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Scuba Diving
 
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This page is for those of you who would like to be swimming with the fish. There is diving here on Kauai for those who have never dove and those who experienced. Lessons, tours, and rentals are all available.

The best place for diving on Kauai is generally from Poipu.
It is on the dry side of the island, the wind is usually offshore and the dive sites are close to a harbor.
There are many dive sites ranging from beginner to advanced within 30 min of Kukuiula harbor.
Old Koloa landing is one of the best places on Kauai for shore diving too.

Prices
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More Information
Reservations!
- High season the trips are full. Don't wait to long -
 
Prices (Effective 7-1-2007)
 
 
   
Regular Price
 
Splash of Kauai Price
 
2 Tank Boat Dive (Cert.)  
$120
 
$108.00 (with tax $115.74)
 
2 Tank Boat w/gear (Cert)  
$145
 
$130.50 (with tax $139.86)
 
2 Tank Boat w/gear (Intro)  
$150
 
$135.00 (with tax $144.68)
 
Rider not diving.  
$65
 
$ 58.50 (with tax 62.70)
 
- Prices subject to change -
- No Pregnant women diving -
 
 
Time Table
 
 
Days   Every day. (Closed on Christmas and New Years Day)
 
Check in   Morning Dive : 7:30 am (Sat. 8:30 am)
Afternoon Dive : 12:30 pm (Sat. 1:30 pm)
 
Shore Dives   Ask about times.
 
 
Cancellation Policy
 
 
With over 24 Hr. Notice   No Charge
 
Less than 24 Hr. Notice   Policies vary
- Seasports 50% charge.
- Most other companies 100% charge.
 
No Show   100% charge
 
- Cancellations must be made to the tour company. -
- Splash of Kauai can help with this. -
- Do not just leave a message. -
 
 
Where to Meet
 
 
Seasport Divers
Blue Dolphin
Recommended printing for your reference.
 
Reservations!
  More about Scuba.  
Conditions for Scuba diving on Kauai can vary from very good to very bad. the reason for this is that Kauai is in the middle of the Pacific ocean without any barrier reefs. Large swells can make for bad diving. This happens every winter on the North shore. The south shore gets big waves in the summer time. The waves are not as big as the North shore waves and not as continuous as the winter waves. This makes for good opportunities between swells.

Another thing that can affect diving conditions is run off. We are talking flooding here. This happens most often in the winter. After a big storm the water becomes very dirty due to the rivers flooding.

Most of the year the diving is good at least on one side of the island or the other.The water temperature is usually in the upper 70's. You can dive without a wetsuit here. For two tank dives it is best to wear at least a shorty wetsuit.
 
For those who are not certified to dive there are certifications courses available. These can take up a lot of your vacation so I would only recommend that if you really want to learn to dive. If you really want to learn to dive it could be the best way to spend a vacation.

If you don't have the time for certification then there is the introductory course. In this you get a short lesson and then can dive with an instructor. This is also good if you just want to try scuba and see if it is the thing for you.

If you are already certified congratulations you are a step ahead of the game.
 
Some good dive sites.

Poipu area
-Sheraton Caverns- Depth 30' to 60'. Turtles, arches, and lots of fish.
-Brenneckies Ledge- Depth 60'to 90'. Black coral under ledge, shells, and marine
life.
-General Store- Depth 60' to 90'. Small caves lots of fish and some turtles.
-Koloa Landing- Depth 0' to 50'. Shore dive, lots of life.

Port Allen area
-Olokele- Reefs with Depths 20' to 60'. Ledges small caves, turtles, lots of life.

West Side
-Mana crack- Depth 45' to 80'. A deep reef far off of shore. Clear water current,
fish.
-Makole- Depth 20' to 40'. Na Pali coast. Narrow cuts in the reef, swim throughs,
and turtles.

North Shore
-Tunnels- Depth 0' to 50'. Shore dive, lots of caves, fish and turtles.
 
Hawaii diving can have very clear waters. They are volcanic so there are sots of interesting lava formations. The corals tend to be hardy and compact. There can be huge schools of fish but not as much variety as in the South Pacific. This is due in part by the isolation of the Hawaiian Islands. Not as many species of fish were able to reach Hawaii. The other side of that is that Hawaii has many endemic species that evolved here and were never able to escape to other locations.

Just don't expect it to look like someplace else and enjoy it for what it is.
 
One good way to dive on Kauai is on the Blue Dolphin / Na Pali Snorkel Tour. This is a sight seeing tour with a diving option. This is good for beginners who just want to try scuba on a sightseeing tour. It is also good for certified divers that want to see the Na Pali coast and get in a dive too. It is just a one tank dive.
Na Pali Snorkel Tour

For those who want to go out on a dive boat there are several on the island. We usually recommend Seasports. They have the largest dive operation and are located in Poipu. They usually offer two tank boat dives in the mornings and afternoons. They also offer a three tank dive to Niihau that is an all day adventure. I only recommend that for people that have already seen the diving on Kauai. The diving on Niihau is very good but it is a very long boat ride there and back. The trip back is usually rough too.
Reservation Form
 
Blue Dolphin Charters also has a Niihau trip too. This is mainly sightseeing with a one tank dive at Niihau. This trip is from Port Allen and goes to the Na Pali coast. On the way back the boat goes over to Niihau and stops for snorkeling and diving. From there it is a long rough trip back.

It is also possible to do an introductory dive on the Blue Dolphin Niihau trip. I would only recommend this for those who have already dove or who are at least very comfortable in the water. Niihau can be tough on the certified divers too.

Niihau diving can have very strong currents. It also has a lot of drop offs some from 20' to 150'. There is a good chance of seeing monk seals and sharks at Niihau.
  Poipu Beach ?  
Is this Kauai's Poipu Beach? What happened to all of the people?
The beach was closed due to the birth os a monk seal. The seals are endangered and the beach was closed during the weaning time of the seal. For about 6 weeks the seals had the beach to themselves.
 
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