Koloa Landing

Storehouse, 2 other sites, on scooters! Super fun. Lots of turtles.

This site was called harbor ledges

All the turtles!

So many turtles!!

Notice that the landing is a very easy entry. Just walk carefully down the concrete ramp, don your fins, and you're off! Here is the staging area for the scuba classes, with the entry visible through the cars. With the landing to your right, this is the area you'll be diving. Note that there are interesting areas to both the left and right of the sandy bottom.

I did five tanks at this site over the last 12 days and even with some rain and the runoff from it the visibility was very good to good. Four tanks were used during the noon to four o'clock time frame. All these dives had many sightings of various eels with one dive having between 25 to 30 different ones of many varieties - Zebra, Dragon - white mouth - spotted and a couple I don't know the name of yet. Over the last ten years I've done a lot of shore diving at this location and I always seem to find at least one really interesting critter to watch while diving here - my favorite over the years was a pair of harlequin shrimp pulling a star fish to their den. The fifth tank was from 7pm to about 8:15pm with very little moon. The highlight of the night dive was the great variety of shrimp I kept finding and two Dragon eels one of which was very large for its species. Also if Turtles are your thing I can't remember a dive here where I didn't encounter at least one. To see what I have seen over the years at this location you can go to webshots and look at the different Kauai albums of diverearl.

Really terrible visibility at the start, improved to poor about 30 yards out and fair after a while. A fair amount of garbage at the site. Highlight was a turtle that came right up to my dive partner and I and, as I held very still, actually bumped into my legs with it's front flipper and looked at me like it wanted something as it opened its mouth slightly. Not sure what that was about, but it was cool. Didn't really see anything special here.

We dove this site 3 times the last week of September. One of the easier shore dives we have done. According to the dive shop it was about the only place to dive this time of year, too much current elsewhere. The old boat landing is a little slippery but once past that it is about 4-6 feet deep out to the drop off about 25 yards out, then drops to a sand bottom about 25-30 feet down. First we dove the left side of the reef. It consisted of mainly boulders with few corals, but did have a good variety of fish, including many eels and turtles. We did the next 2 dives to the right. There was much more life and coral, much better dive with more to see than you can on a single tank of air. Even found a cleaner shrimp cleaning station in an isolated coral head in the sand flats on the way back in.

Easy entry and exit. Sea turtles , an eagle ray, one very small eel and reef fish galore. Get there early, as it is very popular certification site. Empty by noon though. Vis depends on the surf, today had a pretty good surge. Very good spot for beginning and intermediate divers. Zero facilities. But a short drive to local watering holes. Dirt road to site full of rocks and potholes, but accessible with caution.

Dove here 4 times (2 x 2-tank) during our week (3-9 July 2010) on Kauai and had a blast! For ease of entry/exit, variety of sea life and long bottom time, this is a great place to dive. I'm a relative novice diver with dives #17-#21 in my log book done here. Dove late morning on the first day and late afternoon on the second day. Too many fish to count and visibility varied between 20'-45'. Just cruising along and taking photos of the variety of life there made this THE best shore dive site I've experienced. Saw Honu, trumpet fish, eels and so many reef fish I lost count.

What an easy entry, a little crowded with folks lining up like cattle for their organized dive tours. That makes sense, since the rest of the island was blow out by trade winds and surf. But it was easy to lose them on the bottom. Visibility was 20+ once you left the sandy entry. Mostly rocks on this dive, corals are sparse, but there were plenty of Green Sea Turtles, eels, and too many fish to name. We made a two tank dive, to the west first and then to the east. An excellent day!

This is the best shore dive on Kauai. The horseshoe shaped reef allows for 2 awesome dives, one side first, the other side second. The west side has corals and lava formations. The east side has more boulders and less coral but I saw frogfish and several turtles on this side. Both sides have eels, eels and more eels including the rare Dragon Moray. I saw 3! Also octopus, and lots of reef fish! What a healthy dive site!

