Everything about Kona is big — especially the opportunity for underwater adventure. Hawaii’s youngest and largest island is surrounded by water that is deep, clear and frequented by some of the most exciting marine creatures in any ocean. For diving, the sunny Kona district, on the island’s west side, is the hot spot. On any given dive, you can encounter whales, dolphins, mantas and sharks, not to mention swim among some of the most dramatic underwater lava features imaginable. And Kona Honu Divers, a full-service scuba, snorkel and freediving operator based in Kailua-Kona, can show you what “big” really means.

“You never really know what you're going to see,” says owner and instructor Byron Kay. “We have a lot of large animals, so you'll see mantas getting cleaned during the day, monk seals or even tiger sharks on the reef, and sometimes tuna come cruising through. There are 13 types of cetaceans that normally appear in our waters, and then weird sightings like orca or whale sharks.”

Keeping an eye on the blue for big pelagics should be part of every dive plan on the Big Island, but don’t spend all your time looking outward, because thanks to the Hawaiian archipelago’s incredible geographic isolation — it’s more than 2,000 miles from the nearest continental shore — there are hundreds of rare endemic species found nowhere else.

“For people who are really into fish, it’s fun to spot these unique critters among the corals,” Kay says. “We have developed a specialty class where we go through all the endemic species, but there's just so many that you can spend all day searching the reef and never see them all.”

Beyond the diversity of marine life large and small, divers in search of a signature Big Island experience can swim through stirring lava-tube caverns and marvel at other underwater architecture, from graceful arches to towering pinnacles, all covered in Hawaii’s signature hard corals.

“My favorite structure site is called Suck 'em Up,” Kay says. “It’s a long lava tube that has openings at either end and skylights in the middle, where light rays stream down through the dark. It's really beautiful.”

To access all of this aquatic action, Kona Honu Divers offers daily trips to more than 40 sites within 20 minutes of the harbor aboard its custom 46-foot Newton dive boat, Honu One. Outfitted for 30 divers, Kay limits capacity to only 18 divers for maximum comfort and enjoyment. All diving on Honu One, which includes a camera table and oversize head, is valet style, so guests won’t have to load, set up or rinse their own gear, unless they want to. And there’s free nitrox on every dive, for those with proper certification.

In addition to traditional two-tank recreational dive excursions, Kona Honu Divers offers two of the Big Island’s signature experiences — the manta night dive and black-water diving. Plus, it runs a couple of trips that other local operators don’t offer, including a two-tank advanced charter that reaches rarely dived sites on the island’s pristine southern coast as well as an Open Ocean Safari aboard a high-speed rigid inflatable speedboat to find big animals to interact with on snorkel.

“The manta night dive is like being at a rave underwater because of the lights, the bubbles and the mantas dancing and doing loop the loops right around you,” says Kay. “Black-water diving is one of the most unique dives in the world. You're in 3,000 feet of water, and all these deep-sea animals that normally hang out in the aphotic zone where there’s no light, like translucent ctenophores and siphonophores, come up to the surface to feed. It's one of the largest migrations in the world, and you’re tethered to the boat with a dive light, watching the show.”

For divers keen on training, Kona Honu Divers offers PADI, NAUI and SSI instruction for all levels, from Discover Scuba experiences to advanced open water and many specialty courses. And freediving is a special passion. The experienced staff serve new converts and serious competitors alike, with instruction from Freediving Instructors International and Performance Freediving International, custom trips, rental gear and some of the industry’s top equipment lines, including Alchemy, Apnea, Oceaner and Molchanovs. The full-service shop also offers scuba rental equipment; gear by Cressi, Atomic, Mares and Suunto; and custom T-shirts featuring art design by Kona Honu staff members.

“Kona is really one of the best places to go freediving in the world because we have great nearshore access to depth,” Kay says. “And much more to offer topside, including national parks, mountains, jungle valleys, ranches and the best poke.”

Contact info:

Phone: 808-324-4668, Website: konahonudivers.com