Kaneohe Bay Sandbar Ocean Sports Adventure with Snorkel, Kayak, SUP & Live Music
Overall Rating
4.88
Disappointing
Reviewed by: Danielle, 2023/11/19The staff was very friendly. However, the price of the ticket did NOT match the value of the experience.
The inside of the boat is in poor condition (holes in the ceiling tiles, visible mold, peeling paint, an overall unpleasant smell, etc.) The life jackets are old and mildewy, and the snorkeling gear should probably be upgraded.
The lunch (included in the ticket price, not free) consisted of a sandwich with 1 slice of dollar store quality lunch meat cut in half (it was supposed to be turkey but looked like bologna), pineapple slices, a few pieces of lettuce as salad, and an optional bag of chips. Your beverage options were either powder juice mix or water. Hot tea was served at the end.
For those expecting a bar when looking at the ticket price, NO alcohol is served. This seemed out of the ordinary compared to the other boat excursions I’ve been on, and the other guests were also surprised by this.
The live music was great until they started playing Christmas songs that could have passed for lullabies halfway into the trip. People were literally falling asleep. Since the weather wasn’t great (*not anyone’s fault*), it would’ve been nice if they played more upbeat tunes. Perhaps the majority of our ticket price goes to the live music fee since everything else was extremely lacking.
All the reviews I read and pictures I viewed before booking were great, and now they seem dishonest/misleading. Due to the nature of the issues I found (boat conditions, equipment conditions, and quality of food), I do not think my experience is unique or this was an “off” day.
Again, the staff was very friendly, and I do NOT place any blame on them. However, their friendless did not make up for the deficiencies I explained above.
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
| Activity Date: | 2023/11/16 |
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Cold and poor visibility
Reviewed by: Jimmy, 2023/06/24It was cold - the boat ride and the water condition once we arrived. The visibility of the water was very poor. We didn't see any fish. It was just an unpleasant experience. We did this tour with another company many years ago and it was very nice. I understand weather conditions are outside the tour company's control but they can warn customers when they know it's bad and provide options to cancel the tour.
Mahalo for joining our tour and sharing your review. We're sorry to hear that the weather was not great and you had a disappointing experience snorkeling on the day of your tour. We hope your Hawaii vacation will still be a memory to remember to make you want to come back and visit us again.
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| Attended as: | Families |
| Activity Date: | 2023/06/01 |
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No sandbar visible at all
Reviewed by: Nancy O, 2022/10/18We recognize that no one can control the weather, the tides, or the water depth on any given day but the company could note on their website that the water level has been so high lately that it's rare that the sandbar is visible. Having pictures on the website that show the sandbar above water is very misleading without any asterisks as to weather conditions, water depths, or tides.
The afternoon we went in mid October 2022, the water over the sandbar was about 4-5' deep. It wasn't until we talked with one of the crew who said the sandbar has only been visible about two days this whole summer. Had we known that, we wouldn't have booked but of course, that's exactly why they don't post anything about the rising ocean on the website because they'd lose money. So instead, they let people think they'll get the experience like the photos show which is pretty misleading and close to false advertising.
Unfortunately, we also got a cloudy afternoon with intermittent rain and pretty choppy water so weren't able to try the standup paddle boards or kayaks.
The two-guy band on the boat was good. They played 3 songs on the short boat ride out to the sandbar and then a couple on the way back. They didn't play during the time at the sandbar.
The turkey croissant lunch was good.
The floating suntanning platform near the sandbar was unusable. It had built-in chairs but if you wanted your towel, you had to hold it above your head to keep it dry and swim, tread, or walk in 4' water from the boat to the platform. It would have been helpful if a crew member took towels, etc. over to the platform on a paddle board or something so they'd be dry.
If you have kids or you're a short adult who doesn't want to have to tread water or wear a life vest for the 3+ hours in the water over the sandbar, this isn't the excursion for you. We had a better sandbar off the beach at the Outrigger hotel in Waikiki. Also, the water on Oahu's north shore isn't as clear as in Waikiki.
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| Attended as: | Families |
| Activity Date: | 2022/10/13 |
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Aloha Danielle, we are sorry that you didn't enjoy our tour. We shared your feedback with our crews, and we will discuss about better way to our customer satisfied (music, lunch and equipment etc.). They will make an effort to meet high expectations. When we check the boat, we couldn't find any wholes in ceiling tile. We do maintenance our boat and keep clean everyday but will do check more carefully. Mahalo for sharing your experience. - Team KBOS