This was a great experience and the team was so accommodating! I called on a Thursday afternoon to…read moresee if they had any open spots on dives for that same weekend. Due to last minute planning on my part, there was only 1 spot open on an introductory dive the next day which I ended up signing up for. Their boats have 6 spots and I was joining a family of 5 who had no scuba experience (I'm open water certified) but they assured me that I'd still have a fun dive experience. There were 2 instructors on the boat and they were aware that I already had dive experience so when we arrived at the dive site, 1 of the instructors got right in the water and I was able to essentially have a private dive tour with him while the other instructor was going over the basic dive info with the family! The first tank dive was 30 minutes of myself and 1 of the instructors and the last 2 minutes were with some of the others in the family. We saw 3 green sea turtles, an octopus, a ton of fish, and a bunch of cool sea slugs! All in all, I was so happy with how the team was able to accommodate my last minute desire for a dive and the differing skill levels within the group!

My husband and I did the sea tiger and night reef dive and the experience was really nice. We are…read morefairly beginner scuba divers, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We wish the guide had checked on us more throughout, for example air amount left and ndl limit, because I reached mine and had to find him to let him know. The scenery was amazing and the staff were super friendly, I was nervous to dive and he was super reassuring. My husband and I will be back! The equipment was also very nice

We had an exceptional experience with Kaimana Divers as a family of four, including two teen…read moredivers. Dan was fantastic from start to finish, making everyone feel comfortable, safe, and welcome. One thing we especially appreciated was the small group size. It created a much more personal experience, allowed for individual attention, and made all of us feel relaxed. Dan did a great job balancing safety and fun, and he was wonderful with our teenagers. The diving was great (saw eels, turtles, rays, lots of fish) and the entire operation was professional, organized, and easy to work with start to finish.

Gabe and his team - Marc, Maddie, Zach, Josh, Devin, Abby - are the absolute best. I started…read morebugging Gabe a few months before my trip out to Oahu to make sure I had everything set up before I got out there. The whole process was seamless, Gabe was so responsive and so nice answering all of my annoying questions. Once I got to the island and got on the boat - immediately was welcomed in with open arms and made some friends too! I did a ton of dives with Gabe's team over the month and saw some incredible marine life and shipwrecks. Coming from LA - this was elite service - princess diving as Gabe calls it. Put my gear together? Incredible. Guided dives every time? Amazing. Gabe and his team provide the best service, are so attentive, prioritize safety, and always find the best and coolest species to look at. I truly cannot wait to be back diving with this crew! Mahalo for the best time

That peppermint warmed towel waiting for you at the end is life. After a rough go of sea sickness…read moreall morning, for which the crew was amazing in helping any way they could (it wasn't just me lol, the weather this year!), the cure was that blessed towel at the end! Otherwise top knotch sites both above and under the sea!! That Spitting Caves site is 100. Thank you all for such a good time! Maddie and Christian

I did 2 separate 2 tank dives and a snorkeling trip with a large group of my non-diver friends. I…read morecan say this is a very professional, organized, safe, and fun team. Dive master Christian was very personable and knowledgeable, and led me on a couple of great dives. Captain Matt exudes skill and professionalism. My divemaster for my second dives was Nadia, who also led our snorkelers the previous day. She is friendly, very knowledgeable, and just a bundle of contagious energy. One of the best dive companies I have ever been with. I cannot recommend them more highly.

