We joined the 6 hour trip with Wild Side and it was amazing!!! The communication and preparations…read morebefore the trip was top notch, and the trip itself was unbeatable. We started at 6am and the morning was a tranquil visit to all the animals in the ocean. Our guides were Connor and Bethany, and they are knowledgeable naturalists and wonderful guides who took good care of us inside and outside of the water. Captain Kim knew we were birders and wanted to take photos of the shearwaters, boobys, and albatrosses and she always positioned the boat while giving us the best and most stable view for photography, while maintaining a respectful distance to the animals to avoid stressing them. We went out to Ka'ena point and had a great view of the Laysan albatross colony. There is truly nothing like having an albatross fly overhead. Along the way, we saw spotted dolphins actively feeding and playing, and also saw spinner dolphins! Seeing the monk seal lounging on the beach was a bonus. The wedge tail shearwaters had just returned so they were busy on the water. We also found masked boobys and brown booby feeding. We also saw turtles at their cleaning station! Connor and Bethany were knowledgeable about the landscape and the ecology and shared wonderful information. They are genuinely the nicest people! Highly recommended. The boat is comfortable and we were taking care of by the team (beverages, snacks, fruits, pastries). Thank you!

We did the 6 hour sea'fari with Bethany and crew and had just the most amazing experience. Our…read moredaughter is interested in marine biology so I emailed Wild Side to see which of their tours would be the best fit. We went out with 3 different boat charter companies during our time in Oahu and this was by far the absolute best. The west side is so much calmer than the other sides of the island and we got to see and do so much! We swam with spotted eagle rays, turtles, spotted dolphins, and got to see lots of living coral reef. We located and sent in coordinates for a "ghost net" that was too big for us to bring on board so that it could be collected to make sure that it didn't harm any creatures. Their ethics are so spot on - before we left the debris they used the gopro to make sure that there wasn't anything actively entangled. In deeper water we saw false killer whales - tons of them - and spent time watching them and learning about their behaviors. While another boat sent their crew in with them, we did not send anyone into the water with them and there was definitely a change in their behavior when people were in the water with them. We felt like we were part of marine biology on the island while also getting once in a lifetime experiences and photos. The photos are so amazing - definitely worth it to purchase! I can't imagine us going back to Oahu and not doing this again. Obviously the ocean is going to be different every time, but Wild Side's team was just so wonderful and we learned so much. Highly highly recommend!

Aloha Divers, I used…read moreKairos for a guided Spear dive (Dive into Spearfishing) this past Monday and had an excellent experience. I am a certified PFI Level II Intermediate Diver and usually Spear at 30-50 FT (PB line depth: 30m). Jason was responsive and clear with communications sending helpful Fish ID materials via email and Drake (Spear guide) was welcoming, prompt and expert at diving. He was also helpful with dive spots, gear and Hawaiian hunting technique. Happy customer and will be a returning diver! Mahalo , -Andrew

Last week, my daughter and I did the two-day private lesson with owner, Jason at Kahe Point Beach…read morePark. He was professional, knowledgeable, friendly and thorough. I had forgotten all of the safety procedures for diving in open ocean. We practiced dives and then did target practice on the sea floor. Jason guided us every step of the way. The second way we went spearfishing for several hours and my daughter caught dinner with four surgeon fish. Jason is the best and I've referred two friends to him already.

Manny is amazing! We did 5 dives with him in March of 2026! He was super responsive, very…read morecommunicative and always friendly! He made me and my wife so comfortable while diving! He took the best care of us and always was willing to answer questions! If you're looking for your open water PADI cert use Mannys Diving Adventure! You will NOT be disappointed! Thanks for everything Manny!

I had a poor experience with Manny back in February. His suits were old and tattered or coming…read moreapart at the seams. The regulator I used had scum on the mouthpiece which seems really unsanitary. And his mask kept leaking...he didn't initially believe me which also soured the experience. The issues with my mask flooding caused me a great deal of anxiety. Instead of being empathetic or trying to understand my concerns, Manny kept telling me, "I can't force you to have fun!" I read another review where it was mentioned that Manny seems to be inpatient with "difficult" students, and I would wholeheartedly agree with that statement. The other person who was present shared that he also felt Manny's equipment was subpar. This gentleman didn't even bother coming back for the 2nd dive day. At least Manny refunded me the camera/photos fee after I asked him... although he initially quickly exclaimed he couldn't refund me the whole charge (which I didn't even ask for). I feel like his quickness to defend his fee might be indicative of this not being the first time someone has felt like the whole experience was just an expensive waste of time and hope... I was originally going to give Manny a higher rating but after thinking through it, I didn't feel I should conceal this information from others about to make an investment in diving. I luckily did one dive with the boat captain on the first day, who loaned me her mask and she took me down. I did a full mask clear and swam for nearly 30 minutes. So, I don't think my negative experience can be pinned on me not wanting to have fun, not being capable of diving, etc. Definitely wasn't worth the money diving with this instructor and had I known the experience would have been so negative, I would have much rather paid more to go with a more experienced instructor who isn't so dismissive of safety concerns.

