Kona, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, has truly world-class diving, with vibrant reefs, cavernous lava tubes, majestic manta rays, fish and inverts galore, and the occasional “big animal” encounter. Kona is located on the more popular, drier, western side of the island and offers diving to suit every level.

This is THE place to night dive with manta rays. One of the most famous dives in Kona allows you to kneel on the bottom in about 35 feet of water in the dark of night while a huge light is set in the middle of all the divers that attract phytoplankton and krill so the mantas swoop in right over you to feed.

Manta Heaven is one of three typical spots where dive operators out of Kona take divers for the famous manta ray night dives. Get ready for the show of a lifetime as huge manta rays swoop right over head at these cleaning stations while you circle around a single light source that attracts them.

This is a beautiful, intermediate reef dive off the Kona coast of Hawaii. It gets its name from the pyramid butterflyfish that school around the reef. The submerged lava arches, caverns, pinnacles, and finger corals peppering this site offer plenty to explore.

This is a nice, clear water dive and not too deep- max. 30 feet. An easy entry beach dive right off the Keauhou Sheraton Hotel. Watch out for boat traffic in the middle of the bay, however.

This site is known as the Aquarium and for good reason. It is so full of active marine life that it looks like you’re diving inside of an actual aquarium.

This is a favorite dive site of locals due to its easy beach entry and the fact that it’s not a popular place among tourists. Get here early as the winds start to pick up around 11 am, making the water rougher and visibility not as good.

Turtle Pinnacle is located just offshore on the northern part of the Kona side of the Big Island of Hawaii and is one of the best dive sites in all of the Hawaiian islands for its turtle cleaning station. Here, surgeonfish clean the turtles attracting lots of other marine life as well.

This is one of the best spots on Maui to see sea turtles. Just off Makena Beach off the southwest coast of Maui, this site offers a shallow dive perfect for beginners and also snorkelers. This is a turtle cleaning station so activity is high.

Makena Landing offers divers access to one of the best and most unique dive sites on the island of Maui. This area is home to numerous ledges and grottos, and actually encompasses a few different individual dive sites known as 5 caves/5 graves, turtle town, and turtle arch.