Discover Diving on Oahu

An article about Oahu Island entitled Discover Diving on Oahu. See also more Article About Oahu and our Oahu Travel Guide.

The island of Oahu offers a spectrum of exciting diving experiences for the beginner student to the advanced diver. Shore dives and boat dives, night or day, the pristine waters of Hawaii come to life with colorful reef fish, coral beds, star fish, turtles, octopus, lobster, intricately designed shells, and lots of other marine life. Oahu is also the only place in Hawaii for wreck diving.

With more than 650 species of reef fish, Hawaii has more than 200 unique species found nowhere else in the world due to the development in isolation nearly 2,000 miles from the nearest continent or island reef habitats. Divers off Oahu’s coast are apt to see some of the 38 varieties of moray eels, nine species of frogfish (anglerfish) and a dozen or so types of scorpion fish, as well as an abundance of marine flat worms, nudibranchs, shrimp, and giant sea turtles.

Diving on Oahu is easily accessible with great dive sites surrounding the island and more than 25 dive shops to service all levels of divers. On the south side, the Corsair wreck is a premier dive site for advanced divers. In 1946, the pilot of the Corsair ran out of fuel on a training mission in 1946 and ditched the plane off the shores of Hawaii Kai. The plane landed in 105 feet on a sandy bottom leaving the plane fully intact. Divers have seen rare crocodile and garden eels, horned helmet (conch) shells, large pelagic fish such as barracuda, jacks and stingrays that frequent this site for feeding.

On the west side, the Mahi shipwreck is another interesting dive featuring a 186-foot U.S. Navy vessel sunk in 1982 as an artificial reef on a sandy bottom at 90 feet. The Mahi was voted by “Rodale’s Scuba Diving” as the fourth best wreck dive in the United States. The vessel features three decks ranging from 58 to 78 feet in depth. A group of spotted eagle rays are sometimes spotted swimming around the wreck. The Mahi is located one mile from the Waianae Boat Harbor.

On Oahu’s Windward (east) side, Moku Manu is about 500 yards off Mokapu Point with rich marine life including eels, turtles, reef fish, and lobster hiding in the caves. Diving depths range from 30 to 90 feet.

On the North Shore, Shark’s Cove near Waimea Bay, offers great summer shore dives featuring reef with caves, lava tubes and ledges. Reef fish are plentiful. Depths run to 60 feet and when the surf is low, Shark’s Cove is an ideal spot for scuba training.

In addition to the diversity of dive locations, there are many certified dive shops available to serve all levels of divers’ needs and interests as well as rates commissionable for travel agents. Many of the charters offer personalized care accommodating eight divers or less, including:

AquaZone
2335 Kalakaua Avenue (Outrigger Waikiki Hotel)
www.aquazone.net
(808) 923-3483

Breeze Hawaii Diving Adventures
3014 Kaimuki Avenue
www.breezehawaii.com
(808) 735-1857

Surf-N-Sea – Surf, Sail & Dive Shop
62-595 Kamehameha Highway
www.surfnsea.com
(800) 899-7873

Resource

Hawaii Tourism Authority / Oahu Visitor's Bureau / July 16, 2010

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More Articles About Oahu

Oahu Island Travel Guide

Other Islands of Hawaii

Hawaii for Visitors

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