Turtle Canyons Waikiki
| Type of Dive | Visibility | Max Depth | Average Depth | Bottom Time | Difficulty 1-10 |
| Reef Turtle Dive | 50-70ft. | 45ft. | 30ft. | 45-60 Minutes | 2- Easy Dive |
Turtle Canyons Waikiki is a great little area of the south shore for snorkeling and scuba diving. Just 15 minutes from the Kewalo Boat Basin this is a great dive for seeing turtles. We typically do this dive after diving the wrecks in Oahu such as the YO-257, San Pedro and the Seatiger. Since Turtle Canyons Waikiki is a semi shallow reef area this is a great second dive or an after-deep-dive location for long bottom times and plenty of Hawaii's authentic Hawaiian green sea turtles.
The area is rather large, laying off the southern coast of
Waikiki. Actually moored up there it is one of Oahu's most scenic
diving points. Diamondhead to the east and Waikiki's amazing skyline
with Oahu's rough and lush mountains in the backdrop this location
is very cool. The area is actually made up of lava rocks and plenty
of sand. This particular area does not flourish a lot of corals due
to the sandy bottoms and south swells that roll around throughout
the year. Coral can not grow in this type if environment. Fingers
pointing out from the south gently drop off to the sandy bottom with
sand separating these fingers.
On top of the fingers of Turtle
Canyons Waikiki the max depth is around 20-25 feet. Not deep, but
plenty deep enough for a great dive in this area. Hawaiian green sea
turtles love these fingers and prefer awing divers there with their
uncanny ability to be neutrally buoyant without any lead weight !
Excellent place for photographs of the turtles. Lets try going out a
little deeper. Heading south east a bit, you will notice large areas
of flat like reef and lava rock. The depth here should be around 40
getting no deeper than 45 feet. Any deeper and you are getting way
off course.
Turtle Canyons Waikiki is one of those diving locations on Oahu
that surprises divers. You may think once down, that this place is
fairly laid back. With easy going turtles and small reef fish around
your guard gently laid down I must confess. We have seen on many
occasions tiger sharks and a few hammerhead sharks here. Again, this
is not a turtle only location so keep your eyes scanning the areas
around you. Bottom times here well, are pretty good averaging around
45 minutes. Keep it shallow and you are looking at at least an hour.
This is one dive location that you will need to be prudent.
Surfacing in this area can be dangerous due to the boat traffic up
above.
Returning to the original boat mooring line is a very good
idea so keep a good watch on your times underwater and take very
good note of the surrounding area in terms of reef structure,
certain rocks and other visual clues that might could help you for
your safe return back to the boat. In the end, Turtle Canyons
Waikiki is a great follow up dive after doing the shipwrecks in
Oahu. Depths are not deep pretty much allowing you to stay down for
a long time. Keep in mind there may be some people in your dive
group that wil not be able to stay that long underwater due to their
diving abilities so be courteous and do not just leave them waiting
on the boat for a long time.