Leleiwi Beach Park

After many dives on the west coast of the Big Island I decided to see what the east side has to offer. They call this 'The Wild Side' for diving as it's much more exposed to the trade winds and the surf that is unimpeded for a couple thousand miles! That said, Leleiwi (pronounced lay-lee-vee) is a very nice dive site and is somewhat protected from high surf. The entrance and exit are quite easy and it's only 25 meters or so to a decent place to submerge. There are freshwater springs near the shore so the water temperature feels a bit chilly initially, but warms up as soon as you gain some distance from shore. There is abundant hard coral and much of it is finger coral. The coral below 20 meters appears to have been damaged, but above that it looks healthy. We were advised to go to the right at the entrance point due to the possibility of strong currents to the left (although later we learned there is a turtle cleaning station to the left). There are a few scattered arch swim-throughs and some of the largest Green Sea Turtles I've ever seen! It's a good dive if you find yourself in the Hilo area. The visibility on this side is going to be influenced by the amount of recent rainfall. It was 50-60 ft. when we dove it and it had been relatively dry. Check for current details with one of the (2) local dive shops when you rent your tanks.