If you have never experienced diving at night with mantas, then this may be the right experience for you, but it is a very expensive option and I think there are better trips to be had from other operators in Kona. I wish I had done more research ahead of time, instead of relying upon a few optimized blog posts that came up first in my research because this seemed like more of a mass cattle call to make money for Sea Quest than the soul-satisfying dive like I had in deep water off the end of the runway in Kona six years ago.
My disappointment started with trying to find a place to park. We arrived an hour early and drove up and down the street trying to find a spot. There are only a few places in the parking lot and they were already taken. You would have thought with all the confirming emails you get ahead of time from Seaquest that someone could explain you may have to walk a half mile or more to park there, but they leave that for you to discover upon your arrival. No need to be stressed like this. Strike one in my book.
Once you arrive, mass bedlam. Everyone lines up to check in with a very nice but overwhelmed woman for the privilege of standing around another 45 minutes while she deals with everyone. They do not let you try on your mask for a good fit before you go. You simply try on a shortie wetsuit and off you go to stand by the boat and load in stages according to the group you are assigned to. They hand you a mask once you step aboard a rubber raft. I have short hair but my mask leaked the entire time I was out in the water through the nose piece. So did my wife’s. These are not super cheap masks, but they are far from the best. No excuse for this. Someone should allow you to at least try on your mask before you get on the boat, but that might take too much time, I suppose, and it would cut into the profit margin. Strike two.
Once we pushed off dock and traveled out about 300 yards off shore, then we got to hear about how the other companies that offer trips off the runway in Kona had not seen any mantas for two days. Really? This claim was made repeatedly. Funny, but when I did the same trip off the runway in Kona six years ago with another company, the boat was stable and it had warm showers after your dive was over. Not on these rubber rafts. We also had a chance to try on our masks first before we went out. And, to add insult to injury, instead of mantas that were three- to seven-feet wide like we experienced on this trip, the mantas were 10 to 15 feet wide on average out off the runway in Kona. It sounded more like they were bashing the competition and trying to take away business from them to me. Strike three.
This has been a long way to say do your research ahead of time if you really want to have a quality experience. In the best of circumstances, it’s a memory that will be vivid in your mind for the rest of your life. But it’s a heck of a lot of money and I expected a lot more than what I received in return from Sea Quest. A high price does not always mean high quality.
Finally, I also would not recommend renting the GoPro for another $39. You have your feet floating on a noodle during the experience, with both hands resting on a lighted surf board bobbing in the water. It is difficult to aim and hold on with one hand, especially in rough waters like the night we went out and several people went back to their boat with sea sickness. The pictures of mantas you can download off the internet are far better than anything you will shoot here bobbing up and down in the water holding on to a surfboard with one hand and balancing your feet on a noodle.
I think the staff of Sea Quest were extraordinary under the circumstances. Their livelihoods depend on having customers, and they are the best part of this experience, so I do not mean them any harm. Other than the derogatory comments about the operators up near the runway, I do not now how anyone could do better than they did following the procedures laid out to make this a streamlined, mass market, cattle call run. I would suggest that if you want to see the mantas and have the best experience, get on the phone and call a few dive shops on the Big Island and find out more before you plunk down your hard-earned dollars.