The Big Island’s Kona district extends for about 60 miles. On shore, you’ll find historic Hawaiian landmarks, coffee plantations, and beautiful coconut groves. Below the clear, warm water, you’ll encounter spinner dolphins, green sea turtles, and plenty of other incredible aquatic life! Whether you are brand new to diving, or if you’ve been keeping a log for decades, you’re sure to love all the wonderful things this magnificent coastline has to offer. Let’s take a peek!
Garden Eel Cove
Home to the world-famous Manta Ray night dive, Garden Eel Cove is one of those places you’ve just got to visit at least once while you are diving in Hawaii. At 62 feet below the surface, the golden, sandy bottom is home to hundreds of curious garden eels. As you come up to 35 feet, you’ll find the rubble and sand area where a “campfire ring” of stationary lights have been installed to attract the plankton and Manta rays at night. There are fantastic coral formations to each side of this feature, where you will find a plethora of fish and invertebrates everywhere you look.
During the Manta Ray night dive, rays from 5 to 16 feet across circle over the divers who have positioned themselves around the “campfire”. Be sure to bring your camera!
Golden Arches
Two massive rock arches covered in coral and teeming with fish and invertebrate life are the main attraction here! The arches get their name from the schools of Blue Striped Snapper that are always in attendance. Near the arches, a boulder field, patches of sand, and scattered coral heads offer shelter to a variety of other fish and invertebrates. Watch for everything from reef sharks to octopus as you explore. Depths are between fifty and sixty-five feet, and visibility is exceptional at 100 feet or better.
Suck-Em Up
You’ll find two fantastic caves here, both of which can be swum through. The site is adjacent to Lone Tree Arch, which features a wonderful underwater rock bridge, and it is a great place to encounter white tip reef sharks, turtles, and the occasional pod of spinner dolphins. Suck ‘em up cavern features a large opening on the south end and a smaller opening on the north end, which creates a sweeping current that pulls you through the cave. Inexperienced divers should stay out of this cavern, but they can visit Skull Cave, which is right next door. This is really like a large underwater amphitheater coated in sponges and orange cup coral, and teeming with Red Squirrel Fish and other colorful life, plus it is a good place to see puffer fish and porcupine fish hiding in the darkened areas beneath the ledges. Maximum depth is 60 feet, and while the site is suitable for all divers when the weather is calm, it is not diveable in heavy weather. Watch for octopus and eels!
Turtle Pinnacle
Schools of surgeon fish operate a cleaning station here, among some very lovely pinnacles. The coral growth is magnificent, and besides the surgeons, there are plenty of goatfish, squirrelfish, butterfly fish, angelfish, and others to keep you company as you explore. This site was used for part of the filming of the IMAX movie “Coral Sea 3D”, and as the name suggests, it is teeming with turtles, some of which are quite large. They nibble at the corals as they wait their turn to be attended to, and as maximum depth is just 55 feet and you can see well from even shallower depths, this is a long and leisurely dive for all to enjoy. Visibility is usually 100 feet or better.
Nai’a
With depth at about 60 feet depending on the tide, plus visibility at better than one hundred feet, Nai’a is a wonderful site for all divers to visit. The name is Hawaiian for “dolphin”, and it is well known as the place where the spinner dolphins rest and relax during the morning hours. Be sure to bring your camera – even if the dolphins don’t come up to get a good look at you, you will be able to see them clearly from a distance – visibility here is normally better than 100 feet!
Whether you have the opportunity to enjoy just one of these sites, or if you have time to explore them all, be sure to book your trip well in advance. Diving on the Kona coast is popular, especially during the spring and fall, and charters do book quickly! You’ll come away with a new perspective on life, and chances are, you’ll be looking forward to your next diving vacation in Hawaii.