Yes, we run our boat dives from “The Beach”, our company owned 42 foot dive boat.

Winter water temperatures average about 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius) while summer temperatures average about 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.5 degrees Celsius).

Most divers wear wet-suits in Hawaii. A 3mm is the standard year round. If the cold doesn’t bother you then go with a shortie or just your swim suit especially in the summer. If you get cold easily think about possibly getting a thicker suit or wearing a hood. Living Ocean Scuba provides 3mm full suits with our rental equipment.

Seeing the turtles is often the highlight of Living Ocean’s dive trips. Just about every day we find turtles during all of our dive trips, but they are wild animals and we can’t guarantee they will show up! When you see the turtles, make sure you do not get too close for that photo shoot because the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle is a federally protected animal and they cannot be handled or harassed in any way. The slower that you move the more likely that they will hang around and pose for a few pictures!

All of your equipment is included with any of the dive trips for non-certified divers. The only thing water related that you should bring is a swim suit and a towel. We will be out in the sun for a few hours so sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and sandals are a good idea. Drinks and a light snack will be provided, but it’s always smart to bring a big bottle of water because when you come up from your Scuba Dive you’re going to be thirsty!

The “rainy” season in Hawaii is from November to March, but that doesn’t mean that its not a great time to visit. If its raining where you are staying one day, most likely it would only be a shore drive to the other side of the island where you can look for a sunny beach. During the dry season, April to October, the rain is much less frequent and temperatures a few degrees warmer. The other major thing to consider when visiting Hawaii is the price of airfare and accommodation. Staying away from peak vacation seasons can cut the cost of your airfare in half.

Oahu is great for diving year round. During the summer months (stormy season in the southern hemisphere) most of the swell comes from the south and diving is better along the North and West sides of the island. The opposite is true in the winter when most of the swell hits the northern part of the island and diving is great on the South Shore. At Living Ocean Scuba makes every attempt to get our divers on the side of the island with the best conditions for that day. We contract with boats on all sides of the island, checking swell and weather daily to make sure we get the best conditions possible.

Come out on our reef dives in the afternoon. These reefs are less than 40ft max depth and home to our endangered Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles. The instructor will talk you through the whole dive, give an in depth safety briefing and help you set up your equipment correctly.

The ship wrecks in Hawaii are generally between 70 and 105 feet deep. Our morning trip to the shipwrecks are deep dives so we ask that divers signing make sure they are comfortable with these advanced dives.

The minimum age for our Introductory Scuba Dive is 10 years old. We often suggest that family with younger children sign up for our Hanauma Bay Introductory Scuba Diving experience. Diving at Hanauma Bay is done from shore and gives our first time participants more time to get used to being in the ocean and breathing underwater.

We Scuba Dive all around the Island of Oahu. Our boat dives generally either leave from Hawaii Kai which is about 15 minutes outside of Waikiki towards Hanauma Bay, or from Kewalo Basin which is just 5 minutes from Waikiki. We shore dive in Hanauma Bay as well as at Electric Beach. We also shore dive at Shark’s Cove on the North Shore of Oahu when it is specially requested.

Waikiki Hotel Pickup is included in all of our boat dives, but not for our Hanauma Bay tours. If you are staying in Ko’Olina at the Disney Resort or the JW Marriot pickup is not available. We will provide you with driving directions to the marina that your dive boat is departing from. We will arrange for pickups from Ko’Olina for large groups or for groups shore diving at Electric Beach or Shark’s Cove.

Hanauma Bay is about a 20 minute drive East of Waikiki located just past the communities of Hawaii Kai and Portlock. If you take the H-1 East from Waikiki/Honolulu it will turn into Route 72 (Kalaniana’ole Highway). Keep going strait on this road for about 5 miles, over two small bridges and up a hill. As you get to the top of the hill the entrance to Hanauma Bay will be on your right. The address for Hanauma Bay is 7455 Kalaniana’ole Highway, Honolulu, Hawaii 96825.

Hanauma Bay is open every day except Tuesdays from 6am to 7pm. Hanauma Bay is closed every Tuesday for maintenance. To keep attendance down at the bay commercial tours are not allowed to operate on Tuesdays, Saturdays, Sundays or Hawaii State Holidays. We offer Scuba Diving Tours on Mondays, Wednesdays Thursdays and Fridays.

The entrance fee is $7.50 per person to get into Hanauma Bay. This fee is included in your dive tour.

There is a large parking lot right next to entrance to the bay. It is $1 to park for the day. Plan on getting there early as the parking lot fills up, generally from 8am to 1pm, and you will be turned away. The parking lot re-opens to let cars in as cars leave. If you loop around you might get lucky and be one of the cars that is let in as other cars are leaving. If you are on one of our tours and are unable to park just give us a call. We will have you park down the hill and your scuba instructor will drive out to pick you up. Our tour times are set up so that this is extremely rare. If the parking lot is full there is not another good place to park and enter the bay. Plan ahead and try to get there before the parking lot fills up.

Honolulu City and County “The Bus” #22 goes by Hanauma Bay. This bus picks up along Kuhio Ave and on the corner of Kalakaua and Kapahulu in Waikiki.

Plan on bringing a towel, sunscreen, sunglasses and plenty of water. There is a concession stand at the entrance to the bay but nothing is sold once you enter the park and head down to the beach.

Hanauma Bay is the perfect place to try Scuba Diving for the first time. We will get into our equipment and walk into the water. Once we are about waist deep you will practice breathing underwater for the first time! Your PADI Scuba Instructor will go over a few skills and safety procedures with you and stay with you for the entire dive. After you have practiced and gotten comfortable in shallow water your Scuba Instructor will guide you out to deeper waters. If you are a certified diver we will snorkel out through the shallow waters and do our dive on the outside reef, one of the most beautiful and healthy coral reefs in Oahu.

The maximum depth for Scuba Diving in Hanauma Bay is approximately 30 feet. Your instructor will judge the best depth and area for you to be in based on you comfort level and ocean conditions. Sometime conditions are such that getting out through the reef to to deeper water is not possible. If this happens to be the case your dive will be in the inside of the reef is shallow water. Deeper water does not mean more fish or better diving! Actually, as you go deeper underwater less light penetrates and the color of the corals and reef fish fades.

Hanauma Bay Scuba Diving is a No Experience Required Tour. You do not need to be Scuba Certified. You do need to be in good health and able to answer “NO” no all questions on our medical statement.

You will be scuba diving from shore in Hanauma Bay. This means that we will have our dive briefing which covers equipment, safety, and marine life at Hanauma Bay. You will be helped into your Scuba equipment, take the tram to the beach and walk out into the water. This is the easiest way to learn how to Scuba Dive as you will not have to jump right off of a boat into deep water. We do offer introductory boat dives at a different location if you wish to dive from a boat. To dive at Hanauma Bay you must be able to walk wearing your scuba diving equipment (similar to wearing a 40 pound backpack) approximately 100 yards.

For beginners this tour is a 1 tank shore dive. We plan on about 3 hours from the time that we meet you at Hanauma Bay until you are finished. Normally we are in the water for approximately an hour starting with skills and practice followed by our underwater tour of the reef and the marine life that lives in Hanauma Bay. Certified divers have the option of one or two dives, each approximately 1 hour in the water.

If you wish to stay at Hanauma Bay after the tour is over you are welcome to do so. You will not have to pay anything additional to stay at Hanauma Bay for the day and ride the tram to and from the beach. We absolutely recommend spending more time at the beach either before or after your dive!