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Scuba Dive at Ni’ihau: Best in Hawai’i
5.0
33 Ratings
Kekaha
Dive Ni’ihau’s crystal-clear waters with expert guides. Encounter rare wildlife, explore Lehua Crater, and enjoy a swift, scenic boat ride. Book now!
Dive Ni’ihau’s crystal-clear waters with expert guides. Encounter rare wildlife, explore Lehua Crater, and enjoy a swift, scenic boat ride. Book now!
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- 72JX2W52+PJP - Exclusively for certified scuba divers. Experience diving in pristine, remote waters with breathtaking landscapes and abundant marine life. Expect to encounter large sharks, monk seals, rays, and big predatory fish! It is recommended to have completed at least 15 dives before participating in this adventure. Why choose to dive…
- 72JX2W52+PJP - Exclusively for certified scuba divers. Experience diving in pristine, remote waters with breathtaking landscapes and abundant marine life. Expect to encounter large sharks, monk seals, rays, and big predatory fish! It is recommended to have completed at least 15 dives before participating in this adventure. Why choose to dive Ni’ihau with us? We offer the fastest crossing and the nearest harbor! With just a 1-hour crossing, you can significantly reduce your travel time. We accommodate a maximum of 6 customers, ensuring small groups for a truly enjoyable diving experience. Your crew will be Nick and Jessie, both seasoned captains and dive leaders. The tour begins at 6:30 am at Kikiaola small boat harbor. At the dock, gear fitting will take place before departure! The journey to Ni’ihau typically takes 1 hour. At Ni’ihau, we will explore 2 different dive sites, selected based on marine life requests and conditions! Between dives, enjoy a tour of the stunning Lehua crater while having lunch. Lehua is an extinct volcano, now a sanctuary for seabirds. The return trip takes between 60 to 90 minutes, depending on conditions. From October to April, this tour becomes more challenging due to weather. If reaching Ni’ihau is not possible, we will dive off Kaua’i instead. A 45% refund will be provided in such cases.
What's Included
- Use of SCUBA equipment
- Lunch
- Snacks
- Bottled water
- Bathroom
- Use of SCUBA equipment
- Lunch
- Snacks
- Bottled water
- Bathroom
Additional Information
Certified divers only. Ni’ihau is renowned for offering the finest scuba diving experiences in Hawai’i! The dive sites feature vertical walls with seemingly endless depths and crystal-clear visibility. Frequent sightings of large marine life include sandbar sharks, Hawaiian monk seals (unique to this location), schools of butterflyfish, and manta rays….
Certified divers only. Ni’ihau is renowned for offering the finest scuba diving experiences in Hawai’i! The dive sites feature vertical walls with seemingly endless depths and crystal-clear visibility. Frequent sightings of large marine life include sandbar sharks, Hawaiian monk seals (unique to this location), schools of butterflyfish, and manta rays. Two dives are conducted. Jessie will be your underwater dive guide, ensuring your safety and highlighting the wildlife! Between dives, lunch is served, and a tour of Lehua Crater is provided, showcasing favorite seabirds and the stunning “Keyhole.” A mini tour around Lehua Crater often includes dolphin and manta ray sightings. The boat ride to Ni’ihau takes approximately one hour, while the return journey ranges from one to one hour and 45 minutes, depending on weather conditions. The travel time to and from Ni’ihau is nearly half compared to other operators! Book with us for an experienced crew, small groups, and a quicker, more efficient boat ride!
- If there is bad weather this tour may get rerouted to south side local diving. Prices will be adjusted
- October-April this tour becomes harder to get to due to weather. If we cant make it to Ni’ihau we will dive off Kaua’i. A 45% refund will be applied
- You must be certified to dive Ni’ihau
- 4 diver minimum to run this tour
- Kindly provide us arrival date/departure date
Location
Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor
Kekaha Road
Please arrive NO LATER THAN 6:30 am.
