Eric and Carrie were amazing! Our family of four had a wonderful time with a private boat tour. My wife and two adult boys snorkeled while I did a two-tank dive (both of them were a little over 60 minutes!). Eric and Carrie treated us like friends and through our conversations, we actually learned a lot about Kauai marine lives and more! And here's what I entered into my dive log book for reference :) Amazing first dive!! Eric and I dropped down at the deep end at 64 ft, then gradually made our way cruising up the reef. The marine lives were amazing. We saw two white reef tip sharks, a rare Guineafowl puffer, an elusive octopus that squirted ink on us as it tried to escape, an impressive size moray eel, a few turtles, lobster, and many other marine animals that I couldn't remember. Eric has an amazing ability to spot well camouflaged marine lives and I'm very thankful for his encyclopedic knowledge of Hawaiian fishes once we surfaced and Eric shared interesting history and information about the local marine ecosystem. The visibility of the second dive was amazing! The coral shelf was colorful and impressive, with lots of big corals that look super pretty and healthy. Before the dive, Eric spoke about invasive species and one of the notorious ones in Kauai is called the Crown of Thrones starfish, which is a super scary looking starfish with venomous thorn-like spines all over its body. They eat corals!! I asked Eric if we might see one, and he said he will try to look for one. And voila!! We stumbled upon a smaller one but it looks scary enough. Eric explained that one needs to be caught and killed with special training and equipment because its spikes are venomous and it would spawn when under attack, which might cause a bigger problem for the coral reef. In addition to the scary starfish, we also saw lobster, green turtles, and at the end of the dive, a very hard-to-spot but very cool to look at frog fish. I don't even know how Eric can spot it. It looks just like a piece of leave! Our boat was literally surrounded by green turtles when we all got back to the boat! All in all, another gorgeous dive!! read more

Eric and Carrie were awesome! We had two great dives. I had trouble equalizing in the beginning and Eric was very helpful. We saw a monk seal and her pup, two octopuses, turtles, beautiful coral and tons of marine life. Eric was an encyclopedia of information. On the second dive we saw spinner dolphins as well. We would highly recommend Garden Isle Divers to anyone interested in diving. read more

We had two dives scheduled with Eric but the wind and rain spoiled our plans. Though we did not get an opportunity to dive Eric did a superb job reaching out with proactive communication. He kept us abreast of the "why" and how our visibility in the water would have been significantly reduced. He again reached out after the first cancellation and offered to give it a try again the next day. We met at the "Koloa Landing" site where we met him. He gave us a report and his honest opinion of the conditions. Ultimately he gave us the choice but mentioned the visibility would be 5-10 ft at most. We really appreciated his honesty and passion for diving. This experience makes us want to come back. He gave us a list of things and beaches to do. I had originally picked him because of the favorable yelp reviews and he did not disappoint. Mahalo! read more

My sons (ages 18 & 17) and I did two shore dives with Eric last month. What an amazing experience! We are all certified, but none of us had dived in a long time. BCD?? What's that? Eric was super patient when reviewing what we would need to know, and answered all my questions. The diving was the highlight of our trip. We got to see turtles, and rays, and schools of fish. Not only was the dive fabulous, but Eric was such a nice person. I recommend Garden Isle Divers, and hope to someday dive with them again. read more

