My girl wanted to see if she liked scuba diving before taking the full course and Breeze Hawaii…read moreDiving offered an intro to scuba that takes you on a short, shallow scuba dive after instruction.
Paul picked us up with a smile at 7:10am from our Waikiki hotel and we picked up other parties who were diving that day. Paul was very friendly and we enjoyed talking with him. We got to the Breeze shop around 8am and filled out the necessary paperwork, then were directed towards our instructor, Juan Carlos, for the rest of our morning.
We were outfitted with a long sleeve wet suit top, fins, and mask. The rest of the equipment went in the van. Juan Carlos rounded the four of us up and we headed to Hanauma Bay in our van. It took about 25 minutes to arrive and after we parked, Juan Carlos got our entry tickets and we watched the 10-minute video of dos and don'ts for the nature preserve.
After the video, we met at the van and got our scuba gear on including weights, vest and tank then went to the bay. After a short ride down the hill, Juan Carlos explained the equipment to us, how we should use it, how to clear our mask, how to use the regulator, how to find the regulator if it gets knocked out of our mouth, etc.
After explaining, we were asked to breathe using the regulator, then breathe using the regulator while putting our head under water. One person in our group had a problem at this point, so Juan Carlos took the time to explain to her and tried to make her comfortable.
Once everyone felt comfortable, we set off, but after about 20 feet, the woman stood up and said she couldn't do it. Juan Carlos talked to her, then took her back to the beach.
The three of us with Juan Carlos set out and checked out Hanauma Bay for about 20-25 minutes using our scuba gear and saw lots of cool fish. I thought we could have gone a bit deeper, but I guess it was good for an intro scuba dive. The deepest we went was about 15 feet.
We got out and washed off, then took a shuttle ride up the hill and walked to the van. We took off all the scuba gear, then we took a bathroom break and drove back to Breeze Diving. We got back to the shop around 11am or 11:30am.
Overall, an excellent experience for anyone who is thinking of getting certified.
Cheers!