Anonymous's Dive Log

This place is awesome! Absolutely teaming with life. Lots of live corals. Immense amount and diversity of fish, saw multiple turtles every time we snorkeled here. Some highlights include a massive hawksbill turtle, 4 foot uku, spotted eel chasing a bar jack, yellow trumpet fish. Depths vary from 2' over certain coral heads to maybe 25' in deeper parts. Most areas we covered were 15' or less which was great for snorkeling or shallow dive downs. Vis was probably 50'. We've shore snorkeled around 50 sites worldwide including Bonaire, Maldives, Indonesia, Turks and Caicos, Australia. Honolulu bay is definitely in the top 5 best ever shore sites in my book now. Highly recommended!!

Dove with my wife Katie. Conditions were perfect lot's of fish to see with beautiful Arch's and pinnacles and large patches of white sand and no current. Very easy to enter and exit the water.

Great place to dive! Easy to find at the end of the harbor road, just past gas station/convenience store. Read the reviews- and gear up at your car, then climb the lava the 150ft to water. Great place to practice your navigation skills and reef and marine life is plentiful! No facilities and watch out for remnants from the puppies that play on the beach ; )

SUPER easy entry/exit at the '2 Step'. Very good for beginners and intermediate divers to practice navigation skills. Going South will take you to plate coral, turtles and tons of fish! North will take you to a beautiful dive and even a Reef Shark den if you are lucky enough to find them home asleep. Arrival in the mornings will bring dolphins that are eager to play and afternoon will bring dolphins that are 1/2 resting and 1/2 swimming. Do be respectful when they are resting- you wouldn't want tons of people screaming and yelling when you are napping ; )

Got there early in the morning, 8:30am. This was our first time diving by ourselves. It was very easy getting in. We had a very enjoyable dive. We saw the ALOHA sign (which is made out of cinder blocks). We took our time and We spent most of our time at 35 to 40 feet swimming over the reefs. When it was time to get out , the waves picked up and this made it a little bit of a challenge to climb up the Two Steps with the waves hitting us. There were about 15 other divers out in the water with us. It was cool running into them as we swam along. So we give it a thumbs up to go and check out

FYI -- As of January 2013, there is a moratorium on most watercraft in Kealakekua Bay, apart from a few licensed, guided kayak tours.

Took my four kids there today, and despite the crowd, and the onshore swell, everyone had fun. Saw a couple of turtles and seals on the beach, the fish are easily found including parrots and angelfish, one eel . The bottom is mostly rock with the occasional coral, not very interesting. But the ease of the entry, the facilities and the ease of the swim make the whole experience effortless. Great for beginners and kids.

Great dive spot, the swim out is a bit far but well worth it, stay to the right along the shore and you will find a first cave that is where there are 5 sleeping white tip sharks and several turtles if you keep going to the right you will come to a second cave known as the bubble cave. To find both caves you will notice that the large rocks become more like gravel and that is where the opening of the cave is. You can enter the cave and surface and chat with your buddy, it's a shallow dive so no problem surfacing. It was filled with turtles, way cool dive. Easy parking and good facilities, one of our divers was ill so stayed on shore and there is a very nice beach and overlook area there as well for non divers.

We dove here 1-17-2013, referred by Ed Robinson Dive shop, great dive operation, visibility was poor there was a south swell and it was quite murky, we swam out to the second reef, nice dive but not my favorite.

Just got some new gear and decided to try it out at Ulua. This has a very easy beach entry, parking is readily available if you get there early. Showers and restrooms are available which is nice for rinsing off your gear after the dive. Reef life depends on time of year and water conditions. Have seen this with an abundant amount of marine life and other times with very little. Usually there are Sergeant Majors, convict tang, pinktail triggerfish, wrasses, turtles, trumpetfish, coronetfish, smaller bluefin trevally, and smaller parrotfish. On occasion we have seen large parrotfish, large Ulua (trevally or skipjacks), milkfish, frogfish, spotted rays, and whitetip reef sharks. Depth is fairly shallow for scuba (max was about 40'). Good place for underwater photography when fish are abundant. Better for snorkeling than scuba, but great for beginner divers.

A map of the dive site is available at Jacks Diving Locker but you really don't need one. Easy parking, tables to gear up at, short walk to water, fall in, nothing easier. Visibility excellent, no surge or current, tons of life and easily navigable. Topography a bit boring so recommend taking a compass heading. Exiting among tons of kids and snorkelers onto steps was more challenging than the dive.

