Dive Review of Wanna Dive/Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort in
Hawaii/Kona

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Wanna Dive/Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort, Nov, 2008, by Franklin Mah, CA, USA ( Sr. Reviewer 7 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 4545.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	When I was researching diving in Kona, I was concerned about the large boats and the smaller boats. It seemed like the large boats offered better facilities, but the smaller ones offered more customed dives based on the divers. But then I realized that I have never dove anywhere where there was a large boat with lots of divers. So I went with Wanna Dive and a limit of 6 divers. The main reason? In his posting on scubaboard, he didn't always mentioned his own operations when he could have...and he never trashed or said anything bad about anyone. He also has a blog that gives you a bit about him and various topics including diving and Hawaii. Steve hauls in his boat into the parking lot of the Honakohau Marina at 9am on the days he goes out. The 9am time is good for me because I didn't feel that I had to get up early and rush. From my hotel 10 miles away, I was able to get there in about 20-25 minutes and that is with road construction. Paperwork and equipment transfer takes about 20-30 minutes then we were underway. I had booked for 5 days of diving along with the Manta Ray night dive. On the very first day that I went out, I was the only person. It was basically just Steve and Cathy as the DiveMaster. I really appreciated them taking me out even though they probably didn't make any money that day. It was a good thing because I was trying out a new suit and my mask was leaking so there were problems to resolve. The next day, we had a full boat of 6 divers. Boat size was not a problem, it was not any worse than other boats I have been on. Cathy does a very good job of finding critters and pointing them out. One Eagle Ray she pointed out long before anyone even saw it. She tries to get you under the boat with 500 lbs of air so it does not affect the dive for the divers who can stay longer. After the first dive, they move to the second location and you can drink water, sports drink and eat a sandwich and snacks. Boat returns to the harbor in the 2pm area. They will rinse your equipment in the wash area. It is closer to 2-3pm when you are really out of there. On my third day of diving, we had 5 divers (4 were part of a group). When they said that they were going to take the next day off and do the night dive the following day, that would have left just me on the next day. When I confirmed with Steve that there was no other diver other than me, I decided to skip the next day for the Manta Ray night dive too. Steve was willing to take me the next day but I figured that he already had done it once and I was not going to force him to do it again. I rented a BCD from Wanna Dive rather than bringing my own. That would have required 2 pieces of luggage to be checked in rather than one. That would have also required a $50 payment in total checkin fees for the second piece. Initially United wanted to charge $50 each way but kept it at $25. Still, Steve only charged me $30 for 4 days of rental. That is way cheap! I am glad that I went with Wanna Dive and would do it again. Steve is a man of his word and prices are about the lowest out there. Cathy is just outstanding as a guide for underwater photography.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Cayman, Tahiti, Fiji, Palau, Belize
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas
Water Temp	77-79°F / 25-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Follow in general direction of DM; notify DM when air is 1500 and 600
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Cathy was the DiveMaster during my dives. After getting to the diver site but prior to suiting up for the dive, Cathy takes the time to brief divers about the area and introduce the fish that we might encounter in there. She also brought along a camera. During the dives, she would find and point out the fish for us. Without her doing that, my the photo opportunities would have been half of of what they were. I would say that on every dive, I was able to see various critters that I have never seen before. There is a rinse bucket on the boat.

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Dive Review of Wanna Dive/Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort in Hawaii/Kona

Wanna Dive/Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort, Nov, 2008,

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 Wanna Dive/Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort in
Hawaii/Kona