Lava Tube Signature Dive on Oahu’s North Shore
This is Banzai Divers Hawaii’s signature tour is offered from April through September. The owner gets giddy about this one. Explore lava tubes at the world-renowned Pupukea Marine Life Preserve on Oahu’s North Shore.
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Activity Overview
Lave Tube Dive Highlights
- 4-hour duration
- Available April through September
- All experience levels are welcomed
- For ages 10 and above
- Encounter underwater topography such as lava tubes (tunnels), trenches, and arches
- An abundance of protected marine life such as turtles, monk seals, octopi, rays, and native fish!
- Dive site chosen each day based on ocean conditions
Lave Tube SCUBA Diving Tour Details
Experience beautiful and unique dives in the world-renowned Pupukea Marine Life Preserve, known locally as Shark’s Cove. Here you will encounter underwater topography such as lava tubes and tunnels, trenches, arches, and an abundance of protected marine life such as turtles, monk seals, octopi, rays, and a plethora of native fish.
A lava tube is a cave that can form when lava, or pele in Hawaiian, flows beneath the surface of the hardened rock. As the underground flow slows and cools, tunnels can form as it creates a crust around itself. Underwater, this creates a truly spectacular seascape few people see. Tunnels, caverns, arches, pillars, and trenches resulting from this geological process are spread throughout some of the dives offered at Banzai Divers Hawaii.
The main lava tube dive is at Pupukea Marine Life Preserve on Oahu’s North Shore. As the North Shore experiences high surf during the winter, this tour is only available from April through September. Check out the other dive tours on their website if you are visiting Oahu during the fall and winter months.
Call or message their dive experts to check on current or future diving conditions and locations at 808-462-8290. But come back here to book the trip as that helps us out! Mahalo!
Lava Tube Dive FAQ
A big note here, the location is seasonal. The instructor will pick the best location on the island based on weather and water conditions. They will message, call, and/or email you to communicate the location.
Follow a GPS map to find the dive location and leave plenty of time for traffic, getting lost on accident, and finding parking. Public parking is available at Shark’s Cove but it fills up fast so leave early to get parking or find an alternative spot.
What is Included in Your SCUBA Dive?
- Instructor
- Equipment
- Snacks and drinks
What to Bring for Your Dive
- Swimwear
- Towels
- Reef Safe Sunscreen (sunscreen must not have oxybenzone and octinoxate)
Lave Tube Dive Locations
Banzai Divers Hawaii visit all the spots that make Hawaii famous for SCUBA diving. Below is a list of the spots they may take you on their tour. They will take requests if they agree the conditions are good. The locations below are mostly North Shore Oahu. Stars and Makaha Caverns are located on the Waianae Coast (west coast Oahu)
- Atlantis near Haleiwa, North Shore, 20 to 40 feet
- Waimea Wall near Waimea Bay, 30 to 60 feet
- Cathedrals on the North Shore, 25 to 60 feet
- Three Tables, behind the Pupukea Fire Station, 15 to 60 feet
- Sharks Cove Tunnels at Pupukea, 20 to 50 feet
- Sharks Cove Arches at Pupukea, 20 to 50 feet
- Stars on the Waianae Coast, 25 to 60 feet
- Makaha Caverns on the Waianae Coast, 25 to 60 feet
About Banzai Divers Hawaii and Devin Erickson
I’ll let the owner of the company share his story!
Aloha, my name is Devin Erickson. I was born and raised in Kansas which is about as far from the ocean as you can get. I learned to Dive in a murky lake with my dad when I was 12 years old. Shortly after we took a trip to Jamaica and the warm clear seas and abundant marine life sealed the deal. I was hooked and I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
After high school, I moved to Hawaii with my girlfriend with a couple of swimsuits and a dream. I wanted to be a dive instructor and share my passion for the ocean with other divers! After passing my instructor exams I worked for several shops learning all the ins and outs of diving in Hawaii.
Something was missing though. Too many dive companies came to take advantage of the heavy traffic of our island visitors and put too many people in a group with little regard for a customer experience and sometimes even safety. I had a new goal. I would create a small diving company that focused on small, personable groups where divers would be treated like old friends and I would get to share my love for Hawaiian diving. 10 years and 10,000 dives later.
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