Koloa Landing

I'm an advanced scuba diver. My wife is an avid snorkeler. We were in Kauai in April, 2005. At that time it appeared that wherever we went on the island the surf was up and wind blowing on shore. Weird, I know. Not heavy surf (3'-5') but not good conditions for snorkeling or shore diving. The surfers were loving it! North shore was undiveable for the first three days, so we went to the south side first. My wife went in and came right back out - too rough and poor vis for snorkeling. Koloa Landing is a great place for new divers. Shore entry is VERY easy. Just gear up at the car, walk down the old boat ramp into waist deep water w/ BC partially inflated, squat & put on your fins and go. The ramp has deep grooves about 3" wide and 2"-3" inches deep so walk carefully as footing may be slippery and unstable. Semi-hard or hard sole booties are a must for shore diving anyway. Due to the conditions in this Mid April, there was plenty of parking a few yards from the water. That might not be the case when conditions are good or in "high season". Even if you have to park up on the street, it's only about 50 yds down a slight grade thru the parking area to the water. The surf had churned up so much that the vis was poor by Hawaii standards (about 5'-12'). I went to the right (Southwest). The reef didn't have much plant life on it, mostly rock. Depth was 30' or less. A few fish here & there. I could hear whales off in the distance. A very easy dive even in poor conditions. Overall not a great dive that day. But any dive in Kauai is better than being at work! It's definitely worth checking out especially as a first dive or if you haven't been diving in a while. Old Koloa Town is just up the road & there are two dive shops for air, etc. Loved it!