Manta Magic - Night Manta Ray Snorkel At Manta Village, Kona, Hawaii in Big Island of Hawaii booking from $125.00

Manta Magic - Night Manta Ray Snorkel At Manta Village, Kona, Hawaii

Overview

Avoid the crowds of the other "cattle boats" in Kona, and enjoy a small-group manta ray snorkeling experience with a maximum of 12 passengers.

This tour departs from Keahou Harbor in South Kona and enjoys a short 5-minute boat ride to our snorkeling site, Manta Village.

Your Captain and snorkel guide will educate you on Kona's famous manta rays and will discuss our safe and humane approach to engaging with the gentle giants.

After entering the water, you'll hold onto our lightboard, with your feet propped up by floatation devices, as the manta rays perform a graceful ballet beneath you. The manta rays filter feed on plankton that naturally gathers at the surface just before sunset, then accumulates underneath our lights. This is an opportunity to enjoy an evening on the water and watch in amazement as the manta rays glide around and dance for you.

We are proud to be a Green Listed company, and we take an environmentally cautious approach to our interactions with the manta rays.

City: Big Island of Hawaii

Wed 25 Sep

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Starting at $125.00

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Wed 25 Sep

Starting at $125.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Professional guide

Wetsuit (optional)

Use of Snorkelling equipment

Local taxes

Beverages

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Must be able to swim without the assistance of a floatation device.
A ticket is required for all passengers, regardless of age or whether they are entering the water.
Maximum weight of 280 pounds per traveler.
Not recommended for travelers with neck problems.
Snorkel equipment is sanitized between uses.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (858)

Owfred

Mar 2019

We had a blast on Manta Magic Tour- Snokeling Adventure. First of all, there are a lot of companies doing the nightly manta outings and I will discuss how we chose Hawaii Oceanic and why it was an excellent choice. I had spent some days researching this before hand, so hopefully the below is helpful, but I don't profess to be an expert. Some key points about Manta Night Snorkeling: - There are two main areas that most of the tours go to: Manta Heaven and Manta Village. Manta Village is the site South of Kona and the original site of the first Manta Tours after the Sheraton Hotel inadvertently noticed large objects swimming in the sea as they were shining lights in the nearby waters (later identified as the majestic Manta Rays feeding on the phytoplankton that were attracted to the light). Manta Heaven is located more north, near the Kona Airport, and was another site that was subsequently found to also have Manta Rays. Some sources seem to suggest that Manta Village may be more reliable for a sighting but if found, larger numbers are more often seen at Manta Heaven - although other sources seem to suggest this may not be as true anymore. Nevertheless, most of the companies go out to one of these two areas. Manta Village is closer to shore, and I believe there is at least one company who does tours from the shore- swimming out to the area without a boat. - The feeding time for Mantas are at night and hence all of the action is after sunset. The earlier tours have the plus of seeing the sunset but the downside of waiting for sunset to completely take effect before getting into the water. The later tours are more efficient, and can potentially learn from the early day outing regarding likelihood of a sighting at a certain area to decide the right area to go to for the late night snorkel, however, there is also the risk that the boat gets out there too late. Some of the companies that do Manta tours have a calendar documenting the # of Mantas seen on each day of the month to give a you a rough sense of numbers/likelihood of manta sightings, but I don't think there is any predictable pattern. - Some tours can go to both sites while other tours only go to one area. Hawaii Oceanic has a smaller boat that can go to either site, but I believe they usually go to Manta Heaven as they are located closer to this. - Your experience may depend on the rest of the people in your group. The calmer and stiller the people are on the lighted board, the better chance of having the mantas come up to your face and do barrel-rolls; if people are splashing around, they will likely stay further away. Why we chose Hawaii Oceanic: - Smaller group; I believe their max size is 9 and we wanted a more intimate experience. Some tours have reviews documenting overcrowding and appear to have lots of people on a bigger lighted board, which we felt could limit the possibility of mantas coming close by. We had ample space and did not feel crowded at all. - Flexibility of dates: They have both the earlier experience 4:30PM on MWF or a later nightly experience 7:30PM (requires minimum of 6 people). - Manta guarantee: They mentioned that if no mantas are seen, we could reschedule for another date free of charge, which is nice given that its not 100% that mantas would be seen. We scheduled our tour earlier on our vacation to give us a chance to rebook if needed. Manta Moonlight vs Sunset Tour? We initially had this question as we were trying to find the best experience and highest likelihood of Mantas. We ultimately went with the moonlight tour. - we had called the company prior to booking, and multiple members stated that the moonlight tour was the better tour as it's more efficient but overall, both were similar. They did not report that there was any difference in the probability of spotting mantas between the sunset and moonlight tour - The sunset tour has the pro of seeing the nice sunset, but the downside of waiting until sunset, which other reviewers have commented may take some time for the impatient. - The moonlight tour that we did was magical and would be my recommendation. It was quiet, you could eventually see stars(new moon at time of our visit), and there is something thrilling about jetting in a boat at night in the dark over the seas. I also think it may be more successful, as the crew could learn from the early session which site to go to. The downsides are its colder (in March) and there is a possibility that the Mantas may have left if all of the early boats have dispersed. Our experience was fantastic. We ultimately went to the Manta Village site, despite it being further as there had been a lack of sightings the last day or two at Manta Heaven. This meant a slightly longer boat ride ~30-45 minutes. Our crew leader did an excellent job keeping us entertained, laying down the groundwork and providing info about the mantas on the ride. Prior to boat ride, we were given wetsuits, snorkels, and masks (they have prescription masks for those more visually challenged like myself). Once we arrived to the site, we immediately saw a manta from the boat underneath another company's boat- which was a fortunate sign and immediately deboarded and mounted our lighted board to await the show. Initially, there was nothing. Then some plankton. Then some long tubular fish which were cool but not manta. I started to become concerned, but was still excitedly invested. And then they came - these huge majestic gentle giants deep beneath us. They proceeded to rise from the bottom directly up to the board and do barrel rolls, devouring plankton as they glided to the surface. We saw 4 total, and they literally got to within 5 inches of my face and even inadvertantly petted me (of course, you are not allowed to touch the mantas, but you can't control if they touch you physically and emotionally). One of the members of our party couldn't stop audibly giggling from excitement and another aspirated water at this wondrous sight. We stayed out on the water for about an hour while they danced around us multiple times until they finally said goodbye. This was definitely a highlight of our trip. Tips/Notes: - Don't touch the mantas - One of the things that made the smaller boat/group size advantageous was that our crew leader was able to pull the lighted board (swimming with his fins dragging us all along) to make sure our board was in an ideal position for the mantas. As you can imagine, for bigger boards or multiple boats with lighted boards, it may be harder to get to the ideal position, but with a smaller group, this was possible - The night time may attract a more older/mature group instead of kids who can't control their extremities - which is advantageous since you need to be as still as possible for the mantas to choose to come up to your board - Our night seas were calm, but I would imagine somedays may be more rough, so take dramamine if you are prone to seasickness - You can bring a camera/gopro if you want but the company also takes photos and places them on Facebook - nothing can capture the real experience though. - I am not a diver, but from our experience, I think that the snorkeling for this encounter may be better than the dive as the Mantas literally come up to your face from below. As a diver, you may be able to see them down lower, but I would think they would be less likely to come up as close as the main light source is from the board above- but would defer this judgment to others who have done the dive and snorkel to compare. - Some chips and drinks were provided on the way back - Another plus is that they are one of the four companies listed under the Hawaii Ocean Watch's Preferred Activity Providers which are selected for being leaders for safe, sustainable, and marine-life friendly encounters. We would definitely recommend this encounter and company!