This was my first salt water dive. Entry/exit were very easy. I'm a JOWD, but this site was easy. Saw an eel, many fish (jacks, wrasse, goatfish, many others). Wore full 3 mm wetsuit - comfortable, but I tend to be cold. My dad wore a shorty. Local dive shops use this site, so there are always others there.

A great shore dive for beginner and intermediate divers. On my first tank of air I did a scooter dive to left of the landing (heading out to sea). The visibility was good and I saw mostly rocks and sea turtles there sleeping and hanging out (still very cool). Oh ya, the scooters that Sacred Seas had were a blast! On my second tank of air I went to the right side, I thought this part of the dive was the best. The color of the coral, all the fish and sea creatures and the rock groups and ledges helped make this a really great dive.

I'm sure this would have been a great dive site if done at a different time. The conditions were horrible, poor visibility and high surf. The dive instructor said it was fine and normal for the area. It was my girlfriends first time and, by the time she got out there, she was so terrified and virtually sea sick because of the high surf and dark murky water, she didn't even go down. I did and after 20 min of boredom I came up. Its sad that some dive operators are so desperate to make a buck that they take people out when the know the conditions are horrible.

This was my family's first dive experience since certification and I can definitely recommend Koloa Landing as an easy, gentle introduction dive for first-timers, esp. kids. The entry was easy (although a bit slippery), vis was good at ~30 ft, and lots of sea life: green sea turtles, moray and dragon eels, a nice moorish idol, etc. I wanted our first dive to be exciting for our kids (ages 12 & 14) and I got exactly that (the crowded conditions not withstanding). We're all hooked on diving now!

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Easy entry off the ramp onto a shallow shelf with a nice drop to 40' bottom. We had about 60' visibility and were able to photograph a dragon eel, several moray eels, an octopus, a leaf scorpionfish, several sea turtles as well as all the usual Kauai reef fish. It's a nice, easy shore dive.

Dove 2 shore dives at Koloa landing: a night dive to the left (Spanish dancer, flying gurnard, bearded cusk eel, bandfin cardinalfish), and a day dive to the right (turtles, dragon moray). I'd like to explore more to the left going out deeper sometime, past 50ft. Overall a good shore dive, with a very easy entry.

We dove this site July 2007. No dive guide was necessary, so it was a great way to save some $$$. Most dive ops here charge $85 for one tank guided dive. Be careful about renting tanks from SeaSport as a previous post mentioned, we also had blown o-rings on two tanks! As for the site, it was fantastic if you love eels! In 2 dives, hubby and I saw a dragon moray, a tiger moray, a couple zebra morays, 2 dwarf morays hunting and a plethora of the more common yellow margin morays. Visibility is crappy on entry, but cleared up pretty nicely for us as we got farther out. To see sleeping turtles, avoid masses of other divers and get a choice parking spot, I HIGHLY recommend getting there EARLY. We got there about 7 am and had it all to ourselves! Enjoy!

I dove this site after a rain storm so visibility was only around 50 feet. Saw lots of fish, and lots of other divers. The parking was a little crowded, and seeing 10 other divers in the water wasn't what I came to Kauai to see. Good dive for a beginner.

This is a great spot to go for a shore dive, as there's a lot of marine life to see, more than at the caverns. Kauai Down under at the Sheraton is the closest shop to the landing. Just to let anyone know, if you are going to Poi'pu from Lihu'e take 520, also known as the tree-tunnel road, it is a beautiful drive.

My 10-year-old daughter and I did two dives at this site in late November 2006. We really enjoyed this location. The entry was very easy. We saw a few turtles, some eels, and plenty of fish. We were a bit concerned about visibility since it had rained a lot the night before our dive. Once we made it away from the entry point, visibility was pretty good in the morning. The surf kicked up some in the afternoon and reduced the visibility some. Nonetheless, we enjoyed both dives and would definitely return to this location if we returned to Kauai in the winter. We rented our weights and tanks from SeaSport Divers, which is the closest dive shop to Koloa Landing. I might rent from them again because the shop is open later than the others, although be sure to check your o-rings before you leave the dive shop, as we had a blown o-ring in one of our tanks. Luckily, one of the instructors from Fathom Five Dive Shop (who were also diving at this site) had a spare o-ring and she let us use it. VERY COOL! The folks at Fathom Five were very friendly and knowledgeable about the dive site. I would recommend Fathom Five, which is just a few miles from Koloa Landing, to anyone needing a dive guide.

