All Reviews for Marine Wildlife Encounters

My wife and daughter enjoyed the experience. I did as well but swallowed too much salt water during open swim and got sick off the side of the boat. The crew was very professional in dealing with me. I did get to enjoy feeding the fish before my unfortunate sickness. I would definitely recommend this adventure. It is a very unique experience!

The manta rays definitely put on an amazing show for us, so I would give them five stars. More importantly though, we would give the crew five stars. They put in a lot of effort to make sure everyone was informed and comfortable, and they were very efficient. We would certainly recommend Iruka for this manta ray experience.

Friends vacationing in Hawaii had a blast and the sub-scooters was the highlight of our trip. We recommend you also buy the package of underground photos for your forever-memories.

Captain and crew were very friendly and helpful. Divers assistance also very nice. Enjoyed the whole experience. Will recommend to all family and friends. ;)

The boat crew were friendly and very knowledgeable about the whales. The whole family had a good time. It was beautiful watching the ocean and getting a glimpse of the whales.

The Manta Discovery tour was overall, super cool and a definite must-do if you’re planning to visit Hawaii’s big island. Depending on the day, the number of mantas will differ, so don’t expect to see ten of them when you go. If there are rays around, they will do flips and aren’t afraid to swim right up to you, which is an AMAZING experience. The mantas are really friendly, and make the activity almost magical. The crews are very informative and friendly.

Our guides were friendly and provided great information about the sharks local to the area. Totally recommend taking Dramamine the night before and the day of the dive as the water was a little choppy. We got to see about a dozen Galapagos sharks during our dive and even got to see a whale.

We had such an amazing time on this whale watching tour. The crew were all amazing and the marine biologist on board had a wrath of knowledge regarding the whales and the island. We had some yummy drinks and got to see quite a few whales. It was so exciting!! Def would recommend this cruise

We had a nice day on the whale watch tour. Though we only saw one humpback, the captain and crew made every effort to ensure we got to see it as many times as possible. We also got to see several pods of spinner dolphins and even a couple sea turtles on our way into the Harbor.
As it was so late in the whale migration season, the tour was probably as good as could be expected.
We appreciated that they served granola bars and lemonade on the boat and the crew was very friendly.

We booked our tour not knowing quite what to expect. We were absolutely blown away. The staff was knowledgeable, professional, and hilarious. I was new to snorkeling and nervous (i had approximately 1 hour practice messing around on a local beach) but i immediately knew i was in good hands with the crew and there was always a crew member close enough so i could relax. Words cannot explain seeing these amazing creature swim inches from you. The rays were super active the night we went and put on quite a show. I think the topper for me was a few days after our tour we saw a crew member at a local farmers market and he remembered us and came up and spoke to us about our experience. I absolutely recommend doing this because we will do it again next trip.

I participated in the 9 AM departure. At the check-in counter, I was welcomed in Japanese. Everything else was in English. In the photos of the submarine on the website, there were audio guide earphones provided, but there were no headphones, possibly due to infection control measures. Even though I didn't understand English, I was glad to have met the sea turtles and fish. The view from the submarine was a world of blue sea, and I couldn't distinguish the colors of the fish well, except for yellow.

As a measure against infections, all passengers were required to wear masks. For those who didn't have masks, there were supplies available. The crew sanitized the submarine windows with alcohol during the exchanges.

The weather was nice, and there weren't many waves, so it was good that there was little rocking. The view from the boat before boarding the submarine was also lovely.

朝9時出発に参加しました。チェックインカウンターでは日本語で歓迎してくれました。それ以外は英語でした。サイト内の潜水艦の写真では、音声ガイドのイヤホンが置かれていましたが、感染症対策の為かヘッドホンはついていませんでした。英語はわからなくても、ウミガメやお魚たちに会えたので、行って良かったと思いました。潜水艦からの眺めは青い海の世界で、魚は黄色以外は色の違いがよくわかりませんでした。
感染症対策として、乗船者は全員マスク着用です。マスクを持っていない人には、用意された物がありました。潜水艦の窓は、入れ替えの時にクルーの方がアルコール消毒をしていました。
天気もよく波もあまりない日でしたので、揺れも少なくてよかったです。潜水艦に乗る前の船からの眺めも素敵でした。

Better than expected! We saw Big Bertha, and 4 other Rays. They were putting on such a show for us, barrel rolling and feeding right in our faces. Was an incredible and unforgettable experience.

Would you like to make amazing memories in Kona? Our family had such an unforgettable experience with Dolphin Discoveries swimming with several enormous manta rays! Wow! Just wow! We planned our trip to Kona because we wanted to experience snorkeling with Manta Rays, so we had high expectations and hopes! We selected Dolphin Discoveries from reviews online and because it was the best deal around. All of the companies were in the same location - but we really enjoyed the experience with Shelly and crew! Eagerly attentive to all of the guests, they made sure everyone was getting the most out of their experience! In true Aloha fashion, they even helped out another company nearby while we were on the water! Book with Dolphin Discoveries and you will be so glad you did!!

Great crew. Great time! Even with choppy waters, we felt safe and enjoyed every minute of it!

