Explore the phenomenal underwater world of Kona

Jack’s Diving Locker has been a fixture of the Big Island scuba diving scene since 1981. Celebrating 37 years of showing divers the best of the signature experiences that make Hawaii so special, the family-owned operator has grown from a small mom-and-pop shop into a full-service charter company that offers a wide variety of exciting adventures.

“The diving at Kona is so amazing,” says PADI master scuba diver trainer Chrissy Bogdanovitch. “We're really lucky to be on the Big Island, where we have a lot of fun encounters with spinner dolphins, humpback whales, sea turtles, monk seals and other big animals. We see tiger sharks on a regular basis, and in the past few months we’ve seen whale sharks and schools of hammerheads too.”

But exciting pelagic species are just the beginning of what awaits divers below the surface of the Hawaiian archipelago’s largest island. Hawaii’s violent volcanic origins have created dramatic underwater structures for divers to explore. From spooky lava-tube caverns to towering arches and pinnacles that drop vertically to the sea floor, the underwater architecture of the Big Island is unlike anywhere else on the planet. And adventurous divers will find easy access to safe swim-throughs that will become lasting memories.

On these remarkable lava formations thrive gardens of hard corals where you’ll encounter a host of endemic species that don’t exist in any other ocean. Cool creatures such as the bandit angelfish, zebra blenny, Hawaiian dascyllus, milletseed butterflyfish and Ewa fangblenny can be spotted on just about any dive. And since Jack’s Diving Locker staff have been guiding divers through these waters for so long, they’re experts at finding unusual species — a special draw for underwater photographers.

“The great distance between Hawaii and the other islands has made this incredible endemism possible,” Bogdanovitch says. “At least 25 percent of our reef species are endemic, and I think that’s one of the coolest things about diving here — truly experiencing what you can't see anywhere else in the world.”

To reach all of this aquatic splendor, Jack’s Diving Locker runs daily charters that cater to divers of every level and interest. The diving here is valet-style, so you’ll never have to set up, break down or clean your gear, unless you want to. Plus, dives are scheduled up to 80 minutes, so there’s no need to rush. Morning two-tank trips hit Kona hot spots such as Suck ’em Up, Golden Arches and Kaiwi Point for divers from beginner to advanced, as well as snorkelers. And advanced divers will score extra adventure on local and long-range two-tank charters that reach deeper or more radical sites in less frequently dived or more remote locations. But to check Jack’s Diving Locker’s signature experiences off your bucket list, you’ve got to wait for the sun to set below the horizon.

Most divers have heard of the Big Island’s famous manta night dive, and Jack’s Diving Locker is one of the originals.

“We started the dive because we noticed that when the Kona Surf Hotel (now the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay) would shine lights into the water, the mantas would be attracted to feed on the plankton that accumulated,” says Bogdanovitch. “It's like going to a sporting event where you're watching these huge, majestic creatures do their normal feeding behavior while you're sitting down on the bottom, shining your lights upward as giant mantas zoom over your head doing somersaults all the way from the bottom to the surface. It’s just amazing.”

The two-tank charter begins in the afternoon with a dusk dive on the manta site to watch the transition to night, when the action kicks into high gear. For nondivers, there’s a snorkeling trip to experience the event from the surface. And Jack’s Diving Locker guarantees manta sightings, or if the mantas don’t show up, you’re invited back with a space-available, standby rain check with no expiration date.

The other can’t-miss signature dive is Pelagic Magic, a frequent winner of Scuba Diving magazine’s Reader’s Choice Award for best night dive, where participants can witness the largest migration in the animal world.

“It's our most extreme dive, but also probably our safest dive because you are tethered to the boat, just drifting in the blackness and watching wild translucent creatures come up from the deep water to feed,” Bogdanovitch says.

The one-tank dive offers alien encounters with zooplankton, jellyfish and other transparent abyss dwellers that rise from the depths each night. And it’s a must for photographers.

Beyond the amazing underwater adventures, Jack’s Diving Locker will take care of your every training and equipment need. The full-service shop offers scuba gear from Aqua Lung, Mares, Oceanic and Tusa, along with freediving equipment from Mares, Omer and OceanPro. It’s also a PADI Five-Star Instructor Development Center that provides a full range of training, from Discover Scuba to instructor training, with an on-site pool custom-made for dive training. And its specialized scuba and snorkeling programs for youth, which started in 1987, has become a favorite of kids for generations. No matter what your flavor, ocean lovers will experience the best of the Big Island with Jack’s Diving Locker.

For more information, visit:

Contact info: Phone: 808-329-7585 Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacksdivinglocker