Staying Home Sucks, home
Kealakekua Bay, Captain Cook (504519)
Kealakekua Bay. Photo: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Kealakekua Bay

Dive site · United States

Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

Is it worth the trip?

88Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Wed 4: Sea 0.8 m, Visibility over 30 m, Water 27 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
4kn
Air
25°C

Wed 4 · 89 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
26°C

Thu 5 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
26°C

Fri 6 · 88 out of 100

Sea
1.0 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
7kn
Air
25°C

Sat 7 · 88 out of 100

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

Sun 8 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
25°C

Mon 9 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
1 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
24°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 281, good
  2. Tue 388, good
  3. Wed 489, good
  4. Thu 588, good
  5. Fri 688, good
  6. Sat 788, good
  7. Sun 888, good
  8. Mon 988, good
  9. Tue 1091, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 30 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 27 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces SWswell 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 Kealakekua Bay
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov81, good1.2 m5 kn8kn25°C
Tue 3Nov88, good0.9 m1 kn4kn25°C
Wed 4Nov89, good0.8 m2 kn6kn26°C
Thu 5Nov88, good0.9 m2 kn12kn26°C
Fri 6Nov88, good1.0 m2 kn7kn25°C
Sat 7Nov88, good0.9 m2 kn8kn25°C
Sun 8Nov88, good0.9 m2 kn10kn25°C
Mon 9Nov88, good0.9 m1 kn9kn24°C
Tue 10Nov91, good–2 kn9kn24°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

  • Mon 2 NovLow 03:13 −0.1 mHigh 10:27 +0.3 mLow 17:43 −0.2 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:01 +0.1 mLow 05:06 −0.1 mHigh 11:36 +0.3 mLow 18:23 −0.3 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 00:53 +0.2 mLow 06:36 −0.1 mHigh 12:35 +0.2 mLow 18:57 −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, its town, photos

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.

Photos of Kealakekua Bay

Spinner Dolphin, Kealakekua Bay, Honaunau, HI, US imported from iNaturalist photo 111321970
Photo: no rights reserved, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Kealakekua Bay - panoramio (2)
Photo: Eric Marshall, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Captain Cook Monument. Kealakekua Bay, Captain Cook (504560)
Photo: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Kealakekua Bay

A reef dive. It goes down to 30 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SW: swell from the SW reaches it, and wind from the NE blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 18 km away. The sea is about 25°C in January, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 28°C in September, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). The town to stay in is Captain Cook. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 30 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 18 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 Apr and Aug (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$1,190–US$2,240 each

about US$1,190–US$2,240 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$74–US$121
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$301–US$502
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$1,190–US$2,240

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: Captain Cook

Closest

Captain Cook

about 5 min by car · 2 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 2 places to stay in Captain Cook · Booking.com

About Captain Cook 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 20m

About 12h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → KOA, direct, then 50 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.

  • Yellow Tang Zebrasoma flavescens

    Seen in 15 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Lavender Tang Acanthurus nigrofuscus

    Seen in 11 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Spotted Surgeonfish Ctenochaetus strigosus

    Seen in 11 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Saddle wrasse Thalassoma duperrey

    Seen in 11 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Arc-eye Hawkfish Paracirrhites arcatus

    Seen in 10 records, mostly Jun to Aug.

  • Gendarme Fish Acanthurus olivaceus

    Seen in 9 records.

  • Banded Goatfish Parupeneus multifasciatus

    Seen in 8 records.

  • Pebbled Butterfly Chaetodon multicinctus

    Seen in 6 records.

  • Pycnochromis agilis

    Seen in 6 records.

  • Potter's Angel Centropyge potteri

    Seen in 5 records.

  • Ornate Butterfly Chaetodon ornatissimus

    Seen in 5 records.

  • Bird wrasse Gomphosus varius

    Seen in 5 records.

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's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.