Explore Hawaii on the Kona Aggressor II

      Kona, HI, USA

      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
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      145 reviews
      Aug 17 - 24, 2019
      Group size: 13 - 13
      Explore Hawaii on the Kona Aggressor II
      Kona, HI, USA

      Blue Planet Scuba
      • Email address verified
      • Facebook verified
      • Twitter verified
      145 reviews

      Aug 17 - 24, 2019
      Group size: 13 - 13

      About this trip

      7 nights onboard the Kona Aggressor II + up to 27 dives


      Join Blue Planet for the best diving in Hawaii! The Big Island's volcanic underwater topography is a diver's wonderland. Lava tubes, bommies, arches and huge craters like “Au Au Crater,” create a spectacular backdrop for Hawaii’s many indigenous species of Butterfly fish. Photographers will delight in the many subjects like Spanish Dancers, turtles, mantas and frogfish.

      Kona

      Kona is located on the Big Island of Hawaii. The KONA AGGRESSOR II® offers a week of hassle-free liveaboard scuba diving along the western coast of the island at favorite sites like Paradise Pinnacle, Tubestria Tunnel, The Hive, Turtle Pinnacle and Rob’s Reef. The yacht ventures far from the reach of day operators to beautiful South Point, the southernmost tip of Hawaii and the United States, weather permitting. With lava flows in the background, divers suit up for a week of spectacular Kona liveaboard diving.  Excellent snorkeling is available for non-diving passengers.

      The Diving

      Minimum dive certification/experience: PADI Open Water Diver, ideally with boat experience. PADI Enriched Air/Nitrox certification strongly recommended.


      Kona scuba diving begins Sunday morning and ends Friday afternoon when the Aggressor returns to port. Sunday through Thursday the yacht offers up to five dives per day including a night dive each evening. Friday a half-day of diving (2 dives) is offered. You will be diving in water that averages 72 - 80°F with thermoclines. A 3-5mm wetsuit and hood is recommended year round. All diving is from the mother ship.


      There is ample storage space for your diving equipment in your personal locker. The Kona Aggressor II provides 80 cubic ft. tanks, weight belts and weights. The stern and platform areas are very spacious. A large 20-foot x 6-foot swim step spans both hulls and it comfortably accommodates all divers. The boarding ladders were designed for convenience to allow divers easy exits and entries. Enjoy the fresh water showers on the back deck after your dives. 

      The Kona Aggressor II

      The KONA AGGRESSOR II® liveaboard operates out of downtown Kailua-Kona and sleeps 14 guests in privacy and comfort. She is an 80-foot catamaran, built and powered for comfort, safety, and stability and certified by the U.S. Coast Guard. Accommodations include 5 double staterooms on the main deck with a double bed (lower) and single bed (upper) bunk-style and 1 roomy quad stateroom on the upper deck with two full-sized beds (upper and lower) and two single beds (upper and lower) bunk-style. Each stateroom has ensuite private toilet and shower plus extra storage and individual climate controls. 


      The yacht has a beautiful spacious salon, 50 feet of sun deck with shading, chaise lounges and deck chairs, bar and grill. Her diving amenities include freshwater rinse showers, camera tables, and nitrox. The sun deck features a “moon deck bar” with seating, lounge and deck chairs, stereo and CD player, shaded wet bar and grill. The Kona Aggressor II has safes in every stateroom to store your valuables.  


      Beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) are complimentary while onboard. Fresh linens and towels are replaced in each stateroom as needed. Breakfast (cooked to order), buffet lunch and an elegant meal at dinner with tableside service are served in addition to fresh mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.   

      Travel

      Guests will fly into the Kona International Airport (KOA) on Friday or Saturday at the latest. Taxis are readily available at the curb in front of all baggage claim areas.  The KONA AGGRESSOR II® operates out of the downtown pier in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  This is a 20-minute drive from the airport.

      A few major airlines fly into Kona: American Airlines, United, Delta, Alaska Air, and Hawaiian Air. There are many direct flights from the US to Honolulu with connecting service to Kona. Recommended Hotels: Royal Kona Resort. 

      Cancellation Policy

      Upon cancellation of a reservation for any reason, the refund of the deposit and payments made or due will be contingent upon Blue Planet reselling the participant's reservation. Any refund may also be subject to a cancellation fee and payment of any non-refundable fees imposed by the tour company, dive operator or any other contractor associated with the trip. 


      Dive accident insurance is required for all divers on this trip. We strongly recommend travel insurance to protect your vacation investment. Contact us if you need more information. 

      What’s included

      • 7 nights accommodations
        Sharing a Deluxe or Quad cabin, per package selected
      • Up to 5 dives a day
        Sunday-Thursday; 2 dives Friday
      • All meals and beverages

      What’s not included

      • Enriched Air/Nitrox
        For Nitrox certified divers
      • Flights
        Flights to Kona
      • Scuba equipment
        Only tanks and weights included; rental gear available
      • Tips
        Tips for the boat's excellent crew
      • Airport transfers
        From airport to dock

      Available Packages

      Double occupancy, Deluxe Stateroom

      Double bed (lower) and single bed (upper) bunk-style, private head and shower, hair dryer, port window, individual climate control and monitor with media player. 

