Where to Dive on Oahu: Honolulu Scuba Diving with Reef Pirates

Hi friends! I’m so excited to share with you our turtley awesome recent experience with Reef Pirates Diving in Honolulu. (Ha! You guys know I can’t resist a good pun.)

As soon as we booked our trip to Oahu last summer, we knew we had to get our scuba in. Each time we’ve dived, it’s been so important to find a company that not only offered great experiences, but that we felt comfortable with. With Reef Pirates, it felt like we totally hit the jack pot!

How We Got Into Diving

Before I jump into our time with this Hawaii crew, I thought I’d share the backstory as to how Eric and I got into scuba in the first place! It was on our bucket list for a long time, so when we planned our honeymoon a few years ago, we knew it needed to be a destination where we could check this off.

Thankfully, the resort we fell in love with in Jamaica had an incredible dive crew. They set us up for license success with their passion and professionalism. We dived almost daily that week of our honeymoon and have loved it since. Diving on our anniversary vacations has now become tradition!

Fast forward to celebrating year two of marriage and you can imagine how excited I was to partner with Reef Pirates Diving to fuel this love of ours!

Our Favorite Perk with Reef Pirates

The detail Eric and I were immediately drawn to with Reef Pirates is that they limit their dive boats to six or fewer divers. If you are a diver, you know that’s HUGE. If you want to learn how to dive, this is a big bonus.

Fewer divers means you get more attention from the dive crew. There are less participants for them to watch over, the whole group can gather around points of interest, and move along much more easily (and safely)!

Bonus perks with Reef Pirates? The crew provided snacks on our boat ride in between dive sites and hotel pick up/drop off!

Our Two-Tank Excursion 

For our excursion, Eric and I chose two shallow reef dives in the afternoon. These are typically called “two-tank” dives, as they are done back-to-back with a surface interval in between – a required break in between consecutive dives.

The boat ride to the first dive site was gorgeous! I felt like I was in a scene from Jurassic Park with the lush mountains. Thankfully, no T-Rex sightings. 

The crew gave us refreshers on key underwater hand signals and equipment reminders. We were able to get to know everyone and ask any questions, setting the tone for a fun few hours.

Dive Site #1: Sea Turtles Everywhere 

Our first stop was a turtle haven! These creatures are so big and beautiful, I was just completely in awe. With Reef Pirates’ early afternoon start, our group had the whole site to ourselves until the last few minutes when we finished up.

We swam amongst these guys, and all their fish friends, for about 40 minutes. A sunken anchor in the area is a prime spot the sea turtles try to snag from each other daily.

Needless to say, we loved this first stop – this photo of us and our turtle friend even made our Christmas card!

Dive Site #2: A Peaceful Reef

After our surface interval ride to the second site, we were back at it. At site #2, we dived amongst a peaceful coral reef. The water was calm and there was a variety of sea life!

My favorites from this dive: 1) An octopus. Did you know octopuses (so odd in plural form) are amongst the most intelligent invertebrates? They have crazy good memories and can recall faces of the scuba divers they come across. 2) This round, plumpy starfish. Did you know there are over 2,000 species of starfish? This one’s called a cushion star.

Another Dive in the Books

Literally! We were given dive books upon certification and every dive gets logged with details like depth, location, time, sea life, and more. Not only is it a scuba passport of sorts, but it also allows us to work towards more advanced certifications in the future.

We absolutely loved our experience with Reef Pirates Diving. If you’re headed to Oahu and looking for a crew to spend your time with, or check a certification off your bucket list, I can’t recommend them enough.

A big thanks to Satoshi, Jake, Lauren, and the rest of the crew for an awesome adventure. We hope to see you guys again!

Now tell me friends, have you been scuba diving before??

Thanks to Reef Pirates Diving for sponsoring this post. All opinions are honest and 100% my own.