I went snorkeling here from June 2-5. Conditions on the 4th were amazing--crystal clear water, visibility from top to bottom--coral in yellow, red and black. Lots of fish. Sadly, the following day I encountered surge conditions that kicked up sand so it was like snorkeling in pea soup. Currents made it dicey and I'm a novice so I exited after just a few minutes.

As mentioned in an earlier review, watch out for Buddy Dive's boats. We were told during orientation that all boat captains look out for divers' bubbles. Not so. Heading toward the designated exit stairs, I found a boat only a few feet overhead (prop turning). There were several other divers nearby and upon exiting I noticed that the dock where the boats usually tie up was empty. Someone is bound to get seriously injured (or worse) if this dangerous activity continues!

This is a great snorkeling location. We went back a second time it was so good. As we paddled out we were met by a large (30-40) pod of Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. Lots of reef life once you reach the monument. You can now beach your kayak on shore. If you swim out past the area where the kayak rental shops tell you to beach, there is a cool undersea arch that is fun to swim through (watch out for the black wana though).

Snorkeling was excellent just west of the tombolo. We snorkeled on the east side of the tombolo and only saw a few fish. Once we got on the other side of the tombolo, all of a sudden there were countless varieties of fish swimming the area. Entry is best right in the middle in front of the tombolo where there are no rocks.

If you want to see turtles this is the place! Turtles of all sizes were seen on this site. We did several dives here in late December 2007. Easy parking, very short walk, facilities and a very easy beach entry/exit make this a relaxing dive site. The turtles, fish and abundant swim-throughs, arches and caves make it an interesting site to return to multiple times. We also saw several 5-6 foot white tip reef sharks relaxing in the caves. Fish and invertebrate life includes: moorish idols, many varieties of butterfly fish and wrasses, crabs, brittle stars, nudibranchs and flatworms, trunkfish, eels and more. This is also a popular place for snorkelers. You'll get long bottom times here as you don't have to go beyond 35 feet to enjoy the spectacular variety of life. Enjoy!

Although a wall dive is always fun. Black Rock suffers greatly from over exposure to people. For rounding the point, north to south, this is a beginner dive or intermediate snorkel. The north side (best entrance) has a lackluster entry (sand bordered by a man-made jetty) shifting to a reasonable natural wall as you round the first point. The best views are right on the wall. Look for small fish, eels and corals in the nooks and cranny's. Small turtles frequently visit the wall near the surface to feed (we saw two). Watch for a large alcove on the main face of the wall. Not much to see but fun to stick your head in. The problems occur as you approach the south side and the exit. The visibility drops from 50-60 feet to 10-20 feet and the number of people climbs to unbearable levels. More turtles can be found in the shallows against the rock but in this area, they will be mobbed by tourist snorkels with no respect for any animal (You included. Lots of pushing and shoving to get that photo with the turtle). I found better snorkeling and diving, a half mile to the north at old airport beach. Free parking, easy access, shower, shallow beginner dive (eels and octopus plus a wide variety of fish).

Getting to the site was an absolute nightmare! All the major hotels have taken up access to the beach and parking is far from the dive site and expensive. We were very disappointed.

Dove this site 4 times on recent trip. Always something different. Saw eagle rays, eels, etc. Nice cave out to left with sleeping turtles and other creatures. Be sure to wave to the people on the dive boats that anchor there, since they paid $125 for a 300 yard boat ride from the harbor to dive the same site you're shore diving. If you're renting tanks from Jack's, it's really easy to swap out at their harbor shop before or after your dive.

Get there early (and preferably on a weekday) to find parking. I saw a pretty big whitetip cruising the reef near the drop off. Great site if you have both divers and snorkelers in your group.

Enter at Makuliea after walking down the stairs. There is beach access and plenty of stuff to see along the way to Honolua.

Lots of fun!

Due to its popularity with many of the people here on the Big Island, the bottom conditions and the reef, while still good compared to other states with a more "urban" condition, are incredibly poor when compared to many of the more remote locations on the island where fewer people go. You need to head out for quite a while before the bottom conditions become better, due to the lower human traffic further out.

Good site for Hilo diving!

