Super friendly folks! In and out quickly with a fiberglass skimboard that was in pretty good shape…read more Got a couple of days of riding for about $50... definitely a vacation highlight for me.

Mike was a lifesaver and a total pleasure to deal with. It was my first time on the Garden Isle and…read moreI wasnt able to bring my bodyboard over from the mainland. All i brought with me were my swim fins and an extra bicep leash I had. I was looking for a legit bodyboard rental and the shops I had been to and/or the beach side rental shacks had boards that just werent up to par. I was down the road at Tamba buying tees and the guy there (thankfully) referred me to Kapaa Beach Shop when I asked if he knew of any places that had quality bodyboard rentals. He told me Mike at KBS rented Mike Stewart Science Bodyboards.... The look of shock on my face was probably photo worthy. I couldnt believe the type of place I had been looking for was just down the road. It was already my 2nd time in Kapaa by that point. Kapaa Beach Shop is on your right side along Kuhio Highway if you are coming from the Lihue area. It's right after Chicken in a Barrel BBQ. It has about 4 dedicated spaces out front in its gravel driveway. They rent everything from beach umbrellas, chairs, bicycles, diving and snorkeling gear... You name it. You need it for the beach, he has it. It was jamming with customers the both times I went there but Mike was gracious and helpful with all of us. I was able to rent a hybrid Mike Stewart Science bodyboard which I used at a few beaches on the island. It was great. Thick board with lots of float to it, making catching waves easier. It also came with a Gyroll bicep leash... It was like a setup I would gladly have every day back home. I'm thankful to Mike for the Aloha and just being super cool in providing a quality rental. We chatted it up a bit and you can tell he is legit and really knows his stuff. I HIGHLY recommend you go see Mike at Kapaa Beach Shop for all your beach rental needs. He is the man. Mahalos Mike! Shout out to Chaos the shop dog at KBS. Chee!

What an amazing, confidence boosting lesson from Elijah! In my quest to be more comfortable in the…read moreocean he took me from under-1-minute breath holds to 3:30+ in an afternoon! (On land. YMMV) I really appreciated his calm, supportive, no-pressure teaching style, and the assurance that comes with learning from a successful competitive diver. Can't wait to get back out and explore the reefs with my newfound knowledge and experience. (Always with a buddy!)

I took this course with the aim of becoming more comfortable in the ocean. I had never voluntarily…read moreheld my breath nor knew much about freediving. With the knowledge I acquired over a three day weekend, I become fascinated with safely exploring ocean depths within my personal limits. This course gave me the proper skill set to confidently dive intelligently with experienced watermen around Kauai. This is a must for those who want to develop a deeper understanding of the ocean and themselves. Whether you're a local or visiting Kauai, the investment is worthwhile. Nothing beats freediving with a clear conscious. Thanks Josh & Michi!

Asher gave us skills for life at ACE. We were able to go to a wonderful location and be greeted by…read morethe clear blue waters of the Hawaiian reef. Asher took us to outcroppings and showed us the hunting techniques that we brought back to our local community as well. We were able to make some awesome fish tacos for the rest of our time on island with our daily catch.

Asher is an amazing guide! I took my 3 boys out for a day of spearfishing including my 12 year old…read moreson. He was extremely knowledgeable. Really took the time to instruct and teach before leaving the beach and in the water. I was comforted knowing he's a trained lifeguard here on the island and has years of professional and recreational spearfishing experience. Highly recommend!

Did 4 dives with Five Fathom in June and had a stellar experience…read more My refresher shore dives with Jeannette at Koloa Landing were great. She's very experienced, knowledgable and put my mind at ease on shore and in the water. Felt incredibly safe diving with her and excited to explore the underwater wonderland of Kauai. My two boat dives with Julie were enjoyable as well. The water was a bit choppy on the surface after a couple days of wind and rain and she did a great job of explaining what to expect, keeping the group together underwater and ensuring everyone was safe, enjoying themselves and seeing lots of cool things. Her enthusiasm is contagious and she has an amazing eye for spotting sea life - from a massive octopus, to turtles, harlequin shrimp, moray eels, domino damselfish and more. Thank you for an amazing and unforgettable experience Jeannette & Julie!