We had the most incredible experience with Living Ocean Tours during our last visit to Oahu. We had…read moregone to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve on a prior trip, but had not done anything guided and did not have any luck seeing turtles (though it was still beautiful and we saw plenty of fish). My partner loves turtles, which is why we were so eager to find a memorable experience during our next trip. We found the Living Ocean Tours Turtle Canyon experience through Viator and paid about $80/person which we felt was incredibly reasonable. We saw prior reviews stating that the best time to go is early morning, so we decided to take the first boat out. This was honestly a pro tip as we were not only one of three small groups on the boat, but were also the first boat out to the canyon making the experience feel intimate and memorable! We met the amazing crew who were so knowledgable, friendly, and safety-savvy. The ride itself took about 15 minutes each way. Once we arrived, we felt totally confident swimming out with the provided snorkels, life jackets, and flippers after completing the safety lecture. The crew also emphasized protection of wildlife, instructing us to do our very best to stay 10 ft away or more from the turtles. At times, the turtles would come close to us without our knowledge, so we were also instructed on how to gently swim away when this occurred to maintain safe distance. We spent about an hour and a half total in the water, which was more than enough time to see loads of turtles. When it was time to return, we enjoyed complimentary snacks and drinks on the boat. Thank you Living Ocean Tours for providing us with the experience of a lifetime! We would recommend Living Ocean Tours to friends, family, or anyone looking for a safe, comfortable, and immersive turtle viewing experience!

Amazing crew! Thats the number one thing, you can get on a boat and snorkel just about anywhere in…read moreHawaii and see amazing reef fish and wildlife, but to have such an educated and attentive crew was a big change compared to my usual snorkeling/diving excursions. Lola was our main guide and not only was she well educated, attentive, and a great tour guide -- she also would go above and beyond to make your tour incredible. None of the other guides from other companies got off their boards, let alone free dove 40ft to try to get the reef shark to leave its rock so everyone could see it. She also provided many of our crew with their own free dive instruction so that they could try as well. Amazing trip, amazing sights, even better crew!

We went with 2 uncertified divers and 1 certified diver. We had a great time and they really were…read moreable to make everyone feel so comfortable about the trip. Callum the instructor really rocked it and we had a wonderful time.

I took my 11 year old son to get his OW and my 16 year old daughter to get her AOW. Kaleb is the…read moreowner and was so helpful with coordinating our dive dates as a family. I was able to join the dives as a certified diver. Ed was the kids instructor and we all enjoyed diving with him. He was very patient and clearly communicated the dive lesson skills and goals for each dive. Our boat diver was Captain Demitri (Capt. D) and he was another fantastic person that made my kids have an awesome dive experience. A+ for all of these guys at Hawaiian Diving Adventures for there excellent customer service! You dont need to go anywhere else for any of your diving needs.

Booked an 8 hour fishing excursion based on word of mouth. Our family took turns reeling in a blue…read moremarlin so the day was a success. We were warned by staff, but I will say this again for them... if you've gotten seasick at all in the past, make sure you take Dramamine the night before, and the morning of the trip. Both our boys got seasick by the big swells we experienced. Ulu (captain) and crew were very accommodating and helpful the whole trip. We even went to see Ulu play music at a local restaurant a day later. Overall it was a great experience.

I've done a couple dives with Ruckus Diving to Sea Tiger/Deep Pipe/YO-257/San Pedro wrecks, and all…read moreexperiences were incredible. Ray, the owner, is especially patient with newer divers and has a great way of making every dive feel fun while still prioritizing safety. The entire crew is professional, welcoming, and easygoing. It honestly feels like you're diving with a group of friends--but with the confidence that you're in very capable hands. Highly recommend!

