All Reviews for Kailua-Kona

MUST DO-Our family comes to Hawaii every summer and this is by far the most magical experience we've ever had on an excursion!!! There were four manta rays swimming around us-truly awe inspiring! Our kids are 16, 14, and 10...ALL LOVED IT and said it was the highlight of our trip! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The weather was great, and I had a very fulfilling snorkeling experience. I've tried it in various places before, but having plenty of time to enjoy it at my own pace was really good.

天気にも恵まれ、とても充実したシュノーケリング体験ができました。今までいろんな場所で経験しましたが、たっぷりな時間で、ゆっくり自由に楽しめるのがGood でした

We went on the afternoon tour with 8 in our family ranging in age from 4 to 65. Most had no snorkeling experience. Everyone in our group thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The crew were so friendly and helpful! We were impressed with their safety precautions, including all of the crew being certified lifeguards and were watching out for everyone the entire time we were in the water. The water was pristine and we saw so many varieties of fish and even saw an eel. The coral was beautiful, too.

The captain exchanged information with other captains and took a detour to an area where we might see dolphins. Sure enough, dolphins came to play around the boat, and we saw them jump twice. Communication is important in everything, isn't it? We also had a great time snorkeling and got to see plenty of yellow fish.

ハワイ島の船長さん同士の情報交換で、イルカに会えそうな海域に遠回りしてくれました。見事、イルカが船の周りに遊びに来てくれました。ジャンプも2回。
コミニケーションは、何事も大切ですね
シュノーケルも、黄色いお魚もいっぱいみれて良かったですよ。

There was a Japanese guide. A Japanese woman kindly assisted me over the phone. Unfortunately, if you can't see a manta, you can participate for free next time. In fact, I was able to try again for free.

On June 10th at 18:00, we saw the best sunset, but we only caught a glimpse of one manta passing by in the distance. My husband didn't see any at all.

On June 13th at 21:00, I was allowed to try again for free, and I had the best encounter with 4 to 5 mantas that spun around right in front of me multiple times. It truly felt like a manta experience. Since it’s nature... the impact and emotion were different from just seeing mantas pass by in Ishigaki Island.

Even though I don't understand English, I could feel the excitement of the crew. Since it was dark in the sea, I felt reassured participating just by understanding Japanese.

日本人のガイドさんがいます。電話も日本人の女性が親切に対応してくれました。
残念ながらマンタに会えない時は、次回の参加は無料にして頂けます。実際、無料で再度チャレンジできました。
6/10　18:00からは最高の夕日は見れましたが、遠くに通り過ぎた1枚しか見れませんでした。主人は、全く見れてません。
6/13　21:00に無料で再チャレンジさせてもらい、4～5枚のマンタが目の前で何度もクルクル回転してくれる最高の出会いを見れました。これぞマンタという感じでした。自然相手なので。。。。。石垣島での通り過ぎるマンタを見るのとは、迫力、感動が違いました。
英語が解らない私でも、乗組員のスタッフの興奮が伝わりました。
暗い海なので、日本語がわかるだけで安心して参加できました。

The boat ride was so much fun and such an adrenaline rush. The waters were beautiful and perfect temperature for swimming. The captain and crew were so friendly and had so much information about the land. Would definitely do it again and you get so much for the price!

OMG not even sure how to translate to words the experience on this tour

everything went smooth since the pick up, the tour guide assigned to us has so much knowledge about the culture, and the places.

you get a meal which is delicious to start the day, the the views from the sunset never in my life had experience something like that

then the cherry on top the stars, this was a life experience like never before you can see even the space station crusing the skies.

do not hesitate on talking this tour you wont regret it

Great experience. Amazing stars and view of the sunset.