I took my 11 year old son to get his OW and my 16 year old daughter to get her AOW. Kaleb is the…read moreowner and was so helpful with coordinating our dive dates as a family. I was able to join the dives as a certified diver. Ed was the kids instructor and we all enjoyed diving with him. He was very patient and clearly communicated the dive lesson skills and goals for each dive. Our boat diver was Captain Demitri (Capt. D) and he was another fantastic person that made my kids have an awesome dive experience. A+ for all of these guys at Hawaiian Diving Adventures for there excellent customer service! You dont need to go anywhere else for any of your diving needs.

Callum is an awesome coach and trainer first time with my husband and daughter scuba diving…read moreadventure!! Since it's been 12-15 years since my last dive, I truly appreciate Callum's simple/clear instruction. He gave us all confidence before even that first dive; a terrific experience, for sure. The whole team was careful and appropriate for planning the best time for a dive, given the recent storms. Captain D is super friendly and drives the boat to areas that we could see dolphins- no one was in a hurry that we had to be back to the port, knowing that we wanted to see dolphins and maybe a whale off in the distance. Shannon M from Ashland, OR

This was by far the most amazing experience i have had being on Oahu ...Greg and Allan were…read moreawesome. I had a very bad panic moment trying b to adjust to breathing in the water. Greg helped me through it and I was able to calm down for the rest of the day. .. the sea life was astonishing... The water was the most beautiful blue words cant describe...I cant wait to go back and get my certification with them!!!!

A year late posting this review but I had the most amazing experience diving with Big Kahuna Water…read moreSports! This was only my second time ever diving - first time diving was only a few days before this at a very introductory level at Magic Island Beach. This dive was more advanced as we went out on 2 dives off of a boat. There were two groups on the boat we went out on. There was a more advanced group of divers who were finishing their Advanced Diver certification and my group who had myself and 2 others who had dived before but not in a long time and needed a refresher. Our instructor (it was a year ago so unfortunately forgot his name!) was really friendly and helpful. I was a bit nervous but he calmed my nerves, explained everything thoroughly, and made sure we were all comfortable and taken care of. He showed us a ton of really cool ocean life underwater and we got to see tons of urchins, eels, and even an octopus! He took some amazing photos and videos as well. This discovery dive was so much fun I decided to go for my PADI certification after this!! 1 year later I am PADI Open Water Diver certified and definitely continuing to dive whenever I can!! Super grateful to Big Kahuna and my dive instructor for igniting this new passion!!!

We had the absolute time of our lives on our very first scuba diving adventure with Reef Pirates…read moreDiving! As complete beginners, this family dive turned out to be the absolute highlight of our trip to Hawaii. Marina was simply incredible--professional, warm, incredibly patient, and attentive. Thanks to her guidance, our children had a magical underwater journey. My daughter loved it so much that she even took off her fins and danced at the bottom of the ocean! What touched us most was how Marina cared for my wife. My wife doesn't know how to swim and was initially terrified of going into the ocean. Marina gently eased her fears with immense patience and expertise. Encouraged by Marina, my wife eventually let go of the line and went for a confident "stroll" right through the coral reefs. It was a huge milestone for her. The team's professionalism really showed when I made a beginner's mistake. Forgetting the instructions to equalize slowly while descending, I let go of the line and sank too fast, which caused severe head pain. Marina and Greg acted immediately and guided me safely back to the surface with complete composure and care. To wrap up a perfect day, they even helped us fill out our official certification paperwork after we got back to shore. This was hands-down our family's best memory in Hawaii. Thank you so much, Marina and Greg, for making our first dive so safe, joyful, and unforgettable!