I am just coming off my discover dive with Captain Derick and Toby as our guide and have nothing…read morebut deep gratitude for my experience. I hardly write reviews but their considerate and meticulous service made for an unforgettable experience. Many companies offer discover scuba lessons in Oahu so I called a few to understand the itinerary before making a decision. I spoke with Toby, he welcomed all questions and gave an honest glimpse of what the experience would be. He was also courteous enough to let me know that they might reschedule our reservation in case they don't have enough people to meet a minimum for the boat. This did happen but the company let me know this promptly well in advance and even followed up to remind me about completing e-learnings etc. Fast forward to the day of the scuba and my mother & I met with Toby and the captain on Diamond T II, their boat along ala moana. The captain did a quick lay down of the safety instructions and Toby walked us through the nuts and bolts of diving - key skills, sign language, etc. The crew split us into parties of two each. The sea was a little choppy and I was feeling a little sea sick so I asked the cap if I go jump in the water till the first pair finished their training and dive and he even gave me snorkeling gear!! This was a great way to kill time and also get a preview of the dive ahead. The cap also encouraged my mother to join me and despite her fear of water, she felt at ease in doing so. This half an hour was unexpectedly enjoyable as we were able to interact with some marine life and my mother felt more comfortable being in water. We then got into our gear, which was labeled, super clean and hygienic, and proceeded to do our training session with Toby in the water. This was the highlight of our experience as jumping in a water can be pretty daunting with heavy gear, especially if you run into tricky problems like water in the mask or your regulator. Despite my mother running into these frequently, Toby was incredibly patient and relentlessly made an effort to do her skill training without rushing her. Unfortunately, she was feeling pretty sea sick and also tired by her time in the water so she decided to pause but Toby and I carried on into the water. We spent a serious amount of time close to the ocean bed, Toby was alert yet let me free roam in the water so I gained some confidence too. I was surprised by how clear the water was and we saw plenty of fish, it was magical. On returning, I found out that my mother got sick on the boat so the cap helped her with a pair of goggles, some jelly, and light humor to alleviate her motion sickness. The crew was highly aware of most passengers feeling sick so they expedited our return to the waterfront. I fail to see how this experience could've been more enjoyable and how this crew could've been more considerate to first time divers. Thank you so much for this!!

I have been a PADI certified diver for over 25 years. For the first time in all these years, I am…read morewriting a bad review about a PADI Dive Shop. At the end of this month, I am traveling to Honolulu, Hawaii with my wife and five-year-old daughter for vacation. I reached out to "Aloha Scuba Diving Company" (www.divealohascuba.com) a PADI 5-star IDC, inquiring about their dives. We exchanged about 10 emails, where they offered me to do a Wreck Certification. In those emails, we went over the dates, time requirement per day, dives, and cost, among other details. After a lot of negotiation with my family, they allowed me to step away from our time together, to go diving for a couple days. Based on the information Aloha Scuba Diving Company provided in those emails, I coordinated with my wife and scheduled the rest of our vacation (booking activities with my family, rather than going scuba diving by myself). After booking the rest of the activities in our vacation, I emailed Aloha Scuba Diving Company and they asked me to call the shop to make the payment and confirm the booking. Yesterday, I called the shop, and they took my credit card to confirm the booking. After the call, I received emails confirming the booking and notifications from the credit card company confirming the charge. The first thing that happened was that they overcharged my credit card compared to the price they quoted me on the emails (even when during the call I pointed to the specific email with the price they had quoted). I called back and they offered to do a refund for the difference. A few minutes later, the same person I spoke to called me, and told me that all the information that was given to me in our email correspondence was wrong. He told me that there was "some miscommunication" and that the certification required more days, more dives, and that they would need to increase the cost they had quoted. I told them that I had booked my whole vacation around the information they had provided and that they should honor what they told me. The person on the phone said he would talk to the dive shop owner and let me know. After we finished that call, within 2-3 minutes, I received emails cancelling my booked course. I immediately called the shop again to find out what was happening, but they just did not take my calls. I followed up with an email asking for an explanation, but they did not reply (again, all this within minutes of them taking my credit card, confirming the booking and calling me trying to charge more). In all my years of diving, doing so in multiple countries, I had never faced this situation. They clearly do not understand the commitment (cost and time) that going diving requires for a diver traveling with his/her family where they do not dive. I am taking precious time I could spend with my wife and five-year-old daughter, creating memories, for the diving certification. I also planned and booked all other activities around the information they had provided by email. When things are written, there is no room for "miscommunications." The fact that they tried to overcharge me (even when over the phone I pointed to the email where they quoted the price", and after catching their intention to overcharge, they started coming up with these additional days, additional time, additional dive, and additional cost required, is absolutely unacceptable, a deceptive practice (bait-and-switch), and disrespectful to someone that is booking a whole vacation around this activity. I always book my diving with shops that are listed in the PADI site because it gives me the peace of mind and certainty that they are established dive shops that abide to PADI's Quality Management Practices, Safety Guidance, and involving qualified personnel. This is the first time in all these years, and diving in multiple countries, that I find myself in this situation. Do yourself a favor and avoid Aloha Scuba Diving Company at all costs.