People in bite me were very friendly and fun!
Highly recommend to join their tour!

i really liked this luau! right near the water and very productive evening

This was amazing! From our pick up point in Kona, our guide Kailikea (hope I spelled this right) was fantastic. He was so passionate about the trip and his home town it was so engaging. He's such a helpful, friendly and knowledgeable chap. I didn't expect to learn so much, but it was just the right level. 'Kea was clear about what to expect from the altitude and how to best manage it. We were lucky enough to see the Silversword plants by the visitor centre and then enjoyed our meal, included in the tour; veggie lasagne and chocolate brownie. It was a mixed journey up to the summit with some paved and some very bumpy roads but so worth the trip. We learned all about the different dishes and observatories and watched the beautiful sunset from the summit. We had to head lower for stargazing to avoid polluting the light by the observatories. We were awestruck by how many stars you could see, it was stunning. The powerful telescopes were set up and we were shown the visible planets and constellations/asterisms. Viewing the Edna carina nebula through the telescope was an incredible experience. I would 100% recommend this tour!

It was May 2nd, so the night sea was still cold. But the manta rays were so beautiful that I forgot about the cold! I saw just one, but it kept spinning right in front of me, so I could see its mouth wide open and observe its skin closely; it was almost within reach if I stretched out my hand. (If you touch them, you will be forced to return to the boat. I thought it was wonderful that there is a strong attitude of respecting them.) The mystical time continued, and I was so absorbed that I forgot about the cold.

It seems that the manta rays get startled and swim away if they see human feet in the water, so you need to keep your feet on the float while lying face down and kicking to stay afloat. It can be quite challenging until you get used to it, but the large "ロ" shaped float allows small children to sit on it and look through the opening. Since it’s not cold, and you don’t need to float, and the manta rays don’t swim away, I thought it was a good method (as children tend to splash their feet in the water). The Japanese guide was kind and attentive, moving around to help us, and he gave us all the photos he took for free. I even saw a seal in the pictures! (It seems there was actually a seal very close by. Guests are not allowed to let go of the float, so he went instead to take photos.)

5/2でしたのでまだ夜の海は寒かったです。でもそんなことを忘れるくらいマンタが美しかった！見られたのは1枚ですが、ずーーーっと目の前でクルクル回転してくれていたので、口の中も丸見え、肌感もしっかり観察でき、手を伸ばしたら触れるほどです。（もし触ったら強制的に船に戻されます。彼らを尊重する強い姿勢が素敵だと思いました）神秘的な時間が続き、寒いのも忘れて夢中で見入ってました。
人間の足が水中にあると驚いて逃げてしまうようで、フロートの上に足を乗せながら、うつ伏せに蹴伸びをした姿勢で浮き続ける必要があります。慣れるまで結構大変ですが、手でつかまってるロの字フロートは大きく、小さなお子さんはその上に乗っかって、ロの字の中から見てました。寒くなくて、浮く必要もなく、マンタも逃げないので、良い方法だと思いました（どうしてもお子さんは水中で足をバタバタさせてしまうので）。ガイドの日本人の方は親切で色々と気づいて動いて下さり、また撮った写真は無料で全部下さいます。見たらアザラシまで映ってました！（すぐ近くに実はアザラシが居たみたいです。ゲストはフロートから手を離してはいけないので見に行けませんが、代わりに行って写真を撮ってくださってました）

This is a great outfit to take you to see Manta Rays. The boat is a medium size so the group size is much smaller than the big boats. Crew are very professional and knowledgeable in the Manta Ray habits and behaviors. The boat ride to the site is short (<15 min) then it's into the water.

On our trip a single manta showed up after about 5 minutes in the water. As the sky darkened the plankton seemed to multiply and the show really began. The single ray made several passes within inches of our masks. Then another showed up and it was like a graceful dance being performed right beneath you. Another two rays showed up and things really got interesting. What fun watching that ballet!

Afterward, hot soup and warm drinks helped fuel the conversation with the other participants. A most delightful and memorable experience.

P. Burke

I was able to see a manta ray just at the last moment. Since I easily get seasick, I took some medicine before joining, and I was fine, but others were unfortunately getting sick. Also, it was colder than I expected. It's essential to have measures for warmth after coming out of the sea.