The experience was one for the books, I took my 2, 5, and 7 years old. The year-old was super excited about all the cool fish he saw. The 5-year-old attention span was about ten minutes, after that he was just out of it. The 2-year-old was looking for mermaids. So overall it was a success.

This was an awesome time for our 3 year old and the crew was awesome

Such an awesome experience! We were surrounded by Manta Rays! So very cool, and the crew were helpful, very good at their jobs! Would love to do it again if we are ever back in Kona.

We had a very good experience on board this vessel. The crew was kind, courteous and knowledgeable. Captain Jesse and the crew were very entertaining. We did find a whale about 50 yards off the bow, caught a shot of his tail! Great boat ride, beautiful scenery and gorgeous weather! Well worth the price of admission! Thank you to everyone involed!!!!!!

I took my folks on this boat trip, and they had a great time. We spotted a whale about 50 yards out and saw a bunch of flying fish. The crew were fun and informative and showed us all sorts of sites. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone who wants to see a whale or just enjoy a big catamaran.

Amazing service and expertise on the whale watching excursion! The crew was amazing and helpful along the way. Would highly recommend this trip for individuals and families!

Pros: You will get as close as possible to many Manta rays, completely safe, even for kids, very informative guides.

Cons: They don't yet have an option to buy underwater photos or GoPro video of your experience, so bring your own.

Overall a great experience, highly recommend!

There was a whole family of tem it was a bit scary but surreal!

I’ve never been snorkeling before so this was a first experience for me. This company offers great services. They have an option for you to pay $30 more per person for them to come pick you up at local hotel (within their distance). Great option because we didn’t rent a car for our trip to Hawaii. They offer wet suit for rental $10 per person. We didn’t rent any because it was warm enough but it’s a great option. The boat ride was about 30 minutes each way and they included sodas/a cup of hot chocolate and chips for you. The manta-rays we saw were huge and there were so many of them!! They came super close as well. The best part was that they even recorded the manta-rays and air dropped the videos to us!!! I don’t have an underwater camera so it was a great surprise when she (the owner?) offered to airdrop us videos.

The vessel is more like a ship than a boat like it has 3-4 levels. Very organized and informational! The staff is friendly. Lots of room to walk around. They offer motion pills or some kind of ginger cocktail to prevent motion sickness. They also offered small snakes like chips. There wasn't an option for breakfast.
I went in February and and I saw about 7-10 whales( sprays, tip of their tails). I think 1 or 2 came close to the boat. I enjoyed it. My little one (5yo) was mostly running around...lol.

I participated in this tour with my daughter who lives in Hawaii. It is stated that lunch is included in the tour, but currently, it is not. I confirmed with the staff whether lunch was included, and they said it is available for purchase at an additional cost. Also, there was no explanation about the whales in either English or Japanese.

I didn't have high expectations for lunch based on past comments, but since lunch is not included, I feel that other tours would have been better. (It's not good to have misleading information...) The main purpose of this tour, which was to see whales, was fulfilled as we were able to see them multiple times, so that was good.

Regarding infection control measures, there was no confirmation of vaccination or presentation of negative test results. The staff wore masks, but all the passengers were not wearing masks. It's best to think that this is the current situation in Hawaii. Additionally, many tourists are coming from the mainland United States, where overseas travel has become difficult. There were a lot of people on this tour as well. I thought we were the only Japanese and Asians there.

ハワイ在住の娘と参加しました。
こちらのツアーは昼食付きと記載されていますが、現在はついていません。スタッフにもついていないんですか？と確認しましたが、昼食は有料で購入との事でした。また、クジラについての解説は英語、日本語ともにありませんでした。
過去のコメントから昼食への期待はあまりしていませんでしたが、実際に昼食がついていないのであれば、他のツアーの方が良かったなーと思いました。(嘘の記載は良くないですね...)
このツアー1番の目的である、鯨は何度も見ることができたので良かったです。
感染対策に関しては、ワクチン接種確認も陰性証明書提示もありません。スタッフはマスクをしていますが、乗客はみなノーマスクです。それが今のハワイの現状だと思った方が良いです。それと、ハワイは海外旅行ができなくなったアメリカ本土からたくさんの観光客が来ています。このツアーも大勢の方が乗船していました。日本人、アジア人は私たちだけと思いました。

Fantastic ride - great whale sightings. Convenient shuttle.

We had a very enjoyable trip near Waikiki to view fish and turtles. Our captain and guide were extremely knowledgeable and friendly. They knew where to take us to look at the animals. They provided lots of information about the fish as well as the area near which they were found. They were also very helpful with taking pictures with great backgrounds. The timing was just about right--not too long bringing on boredom in younger patrons, and not too short with no opportunities to actually see the animals in their natural habitat. It was a good experience for our entire group.

I did many excursions on Oahu and this was my favorite, never had more fun in my life. BOOK IT- you will not be disappointed!!!

Thank you Dolphin quest!!My favorite sea animal and it was awesome to get lose and personal with them!

Amazing, friendly staff and very informative tour. We saw so many different species and learned a lot during our tour. We already want to go again! We recommend this tour