I did this dive twice, the first going to the left to a depth of 47ft, the second to the right to a depth of 43ft. The entry here is like walking into a pool. It has got to be the easiest entry I have ever had. There had been very little to no rain when I was there (11-18-2006) so the muck at the entry was gone after about 20 yards. The left side of the bay is just OK in my opinion. It is mainly big rocks with not much coral or fish. The right side, IMHO, is the better side. It has much more coral and fish. I found the life to be more evident in 30-40ft of water. There are several large coral heads and small walls to explore. It was very, very, calm when I was there. Almost no surge and the vis was pretty good at about 30ft, less at the shallower depths. Overall a good spot for beginning divers.

Our first dive was around 9am and the surf was already pretty rough. Viz wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Sea life was alright; I spotted one medium sized green turtle that was swimming around. However, by the afternoon time @ 1-2pm it was totally undivable. Viz was non-existent, strong current, etc. Lots of dive groups are with you in the morning and there are no facilities. Bathroom? Food? Water? Fuggetaboutit. Plan ahead!

Sept.15,19&20,2006. 35-45FSW/81*/0-50'vis. SSW swell of 4'-6' stirred up vis and even cancelled a couple of shore dives for us. Even with the surf, the landing was still divable these 3 days. It had been 2 years since we were here last and the road was more rutted than ever. Low clearance sedans may bottom out. With a very short walk, you can park on the road and walk down to the landing. All of the usual suspects were there (see our 2004 report) along with some new sightings for us. Our first day the surf was 3-4' and vis was 50'. The large Honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle) and Dragon Moray Eel were highlights. The second day the vis was poor but not too poor to watch a Spotted Eagle Ray circle overhead as we anchored the dive flag at 25FSW. Guess it felt a little protected with the low vis? Surge was heavy today with many leaves blown/washed into the cove. One leaf that wasn't moving caught our attention and turned out to be a Leaf Scorpionfish (black) on the right side of the landing. The third day the surge was less and the vis seemed better to the left of landing. Here we found our first of two Tiger Moray Eels. Still a wonderful shore dive with friendly dive masters and students to keep you company. Mornings are more busy than afternoons. Thanks to Sea Sport Divers for convenient and reliable rentals.

I was lucky enough to live on Kauai from 1994 to 1999 and dove Koloa Landing no less than 40 times. It is a wonderful dive and is a must for anyone wanting to get in an inexpensive quality dive. The entry is a old boar ramp and rocks beyond; leave the fins off until you get in the water and go from there. There is an excellent reef to the right and a shore wall to the left; an anchor and chain are out about 150 yards. Many fish and reef creatures to be found. A great night dive can be had here, as well.

This was the 7th and 8th time I dove this site. Entry is easy. This is a great training site, which is why it is used a lot by local dive operators for that purpose. Open area to the front and right, reef to the left. On this day, the viz was very low, especially at the landing due to a South Swell. Lots and lots of marine life. Very cool dragon moray eel. Tons of white spot damselfish protecting their colonies of algae, and sergeant major protecting its purple eggs. I also saw a large school of convict tang. To see the abundant marine life, you need to go really slowly.

Harlequin shrimp, dragon morays, dwarf morays, devil scorpionfish, titan scorpionfish, leaf scorpionfish, spotted eagle rays, peacock flounders, frog fish, and many more rare creatures for the trained eye.

This was our first dive in Kauai. It was suggested to us from the dive shop right down the road. At first I thought I was at home diving in Rockport, MA, big boulders and poor vis. We Dove to the left of the boat ramp. At first I was disappointed, but then I started to dig into the crevasses. We saw two species of nudibrancs without trying, octopus, plenty of Moray eels. After talking to someone who has lived here a while, I understand the coral is much worse than it was ten years ago. If you are up for a swim, I hear there's a healthier reef out about 250 yards that starts at 45' and drops from there. Ask the local shop about it before you commit to that swim. I wasn't disappointed but after diving the Big Island, there's no comparison.