Diving with Garden Isle Divers is a fantastic experience - to quote Eric, the dive master and one of the two owners, "Best in Show". He and his partner Carrie take such good care of their dive groups, and its easy to see that they are passionate about what they do. One of the running themes of our dives when I joined was that what is considered "best" is going to vary, based on personal tastes in various categories. That rang true to me (hence the following review will be arranged as such), with the caveat that I've never had a bad day if I'm able to scuba. :) Dive Group Size: When I joined them on 8/16, it was as a solo diver with ~100+ dives under my belt, renting all my equipment, with my last dive ~1 year ago. We met on at the Port Allen docks, where their boat was moored, and I found out that it would just be 3 of us diving. The website had indicated the max dive groups were capped at 6; this enables Eric and Carrie to customize the dive experience to the people on board. The other two people diving with me were a couple whose last dives were 15 years ago -- clearly a disparate experience, but not something that phased Eric at all. He was extremely thoughtful and thorough about doing a quick refresher overview for them, as well as walking us through all of the equipment on the boat to make sure we were comfortable with their kit (more on that later). Equipment: I mentioned that I rented all of my equipment. Historically I bring (at least) my own boots, wet suit (if needed), fins, mask, snorkel, and "emergency stuff" (sausage, whistle, etc). This trip I decided not to, and instead rolled the dice on using Garden Isle's kit. It was a great decision. The masks were well maintained, and not overly scuffed. The fins were boot-fins, as opposed to slide ons, so no blisters. The BCDs were integrated with weight pouches as opposed to having to deal with weight-belts/lead (and bruised hip bones). The octopus/regulators were dialed in such that they had very easy airflow (no sucking/extra effort needed), and were color coded so that you didn't run the risk of accidentally using someone else's kit. Very pleased with all of it. Dive Sites: This is one of the categories that I think Garden Isle Divers really sings. We dove two locations on my trip - Poke Bowl and Hale O Honu (Turtle House) - and both were absolutely teeming with life. Naturally, you can't guarantee what you're going to see on ANY dive, but man, Eric has eagle eyes and we saw so many incredible things. At Poke Bowl, we started with several (large) green turtles. We also saw three different varieties of nudibranch, two different kinds of eel, a rare variety of puffer (guinea fowl), angelfish, frog fish, Hawaiian sergeants, and the others saw dolphin (I was distracted by other stuff). It was 47' max depth and I got 62 minutes of bottom time. Heaven! You'd think that couldn't be topped, but we meandered over to Hale O Honu (Turtle House), which felt like it was 5 minutes from Poke Bowl (who knows... we were all chatting... it was a fast ride). Once again, there were several green turtle waiting to greet us. Then, we descended an started wandering around, we saw more nudibranch, frog fish, an octopus, two eagle rays, barracuda, coronet fish, loads of beautiful cowries, Hawaiian sand dollars, lion fish, and a striped sea snake-eel that was out hunting (and spooked the heck out of two stouts just trying to live their best lives). This dive was 62' max depth and I got 65 minutes of dive time. Intangibles: Okay, I know this is getting long, but there needed to be another category to catch all the random thoughts that didn't fit anyplace else. First, Eric is an encyclopedia of fish, coral, invertebrate, and geological knowledge. That's awesome for nerds like me who want to learn while they dive. He carries a write-on board so that he can give details underwater, not just the perfunctory hand signals (which of course are also used). So if you like that sort of dive experience, he kicks it up to the next level. Second, Carrie, is a treasure. She makes the boat ride smooth/comfortable as the captain but she ALSO runs around getting everything set up and broken down for the dive, down to helping put on your fins so you don't have to bend over. Like, that's next level luxury as far as I'm concerned. All told, considering the above, it's a best in show dive experience, and one that I'm looking forward to returning to. I told my husband about my diving experience today, and he actually said he might like to come back with me (instead of golfing... and he LOVES golf). Guess this means its already time to plan our 2023 trip to Kauai. Thanks for everything, Eric & Carrie!!! read more

Garden Isle Divers - The boat! - Boat Charters Near Me

Eric and Carrie were fabulous. The visibility was not the best, but we did see turtles and a shark!!! I loved his honesty from the beginning of booking to the end. read more

They can't guarantee that they'll find you an octopus, but...they found me one on my first dive ;) Definitely booking with Garden Isle Divers again in the future, and you should, too. Eric and Carrie are fantastic! I went on two boat trips with them for a total of four dives. These were my first boat dives. Eric and Carrie were super professional about helping us into our gear and teaching me how to enter the water. Eric is incredibly knowledgable about the life found around Kauai. He is a self-styled 'fish nerd', and boy does he know his stuff! I told him I wanted to find my first octopus, and as stated above, he didn't promise that we'd find one, but he also said we'd look! Within the first 15 minutes of our first dive, BOOM! Hawaiian Day Octopus. I also asked Eric if we could look for a white-tip reef shark and a frogfish. He took us directly to where they were. He also showed us a huge red hairy hermit crab, Hawaiian Red Lionfish, Pyramid Butterflyfish, and so many other amazing species. Basically, he showed me everything I told him I'd like to see, plus so much more. Mahalo Captain Carrie and Divemaster Eric! read more

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We went out for a 2-tank dive on our Kauai trip and had a great time. The staff was very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. The equipment was well maintained and we had no issues with it. The dive sites were great, and we saw a lot of different things. Eric was great at pointing out things and making sure we knew what they were underwater. Excellent trip, will be back. read more

Such genuine people with a passion for diving. I chose these people to dive with because they are not a huge company, just a family with a passion they want to share. Incredible experience and I cannot recommend enough. read more

