Big Island - Night Manta Ray Swim

[TEK224]

Has anyone done the night time Manta Ray Swim from Kona? I'm interested in this, but my bf is not a strong swimmer. I know they give you a noodle to float with and once you swim over to the floating platform like structure, you just hold on to the bar to watch the rays. But I read that there is the opportunity to snorkel out from the beach at the Mauna Kea hotel. Is that only for guests of the hotel? Is it a far snorkel? I don't want my bf to be stressed out about it. he may be more comfortable walking into the water from the beach, so it would be easy for him to get out if he needed to. He also has some other health issues. I told him he could watch them from the boat, and wouldn't have to get into the water, but he said if he's going out on the boat, he'd want to get in the water. I also told him we could skip this activity, as we have a bunch of other things planned, but he said he knows I want to do it, so we will. I just want him to be comfortable and me not worried about him having any issues.

 

[geist1223]

We have done this event. We loved it. I love the water. Patti does not swim well and hates putting her face in the water. She also loved it. It is only a short swim from the Boat to the float you hold onto. There are several crew with you in the water. They put the Noodle under your ankles to keep your legs up. Patti was the 2nd last back to the Boat. I was the last. They had to drag me back to the Boat. We are going to be on the BI on Sunday for 3 weeks. We will do this at least once.

 

[ncaahockeyfan]

We absolutely loved it! Four adults and four kids (12, 10, 10, 7) in our group. Do not need to be a strong swimmer. So many fish and rays out there. Super cool to see the scuba divers laying on the bottom too. This is one of the few activities I would do again!

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We have done it twice. Its amazing. Recommend the boat if not a strong swimmer. They offer a life jacket and will provide wetsuit because you can get cold just sitting in the water. Plus you hold onto a surfboard with lights to attract the rays. Not sure how that would work with snorkeling.

I doubt you would see much from the boat because you need your mask in the water to see.

 

[brentw52]

Definitely worth it. A magical experience and really not much actual swimming involved.

 

[Sandy VDH]

I am a diver and relatively strong confident swimmer. I took my friend who is not a good swimmer. She loved it.

I have done that as a dive on many occasions. That was the first time I did it snorkeling or rather floating As a diver I prefer the dive, but it was fun.

 

[LisaH]

Join a tour. As the post stated above, you need lights to see the mantas which are provided beneath the surfboard. As I recall, our tour went to a place close to the airport and it’s quite a distance from shores. We love it, although my husband got seasick and threw up on the boat after swimming with the mantas. He doesn’t do well floating in the water without being in control (you are part of a surfboard group connected by a rope).

 

[Sandy VDH]

Join a tour. As the post stated above, you need lights to see the mantas which are provided beneath the surfboard. As I recall, our tour went to a place close to the airport and it’s quite a distance from shores. We love it, although my husband got seasick and threw up on the boat after swimming with the mantas. He doesn’t do well floating in the water without being in control (you are part of a surfboard group connected by a rope).

Not only do you need lights, you need bright lights. This attacts all the little small things which is what attacts the manta. If you are wigged out about things in the water, that you can now see, than perhaps this is not for you.

 

[buzglyd]

Not only do you need lights, you need bright lights. This attacts all the little small things which is what attacts the manta. If you are wigged out about things in the water, that you can now see, than perhaps this is not for you.

"wigged out"!!! haven't heard that one in a long time!

 

[Sandy VDH]

"wigged out"!!! haven't heard that one in a long time!

I'm old LOL

 

[LisaH]

I'm old LOL

I had to google it up

 

[travelhacker]

This is an incredible experience. I've done this twice, once in 2021 (with my then 7 year old daughter) and another in 2023 (with my then 5 year old son.

However a few things:
1) If you are prone to get seasick, this may not be a good tour.
2) If you think you might get cold in the water, it may not be a good tour.

You don't need to be a strong swimmer (my 5 year old is not). However, you do need to be able to hold onto the light board for a long time, and float....not much actual swimming is involved.

I will say if those who go on the tour aren't able to float flat for the length of the tour, it can ruin it for the whole tour. This is because the Manta's don't want to get kicked....they'll follow the path of least resistance.

Where I've seen more people get tripped up is getting cold in the water. My 5 year old almost threw in the towel after about 5 minutes. I bribed him, and we had a sighting after about 15 minutes that recharged him. About 30 minutes in, we had Mantas non stop for about 3-4 minutes getting within inches of us.

Both my kids talked about this tour for weeks after going on it (and still mention it regularly)

Last bit of advice:
I would schedule this early on in your trip and see if you can go with a group that guarantees sightings. If you don't see anything you can always go again. My wife and daughter went in 2023 and didn't see anything (and got super seasick), which is how I ended up taking our 5 year old the next day where as luck would have it, we had an unbelievable experience.

 

[geist1223]

There are 2 main Manta Ray Events. One is near the Airport and has a SCUBA Option. The other is by Keauhou Bay and the Outrigger Kona Resort south of Kona. I believe the fone # for this one is 808 326 4774.

 

[klpca]

We did in out of Keauhou using a groupon. There were very limited spaces for the groupon people (like two per boat or something like that), so you need to call the company first to see if there is availability, then buy the groupon, then make the reservation.

It was fine, but I didn't love it as much as everyone else. It was a one time thing for me. I rented a shortie wetsuit, wore a long sleeve rash guard, and I was still uncomfortably cold. We were there in May, but I tend to get chilled in the ocean so no big surprise. We saw a lot of Mantas which was great. They even got so close that they brushed against your body and that made a few of the women on the boat scream, lol.

