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Dive Review of Kona Honu Divers/Outrigger Keauhou in
Hawaii/Kona

Kona Honu Divers/Outrigger Keauhou, Apr, 2006,

by Jeff Baratta, Ca, USA ( 2 reports). Report 2396.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 2 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments This is an excellent dive outfit. From the very first contact Maggie and Glen were pleasant and easy to deal with for questions and reservations. They were on top of everything. We arrived late the night prior to our first dive and had been directed to go to the dive shop prior to meeting the boat the next morning. We were greeted and taken care of quickly and then followed the gear truck to the boat. You can believe what their website says. They have a large comfortable boat, but limit the number of divers on any given trip. They are very professional and attentive. You hand you gear to the crew and they prepare your tank. They have Nitrox options, but we didn’t take advantage of it. We did have a few divers on the boat that did. When asked if the diver wanted to analyze the tank they had the gear immediately ready to do so. All gear is handled with care and safety by the crew. Divers can choose to set-up their own gear if they desire, but having done so for many years it was nice to have it done for me. A quick check upon boarding the boat showed everything to be in order. The crew will also store and handle your gear for the entire trip. This is a very nice feature to not have to bring the gear back to the hotel every night. They make the entire adventure pleasant and easy. The only issue for the trip had to do with the interval snack. Although the boat had some fresh fruit and cookie snacks something a little more substantial might be helpful for some divers.

This is an outfit for the beginning diver as well as the experienced. They appropriately put groups together for the dive. Then they are able to maximize the dive for the folks that use air more slowly. Bottom times are maximized within all safety ranges. This is not an outfit that dictates this will be a 40 minute dive period. Kona Honu Dive Masters and Instructors (John, Rich, Frank, Cynthia, JJ, & Jason) are very knowledgeable. We watched them work with refresher divers as well as expert divers. They all were excellent. They have great knowledge with not only diving related issues, but each dive site as well. In particular diving with Frank and Rich, they both worked hard to find the best sites and point out the best aspects of each dive. We found a beautiful Spanish Dancer, an incredibly tiny Lizard Fish and a beautiful Fire Angel. Not to mention the countless Eels and Nudibranchs that are common to the region. A weeks worth of diving with nothing repeated. It was great fun.

Finally, the Manta Ray night dive is spectacular. Our particular night we had at least a dozen Mantas present. We all spent 40 minutes glued to the bottom watching these beautiful creatures circle inches above us gathering food. This was something every diver should experience.

A few final thoughts. Initially I was concerned that the boat would be too crowded because of too many divers and that non-divers would be on board as well. That was just not the case. They truly do limit the number of folks on the boat and the non-divers stay clear of the tank area. Also, during the trip my partner became ill. Even though we had already booked and paid for all our dives, we were allowed to move dives around to accommodate her short illness without any penalty. They truly believe in customer service. My only regret is that we couldn't stay longer.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Monterey, Channel Islands, Hawaii, Caymans, Turks & Caicos, Sea of Cortez
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, cloudy, dry Seas surge
Water Temp 75-78°F / 24-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-70 Ft/ 15-21 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Overall Safety! Minimum 1 hour interval time, Safety Stops
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Very accomodative. Helpful hints and suggestions for new photographers. Helpful in getting camera equipment to you once in the water. Always cognicent of where the cameras were and making sure no one put masks etc in the camera tank.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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