Welcome to Hawaii's Jack's Diving Locker, Kona's Friendliest SCUBA Charters, Classes and Dive Retail Customer Service.

All of the questions you see here are actual customer inquires and the responses sent. If you have a question not listed, just e-mail us or call us at 800-345-4807 (808-329-7585 locally)

Jack's Diving Locker has been voted "Top Five" or better in the Rodale's Readers Choice Awards for many years now. We'd like to thank every one of our customers for their support in these reader surveys. Recently many dive operators have started to add a link in their websites and asking visitors to vote for their operations in the survey. We'd rather earn your vote via the friendly services we provide, but to keep up with the times we too are offering that link here. So, if you would like to vote in the next Rodale's Scuba Diving Readers Survey, just click on the Top 100 icon below. Your support is appreciated!

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Where are you located?
Jack’s Diving Locker is on the Big Island of Hawaii in Kailua-Kona with two locations, our Main (town) store and our Harbor store. Our main store location is right across from the ocean, with the Royal Kona Resort and Huggo’s to the south, and we are in the "Coconut Grove Marketplace". The Jack's Diving Locker building is directly behind Durty Jakes and Oceans Sports Bar and Grill overlooking the sand volleyball court. Our street address is 75-5813 Ali’i Drive. There is plenty of parking near our building and, as of April 15, 2004, it is no longer a pay parking lot - it's free parking again!

What are the driving directions to the main shop location?
Map of Coconut Grove

Jack’s Diving Locker' Main (town) Shop is located in the Coconut Grove Shopping Center in the heart of Kailua-Kona. The above map shows us in our new state of the art building - Building H. The shopping center is bordered by Kuakini Highway to the East, and Ali'i Drive to the West, therefore you can enter from either street. Store hours: 8:00am to 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday. Beginning April 1, 2007 our Sunday hours will be 8 am to 6 pm.

Address:
75-5813 Ali'i Drive
(808) 329-7585

If you are driving from the North (airport/resorts):
1. Head south on highway 19 until you reach Henry Street and then turn right
2. Henry Street will dead-end at Kuakini Highway, where you want to turn left.
3. Continue down Kuakini Highway through 3 stop lights. Note: The right lane will end in 1/5 mile.
4. You will see a sign for Coconut Grove marketplace on your right and then a driveway into the complex. You will see the JDL building and pool on your right after entering the parking lot.

If you are driving from the South (Ali'i Drive condos):
1. Head north into town along Ali'i Drive
2. As you get nearer, you will pass the Royal Kona Resort on your left along with Huggo's Restaurant and Huggo's on the Rocks
3. Immediately afterwards, on your right hand side will be a driveway into the Coconut Grove Marketplace and the entrance to our old shop
4. Turn right into the parking lot and head up the hill to the new JDL building which will be on your left

Our Honokohau Harbor Shop location

Kona Coast Divers

Our Harbor store is located in the Honokohau harbor near the Fuel Dock at 74-381 Kealakehe Pky, Kailua Kona. Our harbor store is a fully stocked facility. We have both rental and for sale goods available so when you check-in your wetsuit, mask, fins and underwater lights will be waiting for. In addition to rental gear our harbor store has air pumping and reservations capabilities all within a short walk to Diver 2 the newest addition to our dive boat fleet. Store hours are 8 am to 4:00 pm Monday - Sunday.

Here is our complete contact information.
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Jack's Diving Locker - Harbor Shop Location
74-381 Kealakehe Parkway
(808) 329-7585

If you're driving from the South (from the Jack's Diving Locker's shop)
Distance: 4.2 mi
1. Head north from Ali’i Dr - go 0.5 mi
2. Continue on Palani Rd - go 0.6 mi
3. Turn left at Queen Kaahumanu Hwy - go 2.3 mi
4. Turn left at Kealakehe Pky - go 0.8 mi
5. Bear left and follow around to the right until you see the Kona Coast Divers signs on your right.

If you're driving from the North (Kona Airport)
1. Head south from the airport at Queen Kaahumanu Hwy - 5 mi
2.Turn right at Kealakehe Pky - go 0.8 mi
3. Bear left and follow around to the right until you
see the Kona Coast Divers signs on your right.