最後ギリギリにマンタに会えました。
船酔いしやすいので薬を飲んで参加したら、大丈夫でしたが、他の方はどうにももどしてらっしゃいました。
後、想像以上に寒いです。海からあがったあとの防寒対策必須です。

I joined the tour with my wife, and we were a bit nervous as we worried about altitude sickness before we joined. However, we did not need to worry too much. The guide was so professional, and he made us relax in the large van of Mercedes-Benz. In addition, the distributed dinner, hot lasagna and chocolate cake helped us get adjusted in the rest area before we were elevated to the summit. In astronomical observation, I was able to see two shooting stars. I strongly recommend this amazing tour if you come to the big island.

Diego, Trevor, and Tamae were incredible! They were fun and upbeat and super helpful. We got in the water and we say more than a half dozen different manta rays swimming around right beneath us! It was an experience we’ll never forget!

This tour was worth every penny. We loved the ride to the summit, the star gazing, and the wealth of knowledge provided by our tour guide, Maka.

Great experience! This was a fun time on a very nice, new catamaran with a crew was friendly, knowledgeable and informative. Tho food was great and the snorkelling at the stop by Captain Cooks monument was awesome!

The tour guide was inviting and very knowledgeable. The food was actually quite decent. The views of the sunset from the top were sensational, and it was near seeing all the giant telescopes.

But the highlight for me by far was the stargazing after sunset. It was only 80% visibility and the moon was quite bright but I've never seen so many stars so clearly in my life. It was really a sight to behold. Maka (the tour guide) brought a telescope with him and we saw a number of cool things close up, such as a globular cluster, a star in portions
Orions belt, Venus, and the Moon.

Fernando was a great guide for our tour! We really enjoyed his commentaries and learned a lot from this trip. The sunset was amazing. The night sky was impressive, but cold. Bring winter clothes and layers if you can! They do provide a very warm parka. The dinner was yummy. Highly recommended!

This trip was great. Outstanding crew constantly catering to our every need and ensuring the best experience. Captain Trevor, first mate Diego and Joe and everyone else were so accommodating to all. Would love to come back and visit the mantas again!

One of the top 5 experiences of my life! A must do on the big island. Captains Trevor and Diego were helpful. Storm was coming in so water was choppy. Climbing out of the water was the hardest part.

Great food & performance. View of ocean nice. Validated parking. Food line went quick.

This was such a great adventure! The crew was super nice, friendly, knowledgeable and gave us all the important information ahead of time. I am glad we rented wetsuits (the long sleeve, short legs version - $10), because the amount of time we stay in the water and specially at sunset, made it for a very cold attraction.
Nonetheless, we saw at least 4 manta rays, they were swimming around and under us for the entire time and it was such an incredible experience!!!
When we got back to the boat, we were treated to some really yummy hot chocolate.
Tamae, one of our guides, also had some pictures and videos that she shared with us!!

Excellent adventure, was very well organized. We enjoyed it alot and definitely recommend this excursion. The excursion was on time the staff was super friendly and informative.

We are typically do-it-yourselfers and were initially skeptical about going on a guided tour. This tour turned out to be so worth it! Captain Brendan and crewmember Tuliz were very knowledgeable, competent, and friendly. We happened to see whales at close range along the way, and our guides made the most of it. The snorkeling at Captain Cook is magnificent. A fantastic experience all around!

Great crew, beautiful bay. The cruise ship was super equipped with everything you need to have a great time. The food was delicious, the snorkeling gear was great and the restrooms were clean. We highly recommend this tour!

Delightful crew. Simple food always available. very well organized. Had reef-safe sunscreen available. Even had prescription goggles for me. Captain told great stories. A great morning's adventure.

The food was good, the DJ and our tour guide was excellent.

Delicious food paired with amazing local Hawaiian talent. This was one of our favorite luaus on Big Island after a few past years of trying around.