Big Island
This trip was so much more than I expected! We started with a quick tour of rainbow falls and boiling pots. our guide Marcus was exceptionally knowledgeable about the plant life and history of both places. We then explored the lava caves, which was an unforgettable experience. Finally, we got to watch a beautiful sunset, followed by stargazing. I can’t believe how much astronomy I learned in one night. The skies were spectacular and once again Marcus seemed to have an endless fund of knowledge, answering all our questions in detail. The trip was unforgettable and Marcus is clearly a great asset to his company!
-The Staff was incredible
-I loved the the boat, it was well equipped and safe
-People should bring a warn sweatshirt for the ride back
-The manta's were plentiful and exciting
-Best Ever excursion!!
-WORTH IT and MUST try it
Aloha!
We appreciate the kind words about our crew and staff, and are ecstatic that you enjoyed yourself out on the water with us! We do offer a repeater discount of 20% off, so please keep us in mind for future travel plans.
Mahalo,
Iruka Hawaii.
Best tour on the island Marcus was extremely knowledgeable and knew every question we had about the island. Would highly recommend!!
While I understand there is no guarantee to see and experience manta rays feeding on plankton, I was extremely disappointed with this experience, the crew did not provide a good experience for all. There were a lot of people on this adventure (more than what I felt should be) and as result, the crew had to use three different boards to accommodate everyone. As a result the board with most of the lights, it attracted the manta rays, leaving the others without. The other two did not attract any. I feel the crew should have maneuvered the other two boards or people on those boards to the larger board area so that they could experience the Mantra Ray feeding. I was also very disappointed that there were no lights at the bottom pointing upward. On other manta ray snorkels I joined, when there are lights from the top and from the bottom many more manta rays appear and feed.
The crew also did not provide insights and interesting facts on the Mantra Rays, at least I didn’t hear anything.
The one nice thing I enjoyed about this trip was that the experience allowed me to enjoy nighttime boating.
Aloha Sandles,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We extend our deepest apologies for the experience you had on our tour. We would like to hear more details about it. Could you email us at info@hawaiidolphin.com and elaborate further? We would like to rectify this situation. Thank you.
Best,
Iruka Hawai‘i ‘Ohana
An incredible adventure for the family and I! I knew I wanted to see the Captain Cook memorial but I never anticipated such an immersive aquatic experience.
Mahalo Nui Loa for the wonderful review. We hope to see you on your next visit to the Big Island!
Beyond our expectations! Food likes for adults and kids, as well as drinks! The entertainment and energy was out of this world! I even spoke to the hotel about it being both of my daughters birthdays that week, and the entertainers did a birthday shout-out and sang them happy birthday!
This trip was a wonderful introduction to the great snorkeling in two of the bays on the west coast of Hawaii. Our guide provided all the gear we needed for the water. Our guide was friendly, patient, and knowledgeable about local sea life and the culture and history of the coast we explored. As a family, we were novices at snorkeling but our guide stepped us through getting into and out of the water and directed us to the best areas of the bays to explore. Right out of dock, a pod of spinner dolphins crossed in front of the boat! Flying fish appeared along our route and there were many species of fish and many black sea urchins in both bays. The snacks hit the spot and the cultural history of the bays and coastline were very interesting. After the excursion, we felt we were ready to set off on our own snorkling adventure!
The tour was great. The sunset was amazing. The boat ride out was super fun with water and sodas. The guides worked hard to get us positioned for the rays. We got to see several rays with one completely in the center of our group doing several flips while eating. Afterwards we got hot chocolate.
Aloha Hilari,
We're so glad to hear all the positive things you had to say about your trip with us, and thank you for sharing your pictures! All returning customer's receive a 20% repeater discount if you folks plan on returning!
Mahalo,
Iruka Hawaii Team!
What a fun, informative, and relaxing 3 hours. Great history guide and fantastic music! Helen the bartender was great as well. We are a group of six with two elderly parents who were comfortable the whole time and loved it. We will do this again!
Thanks a million for joining us! We are so happy to read that you had a great time!
This was a pretty fun show to attend. One thing I like a a luau is some of the history of the Hawaiian Islands and Polynesia and this show had some good dances going over the history and region. The house band was excellent and the host, while being kind of Vegas lounge singer-esque, hit a tone that was welcoming and fun. There was some audience participation and the event was generally a good time. The food and drinks we're a little less impressive and while they were as advertised and a typical luau fair, the quality was more of a banquet at a hotel style and the main reason for the 4 star over the 5 star. Fun luau, worth the purchase.
This luau at Royal Kona was a truly wonderful experience! I would recommend it to anyone staying in the Kona area when coming to Big Island.
The show was great, everyone was welcoming. Plenty of food and drinks and the staff was great!
Loved the excursions, especially the evening lava glow. The tour guide was amazing, friendly, and experienced, and made sure we had a really great time
We enjoyed the luau, the food and the program. This is our second luau and by far, it was the more enjoyable one. The food was good and the entertainment was captivating. The program was surprisingly interactive which made it even more enjoyable. My 12 yr olds appreciated that there were foods they could identify (mac n cheese, chicken nuggets) after trying the poi, lomi and poke.