Azddak

Mar 2019

We went out with Chad and Frank (fingers crossed that Frank is the correct name!), both of whom were a lot of fun, very accomodating, and seemed to truly enjoy the ocean. Check in was at 4:30pm. We were fitted with flippers and 3/4 wetsuits. There were 11 people on our tour, including one child of maybe 8. We got to the snorkel site early enough so that those who wanted could do a little independent snorkeling. As the sun set our group excitedly took our places around the floating board, held on and looked down into the water for the main attraction. The floating board is fitted with lights below to attract the plankton that the mantas feed on. Unfortunately, the Mantas did not appear. They were like Dikembe Mutombo, "No, no, no!" But luckily for us, Chad and Frank (fingers still crossed!) had us reboard the boat and they took us to a second location. Finally, the main event! The Mantas appeared in all their glory, right under our board, doing numerous rolls. It was great! It would have been better if we didn't have a poor child who upon finally seeing the manta, screamed in absolute terror. His name I will forever be imprinted upon my memory, but I won't mention it here. Hopefully this poor kid will one day be able to look back at the moment fondly. For me, at least for the near future, I'll probably envision manta rays everytime I hear someone scream, which is actually quite cool since I'm from Bklyn, NY and there's a lot of yelling...I highly recommend this tour, mostly without the shrieking. If you have a bad back, be forewarned that the ride on the boat may be a bit of a challenge on choppy waters. If you get seasick, take a motion sickness pill before the trip. Even if you're a kid guy who doesn't think you'll get seasick, take one anyway.

araedel

Mar 2019

I can not say enough positive things about this excursion or company! Chad and Dylan were amazing! They truly cared about us getting the best experience possible. We even stayed out a little longer past our time so that they could ensure we had the best experience. Dylan even pulled all of us around to make sure we saw some! We were so lucky and saw 4!! Personally I would recommend the earlier tour (4:30) to see the sunset on the water as well. They were funny and informational about the area and manta rays. They take pictures for you that are complimentary. The best part is the small group size that gave a more intimate experience. We saw boats with soo many people on it to do it and there’s no way you get the personal experience that these guys give you. Go with these guys I promise you won’t be disappointed !

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Manta Magic - Night Manta Ray Snorkel At Manta Village, Kona, Hawaii

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