We had two fabulous dives with Eric and Carrie! Eric was so knowledgeable about all things underwater. He scouted out two perfect spots to dive. He kept diving down to check things out before he would drop anchor. I really like that he only books one trip a day so there was no rushing. The spots had great viz and we even saw a white tip reef shark! We definitely will be back on the boat with Garden Isle the next time we are in Kauai! And thank you to his friend Paul for the great pics and the darling necklace from Bella! read more

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Amazing day and Eric and Carrie are wonderful! We will totally do this again when we're back in Kauai!! read more

Garden Isle Divers - Fun and education on the boat! - Boat Charters Near Me

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Eric and Carrie were awesome! Super relaxed and genuine people to hang with. So much knowledge of the dive sites/sea life and safety (currents, etc.) of their guests is a priority. This was my first boat dive and I will only be diving with them in Kauai. Thank you - Kim & Gina read more

We had an amazing diving experience with Eric and Garden Isle Divers. We had three certified and four noncertified divers (ages 17, 16, 16, 13). First, the booking process was extremely easy. I was able to pick up the phone and speak with someone who helped facilitate the reservation. The communication all along was outstanding. Then, on the morning of a dive, July 11, 2022, everything continue to go smoothly. We met with Eric and he had all of the gear in equipment ready for us. Everything fits perfectly and worked out just fine. The instruction provided to the non-certified divers was informative, useful, and easy to understand. They had sufficient knowledge to safely dive. Then, once we got into the water, 'Erik showed us around the bay and we saw a lot of interesting sites (e.g., turtles, eels, Spanish era anchors, etc.). I felt very safe in everyone in our group received plenty of attention. No one was going to be left behind. Overall, the experience was outstanding. We will definitely come back and do it again. Next time, we are taking all the certified divers and going out on Eric's boat. read more

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Fantastic dive company. 6 diver boat. Excellent dive sites. Monk seal! Hawk bill turtle! Shark! Eels, turtles, cowries, 4 great dives in 2 days. We are repeat customers and will definitely return. read more

Amazing time diving with Eric! I'm a certified open water diver but hadn't gone in several years - Eric was so helpful at waking me through the gear and reminding me of everything. Saw a ton of amazing creatures underwater and Eric explained what was what with a helpful underwater Etchasketch type tablet. Great experience all around! read more

Eric is so informative & thinks of everything! 2 tank dives with all gear rental available along with snacks, ice cold water & drinks provided on a reserved spot with chairs. Had a shore dive on Kōloa Landing & it did not disappoint. Saw white tip reef shark, several honus (turtles), eels & many tropical fish. Mahalo! read more

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This is a terrific dive operation. I highly recommend diving with Eric and Carrie. I have done a lot of diving around the world and I can honestly say that these guys are one of the best operations I have ever used. The dives are small and intimate. Carrie drives the boat and helps manage the gear and get you in the water. She is very friendly and knowledgeable. Eric leads the dives and is incredibly passionate about all sea creatures. He is capable of finding the smallest of creatures and giving you lots of fun facts. He may be the most knowledgeable and passionate person regarding sea life that I have ever met. These guys are a joy to dive with and I can't recommend them more strongly. While you can't ever guarentee great dive conditions, you can almost guarentee that Eric and Carrie will do everything in their power to make your experience special. read more

If you love personalized diving, this is the place to go! No crowding as on large boats and individual attention from Eric and Carrie. This is a family owned business which offers great service and knowledgeable, experienced diving. Eric has a great eye and vast knowledge of all of the sea life which is plentiful in Kauai! Overall a wonderful experience and we would highly recommend Garden Isle Divers! read more

Had another great dive day with Eric! Always a wealth of interesting information and makes you feel safe while you get to kick back and enjoy the scenery. Love that he brings all the gear and snacks so all we have to do is show up. We have dived with Eric a couple times now and plan to see him again next time we're on island. Can't wait! read more

Eric was great to work with. We enjoyed the experience and how knowledgeable Eric is of sea creatures. He even brought a waterproof slate to write down names of fish for us while we were underwater. Eric also helped me overcome my nervousness around diving. Highly recommend you work with Eric at Garden Isle Divers. read more

My husband and I like to dive with smaller dive companies so when I found Garden Isle divers and their boat, the Salty Dog, which holds a smaller group, I knew we had a match. The other bonus is the 9:15 am start time - if you are staying on the North shore this start time is a must! We dove with them twice, the first time was a private and the next dive was with two other divers. Both times Travis brought his little pooch Salty who is the cutest pup ever! Visibility was good and we saw at least 15 turtles, white tip sharks, eels, and schools of fish. We rented our gear from them and it worked out great. Mahalo to Travis, Nate, and Salty for such great dive days! read more