If diving off Niihau is on your bucket list and you're hoping to have one of the best dives of your…read morelife...you will not be disappointed. This dive was truly an adventure. We're a family of four (parents and two boys in late teens) who flew to Kauai from a visit in Maui for this dive experience specifically. We've done many of the other Hawaii dives (Molokini back wall, Lanai cathedral, Kona manta rays) and were hoping for something on the wilder side. Fathom Five delivered. The hard part is the "commute." It's a 2.5 hr boat ride (each way) from the pier in Poipu. The head on the boat wasn't working the day we visited, which was a scary prospect. But Fathom Five had the innovation of waterproof beanbags, which made the trips as relaxing and enjoyable as they could be. We thought Drake's attentive driving as we battled back into the afternoon trades helped a lot as well. Sean, our guide, was a true pro. He knew everything about the biology above and below water, the geology of the islands, and the history of Niihau. We dove Vertical Awareness first and immediately knew this was going to be special. We were met by an inquisitive sandbar shark as soon as we got to the bottom and soon saw our first (of probably a dozen) monk seals asleep and nestled into the wall. The visibility was essentially infinite. The layers of volcanic sediment result in crevices that are home to lobsters, eels, and nudibranchs. Bring a dive light. The second dive was the Ledges. The rubble from the collapsed wall of the crater is striking. I just remember thinking to myself while I was underwater, this is the best dive I've ever done. The final dive we did was the Arches. A little less visibility. A little less wildlife. But the swim-throughs might have made it the most memorable. Couldn't recommend this dive and these guys enough for a once in a lifetime experience.

We had an absolutely incredible experience with Blue Dolphin Charters! From the moment we stepped…read moreon board, the crew operated like a well-oiled machine. They were organized, professional, and genuinely seemed to love what they do. We traveled the morning of July 9th (for credit to our crew). We did the breakfast/lunch snorkel and Nāpali coast catamaran. What stood out most was how well they cared for everyone on the boat. They were constantly checking in to make sure guests were comfortable, helping people safely up and down the stairs, serving food and drinks, and making the entire experience feel like an all-inclusive resort on the water. Every crew member was kind, upbeat, and made you feel like they were truly happy you were there. Our captain was fantastic--he was fun, knowledgeable, and full of interesting information about the Nā Pali Coast. We never felt rushed, and they even stopped so everyone could take photos of the breathtaking scenery. We traveled with our 15-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, and both had an amazing time. There were also several younger children on board, and the crew was wonderful with them as well. The boat was clean, spacious, and easy to move around, which made the trip comfortable for everyone. The food was delicious, and the entire day exceeded our expectations. As if the stunning coastline wasn't enough, we were lucky enough to see two different pods of dolphins swimming alongside the boat--an unforgettable experience! The biggest compliment I can give? The next morning my 10-year-old daughter asked if we could book another trip because she loved it that much. If you're considering a Nā Pali Coast tour, don't hesitate--book with Blue Dolphin Charters. It was worth every penny, and the views are truly once-in-a-lifetime.

Amazing experience. Captain Kia'aina is a true expert and made the trip super comfortable and fun…read morefor my family. He navigated the raft through caves and we always felt safe while getting an awesome adventure. Maddie and him made the trip the most memorable day of our vacation and something we'll remember for the rest of our lives! Dolphins, crazy mountains, awesome snorkeling...This tour brings it all! Highly recommend!

5/5 Seasport Divers…read moreDELIVERED We loved diving with them so much that we ended up booking 4 dives total -- 2 boat dives and 2 shore dives. Our first boat dive was actually our very first certified dive after getting certified, so I was definitely nervous But Anthony, our divemaster, was incredible. He guided us through the most amazing dive sites, helped us explore caverns, work on our buoyancy, and I got unbelievably close to my favorite sea turtles I got a little seasick because the waters were stormy and choppy during the first dive, but the whole crew encouraged me to get back in for the second one and I'm SO grateful I did because it ended up being one of my favorite dives ever. We loved the experience so much that we booked another shore dive with Cody and it was equally amazing. We got super close to the honus again, ended up right in the middle of a bait ball, saw a HUGE barracuda, and the most beautiful giant mushroom coral. Beyond the dives themselves, the people here were just sooo kind, encouraging, and welcoming. At one point they even gave Tim and me a thumbs up and said we didn't seem like new divers which honestly made our whole day Absolutely loved this shop and will 1000% dive with them again.