Great dive. Patient & encouraging dive master for our 10 year olds who were just learning. Would…read morerecommend.

Had a great time with Trident Adventures we done the 2 tank open water dive wreck and pipeline lots…read moreof turtles and lots of fun very chill experience everyone was nice no one made you feel like you knew nothing. I did a previous dive with Waikiki dive center and the dive master over there just tried to make you feel like you was a moron almost like it was his job. Go here

It'd been 10+ years since I last went diving, so I was a bit apprehensive, but Devin's review of…read morethe gear and diving techniques helped to ease my nerves. The dive was wonderful! 10x better than the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. The biodiversity was incredible - there had to be over 100 types of fish, a couple of small eels (safe distance away), and a turtle. Even the "tougher" parts of diving that I remember were made easy with Devin's pointers and patience. I'd highly recommend taking a dive tour with Banzai and will certainly be doing it again myself!

This was my 2nd dive with Banzai Divers but my first dive for the Open Water certification. Devin…read morethoroughly oriented our group of 3 with what to expect, the equipment we will be using and all the safety precautions. He was so organized, prepared and professional. The dive experience was amazing and fun! I would highly recommend going with Banzai Divers for all diving experiences, be it a discovery dive or the PADI certifications. Devin is extremely patient and knowledgeable!

My short review for the Wave 1 beginner freediving course is: If you're even slightly interested,…read moretake this course! Whether you're beginner or "advanced" but not certified, you won't regret it!! Since there were no other reviews here yet, I decided to also write an in-depth (see what I did there?) one. Now the long review... I'm so glad that I enrolled in the freediver certification course with Honolulu Freedivers. I've been an avid snorkeler for decades, competed in distance freestyle ocean swims, paddling competitions and triathlons--even taught some folks how to swim. I LOVE the ocean, BUT I also love to be able to BREATHE often, whenever I want to, even more. I could dive to pool depth, but needed to pop right back up. So, freediving was always kind of a unicorn. Prior to taking the certification course, holding my breath during the exertion of ocean dives was incredibly hard for me. Despite having good cardio, the urge to breathe while swimming underwater and the desire to surface was overwhelming. I tried watching hours of YouTube "expert" videos on my own. But it didn't really help, and in retrospect I'm lucky to not have accidentally drowned trying some of the stuff I saw. In the two-day, info-packed beginner course (Wave 1), Derek's instruction and his course materials helped me to fully understand my self-inflicted limitations. On the first day, extended my person best static (land) breath hold by a full minute! In the water, I was able to reach AND RELAX FOR A WHILE at a depth I would have thought impossible for me--then on day two, I DOUBLED that distance to earn my certification (20 meters). Derek is ultra-experienced, patient, friendly and puts safety first during dives. His assistant kept an extra set of eyes on us and provided additional instruction/feedback. The pre-dive breathe up and the post-dive recovery were drilled extensively because of their importance. He gave precise, helpful critiques. And, because he limits his class size, everyone had more than enough time and it was fun!! I felt very safe doing all the dives. Some went perfectly, and for the ones where I lapsed on technique, Derek was right there to keep me from making things worse for myself. Then at the surface after recovery he was quick to give corrective instruction for the next dive. Most importantly, I also learned how to confidently deal with dive buddy emergencies: shallow water blackout, loss of motor control, cramps, etc. I now have increased value as a dive buddy for my friends, family and fellow divers because of this class. With what I learned, I might save a life one day, maybe my own. An added bonus is that any diver certified through this class, has an open invitation to attend recurrent Honolulu Freedivers boat dives and weekly pool training, and also becomes a member of an international online community group (Molchanovs) where even more material is accessible. I took the class with two other friends and made a new friend, as a tourist also dropped in to attend. We all agreed it was well worth the investment! Thanks, Derek and V!!

Fantastic first-time Freedive experience; exceeded my expectations! Derek is an amazing freediver…read morewho excels as an instructor. His reputation as a patient and positive teacher is well deserved. He gave me the confidence to go further than I thought possible. Highly recommend! - Will