What are your hours of operation?
Jack’s is open from 8am to 9pm daily. Rental hours are from 8am to 6pm. We run charters every single day all year round except Christmas day and Ironman day. We also close early on Thanksgiving day and Christmas Eve.
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Where are your package prices? Prices for charters and classes are available on their respective description pages. However, there are no package prices on this website. Please e-mail us so that we can custom quote your diving needs, and show you why we are the friendliest dive shop in town!
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What thickness wetsuit should I bring?
We provide 2 piece 3mil wetsuits for our customers to rent - a farmer john for underneath and a long sleeved shorty for overtop. In the summer (June-September) a shorty or full polartec/.5 mil is usually fine; in the winter (October-May) some of us bust out our 5mils. But don’t let the words “summer” and “winter” fool you; visitors find this place hot and humid year round, and the only reason you’ll need warm clothes is if you visit volcano or Mauna Kea (high elevations). On our night dives, we recommend you bring at least a long sleeved shirt for the boat ride home.
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When can I fly or drive to altitude?
For single dives a minimum surface interval of 12 hours is suggested before flying. If you have been doing multiple days of multiple dives, PADI recommends a minimum surface interval of 18 to 24 hours.
We also strongly recommend that you do not plan to drive to the volcano or Hilo, take a helicopter tour or stargaze on the top of Mauna Kea the same day that you dive!

Following these recommendations reduces DCS risk but does not guarantee that a diver will avoid DCS.

Should I bring my gear?
If you only have time for one or two days of diving off our boats, it is very economical and easy to rent gear from us. We rent quality Scubapro equipment, serviced every six months and well maintained. Our wetsuits are also Scubapro, replaced every year, and we have a variety of styles of masks and fins. However, if you are shore diving or diving for many days off our boats and you have your own gear, it would be worthwhile for you to bring it. During boat charters, we always set up your gear for you (unless you’d rather do it yourself), change it over to a full tank between dives, rinse it off and we’ll even store it for you in our locker if you’d like.
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Do I need a car in Kona?
The cab fare from the airport to Kailua town was $20 (for a 15 minute drive!) the last time we checked. There is an “Ali’i Shuttle” (808-775-7121) that runs along the 6 mile stretch known as Ali’i Drive, and Hilo Hattie’s has a free shuttle that will pick you up anywhere in Kailua to bring you to their store. There are two other shuttle companies here that you can contact: Speedy Shuttle (808-329-5433) or Meridian H.R.T. (808-885-7484). But in order to really see the Big Island, you do need a car!
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How long does it take to get certified?
From start to finish, our PADI Openwater SCUBA certification takes 4 days, about 8 hours each day. You’ll need to come prepared; check out our "Open Water" class information on this website. If you have a limited schedule, you can start your class at home and do the last two days of Open Water Checkout dives here; check out our Referral program.
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I want to try SCUBA. What are my options?
Kona's warm waters are an excellent place to experience the excitement of diving. Our experienced instructors will teach you the basics of breathing underwater. After practicing in shallow water, your instructor will lead you on a shallow dive to one of Kona's exciting reefs. See beautiful tropical fish, corals and other interesting creatures. We offer these dives from the shore or the boat. Shore dive are great for first timers, people with less time available or people who aren't as comfortable in the water. Boat dives are better for repeats and people who are more comfortable in the water. For pricing and more detailed info, check out the "Introductory Diving" section of this website. Back to top

