talked shop. I was
>> kind of surprised that they did a Stetcher and ulnar deviation in one
>> view.
>
>Uh, yeah. Very surprising.
The correct term is MEGO (see below).
>
>> I'd rather have been bitten by a moray. At least that would mean I'd
>> dived at least once.
>
>Barely: "#506 4/14/07 Lighthouse, Lanai, HI, Extended Horizons, 72'/
>19 min." We managed to do a slow-enough ascent from 60' or so with me
>clutching whatever was left of her hand trailing green blood, but no
>safety stop! The hardest part was letting go of her hand to see the
>damage, not even knowing if she still had all her fingers, or whether
>I'd have to go back to try to find the eel and barter for them.
Yeah, that would scare the shit out of me. We've already had our
"Carol, don't die" moment, don't plan to repeat it.
>Fortunately the bones were still there and most of the flesh too, just
>sort of rearranged a bit.
Many years ago, before divers became "enlightened" (WTF???), we used
to toss Vienna sausages to the morays. At least until a DM in Key
West (Looker Diving, remember them?) asked us not to. "Fingers and
sausages look an awful lot alike" he said.
>
>Kind of makes me wonder what would have happened had we not had the
>services of a large first-aid kit immediately upon ascent. This sort
>of thing would really suck if shore diving 45 minutes away or more
>from the nearest civilization, such as Bonaire where even if one were
>to keep a first-aid kit in the truck, it would surely be stolen. I
>hope she's learned her lesson. Heck, I hope I have.
Saw a guy try to coax a dragon moray up one day. You could have heard
him scream on the top of Pele's House. What a pussy. It was two
little holes and some barely more than a scratch.
MEGO = My Eyes Glaze Over. Usually heard when sitting in a lecture by
some self important asshole. Sort of like what I did.
Dillon Pyron
Maui Dive Shop is a good source of info on shore dives, and
"reasonablly" priced air.
I'd actually say more like "end" than "side", although MDS is also
located in Kahului.
>
>Best wishes
>
>Peter Forster
Greg Mossman
> Yeah, that would scare the shit out of me. We've already had our
> "Carol, don't die" moment, don't plan to repeat it.
Well this wasn't that drastic, it was just a hand. Few people die
from losing a few fingers or a hand. I was just envisioning all the
stuff I'd have to do for her if she were one-handed, knowing that if I
ever balked at any of it, she'd wave her stump at me and remind me
that I was the one who talked (pushed) her into getting certified in
the first place. Or worse, she'd get a prosthetic hook, and I'd be
history the next time we argued.
> >Fortunately the bones were still there and most of the flesh too, just
> >sort of rearranged a bit.
>
> Many years ago, before divers became "enlightened" (WTF???), we used
> to toss Vienna sausages to the morays. At least until a DM in Key
> West (Looker Diving, remember them?) asked us not to. "Fingers and
> sausages look an awful lot alike" he said.
I saw the video of the Thai DM feeding hotdogs and then his thumb to a
moray. Didn't look like much fun to me. On the other hand, if Janna
had lost her hand, it would have been cool to taunt the morays with
her prosthetic, then watch them clamp down on steel and break their
eely sharp teeth. Fortunately for the eels, but unfortunately for
their dentists, Janna still has her hand. For now.