Hawaii’s lovely coastline is beautiful, and beneath the waves, you’ll experience even more. With amazing aquatic life, excellent visibility, and usually calm conditions, it goes without saying that a visit to the “Big Island” just wouldn’t be complete without at least a few shore dives! You can experience these shore dive sites on your own, or you can go with one of the many fantastic dive operators. Depending on your experience level and your schedule, you can enjoy just one, or all of these wonderful dive sites. Let’s hit the beach, and take a look!
Place of Refuge
This is an amazing site, where you’ll need to pay just a small fee to enjoy diving to your hearts’ content. Located inside the Honaunau Marine Wildlife preserve, Place of Refuge offers a fantastic lava ledge entry, which can be a little tricky if surface conditions are choppy, but which is very easy most of the time. A word of caution – be careful not to stick your fingers in the ledge’s holes as you slip into the water or pull yourself up later. There are tiny sea urchins living inside, and they will sting you!
Once beneath the water’s surface, you’ll see a sandy patch where someone has spelled out “Aloha” in cinder blocks. There is a fantastic wall of plate coral to your left, and if you head straight out into the bay, you’ll find the bottom of the reef at about 70 feet. To the north, the reef’s bottom edge meets the seabed at about 70 feet. Stick to the shallows if you want to encounter more sea turtles, and keep an eye out for reef sharks, spinner dolphins, and of course, a myriad of fantastically colorful reef fish! The national park has plenty of great amenities and is also a fun place for non-divers to snorkel.
Captain Cook Monument
You can either rent a kayak for all your equipment or you can dive off the wharf in Kealakekua. Either way, you’re heading for the white, obelisk-shaped monument to Captain Cook, which is located across the bay from the main marina area. Locals recommend renting a kayak, since you can pack a lunch and spend the entire day just relaxing and enjoying the reef that surrounds the small island which the monument is located on!
Once you arrive at the reef, you’ll find lots of small fish in the shallows, and plenty of larger ones deeper down. There is a drop off to 30 feet, which leads along the reef, and which is home to green sea turtles. Eventually, the reef meets the ocean floor at a little more than 80 feet. Conditions are usually excellent here, with visibility routinely exceeding 100 feet. Watch for dolphins and reef sharks!
Mile Marker Four
The Mile Marker 4 dive site is named for the mile marker that sits right next to the parking area which borders this small, idyllic bay. Be sure to take a look at conditions before you suit up – if there are waves breaking over the rocks, you won’t be able to dive here, and even if you did risk it, visibility would be awful. If surface conditions are calm, then entry is easy – climb over the rocks, put on your fins once in the water, and then swim out toward the north.
You’ll find lava tubes and coral heads where turtles swim and sleep, and be sure to look in the sandy areas for cone head eels. To the left of the entry area, there is a shark cave, which is situated at the end of a coral canyon. The entry is at about 30 feet, which is the average depth for the entire dive. The area is also home to lots of octopus, triggerfish, and butterfly fish, as well as other colorful tropicals. It’s a great place to encounter spinner dolphins and eagle rays, too! This is a great site for all to enjoy, so long as conditions are favorable.
Old Launch Ramp
The old launch ramp dive site is sometimes called Broken Road or South Point, as the last time it was actually used as a boat launch was before the South American tidal wave of 1960. The area is at its best during spring and fall, and is fantastic to dive during the early morning hours.
After entering to the left of the path that leads from the end of the road at the cliff’s edge to the water’s edge, you can swim to the north and drop down to about 40 feet. Here, the patch reefs are filled with juvenile butterfly fish, flame angelfish and pyramid butterfly fish, bi-color anthias, and loads of eels, including the rare dragon moray eel.
Poho’iki
Located inside the Ahalanui Beach Park, and also called the “Hot Pond”, this site is very popular with swimmers, snorkelers, and families, especially on weekends. Poho’iki is a geothermally heated pool, which is separated from the crashing waves outside the protected area by a man-made lava wall. The wall allows lots of lovely fish to come and go, and it also keeps the water clear and serene all year! The area is at its best once the sun goes down and the picnickers leave – there are plenty of tiny creatures to see, plus you get the opportunity to photograph the fish as they snooze away in the comfort of this 90 degree, aquarium-like environment. Maximum depth is less than 30 feet, and the beach park has loads of amenities.
Leleiwi Beach Park
This site is best for intermediate divers and up, as the rugged coastline can be subject to surge, but on calm days, even novice divers can explore with ease. Leleiwi Beach Park is home to a fantastic array of colorful reef fish, including butterfly fish and tangs, trigger fish and all kinds of wrasse, to name just a few! It is also a great site for turtle and dolphin encounters. The underwater topography is magnificent, with tubes and arches, cliffs, and deep canyons that drop away into the blue. Watch for white tip reef sharks and big pelagic species, and listen for the songs of passing humpback whales as you explore to your heart’s content. Be sure to stay at your own level of experience and training, as there are shallow areas to explore plus some portions of the site which extend to well beyond 100 feet deep.
Whether you are able to enjoy just one, or all of these fantastic Big Island shore dive sites, be sure to bring your underwater camera with you! They all boast excellent visibility and an amazing array of wildlife – you never know what you’ll capture on film!