Dive Review of Nautilus Dive Center in
Hawaii/Hilo

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Nautilus Dive Center, Sep, 2012, by Skip Lynch, MA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 6700.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Owner/dive guide weighted himself heavily, wore gloves, and crawled along the bottom, pawing the live coral mercilessly. I was led to believe I was being taken on a boat dive, but was charged $85 to make two shore dives a few miles down the road. I had all my own equipment, by the way. Another operator charged me $10 for a tank plus one refill, and so I could make the same shore dive myself for a fraction of the price, and without being herded like a sheep. Adding insult to injury, the second shore dive, about 10 minutes after the first, was AT THE SAME SITE! We proceeded at a snail's pace along the bottom (roughing up the coral) and I would receive frantic signals if I swam a short distance away, though in plain sight. Though I didn't participate in the coral-mauling, I was chastised repeatedly for having "stressed" a razorfish, which I admit I approached too closely, causing it to dive into the sand (very cool, though). My advise is to rent a tank and inquire where to dive from shore on your own. Diving on Kona side was better than in Hilo, from what I could tell based on just this site. Kohala Divers was very friendly; they rented me tanks and told me where I could shore dive myself.
Websites	Nautilus Dive Center
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Palau, Fiji, Zanzibar, Kenya, Egypt, Borneo, Costa Rica, both coasts of Mexico, Little Cayman, Grand Cayman, Middle Cayman, Jamaica (ugh), Honduras, Indonesia, Bonaire, Florida
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	79-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50- Ft/ 15- M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Subscriber's Comments

By report author: Skip Lynch in MA, US at Sep 18, 2012 09:51 EST

sorry for spelling error: "advice"

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Dive Review of Nautilus Dive Center in Hawaii/Hilo

Nautilus Dive Center, Sep, 2012,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Nautilus Dive Center in
Hawaii/Hilo