I was impressed with the safety measures taken by the staff for the ATV ride. The waterfall swim was very short, not nearly enough time given for this part of the activity. No safety measures taken for the swim. Rocks were slick - there should be a ladder or some way to enter and exit the water that does not put participants in danger of slipping. The trip down to the waterfall and then back up is somewhat physically taxing and should only be undertaken by physically fit persons.
Length of trip perfect for first time snorkelers (12 yr old children). Crew knowledgeable, attentive and fun.
This trip was awesome. I have done several before with other companies and this is the best. Within minutes, four or five mantas started feeding. Others soon joined. Then flips and near surface swimming by the mantas continued the whole time. Excellent and I highly recommend. The crew were incredible.
Mr Jim was a very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide! The tour was very organized at each stop and Mr. Jim was very accommodating to ensure we didn’t have to wait in long lines as well!! Mr Jim loves what he does and provided myself and everyone on the tour with an Amazing experience!!! I would definitely recommend this tour to all my family and friends. 5 Star Tour!!!
Aloha, and thank you for posting this review! We're thrilled you had a good time on tour, and yes, Jim is extremely knowledgable and friendly, just a wonderful guide! Again, glad you had a great time, and we hope you enjoyed the island.
I cannot recommend this trip with this company enough. The guides were fantastic and the experience was amazing.
Aloha Brenda,
We're glad to hear that you were satisfied overall during your time with us! Repeating customers are offered a 20% discount when booking directly with our company, so we hope to see you in the future.
Mahalo,
Team Iruka Hawaii
We had a wonderful time! We had 5 of us from 5 to 28 years of age and everyone had a great time. The views were magnificent and they were great with our 10 year old and telling her how to row. The guides were fun and knew their stuff. 10/10 recommend.
The staff on board were so welcoming and friendly! They took the time to get to know everyone and made sure we had enough to eat and drink! The sunset was beautiful and we were able to take many pictures. Would definitely recommend!
Aloha,
Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback about your Sunset Cruise. We're so happy to read that you enjoyed the trip and your interactions with our crew.
We know there are a lot of activity providers on the island and we're honored your chose to spend part of your day with us. We really appreciate your recommendation!
Mahalo and a hui hou,
Your Ocean Sports 'Ohana
So cool the dolphins were amazing and it was awesome to interact with them and the dolphin trainer couldn't have been more friendly and knowledgeable definitely would do it again.
The views are amazing. The entertainment was great, the food and service were garbage. The food was ice cold and tasted terrible. My meat was all fat and sauce. The tiny package of Mac nuts and salad were the only thing edible. Getting a staff member to do anything but dance and have fun was difficult.the views and dolphins are worth the money but eat before you go and bring your own drink or you’ll be parched.
Overall, great experience! First the check-in process was easy. Scott was friendly. There was 20 of us on the boat. Bryce and Diego were funny and entertaining. It was super cool having the manta rays swim up so close for feeding. I wish we were out there longer! The sunset was beautiful!
I'd recommend if you are visiting for the first time. The waters were a bit chilly, but we were in for 30 or so minutes.
Aloha Julz!
We love to hear all the positive feedback about our Manta Ray Experience and the crew! Mahalo for joining us and we hope to see you again soon, we offer a 20% discount for repeating customers.
Best,
Team Iruka Hawaii
These guys were fantastic. The boat had plenty of room, good food and drink, and the crew were fun to talk with. We had a calm trip, got to see the coast, a sunset and even travelled near some dolphins! Had an Al around fantastic experience.
We had so much fun on the single riders. Our instructors were so amazing! They truly cared about our experience and making it fun for us. The customer service and overall experience was unforgettable and so worth it. Our favorite experience on the island!
It is Amazing!!! In person always better than in the pictures!!! I would definitely do this again (on the nice current ) The ride from the pier was short which was really nice so we wouldn’t be so cold for a long time. The cost of this is great! Better than other deals I was searching.
We saw so many Manta and they were all under us and swam up close to us for the plankton ❤️
It is for sure one of the best memory for my Hawaiian trip!
We will be back!!!
It’s really hard to go wrong with a sunset/early evening swim with manta rays in Hawaii. 100% worth the $. Our 8 and 10 yr old loved it. 8 yr old was nervous but boat captain and crew explained everything, made it fun, and he was way less stressed once we got out there. Canoe ride is short, water isn’t too cold either. Actually, I don’t really remember the water temperature because I was too busy watching for manta rays and freaking out over how amazing it was.
The tour guide is awesome, friendly, easygoing and very considerate.
Amazing tour with superb crew. Once in a life should do it to see manta ray. I saw two mantas because of seasick, I had to return the boat at earlier time, but my daughter really enjoyed it and saw a lot of mantas. The girl of three crew was really nice, she stayed with us when she knew we were first time snorkeling, and carried me back to the ship when I felt nausea and showed her that I would like to go back. Definitely recommend this tour to my friends. Just remind to have seasick pills ready if you worry about it.