Very impressive with this dive shop. Friendly staff and knowledgable especially with the best dive spot. GREAT selection of dive gear. I got a good vibe with this shop. Will update before we leave home. read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Best day of my entire life. Jeff was the absolute best!! Seriously he made our time so enjoyable and I would come back to Hawaii just for another day on the water with Jeff!! read more

Got back in the diving saddle after a very extended break (+10y) with the help of this amazing outfit. From my first phone call figuring out how to get back into the water, to my refresher pool dive, to an amazing two tank boat dive, I felt comfortable and confident with the advice and attention that I received from all of the staff at Jack's Dive Locker! Highly recommend using them if planning to dive Kona! read more

Jacks diving is the best!!! We had a super tight window as we were flying to the big island that day, and wanted to do the Manta Ray Night dive (highly recommended ) I had to do a refresher course, as my last dive was a few years ago. My instructor MEL was awesome and made it happen, while making sure my skills and knowledge were up to par! Thanks again Jacks and MEL !!!!! PS - you get a sick sunset from the boat after your first dive!!! read more

We had an amazing manta ray dive with Jack's Diving Locker, because the crew are awesome. They really know what they're doing, and they're so friendly and enthusiastic. Olivia, Sam, Jim, Keller, thank you!!! read more

Our group of 6, including 2 kids age 7 and 9, went on the manta ray night time snorkel with Jack's Diving Locker and it was incredible! They counted 29 in the water that night, and for the ~30min I was in the water I saw nothing but manta ray flips and turns and giant mouths gobbling food. The operators were very professional and took great care of everything/everyone. Highly recommend! read more

I visited as part of the week-long PADI Club Kona trip, logging 11 dives with six different JDL instructors and guides. Every single one of them was fantastic: engaging, passionate, fun, and above all, dedicated to safety. I can't imagine diving with any other shop in Kona. Big shout out to Toby, Mel, and Anna for getting me through my Advanced certification! read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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You cannot find a better dive tour shop in Kona! We did two trips with Jack's on our recent trip to Kona - a 2-tank day trip, and a 2-tank Manta Ray night dive - and both were excellent all around. The entire staff is full of positive energy and happy vibes that make for a wonderful experienced, they are knowledgeable and experienced, and passionate about the sea life. We like to learn about species names, behavior, and other details, and they had all the answers for us. We felt we were in good hands with Jack's diving team. We will be back! read more

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Amazing dives! Whales, singing Mantas day and night dives. Baby humpback breaching as the sunset. 12 Mantas circling in the Sommer salting feeding in a graceful feeding dance. read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Magical Mantas - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Tl;dr - Might be good for already certified divers, but bad place to learn and get OW certified. Two stars not one because their boats/crew were great and their refund policy is generous. The long story - We (my partner and I) had a two tank dive booked for our third and fourth open water dive, a pool refresher before it and the two tank manta booked after. Our pool sessions with Elle were great, she was patient and understanding, and clearly wanted us to improve. She was also thorough enough to notice that we had a couple of pool skills missing from our referral and very kindly stayed back after our refresher to finish those skills. It took me a couple of tries to get the free dive skill since I've never tried it before, but Elle was patient and I was very confident with it by the end. For the open water checkout dives, we were assigned to Anna, who mentioned that Elle was fairly confident in our abilities, which we were happy about. Since this was our first time doing some of the skills in open water (mask removal, CESA, etc) after our pool sessions almost a year ago, we did mention we would be a bit rusty. As the dive started, we were asked to set up our weights ourselves, which was new and confusing to us - having used a weight belt set up by our instructor on previous dives. Starting from this point, it felt more like we were being tested on skills rather than being taught, which was a bit unrealistic considering our lack of experience. I put in double the weights I was supposed to, which caused me to be overweighted for the CESA, and unable to swim up at the rate I needed to or kick at the surface to orally inflate my BCD. Thankfully, Elle did recognize this and remove my weights before the actual dives, but this was also raised as a reason we did not get the OW certification. I did not get another attempt at the CESA after my weights were corrected. For the mask clearing skill, we also got one try each and we both kicked as we emptied the mask, which of course is a problem. We would've appreciated another chance at the skill after our mistakes were pointed out. Overall, the dives felt less like a learning experience and more like a skills test where we were expected to be perfect at every skill in a single try. I think this is pretty unrealistic considering we last did those skills in a pool a year ago. And not for a lack of effort on our part - we've been practicing our mask removal in a pool back home for months, which was even more disappointing. At the end of the first dive, we were told this could not count as Dive 3 for the Open Water and we didn't have the skills needed. We could either choose to practice skills on the next dive (not as a replacement for dive 3) or just do a regular dive. We were told that we were good buddies and good at the basic swimming parts so we could be offered the Certified Scuba Diver certification (which we already got at our previous dive shop). We did do well at a few of the skills like the underwater and surface compass navigation but our dive logs in the training section weren't updated to reflect that. So this entire dive trip was basically no net positive on skills gained towards OW, which was super disappointing to us. We would've appreciated more instruction with the intent of improving our skills versus simply being tested on them. We ended up cancelling our Manta Dive (offered to us with private instruction on account of not being OW certified) because this experience left us unhappy. We appreciate their extremely generous 24 hour cancellation policy, it shows integrity as a business and we are grateful. We did do the manta dive with a different operator (Big Island Divers). We also want to mention that their boats are absolutely wonderful and have great facilities, and the crew is warm, welcoming and great to be around. We were very seasick during our dives and everyone on the boat was incredibly kind and helpful to us. We also wanted to say that we were super happy with Elle's pool refresher and that she helped us get excited to dive. read more

