The private island of Ni‘ihau harbors some of the most unspoiled diving in Hawaii. It’s a true frontier adventure for divers who want to experience rare sights that few before them have seen. And Seasport Divers, a full-service dive operator on neighboring Kauai, has more than 30 years of local knowledge diving the Forbidden Isle.

“Ni‘ihau is a very special place,” says Seasport Divers general manager and master scuba diver trainer Derek Budde. “We typically dive in between Ni‘ihau and a bird sanctuary called Lehua Rock that’s just offshore. They're drastically different in underwater topography — Ni‘ihau has amazing arches and caverns, and the vertical drop-offs on Lehua Rock are insane.”

Located at the far north end of the Hawaiian archipelago, Ni‘ihau is a private island owned by the Robinson family, so there’s no tourism or industry to degrade the marine habitat. Visitors aren’t allowed, but divers can still enjoy the pristine underwater environment with Seasport Divers. The full-day three-tank charter offers experienced divers with advanced training dramatic underwater architecture, thick schools of colorful reef fish and exciting encounters with big pelagic species, from sandbar, tiger and oceanic blacktip sharks to manta and eagle rays, the occasional whale shark and some of the most prolific populations of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal.

“It's almost a guarantee that you will see a monk seal,” Budde says. “They're very curious and will generally follow divers around a little bit.”

At Lehua Rock, Vertical Awareness is the signature site, with its namesake walls plunging for hundreds of feet straight down and offering a close inspection of the geological strata of ancient lava flows that built the island layer by layer. And Ni‘ihau Arches boasts striking volcanic structures where divers can explore safe lava-tube swim-throughs illuminated by plentiful ambient light.

“The lava tubes are massive — big enough to drive a truck through,” says Budde. “You can’t help but be blown away by the size and grandeur.”

Ni‘ihau is a hidden jewel of Hawaiian diving, but there’s plenty of treasure back on Kauai too. Seasport Divers runs daily two-tank charters catered to divers’ experience levels. The morning trip for experienced divers can hit as many as three sites on extended drift dives, along with Brennecke's Ledge, where rare black coral grows thick on the underside of the ledge. The afternoon trip, for students learning to dive, less experienced divers and visitors who might be a bit rusty, visits sites that are shallower and less challenging. And for the truly adventurous advanced diver, the dive operator offers a long-range three-tank charter that takes advantage of ocean conditions to sample the best sites available that day. “The highlight dive of the south shore of Kauai is Sheraton Caverns,” Budde says about the site that’s featured on both the morning and afternoon charters. “There are lava tubes that have collapsed into big archways, so you can actually swim through them, and the turtles just swoop in and out of the cavern. I’ve counted 30 on one dive.”

Kauai offers traveling divers heaps of variety when it comes to dive sites. Accessible shore dives abound on the south shore, and in the calm summer months, less frequently dived sites on the wild north shore become accessible. And thanks to the island’s extreme isolation in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean, marine life exist here that can be found nowhere else on the planet.

“About 25 percent of our species are endemic, which is huge compared to most places around the world,” Budde says. “Kauai is the northernmost in the chain. We have the coldest waters out of all the Hawaiian Islands, which brings in different animals. We get species from French Frigate Shoal, Midway Island and beyond that add to our variety.”

All dive groups are led by highly qualified instructors to ensure utmost safety, and nitrox is available. But what sets Seasport Divers apart from other Kauai operators is its boats. “We easily have the most comfortable dive boats on the island,” Budde says. “The others are converted fishing boats, but both our boats were custom-made for diving and fitted to make it the most comfortable charter possible.” Seasport Divers has two locations, in Kapaa and Koloa. The shops feature scuba gear by Scuba Pro, Aqua Lung, Atomic and Oceanic, as well as freediving equipment from Omer, Hammerhead and Hecs. Training is available for everyone age 8 and older, from Bubblemaker programs for kids to entry-level Discover Scuba, Open Water, Advanced Open Water, specialties and professional-level classes all the way up to instructor. With exciting dive charters and two full-service shops, divers visiting Kauai will find everything they need to maximize their time in the water at Seasport Divers.

Contact Info

Phone: 800-685-75889

Email: [email protected]

Website: seasportdivers.com

Facebook: SeasportDivers