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We were really disappointed that our original dive got cancelled with a different company, however Garden Isle Divers was all we could've wanted for our first dive! It had rained most of our trip so we were unable to do a shore dive but Eric was great and responsive, and allowed us the amazing opportunity to go on a boat dive. Scott, our instructor, was so friendly, clear in direction, and patient which made for a perfect first dive. I was really nervous first getting in the water but Scott really knew what he was doing and made me feel comfortable to have the best experience. We saw several turtles, fish, lobsters, and a star fish. My boyfriend, Patrick, also saw a shark! We were even able to see a humpback whale from the boat when we were first going to the dive site. Definitely recommend, this is a must do! Thanks for everything Eric and Scott!!!! - Micael-Anne and Patrick read more

Great experience. Sea conditions were challenging but thanks to the excellent guiding of Eric and piloting of Carrie, we had an unforgettable experience. I think Eric knows every animal by name. read more

Garden Isle Divers Rocks!!! I decided to begin working on my advanced open water via PADI e-learning while in Kauai and scheduled with Eric a few months in advance. We did Navigation, Fish ID, Photography, Night Diving, and Deep diving. The experience was incredible and I highly recommend the FISH ID dive out of Koloa Landing. I learned so much and was able to see/photograph some fish that are only in the seas near Hawaii! I had a blast developing my skills and will definitely utilize Eric's expertise on my next trip to Kauai. read more

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Eric and Scott are the BEST! The perfect combo of professional and chill. Safe and kind, they gave us the best experience. We had not been diving in a few years so needed a good refresher and patience with gear. They had excellent local knowledge!!! I would highly recommend this company and crew! We saw whales, dolphins and turtles, they took such great care of us. My husband dove 3 dives and the third I went snorkeling around the boat and still saw tons of sea life and turtles. Five star! read more

Garden Isle Divers - Perfect combo of professional and chill! - Boat Charters Near Me

My wife and I hadn't been diving in a few years and happened upon GID... Eric and his team were friendly, quite knowledgeable about the marine life and very patient with both my wife and I (a few years off from diving), and our two smaller children, 11 and 12 years of age. Eric was great with our 12 year old's intro to diving, and he also brought a wonderful woman from Austria (also a dive master) to assist our youngest with getting comfortable with the gear for snorkeling. She was great too and again, extremely patient and knowledgeable. We all had a fantastic time and will come back to them when we return to Kauai! Thanks guys! read more

Hands down best customer service all around. Did a shore dive with Travis and Rachael, who both did an amazing job. It was my first dive after my certification (about 16 months before). I was really nervous and they helped put me at ease. I did well until just about the turn around point when I got extremely dizzy and disoriented. It was more from my own fears than anything else. Rachael stayed at the bottom with my husband and Travis surfaced with me. I got sick immediately and Travis just calmed me down and explained that if I stayed at the surface my motion sickness would get worse and we needed to make our way back to shore underwater (we we're pretty far out). He dealt with me very patiently and calmly, he calmed me down and I was able to get my mask and regulator back in place. It was an awful few minutes at the surface, but once back down under my stomach settled and we finished our dive. Highly recommend using Garden Isle Divers. read more

Garden Isle Divers - Koloa Landing dive site. - Boat Charters Near Me

Wow! What a treat and joy it was to dive with Eric! His patience, knowledge and humor with three new divers made our 4 dives the highlight of our trip. Don't get be wrong any experienced diver will gain a better understanding of the reef ecosystem, fish types, and all the geeky info divers seem to crave. His night dive at Koloa Landing is not to be missed. The reef comes to life with hundreds of shrimp eyes reflecting back at you, the chance to see a octopus change colors quicker than you can blink. Plus the eerie feeling of a turtle gliding past you out of the dark, on its was to find a spot for the night. We will be back next year to dive again with Eric. There are dive companies that employee divers, and then there are divers that happen to own a dive company. Eric is a diver first and a business owner second and it show! You will not be disappointed. read more

We enjoyed two hour-long shore dives with Eric during our recent trip to Kauai. Had a wonderful experience! Wish we could have done more diving with Garden Isle. He emphasized safety and fun and was an expert at pointing out a fascinating number of sea creatures. Hope to visit Kauai again the the future and dive some more with Eric. read more

Great experience from start to finish! Eric was a great guide with a wealth of local knowledge that really enhanced our trip. We had a new diver with us and he was able to finish his certification on island (lucky duck). It's great to go with someone who really enjoys the sport, knows the conditions and what to watch for, and puts your interests first. Will do again! read more

