Amazing start to our vacation! Although our day was a little windy, they have us the best…read moreopportunity to get some nice sets in! Looking to do it again before we leave the island! Thanks so much for the time and teaching us the basics despite the conditions. Still had an amazing time!

We got a GROUPON Deal for this excursion - and it is TOTALLY AMAZING. The description cannot do it…read morejustice, you just have to go! The Guide/Teacher and leader of the Canoe trip built the canoe and the paddles you will use. Other's CLAIM to be an expert, this guy is - additionally, one of the best Hawaiian Cultural -Geographical-Geological History lessons I have ever heard ANYWHERE on the island. Fun, interactive, mild to medium exercise - sea turtles came out, group was fun - because the instructor is GIFTED in story telling. Any "Walking Kiosk" can rattle off stats, figures, dates and trivia. You want to be engaged to the point of you lose track of time? GO HERE NOW!

If you're researching dive companies near Waikiki beach like I was, stop looking. I did the…read moreresearch for you. Reef Pirates was absolutely the right choice, and I would recommend them to anyone, especially anyone who is nervous about learning to dive or traveling/diving solo. I spent a LOT of time researching where I wanted to complete my scuba certification. I looked at companies all over Waikiki and beyond, I ultimately chose Reef Pirates based on my research. I can honestly say it ended up being one of the best decisions I could have made and was the highlight of my Hawaii trip. It was not only the best-priced option I found, but the experience was far beyond what I expected. And extremely friendly and knowledgable staff. I genuinely could not have asked for a better instructor than Greg. I was traveling solo and was honestly a little hesitant about doing my certification and diving alone as a new diver, especially as a young woman. Though, all staff both on and off the boat made me feel safe, welcomed, and reassured. I was traveling alone, but I NEVER felt alone. One of the moments that really stood out to me was when I came back to the shop from my dive and one of the staff members said, "You seemed nervous when you got here, but now you seem so confident and happy." She was absolutely right, and the fact that she noticed that meant so much to me. It showed me that the staff were genuinely paying attention to how I was doing, not just going through the motions. Greg was an incredible instructor. As a new diver, I made a few mistakes that were completely my own fault, but he caught them immediately and made sure I stayed safe. He was patient, professional, encouraging, and taught me so much. Captain Allan was also fantastic and was incredibly helpful both on the boat and when I was getting ready to get in and out of the water. Between the two of them, I felt like I was in very good hands throughout the entire experience. And if you're a new diver, I cannot recommend Reef Pirates enough. You are truly in good hands. If you're an experienced diver, they also clearly care about making the experience memorable and helping you see the best marine life possible. We got to swim with sea turtles, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life, and they took some amazing photos of me that I will treasure! What I appreciated most was that I never felt rushed. Even after the dive was over, the staff were still happy to help me, answer questions, and give me recommendations for the rest of my solo trip. Everyone was so personal, friendly, and genuinely invested in making sure I had a great experience. I am so grateful that I chose Reef Pirates for such an important milestone. Getting my scuba certification was something I was really excited about but also nervous for, and they turned it into an experience that gave me confidence, taught me so much, and left me with some incredible memories. I am so glad to have gotten it with them! If I make it back to Hawaii, I will definitely dive with them again!

