My review will primarily discuss the manta ray night dive in Keauhou Bay, close to the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa. This is a very unique, once in a lifetime time of dive that I highly recommend. We got on the boat prior to sundown and headed out to a secluded bay where the manta rays tend to congregate. When the sun sets, the boat lays out floats on the surface of the water with large downlights to attract the plankton, which in turn, attract the manta rays. Our boat had a combination of snorkelers and divers. The water is shallow (7m) enough that snorkelers can enjoy the manta show, albeit from the surface of the water. We had 2 mantas join us for the duration of the 65 minute dive, doing acrobatics right before our eyes. I was using a 12-24mm lens on a cropped sensor DSLR, which was barely wide enough. If I have the opportunity to do this dive again in the future, I will most likely use the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye + 1.4x teleconverter.

I understand that manta sightings at Keauhou Bay are frequent but not guaranteed. We saw 2 mantas during our dive; on a good day, many more show up. If you have the bad luck of not seeing any mantas, I believe that most operators will give you a free pass to come back and try again another night. Bearing this in mind, it is advisable not to do the manta night dive on your last night in Kona, just in case the mantas don't show up.

Kona is fantastic for topside activities. The island's landscape is amazingly beautiful, with a combination of volcanic rocks and lush greenery (I believe Jurassic Park was filmed in Kona). Various outdoor activities such as watersports, hiking, dolphin tours, etc. are easily available. And the laidback attitude prevailing in Kona is wonderful and great for the soul.

I stayed at Liberty Dive Resort for 3 nights in August 2014. Overall, I liked it very much. The resort is slightly off the main road (so it is nice and quiet), quite private, and comfortable. Rooms are spacious, clean, and well lit. Bathrooms are also spacious and comfortable. There are 2 swimming pools and a nice garden in the middle of the property.

The main attraction is the proximity to great dive sites. LDR is about a 5 min walk to the Liberty. This proximity is very handy if you want to do dawn dives or night dives on the wreck. The resort is also just a few minutes by truck to all the other sites in the area. Most of the sites are black sand muck diving sites, where you will seek lots of macro critters and nudibranchs. For wide angle photography, head to the Liberty or Drop Off.

The guides are great. They know the sites very well and are happy to accommodate any requests you might have. They provide full service like carrying all your gear and changing your tanks, so you feel quite pampered.

The only thing about LDR that is not outstanding is the food, which I found to be mediocre. The menu is large but nothing really stood out to me.

Lembeh is one of the world's muck diving havens. Lembeh's volcanic sands are home to an amazing variety of strange macro creatures. This includes all kinds of small fish, seahorses, cephalopods, sea slugs, crustaceans, etc. It is a great place for macro photography, where you can observe marine life and animal behavior up close.

The dive sites generally have either black sandy bottoms or coral reefs. Because the dive sites are all within a sheltered strait, the surface conditions are very easy and travel time to get to the sites is short. This makes the diving very easy and not strenuous. Most sites are relatively shallow, allowing you plenty of bottom time.

Overcrowding has become an issue in recent years. The dive operators have done quite a good job of self-regulation, with a maximum of 3 boats allowed at any one dive site (if you are the 4th boat to arrive, you have to head elsewhere). Also, the mandarinfish dives are highly regulated with a maximum number of divers allowed at any one site.

There are plenty of resorts in Lembeh to suit all tastes and budgets, from high end villa/spa resorts to family friendly and budget offerings.

What Lembeh is not so good for:
- Large animal life. Most of the marine life in Lembeh is quite small and best suited to macro photography.
- Topside activities. There is not a lot to do for non-divers.
- While the area is quite picturesque, the waters are filled with litter such as plastic bags, snack wrappers, plastic bottles, metal cans, etc.

Anilao is one of my favorite places to dive in Asia. The marine life is incredibly diverse and abundant. Most of the life is small and best suited to macro photography, for example reef fish, sea slugs, crustaceans, cephalopods, and the like. What is so amazing about Anilao is that it is not uncommon to see very special and rare creatures, such as mimic octopi, wunderpus, coconut octopi, ghost pipefish, seahorses, stargazers, bobbit worms, and the list goes on. Some people call Anilao the "nudibranch capital of the world" and it kind of makes sense when you consider that it is possible to see 100 different species of sea slugs in a weeks' diving!

Secret Bay and Anilao Pier (best done as a night dive) are my 2 favorite sites for macro life, and Twin Rocks and Beatrice are my favorite wide-angle sites, but there are many many other great sites too and it is hard to go wrong. All the dive sites are located within a 15 minute boat ride of one another, so travel time between dive sites is limited. Conditions are usually good so the diving is easy and relaxed. Water temperatures can get chilly from November to April, with a low water temperature of around 24 degrees C, so bring a 5mm suit if you are planning to visit during those times. Typhoon season is around the middle of the year, when winds can be strong and there is a small risk of typhoons. This is low season and a great time to visit if you don't mind the winds. The water is also warmest in the middle of the year.

Topside activities are limited as each resort tends to be self-contained and self-sufficient. There are limited options for nightlife in the area it is really geared towards diving.