We went diving with this company based on their high reviews on yelp on August 15th and August 16th. The communication leading up to the dives was excellent and we were pleased with the reviews on safety and experience. My review is based on the dive experience specifically on how the dive instructors acted and not the safety of the equipment. First, I want to state that the equipment, boat, and safety of dives were 5 stars. My following review is based on the dive instructors of our vessel. I'm taking away one star because for our first dive experience. We did an afternoon dive with another company, Living Ocean. After our first dive, we spotted a whale shark in the water and was able to bring the boat close enough to the shark for us to view it. Before we knew it, 3/4 instructors were in the water taking photos of the whale shark. The paying customers were not allowed to dive in. Ok no worries since that might be a safety concern and potentially scare off natural wildlife with 15 people jumping in. We spend about 15 minutes alternating the dive instructors going in and out of the boat to have a swim and snap photos of the whale shark. It was exciting for the clients as we got to visually see the shark from the boat a few times in full scale. Still no issues or complaints. What ultimately made me annoyed was that when the dive instructors got back onto the boat, they asked everyone on the boat if we wanted to skip our second reef dive to stick around and check out the whale shark. We took a vote and I was the only individual that voted for either option. No one voted to stay for the whale shark and I adamantly voted for us to dive our paid reef dive. Important side note: I've done whale shark diving just off the coast of Cancun and it's a staged approach where only a few individuals are allowed to go in at a time as to not interfere with the wildlife. We are to swim the shallow surface alongside them and then get back in the boat. These are massive so you can only swim short distances before you're tired and they swim far off. There is no scuba diving involved in this. So we dive our second dive since I was the only one who voted. Why I got annoyed: Later at the end of our journey I heard two of the instructors asking why we didn't skip the reef dive and our instructor said "well one girl wanted to reef dive.. I guess that makes sense because that's what they paid for" I guess he was defending me but overall it felt that the instructors were somewhat annoyed they didn't get to explore seeing the whale shark a bit more. It felt insincere since us paying customers didn't even get to dive with the whale shark. The instructors who get to dive everyday did! Still it would have been helpful if the instructors gave us instruction about staying in the boat or why we weren't allowed to get into the water. read more

Such a great time diving with Alex! he was super informative and knows his stuff and loves to educate the divers with him. He took a bunch of pictures of us as well! read more

Kaimana Divers - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Got my open water certification with Gabe and crew! These guys are true professionals; knowledgeable, patient and passionate about diving! Thanks to them, I'm now cruising with the Honu! Mahalo Gabe and Alex! You guys rock! read more

Kaimana Divers - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Gabe and his dive guides are TOP SHELF aka the best! Best of the best is Alex B. Who has an uncanny ability to find octopus. All of the dive guides are very patient with nervous new divers and the bottom time was generous enough to have casual, just right, time see what sea life was there. I dove with Gabe in 2011 and was impressed with his customer service then. I'm so glad I saved his info because there has been NO drop off in the diving experience with this company. Excellent communication from start to finish! I could go on and on about how great our dozen dives were with this company. If you're not diving with Gabe and his crew, you're not going to have the best possible experience. read more

As a first time scuba diver, I would highly recommend Kaimana Divers. I was a bit anxious since I wasn't the most comfortable with the idea of being under water for long periods of time but our amazing instructor Alex walked us through the tutorial and got us prepared and ready to dive. Alex was very knowledgeable and patient and felt safe to be to go diving with. I was close to not being able to make the dive but he was able to calm my nerves and continue on. If you haven't tried scuba diving before, this is your go to place!! read more

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Good ppl. Good vibe. Good fun. Don't hesitate get your feet wet. The crew was so nice helpful. Easy to find. Very accommodating. read more

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Gabe and Alex are awesome guides! A very personalized experience and small dive groups. They are both very thorough, safe, and have great manners. They are both very patient and explain concepts very thoroughly to beginners, and also give kindly reminders to more advance divers. Gabe is very attentive in trouble shooting underwater and will guide safe dives. There were a lot beginner divers having trouble equalizing their ears and with buoyancy and he assisted in a heart beat which gave more advance divers room to enjoy the dives. read more