Let me first start by saying the review would be a five star review if it were not for Marina, one…read moreof the dive guides. Let me go through the positive aspects first, then, I will cover the areas for improvement. First, the dive service is great for beginners. I did one previous dive in Moorea and they didn't explain anything. This time, Reef Pirates did a good job of explaining the physics and the safety procedures of diving. Also, there were several practice drills in shallow water before diving deeper, and so I think they did a good job of following proper safety and dive procedures. The guides, Dray and Marina, had over 10 and 20 years of experience, respectively, and definitely knew their stuff. Dray, who was my dive guide, was excellent. In comparison to Marina, the two have polar opposite personalities. Dray is very outgoing and friendly. I felt really safe with him as my guide and he did a good job at showing us creatures underwater. I'd highly recommend Dray if you can get him. Marina, on the other hand, is very stern and serious. I had originally been scheduled to dive with her, but I failed a shallow water test and so she sent me to Dray's group (thank God because Dray was way better). My main issue with Marina came down to the photography / videography that I purchased for $95 beforehand, but moreover, her bad attitude. After the dive was over, Marina told me she needed time to color-correct the video footage before sending it to me. Okay, I thought. Sounds fine to me. But when I received the files, she added a slow-motion effect to all of the videos right in the middle. This effectively made the video footage unusable for my purposes, and since I did not request any special effects added to the videos at the time of purchase, I requested she send the unedited videos without the slow motion effects. Marina told me she immediately deleted the originals without obtaining a final acceptance from the client. This was her first mistake. Never delete your originals until the client accepts them. Then, my real gripe was with her attitude, and she went on to say that she was doing me a "favor out of the kindness of her heart" by giving me the files, and that she had washed her hands of the responsibility of videography, and attempted to transfer the responsibility to Dray, which was pretty poor character of her throwing her colleague under the bus like that. I told her that it was not a favor she was doing for me and that she owed me videography services, and I showed her my receipt for the $95 photography/videography. She basically told me to ask Dray for any questions about these services. I requested a refund, but she declined it. Rather than making a big deal about it, I chalked it up as a loss and moved on with my life. Still, I thought it was pretty low of Marina to try and blame Dray for her mistake. Besides, some of us have to work in jobs where we get held accountable for our mistakes, so I don't have a lot of sympathy for her. The other issue with the videos and photos, not as big a deal, was they were all in "portrait" orientation (as opposed to landscape orientation). For my purposes, this also made the videos and photos unusable, for me at least. Thankfully I brought my own GoPro and had some usable footage of the turtles. In the end, I'd recommend taking your own GoPro and filming yourself, saving the $95. The diving is great and we saw many turtles. In this regard, I'd give Reef Pirates a five star review but had to take off 2 stars because of Marina.

The best snorkeling tour! We saw a lot of different fish and huge turtles! The team did everything…read morefor our pleasure! Captain Krash and his team took a lot of photos and videos, told a lot of information, this team does their job from the heart, thanks them! Carlos swam with us in the ocean and showed the most interesting moments. Thank you so much for the incredible emotions, I will remember this tour for the rest of my life!

Rainbow Scuba Diving…read more Wow Wow Wow Now, I'm not sure if I can write anymore.... We booked Rainbow Scuba for our holiday and I have to say that Ken and the team are sensational. I would recommend to ANYONE, being an experienced diver to the first timer that Ken is the man to see. We took my wife, son (15 years), daughter (18 years), my daughters BF (19 years) and myself. Ken and the team were thorough, patient and simply excellent! His briefing into scuba for the first timers was sensational.... Spoke in terminology that the kids understood and demonstrated the important things. Made sure everyone was able to perform the skills before committing to the dive. My daughter who gets really bad motion sickness struggled and Ken was so patient. Gave good advice on how to fix it and was genuinely concerned. The dive itself was superb.... a vast array of sealife from a variety of fish, turtles, sharks, moray eels and octopuses. I couldn't recommend Ken anymore highly.... If you visit Hawaii and want to go for a dive, albeit a first timer or an experienced driver... Contact Rainbow Scuba and Ken will look after you!

My boys and my husband had a phenomenal time learning to surf with Andy! He is incredibly patient…read moreand a wonderful teacher! This is actually the second time that we have done lessons with him since the boys enjoyed their time with him so much during our last trip. Don't bother looking anywhere else on Oahu...Andy is your guy!!!

Amazing day of surfing with Andy!! They have a perfect spot and have great instructions. We caught…read moredozens of waves and will definitely book another lesson on our next trip!

Turner was the best instructor! We had surfed before but this experience was perfect for us! Super…read morelowkey, super fun, I would come back again on my next vacation.

Thank you Noah for an awesome lesson! My sister and I are on vacation in Hawaii so we decided to…read moretake the group lesson. We booked ahead online and we were also able to switch the lesson time when something else came up. We also got lucky since we were the only two for the time we booked! It was my first time surfing so I was definitely nervous. Before getting into the water, Noah went over the basics on how to get onto the board. He gave pointers on how we can better position ourselves. We paddled out into the water and he let us have breaks if we got too tired. Noah was super helpful by giving further instructions on how we can improve our position for the next wave. It was a ton of fun! Definitely exhausting though. I was able to catch a few waves without falling so I was excited about that. After we finished the lesson, Noah helped us paddle back to shore.

I had the pleasure today of doing some ocean sports with Tropical Ocean Sports. This is a class…read morecompany from beginning to end. My girl and I had a blast doing the bumper, banana boat, snorkeling, jet ski, and Sand bar. The staff was professional and friendly. We will definitely be going on some more ocean sports adventures with T.O.S. in the future and will happily recommend them to anyone else looking to have some great fun.

