The in-water portion of the certification process takes 2-3 days. The PADI e-Learning can be done online and may take several days to a few weeks to complete. If you are planning on getting SCUBA certified with us, we recommend having your PADI e-Learning completed prior to being on-island. Please call regarding continuing education classes, as these have different schedules.

If you've been certified with PADI, SSI, SDI, NAUI, or any other valid agency, we can take you diving. However, we can look up your certifications if you do not have your certification card. Please, bring your card!

You must be 10 years or older to get SCUBA certified.

PADI’s recommendation for flying or driving to altitude after diving within the No-Decompression Limits (regular recreational diving) are as follows:

Single dives - A minimum pre-flight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested.

Repetitive dives and/or multiple day dives - A minimum pre-flight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.

Please note that staying further north than Waikoloa or further south than Captain Cook involves driving to elevation that is not safe after SCUBA diving. Returning to Hilo after a manta ray night dive is NOT possible the same night. Please plan your dives and lodging accordingly!

Diving on the Kona coast offers clear water, with 80 to 100 feet of visibility not uncommon. We have a variety of healthy hard corals, as well as many endemic fish that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The volcanic nature of the island results in unique underwater structures such as walls, pinnacles, archways, and steep ledges. Our Divemasters love to look for eels, nudibranchs, octopus, frogfish, and other varieties of marine life.

We have over 30 dive sites to choose from along the Kona Coast. The captain and boat crew will choose the dive site choices in the morning based on ocean conditions (current, swell, wind, visibility). The Manta Ray Night Charter and Twilight / Manta Ray Night Charter takes place at Garden Eel Cove (northern Airport site) unless ocean conditions or manta sightings dictate otherwise. If you are diving with us for multiple days, we try to rotate through different dive sites so you can see new things on each dive as long as the conditions of the water are desirable.

Proof of certification is required for all SCUBA dives - no exceptions. If you cannot find your dive card, we may be able to look up your certification in your dive agency's online database. Please call our shop directly to verify that we are able to locate your certification prior to your arrival. If you do not have your certification card, a photo ID will be required upon check-in or we are not able to allow you to dive.

We do not end the dive with the quickest breather, guests will be allowed to dive their tank until they reach 700psi or a dive time of 60 minutes, whichever comes first. The Manta Ray Night Dive and Black Water Night Dive spend 45 minutes underwater.

We group snorkelers and divers together on our manta ray charters, so your group can stick together even if some aren't certified to SCUBA dive.

We recommend against ride-along or snorkeler passengers on our morning dive charters, as guests tend to get seasick and bored waiting for SCUBA divers to complete their dives. We offer morning snorkel charters and can set up a private charter for mixed SCUBA and snorkeler groups.

Masks, snorkels, wetsuits and fins are included for all snorkelers. Masks, fins, air tanks, weights, (and lights for night dive) are included for all divers. Rental dive gear is extra. A full set of dive gear costs $60 per day, plus tax.

Safety is our #1 priority. Therefore, all divers must dive with their own computer on every dive. If you're renting a regulator from us, the console comes with a dive computer. We have very limited number of wrist computers available to rent. If we don't have a wrist computer available for you to rent, you will have to rent a full regulator/computer console.

We have no rule against bringing a dive knife. Knives are used for entanglement situations - we do not have kelp forests in Hawaii, but you may want a knife for fishing line. Knives cannot be used to touch marine life and are not a self-defense tool.

Yep! As long as they meet the dive prerequisites (e.g. 25 logged dives).

As a industry standard, non-certified divers are not permitted to dive at night. The view from the surface as a snorkeler is amazing as well!

The water temperature in Kona ranges depending on the time of year you'll be joining us. Exposure protection is always recommended, but it really depends on where you're used to diving. If you tend to run on the cold side, a full wetsuit is recommended, even a hooded vest.
You can visit http://www.seatemperature.org to check out the water temperature for your visit.