I went on two dive trips here in Oahu and both were amazing. My first dive was a refresher because I hadn't dove in several years. Alex, one of the dive instructors, was very helpful in getting me reacquainted with the gear and dive protocols. I had so much fun on the refresher dive that I booked another dive a few days later. The highlights of the dive were the turtles. I had never seen turtles in person and it was unreal to be swimming next to them. Moreover, Alex brought his go pro and grabbed some cool pics of me with the turtles. Overall, I'd highly recommend Kaimana Divers, Gabe and Alex are super chill and fun to dive with. read more

Kaimana Divers - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Quick diver experience context: At the time of my booking I had logged about 70 dives, mostly in CA. I had just dived in CA the same week that I booked my dives with Gabe (owner of Kaimana). Review: Normally I plan further in advance but with COVID-19 hanging over the trip, my visit was up in the air until a week before I booked with Gabe. I contacted him the day before Thanksgiving and despite the holiday, he was very responsive and texted me periodically over the course of the weekend. I was hoping to do three days with him but ended up with two due to personal scheduling but he was flexible and accommodating and also recommended other shops that would potentially fit my schedule. The diving experience was excellent. If you prefer the white glove service with someone who will take care of your gear for you, he's your guy. If you prefer to be more self-sufficient (which is more my speed), he's also your guy. The number of times he said, "yup, that's West Coast divers for you" during my dives with him definitely amused me. The other guy diving with us with was the opposite - he appreciated the extra care. Different folks, different strokes. And while he was super chill and a pleasure to hang with, he also was focused on making sure we were prepared and ready to go. Dive trips are fast turnarounds and he did not allow interpersonal interactions to keep him from doing his job. Additionally, he provided some extra help with transportation that went above and beyond my expectations for the dives. Underwater, he kept us safe which is always the first thing I look for from a dive leader. More important than pointing out cool stuff, he was on top of managing our buddy pairs and diving behavior. But he did also show us some pretty cool shit. I have found when diving in Hawaii that you get two options: good for beginners and good for experienced. Gabe is one of the first guys that I've dived with that seems excellent regardless of your experience as a diver. 15/10 would dive again. read more

5 stars for the dive operation. My second time with them and they're simply the best. Alex was an awesome guide for us. Will definitely dive with them again. read more

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Did one dive with Kaimana and immediately booked another one right after in that same week! They were that good. I loved diving Nick and Gabe! They were both super friendly, knowledgable, and made sure our group had a fantastic time! I booked Kaimana for one shallow dive and one deep dive. Shallow Dive (Nick) - afternoon dive We dove at Turtle Canyon and we saw lots of turtles! I couldn't remember the other dive site but Turtle Canyon was definitely the highlight. This was my first easy dive experience. Nick literally took care of everything from getting the tank set up to putting on my fins. It is a boat dive and they do set up a line for you to descend which makes it soooo much easier. He did a great job of explaining everything and keeping the group together while diving. Also mad props for accurately gauging my weight and size for proper equipment! I loved the dive experience so much that I booked Kaimana for my deep dive. Deep Dive (Gabe) - Early morning dive I was hesitant to do the deep dive because I'm a new diver and I've only got about 5 dives under my belt at about 45ft at most before doing this deep dive. Since I did one prior dive with Kaimana, Nick was able to gauge how comfortable I would be and assured me to try the deep dive. This Dive went up to ~100ft and though it was the most technical dive, I've done, it felt like any other dive. We got to visit the Y0 257 wreck and another smaller wreck nearby. We even saw a shark swimming nearby! Gabe did an amazing job highlight the wildlife and navigating our crew around. He was also amazingly patient and helpful during our miscommunication 100ft below that resulted in my dive buddy almost losing all his air ( I've learned my lesson to carry a slate with me next time or get better with hand signals ). Kaimana gave me the best diving experience and I would gladly return again whenever I'm in Oahu. I highly recommend booking Kaimana for your Oahu Dives, you won't regret it! read more

Got my advanced open water diver certification here! For context, my friend and I just got our open water certification a month ago so we're still relatively new to diving. Gabe handled the logistics and Alex was my instructor. They're both easy to talk to, communicative, honest, and they really make sure you know the material! I like how they emphasized doing the readings + knowledge reviews, and they would definitely go over things in person. My only complaint would be the boats can feel a little crowded (mostly cause of COVID), as you're with other diving groups. But you're still within a small group and you never feel neglected. Alex is a really great instructor since he explains things really well and gives you freedom while making sure you're okay. He's pretty funny too and takes good pictures, which makes the experience even better. read more

