Scuba diving is one of the Hawaii's most popular water activities. Hawaii is a haven for marine life and breathtaking underwating scenery.
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Hawaii is one of the most desirable vacation destinations in the world.
The Hawaiian Islands consist of six islands: Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and the island of Hawaii.
The Island of Hawaii is both the youngest and largest island. The Island of Hawaii is big enough for visitors to experience multiple climates and geological areas throughout the island. Visitors can travel through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park or soak up rays on the Punaluu beach.
Maui is the 2nd largest Hawaiian island well-known for its famous beaches and whale watching. Maui is consistently voted one of the “Best Island in the U.S.” by Conde Nast Traveler readers.
Oahu is the 3rd largest Hawaiian island and known as the “Gathering Place” due to housing a majority of the Hawaiian population. Oahu is home to several surf towns and has numerous attractions within its different regions.
Kauai is the 4th largest Hawaiian island. It’s nicknamed the "Garden Island" because it's enveloped in tropical rainforests and has several waterfalls.
Molokai is the 5th largest Hawaiian island and has one of Hawaii’s largest white-sand beaches. Molokai is home to Kalaupapa National Historical Park and the longest continuous fringing reef.
Finally, Lanai is the 6th and smallest inhabited Hawaiian island with several beautiful resorts on one side and rugged back roads on the other.
Being surrounded by water, it’s obvious to see why Hawaii is best known for water activities like snorkeling, scuba diving, and surfing.
Scuba diving in the big island can leave you awestruck.
Pelagic Magic is distinctive for suspending divers in 40 to 50 feet over a total depth of 5,000 feet in darkness. All that's visible to divers are tiny, bioluminescent pelagic creatures that vibrantly glow in the darkness of the ocean. Pelagic Magic is considered among one of the best night dives in the world due it’s bioluminescent experience mirroring what many consider to be what it feels like to be in space.
Garden Eel Cove is home to the infamous Manta Ray Night Dive in Kona, Hawaii. Divers are in a depth of 30 to 40 feet and watch manta rays swim around them to eat pelagic creatures. Garden Eel Cove has well over 250 different kinds of manta rays with distinct spot patterns along their bellies.
The Golden Arches dive site is one of the best lava arches on the Kona Coast. The Golden Arches can be tough to navigate in the dark, so it's encouraged you bring a dive light to illuminate the waters beneath the surface. The Golden Arches have a max depth of 65.6 feet and is home to large schools of bright yellow reef fish, rock mover wrasse, and white mouth morays.
The Lava Dome stands 30 in high with a max depth of 90 feet. It’s a volcanic rock strewn with plate and knob coral. Divers can expect to see blue dragon nudibranchs and 100-year-old coral at the Lava Dome.
The Turtle Spa is a dive site best known as the turtle cleaning station. At the Turtle Spa, divers will witness yellow tangs and other fish pick parasites off of the shells of turtles at a depth of 75 feet. Divers should give the turtles and fish some distance as to not spook them.
Known as coral heaven, the Puako 76 is home to numerous marine life such as helers and barracuda. The coral at Puako 76 serve as a fish breeding ground giving divers the perfect opportunity to observe fish fry. The Puako 76 dive site starts at a depth of 30 feet then the sea floor gradually recedes until 70 feet.
Hawaii is truly a diverse vacation destination. As one of the world’s top honeymoon destinations, Hawaii provides alluring landscapes creating the perfect backdrop for a relaxing escape. For family and friends, Hawaii also happens to be one of the most popular foodie destinations in the world.
Sea Life Park
Polynesian Cultural Center
The Haleakala Crater
The Puu Pehe or Sweetheart Rock
Waikiki Beach
For amazing lobster bisque and goat cheese wontons, check out Chef Chai in Honolulu.
Attend a luau on Oahu produced by the Original World Fire Knife Dance Champion at Chief's Luau.
Sip a tropical cocktail and watch the live entertainment at Star Casual Sunset & Show.
The Waikele Premium Outlets provide some of the best shopping on the islands.
Open Water 20 is RAID’s most popular global certification program. It teaches divers everything they need to know to explore the underwater world within a depth of 66 feet. Upon completion of the academic portion of the course, divers go to the closest RAID dive center and complete the pool training and open water dives. This certification is internationally accepted.
Visit WebsiteOnce you’ve obtained your Open Water 20 certification, you’re eligible to take the Night and Limited Visibility course. The Night and Limited Visibility course highlights the difference night and limited visibility make while diving and introduces different tools and techniques applicable to night and limited visibility diving. This course splits into an e-learning component and real-world applications. There is a minimum of two open water training dives required for certification of this course.
Visit WebsiteThe Advanced 35 course is a quality course designed to train persons with diving experience, in the safe use of scuba diving without decompression, to a maximum depth of 100 feet. The Advanced 35 course is divided in two sections: theoretical and practical. The theoretical section covers topics such as equipment, physics, confined water training, and open water training and the practical section requires one hour minimum in confined water and 4 hours in open water.
Visit WebsiteVisibility is about 100 feet in the Hawaiian Islands, but waves, wind, rain, and sunshine can affect water visibility. If you plan on doing any diving or snorkeling, consider diving early in the morning to avoid trade winds which can cause giant waves to form.
The average water temperature is 74 Fahrenheit with a summer high of 80 Fahrenheit. Summer water temperatures are pretty much the same on all the beaches in the area. During the winter, Pacific storms along the North Shore create ocean swells that move towards the island; the catalyst for the Hawaiian Islands' legendary big waves.
Trade winds and rain greatly affect water visibility in the Hawaiian Islands between November to March. The wettest months for the Hawaiian Islands are from November to March.
August is the warmest month in Hawaii with an average temperature of 80 Fahrenheit; the coldest month is January with an average temperature of 73 Fahrenheit. The best month to swim in the sea is in August when the average sea temperature is 81 Fahrenheit.
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The Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport is roughly 3,450 acres with an 11,000 feet runway. It has three terminals and ten gates and is reasonably easy to navigate.
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The Daniel K. Inouye International Airport was previously known as the Honolulu International Airport. Daniel K. Inouye is one of the busiest international airports boasting an estimated 10,000 people at the airport at any given time. It has four active runways one of which is the 12,000-foot Reef Runway, one of the first runaways built entirely offshore. Daniel K. Inouye has two terminals and more than 30 gates. We recommend you have a gate map handy for easier navigation.
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The Hilo International airport, previously known as the General Lyman Field, now occupies 1,391 acres off the eastern shore of Hawaii. Hilo International Airport is two floors and houses many of its gates on the second floor. Much like with the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, obtain a gate map to get around.
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