When you pull in to the harbor park on the right hand side in the grassy field. Walk over to the dock and look for scuba tanks! We recommend wearing hat, sunglasses, and a sunshirt or jacket to cover your skin.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(33 Ratings)
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Lindsayc791
Nov 8, 2025
Nature at it’s best - We had the BEST day out diving with Jessie and Nick! Got lucky with a calm day and no other boat was out there so we rode in with hundreds of dolphins! Saw sandbar sharks, Hawaiian monk seals, manta rays and a turtle both in the water and just from the boat. Oh and we can’t not mention how amazing the sandwiches they bring are! Both shared loads of information with us and it was a great down to earth dive company that we look forward to diving with again in the future 🤙🏽 Mahalo
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sambz7241yr
Oct 18, 2025
Can’t wait to get back out with this team! - Jessie and Nick are the best. I can’t wait to go back out with them. They handled somewhat rough seas with obvious experience, keeping the trip fun while very professional. Great safety and wildlife briefings. We saw three species of dolphin on the channel crossing, spinner, bottlenose, and rough tooth. The dive conditions were great, choppy up top but amazing 82° water with great visibility below. I had done Niihau with a different dive company in the past, but the short crossing and laid back pro crew made this so much more fun. The wildlife underwater did not disappoint either. Multiple Monk seals, sandbar sharks, eagle rays, tuna, trumpet fish, ghost, shrimp and amazing endemic tropical fish. Jessie had her board out writing as we dove keeping us informed the whole time.Can’t recommend these guys enough I will be booking with them again as soon as possible.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K9455qcstuartl
Oct 8, 2025
Epic dive conditions with an equally epic crew. - We booked this specific tour because a lot of other dive operators said it would take 2-2.5 hours each way to get to/from Ni'ihau. Explore Kauai Scuba said an hour. We had great conditions on our way out. Took us about 48 mins. We saw a school of spinner dolphins on our way out and our captain swung around to spend some time with them. The conditions of our dives were epic. The water was so clear that when we tied off to a mooring ball we could see a monk seal chilling on the bottom (about 50' of depth). Viz was amazing. Easily 100' but could have been more. Had monk seals swimming with us almost the entire dive. Sandbar shark too. Saw some other things, but ultimately, we were there for the "big stuff" and it didn't disappoint. I've logged right at 100 dives and this was easily a top 10 dive. The captain/divemaster were great. Great team. Super chill vibe but incredibly competent. There were 6 of us plus the divemaster, so it never felt cramped. It was a bit pricey but was well worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
610sherim
Oct 3, 2025
Worth every penny! - This trip was my best dive boat to date. Simply amazing! Only 55 minutes to get to the island. 2 spectacular dives with monk seals, sandbar sharks, a manta, dolphins, and thousands of tropical fish. 100’ + visibility with 82 degree water temp! The crew took out a group of strangers and returned with a group of friends. I will book at least 2 trips with them my next time in Kauai ! Just show up with your cert card and they provide the rest.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tamaraaa_travels
Sep 30, 2025
Niihau diving with Explore Kauai Scuba - I was diving Niihau September 18th with Explore Kauai Scuba. The whole trip was an amazing experience! Nick and Jessie lead you through this nice adventure and make sure you'll have a comfortable and enjoyable day. They are very warm-hearted. Jessie wrote a lot of information on a board under water. So we knew what kind of species we were diving with. I appreciated it a lot. There's so much to see in Niihau that I have to come back! Moreover we were given nice snacks and sandwiches on the boat. I warmly recommend this company!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hoover67
Sep 7, 2025
Fantastic Time :-] - We had a fantastic time with Jess and Nick. They make a really good team and are a lot of fun. If diving with Monk Seals is on your wish list then this dive is for you. The trip over to the Forbidden Island is done in just an hour and the surface intervals were fun with dolphins and fishing. As for the diving.....everything was setup up for us and the equipment was in great shape. I can highly recommend Explore Kauai Scuba!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hank
Aug 7, 2025
Unparalleled Experience!! - Jessie and Nick offer a great experience for everyone they take out. I had a great time going solo with them… never felt like the odd man out. Very professional team that offered a great day of diving. Saw lots of fish, sharks, seals, and really interesting bottom conditions. Best diving experience I’ve ever had. Cheers!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
C5968mgryanb
Jul 21, 2025
One of my favorite dive days ever! - Such a great trip! Nick and Jessie are the best - made everything fun and took care of everything. Ni’ihau was incredible, but would happily do any dive trip with them. It was an incredibly intimate trip and felt like I was on a private trip despite being with a group of strangers. Couldn’t recommend highly enough!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jbwood1966
Jul 16, 2025
Dive Ni’ihau with Explore Kauai Scuba! - We dove Vertical Awareness and The Arches. Both sites were amazing. Nick and Jessie are outstanding operators and fun to be out with. Safe diving with good equipment.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Informeddecision
Jul 16, 2025
The best choice - for Ni’ihau and other - Explore Kaua'i is simply the best choice for Ni'ihau. From the West side harbor they leave from, Ni'ihau takes just about an hour, which is half the time dive boats from the Poipu area take.
Jesse and Nick are both fantastic - great at skippering the boat and guiding underwater. They also are in no hurry and don't rush you. You get to dive your tank, which few dive boats allow. Jesse is great at spotting and pointing out interesting critters, which elevates every dive.
The boat is very comfortable with a cabin area for the times that there is rain, waves, and spray. It's really nice to have that for wet, cold days!
If you want a fabulous time diving, go with Explore Kauai!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
