Manta Ray Night Dive
The manta ray night dive is an unforgettable experience, which should be at the top of your bucket list when you visit the Big Island! Once the sun sets, the underwater spotlights are activated, enticing mantas to pay a visit from the depths to feed on the plankton rising to the surface at night. This is a completely magical experience, where you can spend an hour watching mantas feeding and gliding directly overhead. You are almost guaranteed to spot them all year round, and if you're super lucky, up to 36 individuals in one dive! With wingspans that can reach up to 6 metres, these gentle giants put on an impressive underwater show that can be experienced by either scuba diving or snorkelling.
Blackwater Dive
One of the most unique dives I've ever experienced was the Blackwater dive in Hawaii. Just a few miles off the Kona coast, the seafloor rapidly drops to over 5000m deep. Here, the biggest migration on the planet occurs every night, where plankton from the deep sea rise to the surface to feed. While hanging off the side of the boat at around 10-20m, you have the chance to witness some of these weird and wonderful creatures that rise up from the deep. Deep sea jellies, tunicates, gastropods and cephalopods alike are attracted to the lights from the boat, and it's like looking at strange, underwater aliens! If you're into macro photography, this dive is a must-do for you.
Check out my vlog for some video action of the cool creatures we saw. It truly was an outer-world experience (without the need for a long space travel). Our dive guides at Aquatic Life Divers were incredibly knowledgeable and it was overall a very educational experience.
Crescent Beach Shore Dive
The Big Island's most popular shore dive delivers pristine visibility (typically 30m+), and a beautiful coral reef. The quick drop-off makes it possible to spot marine megafauna, with dolphins and even humpback whales occasionally visiting the area! One of the most notable attractions however, is the chance to spot Laverne, Kona's resident tiger shark. The 14-foot female tiger shark has become something of a legend among local divers and marine enthusiasts. Recognisable by her distinctive markings and impressive size, Laverne is known to frequent this spot, and is often seen gliding through the channel by the Honokohau harbour. The beautiful reef, along with a chance to encounter some large marine life makes for a very exciting dive. Unfortunately for us, we didn't spot Laverne (but we did get to see a really big frogfish!).
Touch of Grey
Touch of Grey is a grey reef shark nursery, featuring underwater caverns and arches that not only provides shelter to adorable baby sharks, but also schools of tropical fish. Here, shark pups are often found circling the dive site or laying underneath ledges, making it a local favourite for a boat dive off the island. Due to the complex underwater formations, this dive site is best for advanced divers with experience in strong currents.
Offshore Safari
Okay, so not technically this one's not a dive site - BUT - how could I possibly skip this?! Diving out in the deep blue means that you never know what you're going to see. On our offshore safari day, we wam with five Oceanic Whitetips, and also spotted pilot whales, spinner dolphins, and even melon-headed whales along the way! It was such an eventful adventure, and the variety of animals kept us on the very edge of the railings. If you're sticking around Kona for a few days, I would 100% recommend at least one day dedicated to an offshore safari adventure.
You can join us in October 2025 Kona Hawaii to dive in all those dive sites! You can find all the details here.
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