Eric was the most communicative guide I've ever experienced. He called a week before to check in and the day before when the weather was in question. His knowledge and experience was super-impressive but most importantly he made everything enjoyable and relaxing. read more

We loved Garden Isle Divers!!!! Eric is awesome and we learned so much from him! Not only about the reef and fish but also about the history of Hawaii! The dive was great at Koloa Landing! My husband and I hadn't dove in 2.5 years so it was a perfect place for us to feel comfortable and see some beautiful stuff! Thank you Eric! We will be back! read more

Garden Isle Divers - Sea turtle!! - Boat Charters Near Me

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Great time on the boat. Great personalities of the organizers. Great views on both dive sites, Amber as well as Turtle house. we thoroughly enjoyed diving with Garden Isle Divers and highly recommend the team! read more

We had a great day with this wonderful company. Eric picked some cool sites based on our skill levels , which was fairly low, and water conditions. Kerry was a great captain. Highly recommended. read more

My wife and I came across Garden Isle Divers the same way many others I am sure have, the amazing reviews. You will not be disappointed! We stayed on the Eastside of the island, but the drive to port Allen was an easy 30-40 minutes. When we got to the site the boat and Eric and Carrie (captain) were waiting for us with smiles and excited to get to know us and explain the upcoming dives. Eric was kind enough to bring extra gear for both of us just incase we forgot something. When we arrived at our first dive site, only 15 minutes from the pier, conditions meant that we had to drift dive. Although this may seem intimidating it was well explained, and with the help of a great captain and dive master my wife and I were able to get down and enjoy two amazing sites on one tank! The second dive was just as amazing as the first, filled with turtles, hundreds of fish, coral, and nudibranchs. We enjoyed it so much the we cancelled our sunset cruise with another vendor to go diving again, and again were not disappointed! Sheraton Caverns and fishbowl were the two dive sites and both left of breathless. By the end of the second dive day we felt as though we were long time friends, and would pass on any recommendations and referrals to both Eric and Carrie in the future. They both were the epitome of professionalism and hospitality. We cant wait for our next chance to dive with Garden Isle Divers. Ragnar & Chelsea read more

Eric and Carrie are a phenomenal pair to go scuba diving with. I would recommend Garden Isle Divers to ANYONE ANYTIME. The weather in the morning wasn't great, but Captain and Eric figured it out. On the boat Eric was great at explaining things and supportive when folks weren't feeling well. At depth Eric was a great dive master, finding sea life all over the place. Super enjoyable 2-tank diver. Literally one of the best trips ever. read more

We spent two days diving with Nate and Travis in October and had an incredible time. After having a great small boat dive experience in Belize, then a so-so big boat experience on the big island, it was such a relief to get on a small boat with guys that love what they're doing and are super knowledgeable. Both my friend and I had separate issues underwater (user error, not related to equipment) and Travis immediately sensed it and corrected it. We felt like we were in good hand the whole trip. Travis pointed out many cool creatures and we saw a few white tip sharks too! The turtles at the "garage" were enormous. I will definitely go back on a trip with Garden Isle Divers and recommend them to anyone. They also personalize your trip to your liking... Fishing, snorkeling, diving, etc. ... read more

Awesome dive experience! Called the afternoon before to book a charter for four people which turned out to be really easy. Travis was very professional and easy going. The morning of the dive he set everything up and told us about the dive sites. While underwater we saw a ton of turtles, reef fish, coral, and 5 or 6 white tip sharks (one of them was pregnant). One of the best sites was a turtle cleaning station where we saw about 4 or 5 turtles at one time. Great day and great experience. I would recommend Travis and Garden Isles Dive to anyone who wanted to dive Kauai! read more

My son Nathan & I had an amazing experience with Eric & Captain Keri at Garden Isle Divers. As a former dive instructor myself, I like to think I'm a bit more critical than most. Eric did a phenomenal job with the safety & equipment briefing, ensuring everyone felt comfortable, picking the 'most ideal' dive sites for the day, and keeping everyone entertained the whole time. Captain Keri is awesome and gave us the full VIP experience. Great snacks, lots of fun, good laughs and we learned a ton. My son was newly certified and felt extremely comfortable. He gave this experience a 10/10 which he never does. Mahalo Eric & Keri!!! read more

So many turtles! We had a great time on this dive. Travis, Nick, and Rachel were fun to be out on the water with. They were able to be flexible and helped our friend finish his certification in time for us all to go on a couple of dives together. Their private charter format is really a great way to dive. Thanks for the fun! read more