These guys are awesome. My wife and I had a great experience on a morning dive outing with Debbie,…read moreKole, and Thomas. Debbie is an excellent dive master, knowledgeable, friendly, and energetic. The boat we were on was very nice, clean, and spacious! Rental gear was also in excellent condition, and of course the dives were so much fun. We also had an issue with our car back at the shop and Marvin was able to save the day - so incredibly grateful and appreciative of everyone here.

We just had the most amazing afternoon snorkeling with Gregg. His love of the island, the sea, and…read moresharing his knowledge and skill with others is palpable. From the very start I realized that he is not just teaching us how to use the equipment, he is sharing his heart.

We went with WA to do an aquatic wildlife tour at Koloa Landing. Other than myself, my family had…read morezero dive experience. Cassie, our dive guide, was a great instructor for my young girls (11 and 13yo), to quote my daughter, "I learned so much, but it's like she just talks to you!" I will tell you as an open water, cave & wreck diver that the quality of the instruction was appropriate for the demands of this dive, and excellent. Cassies attention to safety was fantastic, and I was impressed by her ability to give an extremely knowledgeable wildlife tour AND keep my crazy kids together and safe. We went on to get the girls their PADI Open Water certifications with Watersports over the next two weeks. We dove a total of 6 times - incredible Honu, fish, eels, octopi - rare species that are only found here on Kauai. JUST INCREDIBLE. The quality of the instruction and guide service was consistent throughout. I saw many other services there at Koloa - Watersports was not cookie cutter, and spared everyone dry lectures while they were stuck in their wetsuits in the hot sun. Gregg, Cassie's father, is a total pro and keeps everyone safe. GREAT EXPERIENCE & GREAT PEOPLE 10 out of 10!

My family and I did a day of Rainbow Reef while we stayed at Aulani. It was cool that the resort…read morehas its own manmade reef with local fish for people to swim with and see. We went in July and we paid $30 each for the day of rainbow reef. Once you pay, you can come and go throughout the open hours (10am-3pm). You don't need a specific time slot. You go to the booth and they give you equipment to use (snorkel mask, breathing tube, and life vest). You then shower off and head into the reef. The water of the reef is 76 degrees, which actually felt pretty chilly, but you get used to the temperature pretty quickly. I did notice a lot of kiddos didn't want to go in because it was too cold for them. My niece was crying because of the cold, but the employees all went over and beyond to make her feel comfortable and help her. She ended up doing a lap in the reef and then heading to the jacuzzi lol The rainbow reef was cool, but we felt that $30 each for the day was pretty pricy. We only swam once and felt like we checked the box.

This is an awesome experience if you want to swim with the fish, but stay away from the sand at the…read morebeach... Not that I think most people coming here would want to stay away from the sand, but then again there are some who may want to. Or even if you're not afraid of the sand and you don't mind to get Sandy... This is still a great place to go because it's a small controlled environment where children of all ages can essentially get in the water and they are able to get right up close to the fish and have a great experience seeing all kinds of wonderful tropical fish. There's no need to swim and the experience is fantastic! My kids and wife and I really enjoyed it and we paid for the full experience for the entire length of our stay which means you can go each day during the hours that the location is open for as long as you want to stay! There is also an option to feed the fish and we did that one day of our stay too!

There are many options for shark diving on the North Shore…read more One Ocean Diving seems like they are committed to the shark conservation, research, and education. You sign up online. With the times, if there are not enough they will consolidate times. We were signed up for 10am but got moved to 8am. You meet at Haleiwa docks near the blue hut (see photo). They provide mask, snorkel, and fins. You should bring a rash guard or wetsuit. The ride out is about 15 mins and as is typical in Hawaii, water can be choppy so you might get a little seasick. They give you instructions on the boat. Once there you hang on to a rope on the side of the boat and they take you individually to dive down closer to the sharks. We got lucky because there were tiger sharks (see photos). The cost is about $150 person but I would recommend paying some additional money for the go pro. You really want some documentation of what you did and saw. It's $50 for 2 people. They also have $250 option for photos and go pro but I think the go pro was enough. The people were really good and it was a great experience for all of us. Strongly recommend.