A great time learning from Gabe and the rest of their team. COVID made things a bit more chaotic than we intended but Kaimana Divers was super responsive and flexible. Happy to say I was able to get my PADI certification AND my significant other was able to join on a dive my last day (she already has her certification). I'd highly recommend and will go back for any future dives on Oahu. read more

My son and I were really impressed with Gabe and his team when diving. COVID led to a 4 year hiatus on diving for us. Gabe made sure we had a great time. The group of divers is kept small. Gabe was DM for just 4 of us, while a certifying couple had their own DM. He really knew how to make the whole group comfortable with diving again. We saw turtles and a reef shark as well as eels and large schools of fish. It was beautiful. I have dived with over a dozen shops over the 15+ years I have been a diver. This is one of the best! read more

Kaimana Divers - Gabe setting up our gear. - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Did two dives with this group and cannot recommend them highly enough. Claire, our guide was amazing and so wonderful with the newbies in our group and very respectful of me, despite my own relative newbie status. Gabe was great and amazingly helpful with scheduling. Very much hope to be able to dive with these amazing people again. You will not be sorry if you book with them! read more

Kaimana Divers is an excellent place to come dive and get certified as a diver. I completed my open-water dive certification on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, with Gabe the owner, and his excellent and professional diving staff. My dive instructor was Greg. Greg was awesome, calm, and very patient in his teaching and instructions. Greg has a very relaxed method of teaching and is clear and precise making it easy for you to follow instructions and directions from him. All the other instructors like Gabe the owner and Alex follow the same method of teaching that builds confidence and assurance so that you get past the dive courses and tests. The first day of the three-day certification was a book review and testing so that you're aware of the PADI safety and regulations dealing with your gear, equipment, water pressure, air, time, etc. so that you're prepped for your shallow dive in the pool later during the day. The pool was fun, but not as fun as the open water dive in the ocean. You'll do some safety skills in the pool that you'll also repeat in the open water dive in the ocean for the second and third day of your certification. The second day of diving is where the fun starts to really happen, because you're now in the open water diving 50 ft and doing all your safety skills and really getting a feel for the ocean wildlife and the feeling of how you're in 50 ft of ocean water and all the surrounding elements of water, pressure, air and remember to always breathe!!! The third day of diving was a touch-up of your safety skills that you did on the first day at the pool and the second day in the ocean, but this time with a lot more time to explore the ocean bottom with turtles, octopuses, fish, and eels. This was a great experience for me getting certified as a diver because the start of this journey was made to be a safety-first experience followed by a training and teaching course over three days that gave me the confidence and assurance from professional scuba instructors that was calm, patient and confident that I fed off of to be the best-certified diver that I can be at the end of my certification. I really enjoyed this experience and I had a lot of fun. Kaimana Divers was the place for me to get certified and I recommend you do too if you're looking to get certified or just need to book a dive. The instructors are awesome, Gabe, Greg & Alex are awesome!!! The female divers are awesome as well for any women divers looking to dive. Give Kaimana Divers a call and they'll take care of you. Mahalo Robert read more

My son and I did a father/son trip and had 4 dives with Alex. Gabe teased that Alex was the 2nd best guide on the Island....we call bull on that and say he claims the #1 spot. It had been a few years since my son had dove and Alex was great and watchful over us both. I can't stress how professional he and our two lady boat captains were. We recommend diving with them. We had to dive with another company the rest of the time because of a scheduling issue and the didn't even compare! Thanks Alex. read more

Kaimana Divers - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Had such a great time with Gab, Jason, and Alex. We were first time divers and they took their time teaching us the fundamentals of diving. They were friendly, patient, and extremely professional. Made a great experience for us. I highly recommend them!! read more

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Really enjoyed diving with the folks at Kaimana Divers. They have a great boat, an easy to find location in Waikiki, and most importantly an experienced team of dive masters and boat captains. They specialize in small-groups and have a great knowledge of some spectacular dive spots... Highly recommend diving with Gabe and the folks at Kaimana! read more

