Matt Zimmerman

Scuba Diving Lessons For All Levels in Oahu, Hawaii

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Scuba Diving Lessons For All Levels in Oahu, HawaiiScuba Diving Lessons For All Levels in Oahu, Hawaii

Where should you dive for your first time or for your hundredth dive?  A dive center with the capabilities of offering all persons of all levels comfortable and unforgettable experiences is a winning choice.  You want to be able to bring your friends and family of all diving skill levels together to experience on their own the freedom and excitement of scuba diving.  Island Divers has an array of beginner to advanced diving options for everyone.

For Beginners:

You can try your first breaths underwater in a pool while learning a few skills to make you more confident to then dive with your instructor in open water. Through our Discover Scuba Dive Experience those who have never had the opportunity to breath underwater can get the brief training and experience with wonderful astute instructors to guide you while diving the reefs of Oahu.

Once you realize the joy of diving, getting your Open Water certification will be your next opportunity to move forward to being a certified independent diver. Island Divers offers many options to fit your schedule. You can take our Week Long Open Water Course that is tailored for those working 9-5pm. You can do a 3 day course picking your days to complete the course. Maybe you can start on Monday but then can’t do the next day till Saturday.

 

No worries!

Our Instructors will always be there to complete the course on your time. Really want to buckle down, study hard, and complete your Open Water Course over 2 intensive days? We can do it with our Accelerated Open Water Course. Any of the choices you choose above will always be lead by our valued instructors and you will be provided the top of the line equipment and diving with one of the only operations in Oahu that owns and operates their own boats! Diving doesn’t just stop with Open Water certification; there are many paths you can take as a diver. A three day Advanced Course will get you oriented with deep diving, wreck diving, and navigating yourself around dive sites. You become more confident in your abilities to be a good diver and a good dive buddy. After this you can focus your dive education into many different specialties.

Advanced Divers:

Specialty certifications are our Specialty!! What do you love about diving? Do you love the fish, the weightlessness and controlling your weight as you glide through the water ahead of you, the penetration of a wrecked vessel sitting on the ocean floor, or the joy of underwater photography?  We offer you many different courses to hone your skill in a specialized area of diving. There are over 20+ specialties that you can get certified in and educate yourself in all facets of diving. You are now ready to be a Master Scuba Diver, the top of the diving food chain for recreational divers.

Want to move on to train as professional diver? Island Divers can take you there!  Hawaii Scuba University is our GI Bill benefit approved program to take you from any level of diving to a Divemaster or an Instructor.  This is an amazing opportunity if you wish to become the Inspiration to others like your Instructor was for you. Enjoy the lifestyle of being a professional scuba diver and the satisfaction of seeing the love for diving being born in others as it did in you. Let us here at Island Divers Hawaii give you the experience of a lifetime, as well as the opportunity to continue to progress in the world of diving with the best prices on the island!

Matt Zimmerman

Boat Diving Adventures in Hawaii

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Boat Diving Adventures in HawaiiIsland Divers Hawaii offers some of the best boat charters on the island!  You can choose from so many options you will not be able to do everything in one vacation.  You can always jump on our morning charters and dive over eleven wrecks that we visit throughout the week.  We are one of the only dive centers that do not go to the same two sites every day, and we give our customers the option to make requests on where they want to dive.
If you are an uncertified diver, you can do your intro to diving experience on our morning dive charter, “The Barge,” our sturdy beginner dive boat. For those just certified or even experienced divers who want to take it easy we offer afternoon dives to shallow reefs around the south end of Oahu. This is also a great charter for all those underwater Photogs out there. Sundays we go out for the whole day to different Drift and Wreck dives including a stop for lunch.  It’s a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Island Divers Hawaii is one of the only Dive Shops that own their own boats in Oahu, so we are able to offer more diving options besides just the Southeast of Oahu. We have boats on the West side of Oahu, and we also offer tours that leave straight out of Kewalo Basin (downtown Waikiki).
Join us on the Westside for our Burger BBQ and Two Tank Dive. We take you to an amazing Navy Minesweeper shipwreck, lavatubes, and/or deep Coral ridges out of Waianae.  When you arrive back to the boat from the 2nd dive our crew has an amazing Burger BBQ ready for you on the boat!
In Kewalo Basin, we take you out weekly for dusk dives, night dives with a fireworks show, and Three Wreck Dives Saturdays.  We strive to offer you a plethora of amazing dives sites around the whole island.
Our tours do not end there..  We use our afternoons from the end of December to March to take our guests Whale Watching. The migration of the Humpback whales through Hawaii Waters is one of our extra special occasions we get to enjoy on the island.
There is so much Boat Diving to choose from here at Island Divers Hawaii, you just have to find a way to fit in all the Sea faring fun into one vacation. Call Island Divers and start your boat adventures today and see Oahu from all sides of the shoreline.

Matt Zimmerman

Professional Scuba Diving Instructors in Honolulu, Hawaii

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Professional Scuba Diving Instructors in Honolulu, HawaiiThere are many different characters in the diving industry, but who do you trust to take you in the water? How do you decide which Instructor is for you? If you are a new diver you want someone who is patient, experienced, and safety oriented.  If you are an advanced diver you want a professional that respects your independence while staying close by as a safety diver. Either way, you want above all, clear communication between you and your instructors, with detailed briefings on what you are about to do.