Jack's Diving locker exceeded our expectations! Keller was an amazing guide who ensured we felt comfortable and got the best photos. The manta ray experience truly exceeded all of our expectations! They put on a show and it's very well organized. We would highly recommend this to any scuba divers inexperienced or experienced! 10 out of 10! Good food between dives and just a fun crew! Don't miss out on this experience, seriously! read more

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What a fabulous experience! I am NOT a snorkler, nor a diver, but my husband is retired Navy and the ocean is in his blood. He loves to dive and to snorkel, and has done so in Guam, the Philippines, and many places in the USA. I wanted to give him an adventure as a gift for bringing me to Hawaii for a vacation. This was our first trip without our kids since our honeymoon 28 years ago. I wanted it to be memorable for him. I tried to book him something before we left, but he kept putting it off. So when we happened to go for coffee and I saw Jack's Diving Locker, I made him go in to see it. Once the team there knew he was interested, they showed him pictures and videos of what he could expect. We all convinced him to sign up and he finally agreed! He texted me from the boat and was so excited, (and this is so unlike my husband, lol)! He was just thrilled! He had a great time and loved every minute. He said the crew was great, seeing the manta rays was epic, and although he was tired, he couldn't stop talking about how magical it was! His only regret was that we didn't have cash to tip the crew. However, we made a point of returning to the shop the next day and giving the crew a tip. They were worth every penny!!! You've gotta do this, and this is the crew to take you! read more

I had an incredible experience with Jacks Diving Locker! Olivia made the experience amazing, I was nervous to get in the water and she helped me conquer my nerves and get in the water and I'm so happy I did! An unforgettable experience thanks to olivia and Jacks Diving Team! read more

The entire crew on the boat and to the incredible dive masters made my first trip with Jacks Amazing! Day dives were well organized and our timing to see some unique sea creatures was excellent. I had heard about the Manta night dive and was told to make sure to include in your itinerary. It was almost a spiritual experience. Seeing these incredible creatures up close was something one should experience. They incorporated filming the night dive which was very appreciated and came as a nice surprise to view later. Thanks Again to the great crew at Jacks! I hope to see you again! Victoria Phair read more

Jack's Diving Locker is a truly world class operation. From business operations in their two dive shops to their professional boat crews and instructors they are unmatched by any other diving operation in the world. I am a former instructor and have experienced many other diving operators in the world. I applaud Jack's Diving Locker for delivering a world class experience not matched by any other that I have experienced anywhere else in the world. read more

Too much fun AND I'm now PADI certified for Open Water! Toby an Anna did a better than excellent job at getting our class certified in three days. The experience of a lifetime that opened the door to unlimited worldwide adventures. Mahalo! read more

Jacks dive locker did a great job taking us to some nice dive spots where we saw a multitude of fish and sea life! Ray, shark, and turtles were all part of the adventure! Thank you Keller and Carlos read more