Lot of shore divers use this spot. We were there in late April 2005. I stopped there every day. Conditions were always bad. Maybe just the time of year. Talked to other divers. They did see some turtles. Water at surface was very dirty. Love to snorkel, Gary

I'm an advanced scuba diver. My wife is an avid snorkeler. We were in Kauai in April, 2005. At that time it appeared that wherever we went on the island the surf was up and wind blowing on shore. Weird, I know. Not heavy surf (3'-5') but not good conditions for snorkeling or shore diving. The surfers were loving it! North shore was undiveable for the first three days, so we went to the south side first. My wife went in and came right back out - too rough and poor vis for snorkeling. Koloa Landing is a great place for new divers. Shore entry is VERY easy. Just gear up at the car, walk down the old boat ramp into waist deep water w/ BC partially inflated, squat & put on your fins and go. The ramp has deep grooves about 3" wide and 2"-3" inches deep so walk carefully as footing may be slippery and unstable. Semi-hard or hard sole booties are a must for shore diving anyway. Due to the conditions in this Mid April, there was plenty of parking a few yards from the water. That might not be the case when conditions are good or in "high season". Even if you have to park up on the street, it's only about 50 yds down a slight grade thru the parking area to the water. The surf had churned up so much that the vis was poor by Hawaii standards (about 5'-12'). I went to the right (Southwest). The reef didn't have much plant life on it, mostly rock. Depth was 30' or less. A few fish here & there. I could hear whales off in the distance. A very easy dive even in poor conditions. Overall not a great dive that day. But any dive in Kauai is better than being at work! It's definitely worth checking out especially as a first dive or if you haven't been diving in a while. Old Koloa Town is just up the road & there are two dive shops for air, etc. Loved it!

Did a two tank afternoon dive on 04.13.05. There are two distinct dives at this location. Left was a very fishy "pile" of reef, highlighted by turtles, a very large moray and spotted eagle ray. On the dive to the right expect fingerlike outcroppings of reef. We were blessed to have a small pod of whales pass by near enough to hear them talking to each other. A must dive on Kauai.

When we were visiting Kauai we dove Koloa landing at least 10 times. Access into the water is very easy, however you have to be a bit careful as the ramp is a bit slippery and falling with all of your gear on could hurt pretty badly. Once out near the reef you can go either left or right, both equally nice. There is a ton of reef and we saw a huge variety of animals. Lots of eels and turtles, but also some harlequin shrimp, trumpet fish, etc. I would recommend doing this dive at least once with a guide (we used Mana Divers, but would also recommend Fathom Five) but after getting comfortable with the site it's easy to do on your own. The drive down is a bit bumpy, but just go slow… real slow. Dive shops are located pretty close to this spot as well. We went to Fathom Five for fills and would recommend them as they are a small operation (just supporting the little guy). Overall Koloa is a great spot, and every time we went out we saw something new and exciting. Depths never get much more than 50', probably 30' on average, and there is lots to see in a short distance so you can hang around and get the most out of your air. All of our dives were at least an hour long. If you're staying on Kauai for a while check out Koloa and you'll probably want to keep coming back.

Oct. 3&4,2004 36-42'FSW/80-81*F/70'vis. Short, bumpy road but 4x4 not required. If this area is full, drop gear off and park on the road. The entry couldn't be easier! We did 3 dives here and definitely prefer going to the right of the entry. The left had very little coral and a few fish. The right was full of a variety of coral and fish. DRAGON, DWARF, UNDULATED, WHITE MOUTH AND YELLOW MARGIN MORAYS. To find the Dragon Moray, look for its black/white spotted body folded into the holes of the coral heads at about 15' FSW. Then you can look for its head which is an incredible sight. We always saw its head lower than its folded body (not sticking out like other morays). There is a cement block in the middle of the bay at 15' FSW to anchor dive flag. Tanks and weights rented at Seasport Divers .3 mile away. Ask for extra O-rings as 2 of our tanks needed new ones.