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Amazing dive company!! Gabe the owner is super friendly and runs a great company. My instructor was Alex and he made me feel comfortable, safe and took me to all of the incredible dive spots. I would Highly recommend them! read more

Gabe and his crew are all about great service and great dives. On my 1st dive with them we had six divers, one captain/driver and three dive masters. Plus the picked me up at my hotel right on time. On the way to tank one we saw humpback whales and two huge pods of dolphins. On the dive we saw reef shark, snowflake eels, morays, octopus, nudibrants and endless tropical fish. Dive two same plus two in our group spotted a tiger shark. I had such a great day I dove the ship wreck and Roho with them the next morning. Strong reco for these guys. read more

Kaimana Divers - Getting ready to dive - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Have dove with Kaimana Divers on multiple occasions while in HI for work. Always accommodating and willing to work with you to get the best experience diving the beautiful waters of Oahu read more

If you want to dive with the best look no further! Gabe and his crew are top notch! I hadn't been in the water for several years and Alex took the time to ensure I was comfortable and had a great time. Went out for a second dive and felt confident to do a deep dive. Thanks for amazing experience! read more

Kaimana Divers - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

I highly recommend Kaimana Divers to the first time divers! They are an amazing group of people that care about the ocean, you and your experience! I did Discover Scuba Diving with Kaimana Divers couple of days ago and it was fantastic! Ryan and Alex were the instructors that took us to the turtle canyon and horseshoe reef. Ryan was responsible for non-certified divers. He was fun and personable. And of course he was extremely knowledgeable and patient. He explained every detail about our dive, equipment, so we were mentally ready and knew what to expect! He demonstrated and practiced with us all the skills before we went into the water. While underwater, Ryan was focused on us to ensure that we are safe and everything is alright. We saw beautiful coral, tons of fish, numerous turtles, and a reef shark. It was simply amazing! I can't wait to do it again! Thank you, Kaimana Divers! read more

Me and my wife had such a great time diving with Gabe and Ryan at Kaimana divers. Gabe has been in the diving business for a long time and he clearly knows what he's doing. We initially scheduled 2 days of diving, but we had such a good time that we decided to go for a third day and also bring another friend with us. The boat never felt packed and it was generally safe during Covid. Additionally after the first day we decided to buy our full gear from Gabe, he never pushed us to buy the most expensive gear (so many dive shops do that), he gave some advice but overall let us choose and ordered exactly what we wanted. The gears arrived within a couple of days and Gabe spent over 1 hour to explain gear features and maintenance thoroughly and also set up regulator hoses and bcd for us. I felt he cared about our gear as if it was his own and really wanted us to take good care of it. Me and my wife have been diving with tens of dive masters and instructors over the past 4 years, Gabe was one of the very few who after the dives gave us feedback to make us better divers. I'll surely call Gabe for some more diving next time I'm in Honolulu (hopefully soon). read more

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Highly recommend!! Gabe, such an awesome guy! Gave me a re-fresher course real time! It's been 4 yrs since my last dive and he made sure I was comfortable. He provided full service, be ready to get spoiled!!! From head to toe he will help you put on your gears. He even offered to hold my gopro, and took videos of me. Offered to hold his hand or any part of his body, during the times I struggled. He made sure I was okay and breathing while I was having difficulty equalizing and find buoyancy. I couldn't have spent my birthday trip any better. Such an incredible, fun, safe and amazing dive with Kaimana and I would definitely dive with them when I get back. Mahalo! read more

Gabe was very communicative via email to make sure that my introductory diving course was accommodated well and logistics for pick-ups were proper. Denise picked me up from my hotel right on time and gotten me through the intro videos and basics of diving. Scuba diving frightened me as someone who's never dived, but Denise was able to walk me through my first dive with ease and made sure to guide me along to make my experience amazing. In my first dive, I had trouble staying at a certain depth in the water, and after a few pointers and tips, I was able to dive with confidence and ease, while fully enjoying the underwater environment and surroundings. I was even confident enough to use a GoPro in my hand to record my adventure. I had a great time exploring the underwater world and I would definitely come back to Kaimana Divers for a certification in the future. Highly recommended for first-timers and beyond! read more

Kaimana Divers - GoPro clip of introductory dive - Scuba Diving Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Gabe made room for us on his off day. He also went out of his way to make the experience custom tailored to our skill levels. Would highly recommend Gabe and Kaimana Divers for your scuba excursion while on Oahu. read more

