BIVB logo
Calendar of Events

Explore

Hawaii Maps and Regions

Plan

Plan Hawaii Vacation

See & Do

See and Do in Hawaii

Hawaii Scuba Dive Destination

The Kona Coast of Hawaii Island is one of the finest scuba diving spots on the planet. Whether you’ve never strapped on a scuba tank or are highly experienced, you’ll find plenty of great diving.

The reasons for this are easy to see in the clear, warm waters — colorful corals, a dazzling variety of sealife ranging from tiny shrimp and reef fish to sea turtles, dolphins and large deep-water fish, plus all kinds of strange-looking algae and seaweeds, not to mention animals that look like plants.

What makes Big Island diving even more exciting is how quickly the ocean goes from shallow to very deep. Because the island is composed of volcanoes rising from the seafloor, its near-shore aprons of submerged lava rock and coral reefs quickly drop off into the abyss. Just offshore you’ll dive on sun-spangled reefs, through arches of volcanic rock and into lava tubes. But as you flipper your way farther out from shore, in many places the bottom soon slopes downward – 30 feet, 50, 80, 120 …. This offers experienced divers the chance to see larger pelagic (deep-sea) fish gliding in from the deep blue distance. Some lucky divers even see the amazing whale shark. This docile animal grows to 30 feet or more, making it the largest fish species in the ocean.

The Kona Coast has lots of guided dive tours — from the shore or boats, by day or night — for every level of diver. These include introductory dives for people who have never breathed underwater. Newbies are given brief but professional instruction in scuba basics, then taken down into shallow waters with experienced divemasters.

Certification courses lasting a few days are available for anyone who catches the scuba bug. And there are lots of tours at many sites, shallow and deep, for already certified divers and advanced divers. You can even rent an underwater hand-held scooter and effortlessly zip through the water. Or how about a night dive with giant manta rays who glide through underwater spotlights?

The latest scuba thrill on the Big Island is the “blue water” boat dive. Divers are taken out to water hundreds of feet deep, where they descend down a line hanging from the boat to about 60 feet. There they hang, suspended in the bottomless blue as deep-water sealife swims past. Want even more of a thrill? Do the “black water” dive, hanging on that boat line at night!

Other boat dives also feature fun on deck, with half-day excursions on comfortable catamarans. Friendly crews provide lunch, drinks and information about sealife and the area’s history.

With all these options, it’s hard to find a reason not to try scuba diving in the Big Island’s inviting waters.