First visit to these islands and I can highly recommend Kauai. This was a guided shore dive with Mana Divers. Brian was a great dive master and his briefing was very complete. We ended up doing some boat dives with Mana (Sara Rules!) and I again give them my highest rating. A small family run shop who took GREAT care of us. This is a 30 foot dive but there was a lot to see. Turtles and a small, but beautiful, white tipped shark. So if you're in Kauai give Mana a call.

Very cool dive site, if you slow down and look around. Tired of people comparing this dive site to that one. There is a breeding colony of dragon eels here. Very cool stuff: leaf scorpion fish, schools of ahol'e ahol'e fish that will block out the sun, and of course the normal amount of hawai'i turtles. All kinds of endemic species here. Slow down and look into every nook and corner of the rubble as there is a lot of life here.

Very good dive....a lot to see, great vis, (compared to Pacific Northwest), plenty of fish life, a lot of eels, etc....dove this site 6-8 dives in one week, something new every dive. My 16 yr old son did his cert dives here, with the LDS.. Seasport Dive Shop, Jason was his instructor, and he was fantastic. My wife, son, and I thoroughly enjoyed this dive site. Very easy entry, good vis, plenty of sea life, great dive shop close by!!

One of the nicer shore dives on the south side. Shallow swim out to the reef where large turtles like to hang out right at the entrance.

This is a nice site for winter diving on Kauai, entry is easy and you can park next to the water (the road is really not that bad). Koloa landing was a nice site to see turltes and eels it is shallow so its common to get an hour and 15 minute bottom times. We saw many Cert classes gearing up on our dives, but they seem to stay away from the reef so don't let them scare you off. The best part of the reef is to the right after entering the water. Take your time and look for small critters in the coral and you will find lots of fun stuff.

Have dove here 10 times. Always something to see. Cool place to meet other divers.

My wife and I take several dive trips a year and usually take one of our three kids with us each time. For this trip to Kauai we took our newly certified 10 year old son. He was a new diver and only had about 10 open water dives logged at the time. We dove this site a total of 12 times the 2 weeks we were on Kauai. It was easy diving all the way. The site is only about 1 mile "down the hill" from a LDS (Seasport Divers). Do your dive, drive up to the shop and by the time you get your tanks filled, your surface interval is done and you're ready to dive Koloa landing again! The dive spot is 100 yards or so off the paved road down a rutted dirt road. We had no problem getting a rental car in and out- but go slow. The parking area is rocky, so a dive mat helps to stand on while changing. Gear up and walk down a gently inclined cement ramp into the water. Watch your step as the ramp can be a little slick. After a short kick out drop down onto a small wall at about 25 feet depth and head either right or left along the rock reef. The bottom slopes down from there. Good diving either direction. Check a compass bearing and watch the current for a moment prior to descending and if you initially head into the current you'll have an easy swim back to the exit point. This is not Bonaire, but we had 40-50 foot viz consistently. When the trade winds kick up, the viz will drop to 10-20 feet due to surge and chop. Hawaiian reefs are a bit more beat up than some places in the world, but these weren't bad. Fair numbers of fish and lots of big turtles for us. We have some great video of my son swimming with the sea turtles. My 10 year old had a blast here and I think most new divers will enjoy this site as well!

Did a night dive here in Dec 02. Nice entry, although the concrete ramp is a bit slippery, went out the left side of the horseshoe - look at the arial photo - out to about where that boat is, then cut across the neck, and returned up the other side of the shoe. Viz was decent, a little surge, but not bad. Saw plenty of life - eels, leaf fish, lobster. Pretty decent for a shore dive.