Whatever your skill level or pursuit is when finding a reputable dive shop with trusting and knowledgeable staff, the best place to look is the reviews of the shop and staff on websites like Trip Advisor or Google Reviews. Here are some reflecting different aspects of diving experiences taken straight from Island Divers Hawaii Customer reviews. This is the kind of Instructors you are looking for!

“The instructors are very professional and relaxed. They know when to have fun and when to be serious, which made the entire experience more enjoyable. I had a “near-death” incident happen 25 years ago that left me extremely claustrophobic and terrified of water. After explaining this to my instructor, he was able to help me to get re-certified and once again start diving after all these years.”

“This was also my first ever boat dive which made me a little more apprehensive on top of all my other fears. After the wonderful experience that I had with Island Divers Hawaii in receiving my Open Water Diver certification I have decided to work on becoming an instructor myself and I will be completing the rest of my training with Island Divers Hawaii. I would recommend Island Divers Hawaii to anyone wishing to learn to dive while they are in Hawaii whether they are a brand new diver, or those working through fears of diving.”

“The staff was professional and took into account the experience level of each diver.”

“The staff was extremely helpful and had a great attitude on our four dives over the past week in August on Oahu. Safety briefings were always done so we knew exactly what to do in the event of an emergency. We dived the Corsair, Baby Barge, and the Mahi wreck. All dives were explained in detail before we entered the water. We traveled from Idaho and these were our first dives in Hawaii so the communication was great when booking our dives as well.”

“Our dive masters. They were very great communicators: told everyone exactly what was expected, described the dive sites in detail, and listed the sea life before each site. Great to know! They also switched out our gear for us between dives and were very professional and clear.”

“Our dive master took great care of all the divers, made my boys comfortable throughout both dives.”

“…patient and great guides for the kids. They took their time and made sure the kids understood what they were getting in to. It made for a really great experience.”

“Their friendly staff was attentive to newer divers, while allowing more experienced divers freedom within NDL.”

Matt Zimmerman

5 Scuba Diving Requirements Before You Get Certified

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5 Scuba Diving Requirements Before You Get CertifiedHave you tried Scuba Diving before?  Are you ready to take your first steps to getting certified so you are officially a scuba diver?  Well here is what you need to know to prepare yourself to start your certification.

Try a Dive

Getting certified in diving is an investment, and making sure you like breathing underwater is the first step towards committing to that investment.  Sign up for a Discover Scuba Experience, and get a brief glimpse and a little experience in a controlled setting of what you’re getting yourself into.  Diving is a wonderful  life changing experience that can be very addictive but make sure you enjoy the experience of weightlessness in a vast ocean with tons of marine life around you.

PADI Discover Scuba dive experience

https://www.padi.com/scuba/padi-courses/diver-level-courses/view-all-padi-courses/discover-scuba-diving/default.aspx

Purchasing Dive equipment

You will most likely be provided all the equipment you need to start your scuba diving experiences.  However some basic equipment used in scuba diving is very personal and unique to each diver.  It’s a great idea to buy your own mask, fins, and snorkel that fit you the best.  Most rental gear is made to fit the general population. However there are many products that are designed to fit specific divers’ traits like larger noses, smaller faces, small mouths, narrow feet, and so on.  Finding equipment to fit your body’s profile insures a more comfortable and confident experience.  If you are sure you will love being a diver you can also go the next step and buy the full set of diving gear so you can begin your training in the gear you will be diving in.  Buying the full set gives you a chance to slowly work out all the quirks in owning a new set of diving equipment and you will be on your way to being a more confident diver when your are certified to dive on your own.

Know your Theory ahead of the Course

You will get your material ahead of the course which includes, but is not limited to, an Open Water manual, Dive tables, and DVD.  It’s a good practice to learn all of the material before the course so you spend your time asking pertinent questions about the theory of diving and going over in depth the theory that proves a bit more challenging than other parts (i.e. Dive Tables).  You will be well prepared for the discussions and well informed about what you are about to perform.

Prepare for your first days on the Water

Either on a boat or shore diving there are a few things to have before your dives.  Make sure you eat a meal at least an hour before and make sure it’s a good one.  Stay away from greasy items and stick to your grains and dairy such as granola, muffins, bagels, and yoghurt.  This gives you a full stomach without the chance of it sliding around while on the boat or surface of the water and helps prevent sea sickness.  Make sure you bring sunscreen but make sure it’s a biodegradable sunscreen.  You don’t want to pollute the ocean you are trying to enjoy. If you bought new equipment make sure that all of it has been prepared for your dive; make sure the mask lenses have had the manufacturer protective coat removed (can be done with toothpaste scrubbed into the inside lens, left to dry, and then washed out), check the fit of your fins and booties, and check that other equipment is set up properly to begin your diving experience. If you are prone to sea sickness make sure you take medication before the dive to make sure you are in the best shape you can be in.

Plenty of Rest and hydration

Diving is definitely a physical sport and with any sport you must stay hydrated.  Its even more important to do this in diving because dehydration can be a catalyst for Decompression Sickness.  Being tired from not enough sleep or out too late the night before can also cause unwanted side effects that can lead to dive related injuries. Just remember that this is a sport that requires energy, concentration, and to enjoy it to the fullest remember to prepare your mind, body, and equipment!