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