I will (hopefully) be getting my SCUBA certification right before I head to Kauai for 10 days next month. I'm staying 7 days on the North Shore (condo at Pu'u Poa) and 3 days on the South Shore (Hyatt in Poipu). I'll probably only go diving on one day, as I'll be the only diver on the trip and there are a lot of other things that I also want to fit in.

I've read TripAdvisor for some recommendations on SCUBA operators, but thought I would ask here as well. Do you recommend a specific dive operator, or a specific dive area that would be good for a beginning diver?

On a trip a few years ago, a couple of my group used Fathom Five in the Poipu area and they had good things to say about the trip. Sorry, can't recall specifics, and I didn't personally go (sometimes I like to go on the dive boat just to snorkel, but the staff did tell me that it wasn't a great snorkel spot where they'd be going). They went to the Sheraton Caverns site and liked it, also went to a couple other spots that I can't recall. Looks like they also have a branch up on the north shore if you prefer diving up there.

I would always see dive groups when snorkeling right in front of Whaler's Cove (you enter in the stream right beside the condos and swim out). If you like to snorkel, I recommend this spot (surf permitting) and Lawai Beach in the morning for south shore snorkeling.

http://www.fathomfive.com/

I got certified on my trip to Kaui years ago. I used Fathom Five and they were great! We went on a dive trip after my open water certification. I would recommend highly but it has been a few years.

In the summer, the best place to scuba dive on Kauai is Tunnels on the North Shore. And the best guy to go with is Gregg from Watersports Adventures. He's scuba diver to the stars...(taken Toby Maguire, Pierce Brosnan, Leonardo DeCaprio, Chelsey Clinton, etc.) He's been in business over 15 years with a perfect safety record. Their number is 808-652-2859. Have fun..

Thanks for the tips! I think I'm leaning towards diving at Tunnels. I'll look int oboth scuba dive shops recommended.

Should be a good dive there, the snorkeling is excellent! Have fun!