Discover Scuba Diving - No Certification Needed!

You can scuba dive in Honolulu without certification with a trusted Honolulu dive shop and dive master and/or instructor. If you’re not certified, look for Intro or Discover scuba-labeled tours. There may be restrictions to diving as a beginner including most of the wrecks. Please check requirements for certain dives to ensure you don't need a certification!

Flying directly after scuba diving is incredibly dangerous and could result in a life-threatening illness called the Bends/Decompression Sickness. The Divers Alert Network (DAN) guidelines for flying after diving include:

• A single no-decompression dive, a minimum preflight surface or any driving to above 1000 ft (305 m) interval of 12 hours suggested.
• Multiple dives per day or multiple days of diving, a minimum preflight surface or any driving to above 1000ft (305m) interval of 18 hours is suggested.
• Dives requiring decompression stops are recommended to have longer than 18 hours.

Please discuss with your dive guide ahead of time what is suggested!

Any activity that brings you above 1000 ft (305 m) can trigger the Bends/Decompression Sickness. Please check your hike elevation to ensure that at no time you will be going up in elevation. If the hike does go to elevation, you must treat it like a preflight interval as listed above in the flying FAQ.

You need to be in reasonable physical health, certain conditions will impact if you can safely dive or not. Discussing with your doctor ahead of diving is the best way to check your eligibility to dive. There will be a medical questionnaire that must be filled out ahead of the dive. If you answer yes to certain questions, you may be asked to obtain a doctor's note clearing you for the activity. The questionnaire often used can also be searched as the PADI/DAN Medical Scuba Statement. It will be up to the divemaster if you can participate depending on your comfortability in the water in order to keep everyone safe.

Incidents of sharks biting people in Hawaiian waters are very rare, occurring on average at a rate of about three or four per year. Fatal shark bites are extremely rare, especially considering the number of people in Hawaii’s waters. People who enter the water need to recognize that there are hidden dangers. A number of marine animals can cause serious injury to people, and sharks are just one example. Entering the ocean should be considered a “wilderness experience,” where people are visitors in a world that belongs to the sharks. The risk of injury caused by sharks is extremely small, but it is a risk accepted by anyone who enters the shark’s world. By learning more about sharks, using common sense, and observing the following safety tips, the risk may be greatly reduced.