Wonderful evening. We did the sunset Manta snorkel. Provides full wetsuit, plus gives you warm rinse off on board, which takes away salt and chill. Is it worth it? Absolutely YES. Manta Adventures gave us an excellent experience. Terrific time seeing multiple rays swim under us, within 6 inches!! They use the traditional lit-up floating platform on which 6 or 8 floating snorkelers hold on while the rays come under and around the lit platform. Shaunna and Payton were in the water with us to orient the platform and advise snorkelers to look toward the direction from which the rays are approaching so you do not miss out. If someone wants to come out of the water early, staff can help them back on to the boat, while the rest of the group continues to experience the rays. We appreciated that Manta Adventures demonstrates concern for the rays-- not trying to chase after them.
MA seemed to stay longer than several boats-- so we saw more barrel-rolling rays. MA has an early check in so that they can reach a good location. Snacks are fresh pineapple. You can also bring more of your own food if you like. We ate late lunch, which stood us well through the slightly-over-an-hour in water (actually most of us were not sure how long we were floating in the ocean, but agreed we would not have wanted to be in the chill much longer). Captain was a former deep-sea fishing captain-- he knows his stuff. The rays are the stars of the experience, but he does his best to make sure you see a lot of them. Oh, and there is a bathroom on board. We had enough space on board to store our towels and jackets. There are a lot of Manta viewing companies out there; Manta Adventures is one of the top ones.
For the college kids with us, it was the favorite activity of our Hawaii visit. Seemed like 20 people on the boat, and the 12-13 year-olds loved it too. Have fun!