USA Travel Articles - Scuba Diving on Oahu

You can shore dive a lot of different spots near Waikiki like Hanama Bay which basically is a giant aquarium filled with all sorts of beautiful fish. They have a tram that takes you down and back up. There is a lot of gear lugging to do this dive, but worth it, as it is one of the best dives in Hawaii. Electric Beach up at the power plant on the west side towards Makaha, has Giant turtles which can be found under the ledges hiding from the sharks, that you will most likely never see. 3 Tables, Sharks Cove, Fire Station and Halaiwa Trench make the north shore of Oahu a beach divers Mecca, when the surf is down dude! If the waves are up maybe go to Magic Beach, inside the wall they do a lot of scuba diving classes, and outside has some very nice reef. Just down the road you can also do the pipe, but you will defiantly need someone to show you this site and it has a long kick out to the end and maybe some strong currents.

You can rent scuba diving equipment, at Ocean Concepts in Honolulu at Sport Authority on Ward Av, Deep Ecology on the North Shore, and Aarons Dive in Kaneohe Kailua side. Most of these shops offer gear for sale as well and they will help you to buy scuba diving equipment. 

If you are going to buy scuba diving gear, it makes a lot of sense to get professional guidance, to make sure that you buy the right scuba diving equipment, for the types of diving you will normally do, and to make sure that the fit, and the comfort are right for you.

If you are doing self directed dives make sure that you have a surface marker - safety sausage and a whistle or air horn. I usually keep a dive light as well to signal at night. I also make sure that I have a snorkel, you never when you might get caught by a storm, you do get caught you will be grateful that you have it. Always make sure that you file a dive plan with a responsible friend, so someone knows to activate Emergency Medical Support System (911) if you don't show up. Have fun getting wet in Waikiki.