I am on the water. I own a sailboat which is moored on Keehi Harbor which is attached to their…read moreMarina. They will not let me tie up my dingy to any of their available outlets with cleats to dock and then walk to use their store! Why? The only other way I would arrive being I have no car, is park my dingy and walk 2000 feet to their Convenience Store. Or just take a Uber and minas well just go Walmart. They have that dock shop but us sailboat people can't arrive on boats?

The staff and the facility were both excellent during the recent haulout of my 33 foot sloop,…read moreCowabunga!! First of all, the crew on the travel lift were obsessive in positioning the straps where they would not damage my boat. We were right on schedule with the pick, I had the tarps up within an hour or so. And the tarps they provided for dust containment were virtually new, in good shape, easy to handle and ample sized. I was ready to start work by lunch time. I easily completed my haulout within my 5 day schedule, as the yard crew took care of my needs such as moving pads, and prepping for the launch. The yard crew are calm and professional. Of course, you can always with the cost was less. But when I look at the scope of the operation, I am grateful we can haul at all in today's inflated world. A lot of labor went into my haul and launch, plus there is environmental mitigation, and expensive equipment. My haulout went smooth and fast, and I am grateful for that. Aloha, Mark

What an amazing time! Last weekend I completed the 2-day ASA 101 course with Capt Greg of Sail…read moreHawaii. I could not have asked for a better introduction to the ASA program. The class was an ideal balance of classroom learning, skills review, and practical application. Most importantly though, Greg's enthusiasm for sailing made for a very fun and rewarding experience. The class was small with a 3:1 ratio which allows for tons of individual attention. If any student had questions on a concept, or wanted more time on the water practicing a sailing skill, it was always accommodated. Each morning we met in the classroom (an added bonus because not all sailing schools have classrooms) where Capt Greg introduced and discussed the topics for the day. The material was taught in a very approachable manner that made it relatable and easy to understand. It was also helpful that Capt Greg provided real world experiences from his years of sailing about how the concepts are applied and why they're important to understand. In the afternoon, after a nice lunch break (there are many options nearby) we walked over to the boat. After briefly reviewing sailing terms, practicing a few knots, and discussing safety, we set sail. Once on the water, Capt. Greg makes sure everyone is comfortable on the boat and understands how it sails. After that, its all hands-on learning, each student takes turns at the helm while the other two students trim jib sheets. Capt Greg during this time is observing and assisting each student, answering questions, giving tips, and guiding us through different sailing maneuvers. This structure was great for learning, as all the students are involved in the sailing and learning from one another's experience at the helm, creating a fun team atmosphere. Not to mention, the sailing area is beautiful. We cruised between Diamond Head, Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu with the sun setting as we headed back into harbor. Whether you've never sailed before and want to learn the basics, or are experienced and working toward advanced ASA certifications (ASA 103-107), Sail Hawaii is a great place to start. You won't be disappointed. Capt Greg knows sailing, has tons of experience, and is a great teacher.

I liked the skipper, Greg, who taught the class. But the course I took just really, really did not…read morework out for me. I signed up and experienced the 7-Day Pacific Ocean Challenge, which was a sail and cruise type thing, to up my sailing game, and earn my ASA 101, 103, and 104 certs. I did get the certs, but didn't really learn much, and in fact didn't even complete all the requirements for those certs. Over the seven days we only sailed 14 hours, mostly because Greg, the skipper, seems really apprehensive about sailing in winds that other sailing schools consider essential to experience. He literally told us that if winds were in the 20s we wouldn't be able to go out. Whereas the ASA 104 class is to teach you to sail in winds in the 20s, as much as 30. I've confirmed with other sailing schools that they go out into the 20s on purpose, to get that experience. The whole week we could see good winds in Windy, but all he wanted to do was motor around and visit places he felt we should see, which was totally in contrast to the interest of the students/crew. All who paid to sail. It was a waste of money, vacation time, and opportunity. I've communicated with other people who've had the same experience, so it's not a one off. I'm hoping to make up for the loss with some other sailing school on the mainland. NOTE: if you don't care about the sailing aspect, and just want to hang out on a boat going around the islands, maybe this is a good thing to do. I was there to sail, and that didn't happen, and not because of the weather, just because the skipper, Greg, wasn't up for it.