SCUBA diving in Puna

[jm minica]

The boat launch at Issac Hale beach park is a good place for entry, and there is a suprisingly vast variety of ocean life out there. Just gotta dodge the surfers until you get beyond the break. My son and I snorkeled out there one day and were quite pleased with what we found. There is also a lava point in Kapoho Vacationland that I have seen people use as an entry for diving, mostly at night though, I assume they were spear fishing. I'm not sure if you can get to that spot without going through the community gate. There is also the tide pools at the end of Kapoho Kai rd. that are plenty large enough for diving and the largest one has a channel that leads into the ocean. I've often wished I had scuba gear at those pools to explore the many caves that are scatterd throughout the bottoms of the larger pools. In my opinion the Kapoho tide pools are the best snorkeling that I've experienced anywhere on the island. Kaheana beach(when it's not stormy) has a great big rock pillar out in the mouth of the bay that is covered with coral and attracts large schools of fish that swarm around it. This is another spot that I've wished that I had scuba gear in order to get down there with the fishy's. The dive spots do exist on the east side, but during the stormy seasons the water isn't as friendly as on the west, and some of the spots take some effort to get to, but there are no big crowds, just you and the ocean critters. Have fun exploring!
Aloha,
Mark