Crikey, what an outstanding experience!!! Tours had been cancelled for days due to high surf, but we were able to get out (even though the water was still a bit choppy). There were so many people, we had to take two zodiaks. The ride is about four minutes away from the dock. There were already a few other tour boats with lights in the water, but there was PLENTY of manta ray action for all!
Don't bother brining your own fins - they provide wetsuits, snorkels, masks, and POOL NOODLES. You'll swim from the zodiak to the floating, lighted PVC pipeline and hold onto the pipe. You'll let the pool noodle slip down to your ankles and you're floating on the surface looking down into the deep. It took only a few minutes for five or six MASSIVE rays to start slurping up the plankton drawn to our lights. They were swirling and doing loops underneath us, sometime so close as to brush against us.
The whole tour took an hour. My 75-year-old mom was tired after holding onto the pipe in the chop, and getting back into the bobbing zodiak was also tiring for her, but she's SO glad she went. (She's an experienced snorkeler.) The hot chocolate and cookies after is a nice touch.
We both HIGHLY recommend. (And please tip your guides!)