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As a veteran of almost 300 dives, I have to say that the Manta night dive was the best I've ever done. The crew was very attentive and stressed safety over everything else and made the trip very enjoyable with light humor and were totally engaged with their guests. Dive gear was high quality and well maintained. The boat was clean, well organized and FAST. I would highly recommend Jacks Dive Locker to all that want to experience the best! read more

Great dive team, boat and dive sites. Captain Jim waa very nice and helpful. Intructor Shannon was very nice and professional. This was our second outing with Jacks. We have already planned our third. Thank you! B&P G.​ read more

I love this place! The shop is amazing, the staff and crew are amazing! I bought new equipment a few months ago and they have been so helpful with tips on mastering it. Shout out to Anna, Shannon, Keller, Jim, Brad, Justin, Olivia and captain Allen. Love you guys! read more

The guys were friendly didn't treat us like we didn't what we were doing helped if you needed it, boat was big and nice, gave us lunch, drinks and some snacks really was a good experience Gary and Mel were awesome!!! read more

Had everything we needed. Great customer service. They have very nice $25 polarized sunglasses. A must in Hawaii

My daughter and I completed our open water diver certification at JDL. Our instructor Toby was incredibly kind, patient and absolutely made learning this new skill fun. After our day in their on-site pool- we spent the next two days in the ocean. In addition to being a great instructor, Toby was also a great guide as we explored our new surroundings! Each day the boat crew was friendly and welcoming choosing each of our dice sites with great consideration! After completing the course we also did the night -Manta dive with JDL It was incredible! The creatures are so graceful and beautiful to look at! My husband participated in the Manta snorkel and was also absolutely amazed. Two very different perspectives of the adventure but both worth doing. I look forward to returning to the island and diving with Jacks (and Toby) again!!! Mahalo read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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This is our third trip to the big island diving with Jacks. On our last trip our 18 yr old daughter was certified. The crew we had the last two days were Captain Christine and divemasters Jim today and alli yesterday. We did 4 dives over 2 days. The dive masters where great. Safety oriented but also masters of finding small gems. Our first day we saw frog fish , and scorpion fish. The second day we saw zebra eel, dragon eel and leopard eel. I would definitely recommend diving with jacks. They have 3 great boats and offer a personal touch when diving. read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

The night dive with manta rays was truly life changing. Magical! The young female captain ,Sierra, was very impressive, a serious pro. I'm bummed I didn't get everyone's name but our team dive master Toby was just terrific! Charming and funny but first and foremost an attentive professional. I felt very safe and that we had an entire crew of highly capable people looking out for us. Thank you for this incredible experience read more

Jack's Diving Locker - 36 feet under the water on the ocean floor and these manta rays glide right over your head in an underwater ballet. - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Went in on Monday to test fit a mask and snorkel and was greeted by two young gentlemen who were the most friendly, helpful, caring, and knowledgeable staff I could have asked for. They were genuinely invested in helping me find equipment to fit my dumb face. While we were troubleshooting issues, they asked one of their other colleagues (an older lady with dark brown hair), who couldn't have been less interested. Instead of being helpful, she was judgy and critical, making dismissive comments like, "I don't snorkel, I dive." I ignored her because the two guys were overwhelmingly helpful. Unfortunately, despite all their time and trouble shooting, we weren't able to find anything. However, I had a revelation and returned today, thinking I could make one of them work. Sadly, neither of the two guys was working. Instead, I was "greeted" by the unhelpful woman with the bad attitude, who seemed really put out and inconvenienced by my wanting to try again. Instead of making suggestions, her attitude was "so what, deal with it." She couldn't be more disinterested and dismissive if she tried. If I had only dealt with her the first time, this would be a 1 star review, and I'd never return. The only reason it's two stars, and the only reason I went back a second time to try again is because the two guys before were so great to work with. read more

Costs were very expensive and very little flexibility in trying to accommodate families and first time divers - unless you wanted to pay more. On the boat dive masters were good but the logistics (getting on the boat) was a mess. Many places in the area to try before going back again next year. read more

The Manta Ray Night Dive was an incredible experience that I was not expecting. A total of 6.5 hour excursion included the location, the dives, dinner, and sunset. The Dive Master, Caption, and other crew members made this experience beautifully set for scuba divers. read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Snorkeling for Manta Ray while we loading up scuba gear. - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

