With a commitment to higher quality—including bigger, more spacious boats, smaller group sizes and only taking already certified guests—it’s no wonder that Kona Honu Divers rates as Hawaii’s highest rated and most reviewed scuba center.

Located on the Big Island, Kona Honu Divers offers a mix of in-water experiences, including unique sites farther afield that most other operators don’t travel to. Their divers explore caverns rich in nudibranchs and macro life, lava-tube swim-through caverns and little-seen reefs where tiger sharks, turtles and frogfish are all common sightings. Plus, the ride to it all includes the chance to see pilot whales, pygmy killer whales, sperm whales and four species of dolphin.

That ride is aboard a 46-foot boat that carries just 12 passengers, giving guests ample space to lounge on cushy decking. The boat is also outfitted for hot showers for extra comfort post-dive.

In the water, the guests-to-guide ratio is 6 to one, giving divers a more personal experience.

Perhaps best of all, Kona Honu is committed to taking only certified divers on their trips. This means no students and no discover scuba first-timers. Rather, everyone on board has to have been diving within the last two years, guaranteeing a higher standard so that everyone can get more out of their time on Hawaii’s reefs.

As for time, you get to dive your tank—in other words, your bottom time is limited by your own air consumption. Nitrox is free for Nitrox-certified guests, and the scuba tanks are neutrally buoyant, so you’ll have more bottom time and a greater sense of in-water freedom to enjoy as you see fit. On any standard two-trip tank trip, it’s possible to encounter manta rays, dolphins, monk seals and maybe even a whale shark. Of course, not every day delivers the same mix of wildlife, but divers who go out enough see cool stuff like that—but you have to go to see it.

konahonudivers.com