Quick Details
Availability: Typically offered on Wednesday and Saturday; however, we often can put together charters on other days with a party of six or more. Please inquire.
Times: Meet at the store for a 6:30AM check-in then round the corner to the marina for gear needs and briefing before the ride to The Forbidden Island!
Duration: Approximately 12 hours
Read restrictions below.
*Note: certified divers must bring certification card or verification
Fall in love with the diversity of life and topography Ni’ihau and Lehua Crater have to offer the intrepid diver!
Monolithic lava formations provide for an array of habitats. Ni’ihau has the most amazing labyrinth network of lava tubes in the state. The mouths of the tubes are 100 feet wide and extend back 150 feet+, only to drop into another passageway.
Huge underwater erosional sea caves and arches change the colors around you. This topography is sure to blow your mind. It is the only dive destination in the world where you have an excellent chance to swim with the most endangered marine mammals in U.S. waters, the Hawaiian monk seal. Get your picture taken at The Lehue Crater Keyhole as your claim to fame from this destination dive!
Click here to read about our Ni’ihau dive sites.
What’s Included
Charter includes: two full tanks of 32% nitrox and 1 tank of air, weights, pastry and fresh fruit breakfast as well as 2 lunches, the “sin bin” of snacks and unlimited cold non-alcoholic beverages, marine ecology tour, snorkeling opportunities.
Snorkelers/riders along are welcome, though they should understand that the underwater portion of the charter is all about the diver’s safety, so snorkeling options are present but limited. It’s worth the travel to see the grains of sand on the bottom move in the current at 80′!
Nitrox package available – If you are not certified in nitrox, don’t worry! An introduction is available for a small fee or we can get you certified.
What to Bring
Please bring beach attire, and remember to wear reef safe sunscreen and bring a hat and/or sunglasses!
More Info
Ni’ihau is considered advanced diving due to its remoteness and the potential diving conditions. Buoyancy control, comfort on the surface while a boat is picking you up, and knowledge of drift diving are mandatory. We ask that you at least have a snorkel with you or rent one from us during your dives. We strongly encourage divers to dive with us ahead of a Ni’ihau charter to learn our drift diving techniques. While we take your safety very seriously, we elicit amazing encounters, laugh, and have a grand day!
It is always a weather/seas-dependent trip with a 33-mile crossing from harbor to dive site areas. The distance between islands is 17 miles and is consistently doable May thru September/October. However, there are weather windows throughout the remaining months. We offer the service of watching those windows of opportunity and offer the trip in the off-season, our favorite being February/March when the mantas are schooling for mating and the humpback whales are numerous.
Our group size is small — eight divers on Kaimanu. With so few of us getting in the water, oftentimes marine mammals, fish, and elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) come right up to us! With proper diver etiquette advised in advance, divers get fantastic photo opportunities found at no other time. The charter is a marine ecology tour, and your under water tour guide is with the group at all times pointing out rare species.
The adventure is all about you and your encounters, and we try to put you in the right place at the right time. Snorkeling during the surface intervals can give you visions of a lifetime, and that’s what we try to do for you! Snorkelers / Riders can get on this day adventure but it is about the diver, call for more information.
Restrictions
- No divers under the age of 15. Anyone under the age of 15 needs to call.
- No one under the age of 8 can board the boats due to insurance regulations. Call for questions about young children.
- Diver’s must have at least 20+ dives and been in the water recently with drift diving experience and buoyancy control to dive Ni’ihau . If not, they can do a two tank local or Koloa Landing Shore Dive prior for check out dives.
- Due to high-risk concerns for your unborn child and insurance liabilities, Bubbles Below discourages any pregnancy on board. For more information read our FAQ statement.