Customer Reviews

The O'ahu Snorkelers and Shore Divers Guide

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used this book to plan a memorable snorkeling vacation with my family on Oahu in 2003. Carvalho has written a very useful, easy-to-use book, and I give it my highest recommendation. Based on my experience using the book, I would add these hints for the beach snorkeler: (1) buy a floating key ring and take your car key with you while snorkeling (I snapped the floating key ring into a pocket on my surf shirt), (2) use a locking duffle bag to hold any stuff you leave on the beach while you are in the water, (3) find a good hiding place for your wallet in your locked car, and (4) leave at least one credit card and some cash hidden in your hotel room in case your hiding place for the wallet was not as good as you thought! (:D)

One thing I found using Carvalho's book is you can talk informatively to the dive shops when askling about dive sites and rental gear. One shop in particular along my travels wanted to sell me a boat dive out of Wainae Marina to Makaha Caverns. I read the section on diving Makaha and I wanted to try it following the book's instructions, but the shop owner said you couldn't do it from shore. Well, my friends and I did it from shore as the book illustrated and we had a blast. At age 47 I had plenty of bottom time and got a good work out to boot. The north and south reefs were very different, but each provided much to see. One piece of advise in the book on renting gear that was a big help; check all your stuff before leaving the shop. I found a faulty tank valve seal and that would have ruined the dive, especially after driving all the way out on the Leeward Coast.

My family and I spent the last two weeks in Hawaii on the island of O`ahu diving mostly on the South Shore and along the Leeward Coast. We stayed pretty much on these shores because of the changing weather patterns, which were accurately explained and illustrated throughout the book. This time of year, big waves begin to hit along the North Shore and Windward Coast making diving somewhat difficult. I really bought this book hoping to find some basic information on where to dive and what to expect and to my surprise, I got a whole lot more. I read the first chapter (Safety and Precautions) on the plane and got a good feeling for what each shoreline would be like. I didn't really pay attention to the other chapters until arriving and was blown away by the detail and usefullness of the site descriptions and accompanying maps. Although there are driving directions in the book for each site, I found it helpful referring to a larger foldout tourist map in which to compare against the maps in the book. This really helped me select the sites we frequented and to get a good estimation on how far the sites were from our hotel. In hind sight this wasn't really necessary, but proved to be helpful nonetheless. We ended up diving at Kahe Beach Park, Electric Beach, Ko `Olina Resort and Makaha on the Windward Coast and Portlock Point and Magic island on the South Shore. Each site was explained in detail, making our experiences just wonderful. Unfortunately for us, the North Shore had some choppy water and four foot waves, so we didn't have a chance to do any diving up there, but according to the book there are some fantastic sites along this coast, so we're planning another trip this coming summer. I'd recommend this book to any diver interested in Hawaii.

Finding a good site on O`ahu is no longer hit or miss. I've never seen a more complete book on shore diving on O`ahu...and I've got a few books on my shelf as I am a bonifide "water rat." This book has got a lot of info you need to know in order to make a good choice because it describes snorkeling and dive sites on all shores...not just the popular ones. The author also talkes about things you've got to know, like weather and surf conditions, somethings visitors should be familar with to be safe. This book would not only benefit visitors, but locals as well because there are many sites listed that are unknown. If you want a good guide chocked full off facts and excellent maps, this is the one.

I've been looking for a shore divers guide for any of the Hawaiian islands for years! I was stoked to finally find one. I specifically wanted a book that was user-friendly and DeCarvalho's writing style was easy to read. His maps were simple to understand but detailed. This book is a must for divers of all skills who are lucky enough to visit Oahu, Hawaii. I'm hoping this author will do a guide on other Hawaiian islands.

We found this book to be one of the most complete and informative diving and snorkeling guides on Hawaii's island of O`ahu. Most other dive or snorkel guides are full of fancy pictures and advertisements and are way short on details, but the author does a fantastic job of giving you the simple low down on selecting a site, how to get there, how to do the dive, and what to expect once you're in the water. Hand's down, this guide's strong point is its illustrative maps and diagrams. Most maps you typically see in a dive guide leave much to the imagination, but every map in this book is overloaded with details. We visited O`ahu last year and wish we had a copy of this guide. The author uses a simple approach to describing the sites and includes many tid bits of helpful information along the way that we thouroughly enjoyed. Almost all of them could be applied to anywhere in the world, not just Hawaii. We'd recommend this guide to any diver or snorkeler heading over to Hawaii. My husband especially liked the book's cover, diving Lana`i Lookout, which definitely inspired his sense of adventure and exploration. This book also makes a great addition to anyone's collection of "aquatica."

This book was extremely helpful when I first arrived in the islands. The author's descriptions of the different areas on the island and the driving directions were easy to follow and led me to some of the most beautiful places on the island. I did not realize the island was actually that large. I also found the guide to be a very well organized book that did a thorough job of explaining everything you'd need to know about snorkeling and diving on Oahu. I must for any traveler wanting to enjoy snorkeling and diving on Oahu.

I'm new to O`ahu and diving, and I'm confident that I will surely benefit from this guide book. This is a great guide that covers all the snorkeling and diving sites on O`ahu that are worth exploring. This book has more information packed into 160 plus pages than several other larger books combined. Good pictures, facts, and author's insights on 26 sites. I didn't know there was a suitable dive site near Honolulu (Ala Moana), even though I've driven by there many times, but sure enough there is and the author described it to a "T." If you want to get into shore diving, or expand on your snorkeling, get this book. Shore diving opens up a whole new world because there are hundreds of miles of coast line on O`ahu and this book gives you the confidence you need to explore on your own. That is what I liked most about this book.

I'm an intermediate diver and advanced snorkeler who has lived and traveled to Oahu for eight years, I have just about all the island dive and beach books and this book is by for the best. The detailed maps to the entry points are excellent, the level of detail will ensure that you will be able to find yourself from the parking lot, to the beach and on the right azmuth to the dive location. The shore, water depth, and marine ecosystems listed in the book are exacting to the detail as discribed in the book. I recently dove two sites from the book I've never done before and the maps in the book were right on the mark. The sturdy binding and high quality book cover make it perfect to keep in my cars glove box and not fall apart. Throw away all of your other dive books on Oahu, this one tops them all!

I've been visiting Hawaii for over 12 years and have never read or seen a more complete listing of O`ahu's shore sites. Although the book is heavy on the diving side, the guide was simple to use and what I liked most about it is the author gives you complete instructions, including safety tips and good maps, on each of the sites...whether you want to either snorkel or dive. I even learned about some new sites.