Hallfamilytravels
Aug 2018
We highly recommend this company and this crew; Trip, Momi and Nick. This is our second time out with Trip and Momi, the first time was two years ago and it was the snorkeling with dolphins trip. They are super professional, friendly and knowledgeable! We did a private charter this time which we’ve decided is definitely the way to go, even though more expensive.
The day we booked the trip was just after a hurricane had passed near the island. We headed out that morning and about half an hour into the trip the Skipper (Trip) said that it wasn’t a good day to be out, the water was very choppy, the winds were strong and the water was not very clear. The dolphins were just in the mouth of the harbor and other snorkeling boats were putting people into the water in this area, which seemed extremely unsafe and the crew even said it wasn’t quite legal. They asked if we could reschedule so we agreed to do it two days later.
This time the water was beautiful and a Momi knew right were to go to see the dolphins. As soon as the dolphins would leave the area, Trip would get us back on the boat and we’d reposition closer to them. There were six of us on this tour and the entire time both Momi and Nick were in the water with us to make sure we were all safe and seeing everything possible. Some of our children were a bit frightened or ran into trouble with the snorkel and Trip really helped them each. He even managed to get our eldest daughter into the water at every stop! She had decided she was only there for the boat ride before we left.
My husband and another daughter got a chance to try scuba diving with Nick who is a trained instructor. While the rest of us waited, Trip and Momi brought interesting things up for us to see including an octopus and a sea urchin. They made our time out of the water very enjoyable and interesting. Trip even took one of my daughters out in this area to snorkel.
Just before the scuba divers got back to the boat, Trip received a call from a fellow captain who told him about a pod of Sperm Whales just a few miles from where we were anchored. Trip asked if we wanted to go and try to see them once the divers were back. Of course we did! We found them and what a fantastic, and very rare, treat that was.
This was from start to finish an absolutely wonderful way to spend half a day off the Big Island with a great crew on an excellent boat, truly memorable!
Response from Host
Aug 2018
Aloha!
We are so excited you had so much fun with Trip, Momi and Nick and look forward to seeing you again soon!
Mahalo nui loa,
The entire KOA crew