      $3,135
      Deposit: $500
      Quad occupancy, Quad Stateroom

      Full-sized beds (upper and lower) and two single beds (upper and lower) bunk-style, private bathroom, hair dryer, window, individual climate control and monitor with media player. 

      $2,935
      Deposit: $500

      Available options



      Itinerary

      Saturday
      Board the Kona Aggressor II

      Fly into the Kona International Airport (KOA) on or before Saturday. If you arrive on Friday, you can overnight at a hotel near the downtown pier in Kailua-Kona where the yacht docks. This is a 20-minute drive from the airport. 


      The boat will dock Saturday afternoon at the Kailua Pier at 5 pm to greet and board passengers.  After all guests are aboard the yacht departs for its night anchorage to prepare for diving Sunday morning. 

      Your Organizer


      BP
      Blue Planet Scuba
      145 reviews
      Blue Planet is a different kind of scuba diving organization — aimed at providing the best education and experiences to divers in the Washington, DC area and beyond, while harnessing the excitement and adventure of scuba diving to help protect our fragile oceans.

      Reviews

      Great group of people and nice relaxed diving. Fully enjoyed the trip and thanks to Anthony for ensuring everything ran smoothly.
      By Richard H for Scuba and Freediving in Grenada on Apr 16, 2024
      Another great trip with Blue Planet. Everything was seamlessly planned ahead of time, from setting up accommodations to arranging things with the dive shop (shout out to Eco Dive!) to communication about all the details. Anthony was a fantastic trip leader. He thought of everything (finding places for the group to meet for meals, making reservations, arranging taxis, talking to the dive shop about schedules etc. He took care of all the small bumps associated with travel and just made everything smooth and comfortable. Plus, he’s just fun :) The diving in Grenada was beautiful and the island was lovely and welcoming. Five stars for sure! Can’t wait for my next trip.
      By Virginia L for Scuba and Freediving in Grenada on Apr 15, 2024
      Glad you had such a good time on the trip! Always fun to have you on a trip and can't wait for our next one together.
      By Anthony White on Apr 16, 2024
      AW
      The weather in Cozumel was lovely. The scuba instructor, Andrea Williams, was exceptional. The resort was tailored more to local families and tourists who appreciate that level of comfort.
      By Adrienne W for March Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Apr 05, 2024
      Thank you, Adrienne! We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed the trip. We hope to see you on another dive adventure soon!
      By Blue Planet Scuba on Apr 13, 2024
      BP
      Heather & Jonas were excellent trip leaders making sure everyone was well taken care of. The Galapagos Aggressor had a super crew and the diving was challenging and stunning! We saw hammerheads, penguins, seals, sea lions & dolphins! I really appreciated the personal touches like our matching jackets and a cake for my birthday. I would highly recommend this trip.
      By Catherine W for Explore the Galapagos on Mar 02, 2024
      Thanks, Catherine! What better way to celebrate your birthday?!? We're so glad you enjoyed the trip and let us share experiencing this special destination with you. Looking forward to the next one!
      By Blue Planet Scuba on Apr 13, 2024
      BP
      This review is belated, I know... ...But that only means I took **serious*** consideration into reviewing my experience with Blue Planet DC, and ranking them very highly. Its been almost a year since I was OW Certified with Blue Planet in Cozumel - my training during that trip was thorough enough to provide me with a solid foundation to continue scuba diving afterwards many, many times. The trip itinerary, accommodations, and overall pacing of the scuba lessons were incredibly well organized. The instructors were patient and attentive - at various times I was provided specific one-on-one, actionable feedback regarding things like my trim or my breathing rhythm impacting my buoyancy and what I could do to improve my technique. They made sure we knew our stuff before letting us loose into the ocean, and during our checkout dives they stayed closeby and kept a watchful eye on us, so I felt more at ease and safe. (Even with the drift moving us around!) My main priority for this trip was to learn how to scuba, but that said, there were opportunities at Cozumel to (after the day's lessons are done) be a tourist and explore the area. The resort itself is a very beautiful spot with relaxing, open air dining, lounge, and balcony areas as well as a fantastic view of the ocean horizon. I also really appreciated that lodging AND meals were included in this travel package - it saved me the trouble of having to figure that out on my own, which made a big difference by freeing up more time after each full day of lessons to just relax and chill. I know each trip is always different of course in terms of other group trip attendees you may end up with, so of course this can just be sheer dumb luck, but everyone else on this trip was chill. Even the more seasoned divers who were already certified and doing this for years were friendly and happy to drop useful advice or recount from their personal experiences how it was like them becoming certified the first time. The time I did this it was "drift diving" and of course that scared me a ton. But the PADI material that is mandatory to study goes over what drift diving is. When doing my checkout dive the drift didn't like, wash me away from the group dive route. You'll be under instructor supervision so people are keeping an eye on you, and the drift itself is mild - I didn't have to struggle against the current (if you've ever surfed, you'll see that this isn't at all like a riptide or undertow). If anything, managing your buoyancy will end up your primary concern or worry during the checkout dive. Hope this review helps anyone considering who to go with for getting certified on their first ever scuba trip! I'm very glad I went with Blue Planet.
      By M T for March Certification Weekend in Cozumel on Feb 19, 2024
      Thank you so much, M! We are so happy you joined us on the trip and started your dive adventures with us! We look forward to many more!
      By Blue Planet Scuba on Apr 13, 2024
      BP
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