Dive Review of Sandwich Isle Divers/Hilo Seaside Hotel in
Hawaii/Kailua - Kona

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Sandwich Isle Divers/Hilo Seaside Hotel, Feb, 2013, by Stanislaw Zuk, NY, US ( Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 6885.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Sandwich Isle Divers is a very good and really professional operation. They only take 6 divers on their boat, which makes the diving uncrowded and very pleasant. These guys are very knowledgeable about all marine life around Kona, they are very helpful, very nice, and they will go an extra mile to do many things for divers. On the contrary, the fishlife around Kona is mainly represented by juvenile fish and there is no large pelagics at all. We did encounter large conger eel, a moray eel, frogfish, and some other interesting small species, however, the diving is quite disappointing there. Even in Hilo you had a good number of green turtles, and more fishlife. I wanted to do the manta dive with them, but they said that there were too many boats and mantas were not showing up lately. They were at least honest about what's going on, when other dive operators can just take you for a ride. Sandwich Isle Divers even had the record of how many mantas were showing up each day, and it didn't look promising at all. We know that this is neither Miil Channel in Yap, nor Anau Channel in Bora Bora, where mantas are flying through water in good numbers. If you are in Kona on vacation, and you would like to dive there, you should definitely choose these guys, because this is much better option. There are many contradicting reports regarding diving in Kona, however, diving on Kona Agressor would be definitely a better idea, as it was written by other divers. The Island of Hawaii is still a very beautiful spot, with gorgeous national parks, but in regards to diving it is not Polynesia, Fiji, or Micronesia. On the other hand if you are there you should explore all diving options it has to offer.
Websites	Sandwich Isle Divers Hilo Seaside Hotel
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Panama, Bonaire, Hawaii, Fiji, Cook Islands, Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Fakarava, Toau, Vanuatu, Philippines, Sipadan, Layang Layang, Palau, Yap, Maldives, Thailand, Seychelles, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Qatar, Tanzania, many others...
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	74-77°F / 23-25°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Safety stop
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
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	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
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]

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Dive Review of Sandwich Isle Divers/Hilo Seaside Hotel in Hawaii/Kailua - Kona

Sandwich Isle Divers/Hilo Seaside Hotel, Feb, 2013,

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):

Dive Review of Sandwich Isle Divers/Hilo Seaside Hotel in
Hawaii/Kailua - Kona