Info on Scuba Kiosk at Sheraton: Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00pm. Tank and weights: $22.50. Sheraton-Maui Concierge (808)662-8135 Direct. Hawaii law also requires a dive flag.

Lots of turtles and lots of fish!

Excellent unless there is surf. Entry can be slippery.

First 100 ft. or so has a lot of silt due to a small creek that enters the bay on the left side of the shore. After that, the snorkeling is great in the clear water. Colorful coral and fish abound as well as several turtles. Bring your underwater camera!

Great dive site except for the cement block graffiti; you would think local divers and divers from around the world would not allow such a disgrace. Whoever dropped the cement blocks down there smashed the reef with dozens of them, and in such a beautiful environment why would we want to read 'ALOHA' and some ass's initials?

Incredible fish diversity (the most species I have seen in one area on this island), frequented by honu/green sea turtles. There are nice corals in the deeper far end of the cove. Great place for snorkelers of all experience, no need to scuba. Rocks protect most of the cove, so even when the ocean is rough, you can still swim there just fine, but visibility drops. Haven't checked it out at night yet. Has a nice black sand beach to lounge on, but it can get crowded with lots of children. Bathrooms are okay, has outdoor showers. Please don't step on the corals! :0

A little bumpy going in but, once past the shallow water, I enjoyed one of my best snorkeling dives ever. A virtual aquarium of fish. Once past the reef you find yourself in deeper water with a terrific level of visibility. My best dive in Hawaii was of the southern point below the boat hoists. I went in with calm seas and was fine. This is not an area for a beginner at all.

No bugs, no cars broken into, or broken glass for that matter. You need to get there by 10AM or so, or the parking fills up quickly as space is limited. Getting in and out of the water's a little tricky due to round rocks near shore. There's not much to see in the middle, but along the sides snorkeling is great. Lots of turtles, eels, butterfly fish, parrot fish.....the list goes on. Go to the blowhole at mile marker 38 after snorkeling at this location.

Aloha, we went in the morning we were about 60ft when we encountered pods of spinner dolphins about 200 yards from entry. We saw a white tip shark and the rest of fish life was plentiful.

Have dove this site many times, for its visibility and ease of access. Hardly any beach, so sand doesn't get stirred up. Mucho turtles, spinner dolphins, and long finned anthias on south side. One of my favorite sites. Go early and avoid the crowds and snorkel boats.

Good place for snorkeling. Care should be taken near the rocks as the surf can be strong.

Go in the morning before the crowds arrive. We went 30 to 60 minutes after sunrise, and pretty much had the place to ourselves. Turtles are seen often, which was a highlight. Fish are plentiful, but not teeming. We went once in the afternoon, when it was crowded with people, many of them poor swimmers with only rented masks and snorkels (no fins!). I was a lifeguard for 3 years, and had to tow one woman to shore who was in trouble in 50 feet of water. Two days later, a man drowned (and died) at the very same spot (February, 2004). I've snorkeled the Bahamas and Puerto Rico, and consider them to be much better (far more color and more fish). But try Black Rock and see for yourself. Just not in the afternoon. And wear fins. I also found a light full body wetsuit to be a big help protect from slightly chilly water, and also the sun. But 95% of the other people I saw wore only trunks and meager (rented) gear.

Did this as a night dive many years ago - thought it outrageous. Saw 3 types of scorpion fish, the mother of all turtles, and much much more. A very memorable dive. Did this by snorkel more recently. 3 spotted eagle rays greeted me upon entry. Even the hotels and tourists cannot scr*w this up! I have done this snorkel several times. Just beautiful - rainbows over the Maui mountains. PS. if you start at the north Sheraton side and dive/snorkel towards the Sheraton you can sneak a hot tub at the hotel.

Watch out for the barracuda in the murky shore entrance. A friend was bit this week and ended up with six inch gash on his arm that required 40 stitches and now has a 1 in 3 chance of further infection. Once you get to the clear water though I understand that this is the most beautiful spot to snorkel.

Favorite dive spot for ten years now...

Thanks! We had a beautiful day. The beach has shade trees and everybody can snorkel. Ease of entry and approach to the reef was great.

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We found this to be a good site to snorkel. We saw lots of fish, and lots of different varieties. The site provided good underwater photo ops as well. We also saw an endangered Monk Seal on the beach while we were there.

Best beach on the East side of the Big Island.

Great place and near town.

Great location for beginning diving.

Great location for beginning diving.