We have never been as impressed with a tour company as we were with Try Scuba Diving - Honolulu. Prior to the trip, we called to ask a few questions after hours and had to leave a message. Within 5 minutes, Wendy called me back with very helpful and thorough responses. Later in the week, I had a couple more questions, and received the same level helpful and professional service. The night before the excursion, weather conditions changed. Alberto called us, asking if we could travel up to North Shore (Shark's Cove) instead of the scheduled site at Magic Island. We thought we would need to cancel as we did not have any mode of transportation to get there from Waikiki. Within 10 minutes of checking, Wendy contacted me to advise that a driver would be able to pick us up from our hotel and take us to North Shore. We were picked up on time by Alberto, and driven to our destination in his personal vehicle. On the drive up, it felt more like we were traveling with a friend that we had not seen in a while rather than a company tour guide that we just met. It turned out, he was one of the co-owner operators. Before we knew it, we were trading wedding pictures and trading financial investment advice and information!
Upon arrival, we met our guides/instructors, Matt and Kevin. Matt gave us a very detailed yet basic education on skills needed for our dive. While the terrain is not ideal for first timers at the Cove, they were willing to help/assist with carrying the tanks down to the waterline. Once in the water, they worked to our pace. If we were unstable and slow, they gave us time to get set and comfortable. In the water, conditions were clear and we were able to see several varieties of fish, sea turtles, and an eel.
(One recommendation we would suggest is to BRING WATER SHOES OR FOOT PROTECTION if you plan on going to this location for snorkeling or your scuba excursion as the shore is very rocky!)
Not to kid ourselves, we did have a few hick-ups such as one of our masks would leak or took a little extra effort to drop down to lower levels in the water. That being said, our issues seemed very small as our guides were very "workable" and accommodating to helping us adjust and move forward. They helped us surface, adjust the mask or drop down in depth without any issue.
While we were enjoying the experience, Kevin and Alberto took pictures and under water video in order to allow us to "soak it all in".
Once our excursion was near the end of our time, Kevin, Matt and Alberto offered to help carry the tanks back up to the park, offered us fresh fruit with a rough peel (aka Lychee fruit), and set us up with the Go Pro app in order to upload the pictures and video clips.
We were extremely satisfied as first time scuba divers with the level of service we received, accommodations, and patience we received from the team.
Thank you again to the team that took us on this exciting adventure!