Had a fantastic time diving with Kaimana last month- spent 4 mornings and dove with Jason, Gabe and Alex (2x). We are both AOW, 400+ dives and had a ton of fun diving with them. Gabe made booking and organizing incredibly easy, they were able to provide us a DIN tank upon request and we brought all of our own equipment. Of note, on our final day, Alex offered to take our gear back and clean up, dry and then drop off to us at our hotel (we didn't take him up on the offer as we had plenty of time to clean/dry our gear before heading home-- but so generous!). Everyone was very safety conscious, saw them keep a close eye on some more inexperienced divers and provided tips for all! Would recommend Kaimana for anyone looking to dive in Oahu! read more

Awesome company and staff. Felt comfortable and was able to have all my questions answered quickly. Everyone is super passionate here

Always an awesome time diving with the crew from Kaimana. We did the morning charter out of Kewalo harbor. All the gear was prepped. The staff was friendly and efficient. read more

Did 4 dives with kaimana and had an awesome time. The last time I dived was 3 years ago, and all of the guides were super helpful in getting me back up to speed so I would feel comfortable and confident under water. Plus, you get $10 off your second dive day which was a nice bonus. Would highly recommend, definitely going to come back! read more

If you are looking for a small boat with great personalized attention, this is the dive shop for you. I was a little rusty getting back into diving after a few years on land and I felt super comfortable and confident the whole time. I ended up joining the dive club which is a great deal if you plan on doing more than 2 or 3 dives. All of the dive masters are awesome especially Gabe. He practically held my hand the whole time on my first ever deep/wreck dive. Can't recommend these guys enough. read more

Had an absolute blast on a dive through Kaimana Divers with Alex as our instructor. His humor was on point and his patience instructing our group of 4 was second to none. If you're looking for a great first time experience I highly recommend Alex as a guide. He expertly worked to calm anxious members of our group and patiently brought everyone to a comfortable experience. We forged a fantastic memory that everyone will remember for years to come. read more

Gabe at Kaimana Divers communicated with me to set up the dive after I submitted an inquiry via their website. Everything went great! Enjoyed two dives with dive master Alex after Captain Madison navigated us to the site. Saw at least 12 turtles, a ton of colorful fish and amazingly, a group of squid. I rented all the equipment and was very pleased with the quality of the gear. There was enjoyable discussions and clear instructions for safety and dive expectations. Great job Kaimana Divers! I look forward to diving with you again. read more

Gabe and his crew made my first diving experience awesome. I was able to booked a dive for me and my brother for our birthdays. I have to say Greg (my instructor) is a Saint because I did exactly what he told me NOT to do and panicked but he didn't miss a beat and actually got me to dive. We actually lucked out and had Kayla and Avalon as well on our dive so the individual attention me and my brother received was great. Got some great shots and my brother - who is a dive master - absolutely had a blast. Also...I'm a big girl over 6ft tall so I was soooo happy they had a wetsuit that fit me!! read more

If you're looking for a new certification, or just a great group of people to dive with - look no further. My experience with Kaimana divers has been nothing short of spectacular. Best dive shop in town, highly recommend!! read more

We had a great experience with Mariana on Sunday. Her expertise, hospitality and positivity made for a great afternoon. We have dived many times in Hawaii and this was certainly one of our best. I would not hesitate to book them again. read more

I can't say enough great things about our Dive Instructor, Nick. He was enthusiastic and fun but serious about making sure we had the information we needed to dive safely. Great work and customer service ethic. Gabe's customer service was great too. So enjoyed the turtle cleaning station and was totally floored to get to see a tiger shark on our second dive. I don't know if it was cooler to see the shark or Nick's reaction to it, he was so stoked! read more

I was very pleased with Greg our dive master. I am PADI certified diver, but haven't dove for a few years. Greg made it very easy for me. He was patient with me when I had ear problems and took a few minutes to get down to 40 feet. I also have a weak hip due to surgery and had a problem getting out of the boat. Greg took off my gear in the water so I could get out without the equipment. Greg also did a great job of pointing out octopus, eel and turtles. I don't hesitate to fully recommend Kaimana Divers read more