 

[Yzfguy06]

It is worth the money. The boat ride can be a bit rough though. Several people lost their cookies on the way back. Also be warned you could end up with a group like we did that doesn't swim well and freaks(screams) out at things near them. They also had zero to very little snorkel experience too. Obviously you can't control the group you're with but that was our experience. We would do it again if we go back to Kona.

 

[TEK224]

Thanks everyone. All this info is very helpful.

 

[NTP66]

Which tour is actually being discussed? I originally thought it might have been Manta Ray Advocates, where you are literally walking out from the beach to the snorkel spot, but the mention of boats makes it sound like either I'm wrong or multiple tours are being discussed.

I ask because my wife and I are booked with the site I mentioned for this July.

 

[Sandy VDH]

There are lot of different vendors.

Tried and Tested: The 6 Best Manta Ray Night Snorkel (or Dive) in Kona - The Hawaii Vacation Guide

One of the activities that is truly unique to the Big Island is a night snorkeling or diving with manta rays. And it is an experience that you won’t soon

thehawaiivacationguide.com

Manta Ray Snorkel and Dive in Hawaii: Read Before You Book - The Hawaii Vacation Guide

One of the most thrilling experiences in Hawaii is the opportunity to snorkel at night with manta rays. These gentle giants do barrel rolls and swim around

thehawaiivacationguide.com

Swim from shore is going to likely be cheaper as there is no boat to purchase and maintain, but if there is any chop and you don't have confident swimmers, this might not be a good option.

 

[TEK224]

Which tour is actually being discussed? I originally thought it might have been Manta Ray Advocates, where you are literally walking out from the beach to the snorkel spot, but the mention of boats makes it sound like either I'm wrong or multiple tours are being discussed.

I ask because my wife and I are booked with the site I mentioned for this July.

I was originally asking about both. I was looking at different boat tours to the manta sites and then saw something about entering from the beach. I've never done this tour so was looking for recommendations/opinions about both the boat and beach entry.

 

[TEK224]

I appreciate all the responses, but unfortunately it looks like we're going to skip this one. I'll save it for myself at another time. My BF is not a confident swimmer and he doesn't like being cold (read that it can get cold and choppy out there at night). This is his 1st visit to Hawaii, so I don't want to do anything that will make him feel uncomfortable. We have several other things we'll be doing while on the BI, so it's not a catastrophe.

 

[davidvel]

I appreciate all the responses, but unfortunately it looks like we're going to skip this one. I'll save it for myself at another time. My BF is not a confident swimmer and he doesn't like being cold (read that it can get cold and choppy out there at night). This is his 1st visit to Hawaii, so I don't want to do anything that will make him feel uncomfortable. We have several other things we'll be doing while on the BI, so it's not a catastrophe.

I think you made the right choice. Someone who is not confident in the water and with other health issues would not make a great candidate to go out in ocean at night.

 

[TEK224]

I think you made the right choice. Someone who is not confident in the water and with other health issues would not make a great candidate to go out in ocean at night.

Thanks! I think it's the right decision. I'm more of a risk taker than he is, and I want him to enjoy this trip, so we'll have plenty of other things to do. Plus when we get to Oahu, we'll be snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, so he'll get to see marine life up close and personal there.

 

[NTP66]

Thanks! I think it's the right decision. I'm more of a risk taker than he is, and I want him to enjoy this trip, so we'll have plenty of other things to do. Plus when we get to Oahu, we'll be snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, so he'll get to see marine life up close and personal there.

Be careful at Hanauma Bay, too. There are a lot of coral mazes on the left side that can put you in a bad spot at low tide. Wife nearly had a very bad encounter, as I’ll call it, one year and I had to basically put her on my back and swim out of the coral. I think that was actually the last time she went snorkeling, thinking about it now.

 

[Sandy VDH]

If you want a good snorkel place on BI try 2 step. Just google 2 step big island and check out videos or blogs about it.

here is one....

2 step snorkeling big island - - Video Search Results

The search engine that helps you find exactly what you're looking for. Find the most relevant information, video, images, and answers from all across the Web.

video.search.yahoo.com

 

[lynne]

I appreciate all the responses, but unfortunately it looks like we're going to skip this one. I'll save it for myself at another time. My BF is not a confident swimmer and he doesn't like being cold (read that it can get cold and choppy out there at night). This is his 1st visit to Hawaii, so I don't want to do anything that will make him feel uncomfortable. We have several other things we'll be doing while on the BI, so it's not a catastrophe.

Food related

There are quite a few local tours on the east side of the island. Our friends just started a new business with Hibiscus Farming in Honokaa:

Hawaii Farm Tours | Big Island | Hawaiian B Natural Farms

Discover the natural beauty of our hibiscus farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. We offer farm tours, hibiscus tastings and farm products.

www.hawaiianb.com

There is also the Hawaiian vanilla company tours in Paauillo (next town south)

Farm

hawaiianvanilla.com

and a chocolate farm tour in Honokaa

Cacao Farm Tour / Chocolate Tastings

Join us for a cacao farm tour and chocolate tasting: 45-3584 Old Mamalahoa Highway Honoka'a, HI 96727 By reservation below: 2pm to 4pm Monday thru Friday Book Tasting & Tour Book Tasting & Tour Factory Store open to the public Our Factory Store is located in downtown Honoka'a at 45-3587...

honokaachocolateco.com

Great Malasadas at Tex Drive (Honokka just off the main hwy)
Best shortbread cookies Donna's Cookies (also in Paauilo on the main hwy)