I genuinely hate having to write reviews like this (especially for small businesses that are doing…read moregreat work on shark education), but I have to share our experience. Who we are: Our family, two adults and two children (tween/early teen), did this shark dive in early August. We are all scuba certified, strong swimmers, and have snorkeled A LOT. Our daughter is VERY interested in marine science, and our son has always loved sharks, so we mostly did this for them (my husband and I have both previously dove with sharks). First, the pros: - Responsible shark diving. This was VERY important to us and One Ocean does it right in regards to respecting sharks, their home, and space. - Yes, we saw sharks! Not a lot - maybe 4 or 5 - but they are wild animals, this isn't a zoo, so we knew we may see 1 or 2, or we may see 20 - it's the nature of wildlife. We did the first tour of the day as well, but just wasn't our lucky day. - The photographer was wonderful & friendly and did his best to get shots. It was tough, because the sharks stayed quite deep, but he did what he could. He did capture a great shot of our daughter, and a decent one of our son, but did not get any of my husband or I, nor did he take many of just the sharks, which did surprise me. For the extra $250, I would still recommend it, as it's impossible to otherwise capture photos. Just know that you may not get photos of everyone in your group, or the sharks on their own. - Very safe! At no point did myself, husband, or children feel unsafe or in danger Now, the cons: - What really negatively impacted our tour was the boat captain. He was EXTREMELY rude and condescending. Twice, he made completely unacceptable and rude comments and it was very off-putting. When we arrived to the site, there were tiger sharks there, BUT the team had done NOTHING to prep everyone to jump right in the water. On the boat ride out was the time to have everyone get their masks and snorkels ready, fins on, etc. but they didn't. They waited until we got to the site and then were trying to rush everyone off the boat in case the sharks left the area. The issue with that is with children, nothing moves quickly. The boat captain said to the photographer, snarkily, loudly and right next to my children, husband and I "these are the slowest four people in the history of snorkeling". Never mind we actually WEREN'T slow - all of the gear was stored in underseat storage (at their direction) and needed to be pulled out and put on. Had that been done on the boat ride out, no one would have been rushed. But that comment was completely unprofessional and unacceptable. Our kids were shocked that someone would be that rude. Instead of doing his job and offering to help, he stood by and made snarky comments about how all of the guests were "so slow". Then when spraying the goggles with defog, he fully YELLED at our kids for rinsing them after he sprayed them. We have been diving and snorkeling for YEARS and we have ALWAYS rinsed our goggles after defogging. He made ANOTHER snarky comment to our CHILDREN "yeah, because YOU know what you're doing over ME" as we were getting into the water. I was disgusted at this point and we hadn't even gotten in the water yet. - EVERYTHING about the tour is VERY rushed. They were ~20 minutes late in arriving, which I'm sure contributed to the rush, but of all of the tours we did while in Hawaii (4 scuba diving excursions, 2 boat excursions, helicopter, snorkeling excursion, etc), this was the ONLY one that we all felt VERY rushed by. Their lack or organization and prep work became the customer's problem, which led to a negative experience. - You're only the water for about 20 minutes. Even though they say it will be 25-30, no one from our entire boat was in the water for more than 20 minutes total. I only know this because I was videoing with our GoPro the entire time we were in the water, turning it on when we entered the water and off when we exited. Again, this may have been because the crew was late in arriving, so we were late in departing, but regardless, important for people to know when they are booking that they will only have a total of ~20 minutes in the water. Also know that you are in open water and the day we went, the current was STRONG. You MUST be physically fit and a strong swimmer to do this activity. Two of the people on our boat could not even participate because they weren't physically fit enough - there should be disclaimers and warnings prior to booking, but I don't recall there being any. For the price, I probably wouldn't do it again. While I very much support shark education and conservation, they could definitely do a much better job of on-time departures, preparedness, and customer service.

Super FUN morning on the water! Josh & Tyler welcomed us and took great care to get settled and…read moreleave the dock before 6am! By 6:30 we caught our first fish!! A beautiful Ahi Tuna!! We continued to the reef and caught another big fish Ono this time!! After another hour we caught our 3rd fish another Ono!! Friendly and professional! Clean, well maintained boat with top of the line custom fishing gear. We even tested a new lure which produced an Ono fish catch!! We booked a 4 hour private tour. A beautiful day, calm seas but large offshore swells. I highly recommend this family of experienced fishermen!! Great fun THANKS!!

Had a KILLER morning with Hawaiian Style Fishing. My wife and I did the 6hr private charter and it…read morewas fantastic. The guys stayed adaptable and were well prepared. Ended up with 16 Skipjack, 3 Yellowfin, and 2 Mahi. Absolutely recommend and will be booking again on our next visit!