I went snorkeling with this crew on one of their manta rays night dives. The rays are absolutely incredible. This is totally worth doing. This outfit was friendly, fun, and well equipped with all the gear you'll need including wetsuits and snorkels & goggles. They have some nice extras like snacks, ginger for the seasick, and warm showers on the boat for after the immersion. I was referred by a friend so I didn't shop around to find the lowest price, but overall I would definitely recommend this outfit. read more

Came to the Big Island for a family vacation and my husband wanted to look into scuba diving. we had been certified over a dozen years ago but also hadn't dived for over 15 years so they suggested a refresher course. Our instructor, Adam, literally held my hand through the process. I have other health issues that can make things more difficult and complicated for me. He gave us guidance on good places to shore dive and what I need to do to shore up my diving skills. read more

AWESOME DIVE TEAM!!! Exploring the Hawaiian coast near Kona. Dive Instructor Keller was extremely knowledgeable, fun and aware of each diver. Family including wife and teenagers were Adv Open certified for navigation, deep dive and enhanced buoyancy with Keller then on day three e moved to Master Toby. Toby was among the best naturalist I have ever dove with. And for an encore we did the Night Dive with 15 Manta Rays swooping through plankton. Captain Bob and Captain Russ were safe and fun to be with, and made efforts to encounter the local marine life including a whale shark that we passed alongside. read more

We dove 2 consecutive days with Jacks Dive Locker. For the first day's dive we did the, Classic 2 Tank Dive for certified divers and paid the extra $10 per tank for Nitrox. Captain Cassy and crew (Shannon, Jessica, Rachel, and our dive lead, Ben) we're all phenomenal in way of customer service and knowledge of the area. After the first dive, we are use to having some fresh fruit available, but we were pleasantly surprised when we saw they also provided a deli style sandwich. For the second day's dive, we did the 2 tank afternoon and night Manta dive. Our dive crew included Captain Jim, Mongo, Mel and our dive Master/guide was Rachel. We saw a couple Manta on the afternoon dive with is not an every afternoon dive experience. The night dive was amazing!!! It was extremely well organized and the "campfire" area where underwater lights are set up is amazing. With the campfire lights and our own dive lights, plenty of Plankton arrived which the Manta consume and the foundation for a spectacular Manta show. In summary: We highly recommend Jack's Dive Locker. The crew and service is top notch. With that said, the first dive sites, Wash Rock and Terrapin Station were a bit disappointing in way of coral and ocean life but were still good dives. The night Manta dive was amazing!! Manta are such graceful and amazing creatures and a must do dive. Go with Jack's Dive Locker and you won't be disappointed. read more

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Reviewing for 2 very different experiences so keep that in mind: For pool refresher: absolutely had a great time - joe was a great instructor that gave me tips on how to clear my mask - a nice two hour review that made me ready to hit my dive - only 3 people appreciated the smaller group! 5/5 For the manta ray dive: the crew were very nice and kind and appreciate all their hard work However didn't have the best experience as a new diver - this was my 5th dive out of certification - I communicated this to my dive master and they did answer any qs I had - the part that max me more nervous was for the night dive their are no groups and no buddies were assigned so I was basically doing everything for myself. I was a solo diver. Group got separated often farther apart than would be safe for if I needed air for some reason as well. By the time I reached 500 on my computer I let my guide know and she signaled me to go up to the boat on my own which is not what I learned in PADI school. I do feel I ascended too quickly and had a bad headache when I made it to the boat. Shortly after, had a terrible bout of sea sickness which I'm still not sure might have been decompression sickness. Also, for my pool session joe called me a day earlier claiming I was to be in the group on a Saturday vs a Sunday so there was a scheduling snafoo there. Also for the manta ray dive was told to arrive at 3:30p and then later got a call telling me I should have been there at 3pm which caused all sorts of anxiety struggling to get there. Given these scheduling issues for both things I booked and as a solo diver not feeling particularly safe given I was assigned a buddy and how I was handled as a pretty new diver I probably wouldn't book with them again. Also saw no mantas which was sad - a person at the BnB I was staying with saw 6-7 the same day so maybe I was just unlucky! read more

Booked the manta night dive and was blown away! Keller, Sam and the rest of the JDL team were super professional, friendly, patient .... And funny to boot. (Amazing dad/sailor jokes from Keller!) No one can guarantee manta sightings but boy did we get a real show! Nearly a dozen rays showed up and entertained us for an hour! After being disappointed time and time again on whale watching tours and some other dives, this was a real pleasant change! Super satisfied and will dive with JDL again! Highly recommend ! read more

