Big Island - Night Manta Ray Swim

[TEK224]

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.

Thanks for the info!

 

[StaceyM]

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.

I have done the beach entry snorkel twice. I highly recommend it. It's open to the public, you can book at mantarayadvocates.com. It's a short snorkel in calm water. The make you wear a lifejacket and provide snorkel gear and fins. There are two versions of the snorkel, one where you swim as a group but independently and the guide holds a hand light, and one with a lighted surfboard that everyone can hold onto. The tours are restricted to maybe 8 or 10 people per trip, so it's very small and friendly.

I enjoyed the hand light more, but the surfboard would be better for anyone who is apprehensive. (Contact the website to verify which one you're getting, they're responsive.) You gear up near the pool area, then walk to the north end of the beach. The manta ray point is marked, a very easy swim (and in fact most hotel guests swim double the distance to see the coral reefs). The resort is very small, you can see the tennis courts in the bottom right of the photo for scale.

Bonus: if your friend is really not up for the swim, he can get a cocktail from Manta (restaurant/bar) and walk down to the viewing point and watch you dive with the mantas.

Here is a detailed description of the distances and difficulty, when they talk about the "Right End of the beach" they are talking about swimming to the coral that starts past the Manta Ray Point. They also have driving/parking directions for non-hotel guests:

Snorkeling Mauna Kea Beach - Public Access With A Free Pass

Entering the resort for snorkeling Mauna Kea Beach is not difficult, and you could see many fish and some fun topography."

www.tropicalsnorkeling.com

 

[StaceyM]

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.

See my previous post, there are multiple boat tours and one beach entry tour.

 

[NTP66]

Circling back to this, because I forgot. My wife and I did the beach entry snorkel with Manta Ray Advocates and cannot recommend it enough. Just an incredible experience that I think everyone should try.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@NTP66 was the beach entry significantly less expensive?

 

[NTP66]

@NTP66 was the beach entry significantly less expensive?

When I was looking, they all seemed to be around $150/person. My wife is not a fan of boats, so this was probably the only option she would have ever considered. Almost forgot - obligatory short clip from our tour (from my DJI Osmo Action):

 

[ScoopKona]

@NTP66 was the beach entry significantly less expensive?

You can do this absolutely free if you have your own gear.

Nobody owns the beaches. So just jump in and swim to where the lights are. I highly recommend a dive light, though. It makes night snorkeling easier. I have never paid for a tour. Why would I? The mantas are right there.

 

[easyrider]

@NTP66 was the beach entry significantly less expensive?

It's free if you want to float out about 30 to 60 yards. It isn't a perilous paddle out and there are lights from the resort shining on the water that attract the plankton which attracts the reys. I think the water depth where we ended up was between 10ft & 15 ft. Plankton is heavier than water and sinks and gets washed up to the beach. Good visibility is about 10 to 15ft, imo. Everyone in the group should have a light or glow stick so you can keep track of each other. Everyone should be familiar with snorkeling too. Night time is not a good time to learn, imo.

If you are only in Kona for a week and don't want to bother with gathering gear or you are alone or you aren't familiar with snorkeling, then a tour is the right way to go. If you have time to wait for good weather, calm water and have a buddy, then the float out from the beach is fine, imo.

Bill