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

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

Sun 13 Oct

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $125.00

Make a reservation

Sun 13 Oct

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)

Jane_D

Jul 2022

We actually missed our trip, by 5 min. We have been on many excursions and this was a first. She said she called at time to deport but left no message or didn’t text . . And had a Michigan number not Hawaii!! Typically we are reminded the day before and then again the day of. That was not the customer service we received from this company maybe because this was such a small business they don’t follow up with with customers. We’ve learned our lesson the hard way stick with the more well know companys!!

Response from Host

Jul 2022

Aloha - we apologize for the inconvenience of you being late to the tour. We send confirmation emails at the time of booking and reminder emails 24 hours before the tour, and we ask our guests to arrive 30 minutes before the tour. If you arrive 5 minutes after tour time, you are 35 minutes late. We did call you before the tour, and you didn't answer your phone. Our staff uses their personal cell phones to call guests who are late (the staff is already at the harbor or on the boat), which is why you received a call from a Michigan cell phone #. We run up to 7 manta ray snorkel tours per night, and we run on schedule, which is why we ask guests to arrive 30 minutes early. We can not hold up the tour for guests that are running late, as that will unfairly delay all the other tours that evening. When guests do miss their tour, we rebook them or offer a credit for a future tour. We are one of the highest-rated tour companies on the Big Island, and one reason is that we run on time. If you are going to show up late for a tour, then blame the tour provider for you being late, that is very unfair to the tour provider. This review should be removed because it is not our fault that a guest arrived late, did not answer their phone, and missed their tour.

290LaraC

Jul 2022

Would do it all again tomorrow. Once in a lifetime opportunity, do NOT miss this!!! Teenagers in the family loved it especially our 18yo daughter who was nervous to go. These creatures are a sight to behold , we did the 9.20 tour and ended up seeing 5 or 6, the highlight being the largest ray who was clearly very comfortable being around people and came suuuuper close! She was about 15 feet wide- absolutely amazing. Hawaiian Oceanic we’re a friendly and fun team to take us out - standout being the guide Hunter who made the trip with his enthusiasm and commentary . Cool dude. 100% would recommend this company. 100% recommend this activity - honestly don’t go to the big island and not do this.

Stay562852

Jul 2022

This was such an amazing experience and one of the highlights of my entire trip. This was my first time reserving a tour via TripAdvisor, so I was nervous about its trustworthiness, but eventually I found all the good reviews about Hawaii Oceanic to be absolutely true. Finding the operation was a trick, however. There are MULTIPLE tour companies that leave from that harbor, and I had a very tough time trying to figure out which group was the right one. Once I got that straight, it was five stars the rest of the time. This is the perfect tour for someone who gets motion sickness (which I do), because the place where they stop is literally only a few minutes out. Seriously, it couldn't have been any more than 5 -- you turn a corner and you're there. And, of all the boats that were out there, I like think that we had the best turnout (our group seemed to elicit the most oohs and ahhs). I lost count of the number of mantas that approached us; they were everywhere! Some were enormous (possibly as wide as a car?) ... and inches from my face! They warn not to touch the mantas because it wears off their mucus layer, but they were totally the ones bumping into us! The water was choppy, but I felt very safe with our guide. (I think his name was Hunter? I'll call him that.) In fact, when another operator had a person who was starting to freak out from the choppy water, their guide called on Hunter to spot his group so that he could get the man back on their boat. Hunter also told us a great deal of information the entire time. It didn't come off as canned; it very conversational. All in all, I cannot recommend this outfit highly enough. If I ever go back to Hawaii, this tour, with this company, is definitely on my list of what I'd do again.