I dove with Jack's on 7/12/2024 (Friday night Manta Ray dive) and 7/13/2024 (Adventure Charter) and had a fantastic time. The Manta Ray dive was up there with the best experiences I have ever had. The professionalism of the staff (Captain Sierra, Dive Guide Chris L, Resident comedian and Manta Ray expert Keller, Justin, Mel and Anna) was top knotch. They were obviously super experienced divers, gave great advice and made me feel extremely safe however the best part was the 'vibe' on the boat. I had so much fun and was literally buzzing as we came back to the harbor. The Adventure Charter was a different beast altogether with a much smaller group perfectly managed by Instructor Jim and Captain Gary. Both were obviously highly experienced and more than happy to share their knowledge humbly and openly. We did two fantastic dives culminating in swimming with a 13 foot(ish) Tiger Shark on the second which really topped of the weekend for me. A special shout out to Brandi for her advice before the trip. I spoke to her on the phone for half an hour about transport options, where to eat, how the charters run and every other question I had for my first travel dive trip. She was patient, knowledgeable and really set me up for the seamless trip I was about to embark on. Also got great help in the shop from Christine. Again, super welcoming, friendly and knowledgeable and provided really personalized service. The best part for me, was the affect the weekend had on my diving. I got all sorts of great advice and a thousand questions answered across the two days. I am a trainee Dive Master with 200+ and definitely improved my diving on this trip! If you've read this far, you probably realize I had an awesome weekend. Really cannot think of anything that could have been better and can't wait to go back. read more

Amazing day with Jeff & Capt Gary! What more can I say about a team with a combined "80yrs of dive experience!" Fabulous! read more

I just did 7 days of diving over 3 days with Jack's Diving Locker and I was incredibly impressed with the operation as a whole. The dive guides and captains were all enthusiastic, knowledgeable, professional and friendly. Kudos especially to divemasters Jack, Kyle, Jim, and Keller (not Killer). They all led the dive with a nice slow pace and allowed a max dive time of 80 minutes (air and NDL permitting, of course). read more

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We have dived with a lot of dive shops over the years and this one is our favorite. The crew, especially Toby (our divemaster) were amazing. We felt very special every step of the way and the night dive with the Manta Rays was spectacular. They take care of you and even will tell you corny jokes while waiting for the next dive. AND, as an added bonus, you get a hot shower after your dive. For real! If you are going to dive in Kona, this is the place to go. The Manta Rays were plentiful and we were entertained for an hour watching them perform with somersaults, on top of us, beside us and generally all around fun. They were magnificent with a 12' wingspan. This is the dive to make! We also got to see alot of other cool fish, animals and eels. read more

Jack's Diving Locker - Our sunset photo waiting for our night dive with the Manta Rays. They put on a beautiful show! - Snorkeling Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Overall, diving with Jacks was an amazing experience with a great crew. Our guide Carlos was very experienced and chill! We did the two tank advanced dive Thursday morning (8:00am to ~2:00pm). There were 6 divers / customers on the boat. They served a large chocolate chip muffin for breakfast, drink refreshments, lunch in between dives (sandwich, chips, Oreos), and cheese with crackers for post dive snack. Rental gear was also top knotch. First dive Touch of Grey was awesome - max depth 73' and 48 minute dive time. We saw two large schools of juvenile grey reef sharks, a medium size white tip reef shark, puffer fish, and an eagle ray! Second dive Pipe Dreams was very cool - max depth 120' and 49 minute dive time. We explored the two large pipe sections, saw a flounder, smaller spotted moray eel, and lots of fish! Will def be going out with Jacks during my next trip to Kona! Highly recommend read more

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Dove with these guys three days in a row and had some amazing trips! We got the "Keller Special" the first day with Suck Em Up and Golden Arches. Keller is an awesome guide if you haven't dove with him before. Highly recommend requesting him. Second trip we dove with "Tall Ross" whom we also really enjoyed diving with. We will definitely request him in the future as well. This dive we went South and got a Southern Eagle Ray, some nudis, octopus, and lots of yellow fish. We look forward to diving with these guys again! read more