Dove here twice (Nov 9 & 10 - 2002). The dirt road down is kind of steep, and has big potholes. Not recommended for rental cars. We got down it, but had a hard time getting back out. Lots of scraping. :) Luckily, the top has lots of room parking and the walk is only about 50 yards. The diving here was excellent. I did a boat dive the day before and this dive was easily as good. We ran into other divers only once while out there. Saw a ray (in the distance) several turtles, and a beautiful spotted Moray eel. The landscape is made up of small to huge sized boulders on either side of the sand channel. Plenty of places for critters to hide. Bring a small light to shine into the cracks. Go slow. You'll find all sorts of interesting animals hiding in there. That's how I found the eel. He was hiding deep in the crack but after I found him and shined the light at him a bit he came out to say hello - or maybe it was "go away" - but either way, I got a great view. Max depth 35ft. My dad was having problems equalizing on our second dive so we spent the entire dive at 15 ft. underneath the snorkelers. Plenty to see at this depth, too. Vis was 50-70 (typical for Nov in Kauai) and just as good as our boat dive. No beach, though, for non-divers/non-snorkelers.

Koloa is a shore divers dream. I've dove this site over 30 times in the this summer and I still find new critters, you just have to have to slow down and take your time. My last dive was 82 minutes and we saw several eels, a couple large turtles, saddleback butterflies, long nose butterflies, titan scorpion fish, leaf scorpion fish, a green lion fish, a school of giant cornet fish, a dozen blue trevely attacking a school of big eyed scad, and a resident baby eagle ray named "Koloa". Those who poo poo should slow down and take their time to let the marine life come to them. If you dive quickly like a predator, the critters will react like prey.

I dove Koloa on guided dives in both 1990 and 2000. I went in June both times. Calm in 1990 with no surge. This was a refresher shore dive for both husband and me. 2000 was very different with heavy surf and surge. It did not help I had torn my ACL before in the surf at Brennecke's. Mana Divers guided me in 2000. The guide was very accommodating, seeing as how I was in a brace! Plus, I had not done an open water dive since 1990. I did take a refresher course here in TN before going to Kauai. We saw several turtles, but the vis worsened minute by minute. The resort diver kept leaving the group and I spent lots of time going back and forth with the surge while the guide searched for him. The diving here was great in 1990. Hubby did not get to dive with me because of ear problems. I did not get to dive with him on Maui due to sinus problems. Going back this year (2002) for 2 weeks in August. Hubby and I will probably dive there again this year, hopefully together!

Good site for beginner. However, beginner comments are over enthusiastic. There are not great coral heads here. Lava boulders, outcrops, etc. For coral and marine life, south pacific or other areas. Some turtles, more at Sheraton caverns.

Rather ordinary, but then again I had just got back from Palau

I recently completed my open water cert. with Mana Divers at this location. (They are great!) I now dive this site frequently since I live just down the road. A pair of spotted eagle rays hang out to the left of the entry. There are hundreds of eels, all sizes and variety, they come out more toward dusk. Another name for the landing is Turtle Cove. There are many large turtles on both sides of the horseshoe shaped reef. Look closely, they blend in like rocks on the bottom. There are lots of reef fish, sea stars and other critters to make friends with. The coral formations are beautiful. Night dives here are fun. Rub the rocks and they will glow. On my first night dive I felt something behind me and when I turned around and there was a huge turtle checking me out.

A very good shore dive for beginners. You can unload your equipment right at the water's edge. The visibility, surf conditions and entry from this site were problem free. The reef is horse shoe shaped extending out on the left and right side of the entry point. A good safe location for scooter dives. Dive Kauai has excellent dive masters for guided tours and scooter dives. Lots of large turtles, a wide variety of moray eels, spotted eagle rays and beautiful reef fish. Koloa Landing is a very relaxing shore dive site. So easy to do...So much to see.

Did the open water portion of my PADI BOW in Kauai with all four dives out of this location. Spent a significant amount of time exploring the reefs to the right and left of the entry. Fantastic marine life, including several turtles and many varieties of eels. November of 2000: Surge was minimal, almost no surf. Cove is, in general, very well protected. A very good beginner dive site.

Dragon Eels!!! Turtles! Huge coral heads. Good place for training. Plenty of reef to explore, left or right of the entry. SeaSports Divers close by for easy fills. Could also easily kayak to Sheraton Caverns on calm day.