David R.'s Dive Log

Here is the deal. Of the three sites we went shore diving on the Big Island in July, the other two being Mile Marker 4 and Puako Village End, I would actually rate this the hardest entry/exits of the three. There are two problems. The place can be overwhelmed by snorkelers all of whom are trying to enter and exit from the same place. So it can be a waiting game because of both the volume of people and the inexperience. But on top of that, when the tide is low, getting out is difficult because finding the leverage to get onto the first 'step' is not easy. If the tide is high, it is much easier. Once in the water, it is easy enough to get far away from the snorkelers. And you don't have to go far to hit the wall and be able to achieve as much depth as you might want. We bottomed out at 70 feet or so, but could have easily gone deeper and seen some nice things. We dove south along the wall to hit the second and deeper 'Aloha' sign on the sandy bottom at the edge of the way. A large reef shark was resting there. We saw turtles and a lot of marine life. The visibility was excellent. Very enjoyable dives. Beat the crowds if you can by getting there early. Also it is worth paying the $5 for the parking right by the site. It makes everything easier.

This was an excellent dive site. The sites to the south of Kailua Kona, like 2 Step/Place of Refuge have a lot of traffic. Puako Village end is the same distance but much faster travel and feels more remote. The site itself is beautiful. The is plenty of shade for your car/truck and great spot for birds. The entry was easy. I mostly recommend setting up your scuba gear and floating it out a little to chest deep water and then putting your fins and BCD on. It makes everything much easier. You have to swim out a good 100 to 150 meters before you hit the wall and first real depth. We did one dive an probably didn't get below 35 ft. But there were some great inlets in the lava for some interesting diving and decent marine life. It is better to get there earlier in the morning because the wind picks up quite a bit late morning. I heard that summer is best time there for calm water. Thoroughly enjoyed the site and it is the kind of place where you want to picnic and hang out and do a solid 2 dives.