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Aquarium. Photo: gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Aquarium

Dive site · United States

Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

Is it worth the trip?

87Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

5 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 77 out of 100

Sea
1.2 m
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
24°C

Tue 3 · 87 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
24°C

Wed 4 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
24°C

Thu 5 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
25°C

Fri 6 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
25°C

Sat 7 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
23°C

Sun 8 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
24°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 179, good
  2. Mon 277, good
  3. Tue 387, good
  4. Wed 488, good
  5. Thu 588, good
  6. Fri 688, good
  7. Sat 788, good
  8. Sun 888, good
  9. Mon 988, good
  10. Tue 1088, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 12 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 27 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Wswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Aquarium
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov79, good1.3 m3 kn7kn25°C
Mon 2Nov77, good1.2 m3 kn10kn24°C
Tue 3Nov87, good0.9 m3 kn11kn24°C
Wed 4Nov88, good0.9 m1 kn14kn24°C
Thu 5Nov88, good0.9 m3 kn11kn25°C
Fri 6Nov88, good0.9 m2 kn8kn25°C
Sat 7Nov88, good0.9 m1 kn6kn23°C
Sun 8Nov88, good0.9 m1 kn7kn24°C
Mon 9Nov88, good0.9 m1 kn6kn24°C
Tue 10Nov88, good0.9 m1 kn7kn23°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 01:28 −0.2 mHigh 09:14 +0.4 mLow 16:54 −0.2 mHigh 22:45 −0.0 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 03:12 −0.1 mHigh 10:26 +0.3 mLow 17:44 −0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:01 +0.1 mLow 05:07 −0.1 mHigh 11:35 +0.3 mLow 18:24 −0.3 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Aquarium

A cave dive. It goes down to 12 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces W: swell from the W reaches it, and wind from the E blows out to sea. 4 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 6.3 km away. The sea is about 25°C in January, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 28°C in October, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). The town to stay in is Kailua-Kona. Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots, 3 dive sites and 1 climbing area.

  • What it is Cave.
  • How deep Down to 12 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 4 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 6.3 km away.

Water about 27°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility over 30 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Feb, Mar, Apr, Sep and Nov (over 30 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,140–US$2,160 each

about US$1,140–US$2,160 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to KOA, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$469–US$978
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$27–US$47
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$301–US$502
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$1,140–US$2,160

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Kailua-Kona

Closest

Kailua-Kona

13 min by car · 45 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 45 places to stay in Kailua-Kona · Booking.com

About Kailua-Kona its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 12h

About 12h door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → KOA, direct, then 35 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Animals divers and surveys have recorded within 2 km of this site in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it here, not that you will.

  • Saddle wrasse Thalassoma duperrey

    Seen in 46 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Yellow Tang Zebrasoma flavescens

    Seen in 45 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Spotted Surgeonfish Ctenochaetus strigosus

    Seen in 44 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Lavender Tang Acanthurus nigrofuscus

    Seen in 29 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Pycnochromis vanderbilti

    Seen in 23 records, mostly Jun to Jul.

  • Bird wrasse Gomphosus varius

    Seen in 19 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Chevron Tang Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis

    Seen in 17 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Arc-eye Hawkfish Paracirrhites arcatus

    Seen in 15 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Green wrasse Stethojulis balteata

    Seen in 15 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Pebbled Butterfly Chaetodon multicinctus

    Seen in 14 records, mostly Jul to Aug.

  • Ornate Butterfly Chaetodon ornatissimus

    Seen in 12 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Banded Goatfish Parupeneus multifasciatus

    Seen in 12 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS, through OBIS; common names from Wikidata. Largest datasets here: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Ecosystem Sciences Division, National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Stratified random surveys (StRS) of reef fish in the U.S. Pacific Islands. Credits

This week: visibility over 30 m, about usual for the month (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.