Let me first start by saying the review would be a five star review if it were not for Marina, one…read moreof the dive guides. Let me go through the positive aspects first, then, I will cover the areas for improvement. First, the dive service is great for beginners. I did one previous dive in Moorea and they didn't explain anything. This time, Reef Pirates did a good job of explaining the physics and the safety procedures of diving. Also, there were several practice drills in shallow water before diving deeper, and so I think they did a good job of following proper safety and dive procedures. The guides, Dray and Marina, had over 10 and 20 years of experience, respectively, and definitely knew their stuff. Dray, who was my dive guide, was excellent. In comparison to Marina, the two have polar opposite personalities. Dray is very outgoing and friendly. I felt really safe with him as my guide and he did a good job at showing us creatures underwater. I'd highly recommend Dray if you can get him. Marina, on the other hand, is very stern and serious. I had originally been scheduled to dive with her, but I failed a shallow water test and so she sent me to Dray's group (thank God because Dray was way better). My main issue with Marina came down to the photography / videography that I purchased for $95 beforehand, but moreover, her bad attitude. After the dive was over, Marina told me she needed time to color-correct the video footage before sending it to me. Okay, I thought. Sounds fine to me. But when I received the files, she added a slow-motion effect to all of the videos right in the middle. This effectively made the video footage unusable for my purposes, and since I did not request any special effects added to the videos at the time of purchase, I requested she send the unedited videos without the slow motion effects. Marina told me she immediately deleted the originals without obtaining a final acceptance from the client. This was her first mistake. Never delete your originals until the client accepts them. Then, my real gripe was with her attitude, and she went on to say that she was doing me a "favor out of the kindness of her heart" by giving me the files, and that she had washed her hands of the responsibility of videography, and attempted to transfer the responsibility to Dray, which was pretty poor character of her throwing her colleague under the bus like that. I told her that it was not a favor she was doing for me and that she owed me videography services, and I showed her my receipt for the $95 photography/videography. She basically told me to ask Dray for any questions about these services. I requested a refund, but she declined it. Rather than making a big deal about it, I chalked it up as a loss and moved on with my life. Still, I thought it was pretty low of Marina to try and blame Dray for her mistake. Besides, some of us have to work in jobs where we get held accountable for our mistakes, so I don't have a lot of sympathy for her. The other issue with the videos and photos, not as big a deal, was they were all in "portrait" orientation (as opposed to landscape orientation). For my purposes, this also made the videos and photos unusable, for me at least. Thankfully I brought my own GoPro and had some usable footage of the turtles. In the end, I'd recommend taking your own GoPro and filming yourself, saving the $95. The diving is great and we saw many turtles. In this regard, I'd give Reef Pirates a five star review but had to take off 2 stars because of Marina.

What a great day! Great experience from start to finish... So simple, you book day and time, they…read moresend list of food and beverage choices and you just show up. They have nice towels and equipment for snorkeling as well as providing a quick lesson for novices like me! Could not have had a better time! We had limited time here and the one stop shopping aspect of booking and just showing up with swim suits and sunscreen really worked for us... Thanks so much to Ryan and Captain Ross for a wonderful day aboard the Rubicon! It is a splurge that is well worth it!

Spectacular Vessel!! This is unlike any other vessel you could imagine for a sunset power-sail or a…read moreday on the water. They know their local waters but they know how to make you feel special from the moment you set foot on the vessel till you depart. Worth every bit of your "water fun" budget on vacation. Here's to "Rubicon" and her amazing crew and owners. Mahalo for a wonderful evening!

Wonderful Experience…read more 5/5 experience- did 10 dives with Ed. Ed certified our son years ago doing the ocean dives for junior open water (did the coursework and pool work in California), then later this trip July-August 2026 got certification for advanced open water and enriched air diver. Ed was very attentive and also we like going with Oahu Travel divers as they have a smaller boat and it is not like cow-herd diving which some other operators are. Also he dives with nitrox and that is included. Dives go out of Kewalo basin. We dove Sea Tiger a few times, end pipe, Blocks, Yo-257, Pinnacles and Tug Boat. The highlight was that we saw a whaleshark which was magical/ and haven't seen one before. Ed kept a close eye on my son and was safe, was a good instructor, my son (age 15 enjoyed his instruction and dives). Recommend him / Oahu Travel Divers if you are looking to do diving on South Shore (Kewalo basin) also he said he will be having access to Hawaii Kai boat as well if that interests anyone. Since we stay at Ko Olina, that is farther out so we opted for Kewalo Basin. Also we were allowed to dive our profile, for me was a 58 minute dive for one/ all the other divers were up on the boat I believe in our group except for Ed and I. He checks all the tanks before bringing to the boat to ensure we have full fills and also we checked the nitrox content. We brought our own gear so just needed tanks and weights. On the boat we never felt rushed to put on our gear and also we were not rushed out of the water, we ended the dives when we were appropriately low on air (?700 psi)/ doing 3 minute safety stop.

Had a great time diving with Ed and Oahu Travel Divers. This is very much a small group, small…read moreboat experience. Ed is very friendly and relaxed and equally as accommodating of very experienced divers and those who hadn't been diving in years and needed some refreshing. I really like that Ed equips all divers with a high quality dive computer and uses EAN32 (Nitrox) on all his dives, giving a quick Nitrox briefing for those who are not Nitrox certified. The rest of the rental gear was good quality and Ed did a very good job leading the dive, checking in with all the divers regularly, spotting sea life, etc. Next time I'm in Honolulu I will definitely dive with Ed again.