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For Divers since 1975 The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 |
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Wanna Dive Kona/Kona Coast Resort II, Apr, 2008,by Randi Dillow, CA, USA ( Reviewer 3 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 4078.
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No photos available at this time | |||
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Accommodations |  |
Food |  |
| Service and Attitude | |
Environmental Sensitivity | N/A |
| Dive Operation | |
Shore Diving |  |
| Snorkeling | N/A | ||
Overall Rating |
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| Value for $$ | N/A | ||
| Beginners | |
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| Advanced |  |
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| Comments | Wanna Dive Kona is a small (6-pack) dive operator who runs a 25-foot newly refurbished boat out of Honokohau Harbor (where most of the operators in Kona depart). We did 6 days of 2-tank dives the last week in April. Owner (Steve)and divemasters (Bob and Kathy) provided an excellent experience for our 3 divers and one rider. We were pretty much confined to sites north of Honokohau Harbor due to weather, but saw schooling spinner dolphins every day above water, and on one day about 25 of them paid us a visit underwater. It was pretty spectacular. We also saw one manta, a white tip reef shark, a large leatherback turtle and two spotted eagle rays. The water was a little colder than we anticipated and the "vog" hanging over Kona kept the sun from warming us up between dives. Steve was kind enough to provide us with thermal protection (no extra charge) and we got through our 60 to 70 minute dives without freezing to death. Steve provides a sandwich lunch every day, as well as drinks and snacks. He includes gear storage, set up and rinsing at the conclusion. Divemaster Bob is the first divemaster I have run into in a long time who really loves what he does and was very knowledgeable and excited about the sites and fish we encountered. Steve gave us an excellent price for the diving and charged about half of what everyone else in Kona charges for a rider. In fact, my husband wasn't feeling well and decided on short notice to sit out one of the dive days on deck mid-week and Steve only charged him the rider rate for that day (unheard of in Kona). A couple of the days we had the boat to ourselves, but on days we had one or two additional divers, the boat was very comfortable for all aboard. We highly recommend Wanna Dive Kona. If I have anything negative to say it would be that he gets kind of a late start (we met at 9:00 every morning and didn't leave until closer to 9:30). That put us back on shore at about 2:30 to 3:00 every day. We didn't mind because we came there to dive, not sightsee. We didn't notice any difference in the water conditions in the afternoon as compared with the morning. We have been diving in Kona before (with Jack's Dive Locker) and prefer the small boat experience and attitude of Wanna Dive Kona any day. When I was researching dive operators before the trip, one of the larger operators (Kona Honu) actually told me they don’t have a 6-day package and would not give us the same price for the 6th day of diving as the previous 5. The sixth day was going to cost $10 MORE than the 5 previous dive days. Unbelievable. Steve’s website provides good restaurant recommendations and you should also check out his blog. | ||
Reporter and Travel |
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| Dive Experience | 251-500 dives | ||
| Where else diving | Belize Atolls, Cayman Brac/Little Cayman, San Salvador Bahamas, South Caicos, Grand Turk, Cozumel, Sea of Cortez, Monterey Bay | ||
| Closest Airport | Getting There | ||
Dive Conditions |
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| Weather | cloudy | Seas | calm |
| Water Temp | 75-77°F / 24-25°C | Wetsuit Thickness | 3 |
| Water Visibility | 60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M | ||
Dive Policy |
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| Dive own profile | yes | ||
| Enforced diving restrictions | Return with 500 pounds of air. Depth isn't much of an issue in Kona. | ||
| Liveaboard? | no | Nitrox Available? | N/A |
What I Saw |
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| Sharks | 1 or 2 | Mantas | 1 or 2 |
| Dolphins | Schools | Whale Sharks | None |
| Turtles | 1 or 2 | Whales | None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Corals | |
Tropical Fish | |
| Small Critters | |
Large Fish | |
| Large Pelagics | |
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Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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| Subject Matter | |
Boat Facilities | |
| Overall rating for UWP's | N/A | Shore Facilities | N/A |
| UW Photo Comments | Camera rinse tank on board. | ||
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above. |
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