What is the diving like in Kona?
Yes! For a few of the best, check out our "Dive Sites" page under "Ocean Adventures" in this website. Stan Waterman (of the Aggressor Fleet) said in a DEMA seminar that some of his best dives have been in Kona. Kona is known for its pelagics; Manta Rays, Eagle Rays, Pilot Whales and Spinner Dolphins frolic in our warm, clear waters year round. In the winter (November to early March) Humpbacks come to sing and bear young. Melon Head, Pygmy and False Killer Whales are also sighted here year round. The reason for this is our deep Kona waters that start just 100 yards off shore in most places. Along the Kona coast, hard corals built on intriguing lava formations offers interesting underwater terrain, with many arches, lava tubes and maze-like areas to explore. There are tons of turtles, eels, octopus, nudibranchs, shells and tropical fish here: of the 640 species of in shore fish found in the Hawaiian Islands, 24.3% are endemic (i.e. found no where else in the world!).
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Is there any shore diving in Kona?
We have several dive site sheets that point out a few of the local dive sites that are favorites among shore divers. The dive site sheets include maps and descriptions of each of the favorite sites some of which are as close as 1 mile from our store. For those of you who are planning your dive vacation from homre might want to check-out www.shorediving.com for information about shore diving in Kona.
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How long does it take to get from the
Orchid/Hilton/Royal Waikaloan/Hapuna Prince/Mauna Kea to your shop?
It takes about 45-60 minutes to drive to our harbor location from those hotels, located on the Kohala Coastline. If you are arriving for the night dive at 3:15pm, allow even more time to get through Kona's rush hour (pau hana) traffic.
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Can you tell us more about your boats?
Specifically, are they designed so that there is some shade?
We have three different boats; two boats that are 38' long, Coast Guard Certified for 30 pax but we limit it to 14 divers (As long as the max ratio of crew to customers is 1:6) plus a few snorkelers (for family/friends of divers). These boats have a hot fresh water shower and a head, as well as a wide swim step and ladder, with plenty of space to sun or sit in the shade. Our smaller boat is 23' (w/ a 2' swim step) and we take only 6 divers on that boat. There is a picture of our boats and more descriptions under "Dive Vessels" in the "Charters" section of this website.
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How long is the typical boat ride from dock to dive site? How calm (rough?) are the seas normally?
To our dive sites, it can be 10 min to 25 min, depending on where we decide to go. The seas are normally calm, but there can be big swells when we have had offshore storms. In the summers, when a south swell is really bad, we will leave out of the Honokohau Harbor and visit our northern facing dive sites...there are a lot of coves that we can hide from swells at. In the winters when we sometimes have a north swell, we will dive on the south facing shores. We choose the dive site that morning depending on the weather, then by what you want to see and where our repeat divers have already been.
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How far in advance do we need to make diving arrangements?
We suggest making arrangements for dives as soon as you know what days you'd like to do them. We have a group of people that often book our boats exclusively throughout the year. Since we limit how many people we take to insure a personalized charter, we do book up quickly. Please call to make your reservations, since we do not accept e-mail reservations at this time and need to have a complete exchange of communication in order to be sure we accommodate your preferences and schedule.
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What is the weather like on the Big Island?
There are really only two seasons on the Big Island: summer, between about May and October, when the weather is warmer, with slightly more rain and humidity, and water temperatures between 78-82 degrees; and winter, between October and April, when the sun is to the south and the weather is a bit cooler, with water temperatures roughly at 74-77. A unique feature of the Hawaiian islands is the large number of micro-climates that exist, each with differing amounts of precipitation. There is no set hurricane season as there is in the Caribbean. Humpback season is from November to May.

Nowhere is the range of climates greater than on the Big Island. The island of Hawaii`i has locations representative of four of the five principal climate classifications in the Koppen system: tropical rain forests, deserts, temperate, and tundra climates; only the "D" or snow climates in the Koppen system are not present. On a single day, you can drive to freshly fallen snow, boiling lava pits, warm surf, misty valleys, cool ranch lands, arid lava fields, and rolling streams.

Even with these variations, three basic controls provide some consistency to the climate on the Big Island: a tropical location, the presence of the Pacific Ocean surrounding the island and the greatly varied topography.

There is only a small variation in the lengths of day and night throughout the year. Terrain is the key to weather conditions on the Big Island. Prevailing northeasterly trade winds carry showers up the eastern slopes of the island. Annual rainfall totals of over 300 inches are common at higher elevations. The southern and western sides of the island, sheltered from the rain by mountains, are generally drier. Occasionally, the winds will shift, and 5-15 mph trades become light and variable out of the southwest. This can bring hot, humid weather in the summer, and occasional fierce storms with high waves, wind and rain in winter. Mild trade winds sweep the sunny Kona and Kohala coasts almost all of the time. Average annual rainfall here is less than 10 inches.

Just as the weather is almost always sunny in Kona and Kohala, it's almost always rainy in Hilo. But the misty rainbows are worth the damp. Plunging waterfalls in technicolor green valleys cast spray onto rocks so covered with ferns that they look as green as the hillsides. Acres of gorgeous tropical flowers grow wild. In the winter months, the very top of Mauna Loa often gets enough snow for skiers. Severe storms may bring as much as 12 feet of powder at the 13,680-foot summit. A drive up the 13,796-foot Mauna Kea takes you through several climates, and an incredible array of scenery. About six miles above Hilo is the wettest part of the island. Clouds drape this area almost every day. As the clouds thin higher up on the mountain, the air gets cooler and drier. The very summit of Mauna Kea is actually quite dry; it gets about 15 inches of rain a year. Wild orchids riot across slopes covered with hardy, low-growing vegetation.

Few other locations in the world offer the spectacular diversity of the Big Island. Located well within the tropics, the overall climate is ideal!
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Do you have any wrecks?
Wrecks are few and far between in Kona; however, we do have a few:
"Airplane Wreck" A small Cessna two-seater off of Keahole point in 110’ that is rapidly deteriorating but surrounded by beautiful coral and abundant marine life. The "Wreck of the Naked Lady" is a sailboat that sunk in the bay off the pier. It is surrounded by beautiful white sand and has become a classic example of an artificial reef. This wreck is in 110’ of water. (Be sure to ask us the story of how it was named!) The "Predator" is a small military landing craft that never made it to shore. This is surrounded by a lovely coral reef and is in about 90' of water.

home: frequently asked questions

1-800-345-4807

8am - 9pm, 7 days a week!