Manta Adventures Inc., Kailua-Kona HI

Bill and his staff were great! Really made sure everyone was having fun and being safe. Very organized and no chaos at all! Saw plenty of mantas! It was so amazing! Our biggest issue we ran into was being able to find a boat to bring our toddler on as an observer. Some company's wanted us to pay full price for him even though he would just be sitting on the boat. Manta Adventures only charged $30 for him and they allowed for me and my husband to switch out! We were very thankful for that so we both could experience the mantas! Thankyou so much Captain Bill and crew!

Everyone on board went out of their way to be friendly, informative, and accommodating. We got to see one beautiful manta multiple times before heading in. The hot shower rinse and cookies after the snorkel was much appreciated! For those who are worried about getting seasick, note that there are two locations that they pick from each night to go to. The closer location had not been as busy with mantas so we ended up taking the longer boat ride (1 hour) to the second location. After getting to the location there is some down time on the boat before the snorkel. About 3-4 people did get a little seasick while waiting at the sight and while heading back in. Don't let that deter you, it is still well worth it!

Captain Dan & Tanner at Manta Adventures truly went out of their way to ensure we had a great manta ray night snorkeling experience off Kona, Hawaii. Luckily, this tour starts much earlier that all the other manta ray snorkel tours so they get out to Garden Eel Cove off the airport first to get the prime mooring buoy. We had plenty of time to get in a leisurely snorkel during daylight, and enjoy fresh pineapple during the manta safety story while gearing up in the provided long-sleeve wetsuits. The crew were very attentive and knowledgeable with a definite safety focus to make everyone feel very comfortable. For the tour guests who were prone to sea sickness, the crew came prepared with plenty of local preventive remedies (various forms of ginger as I recall).
The approach of Manta Adventures is clearly different than the chaos we observed with the late arriving snorkel boats that were scrambling to find mooring buoys in the dark or just dropping people in the water with the motors running. Since it does take a while after the underwater lights go on for the manta rays to appear, you really want to be the last in the water. Since many of the other manta ray tours were on tight schedules or didn't have a mooring buoy, their guests were dropped in the water early and were exposed to the boats motoring around. We saw a multi-engine boat backing up into the cove about 10 feet away from a large group of snorkelers to drop off it's 20 snorkelers. It was truly chaos and made us appreciate the safety approach of Manta Adventures.
While we waited in the warm evening air onboard to wait for the mantas to appear under the combined boat and paddleboard underwater lighting systems, other tour company guests were already in the cold water waiting for 20 minutes. Once the mantas started arriving, we calmly entered the water. Even so, it still took another 20-30 minutes in the water until the manta rays started regularly coming by and then to perform their barrel-rolls. By the time the manta rays started their dance, many of the other tour companies had already collected their guests and departed in order to stay on schedule for the next night snorkel trip. The Manta Adventures staff was very patient and encouraging to wait out the manta rays until they started their feeding dance. Even so, I'd estimate that half of our group of snorkelers got cold within 15-20 minutes and got out of the water before the full show got going. We were in the cool water for about 45-50 minutes overall I'm guessing, but so worth it! Overall, we probably saw a half-dozen different manta rays ranging from 5-10 feet across. During the barrel-roll feeding frenzing, they would come right up to our chests before a looping dive back down to the 20 foot deep bottom.
Reluctantly, we said goodbye to the still feeding mantas and got back on the boat to be greeted by the crew offering hot showers to warm our chilled bodies. We were the first snorkel boat to arrive at the cove, and now, looking around, we were the last snorkel boat to leave. After stripping out of the wetsuit, the crew offered us big warm cookies which were greatly appreciated during the quick ride back into harbor.
I'd highly recommended Manta Ray Adventures for the best manta ray night snorkel tour in the Kona area.

Go. Just go. Bill, Sam and Jackie were an amazing crew and captain. We went out on a really rough day on the seas. The water was choppy and murky, we were out there for 40 minutes before we saw a manta ray. Then as they were calling people in we saw one, then two. Hey came right up to us. Bill is a character. He’s extremely knowledgeable and filled with jokes. Sam and Jackie are both hardworking and super attentive. They gave us pineapple on the way out and cookies on the way back. Also PLEASE TIP THE CREW. I feel like this should go without saying but we were one of two parties that tipped. Made me a little upset at our fellow guests. Other than that 10/10 would recommend. Once in a life time opportunity and a must for your Kona trip!

We had a wonderful time! Shawna and the rest of the crew are knowledgeable about the area, the Manta Ray's and the equipment needed. The boat ride was wonderful and seeing the Manta Ray's was amazing! Having a hot shower to end the adventure was an added bonus, not to mention the home made cookies

Captain Bill was the best! Concernee about our safety enough to cancel an excursion once it was clear that it was dangerous. Back to try again! Amazing!

Just finished a snorkel tour with my 13 year old granddaughter and 4 friends. Great experience with caring, patient crew. Showed compassion and concern for my well being as a completely inexperienced snorkeler.

Payton, Shauna and captian Bill were an amazing choice as my family and I we're looking for a place to do this. After looking a lot online we decided that this would be the best one and sure enough from the minute we started it was amazing from the service to exsperience. Highly recommend this company they definitely over delivered a once in a lifetime experience! Saw total of 5 different mantas.

Wir waren heute Abend auf der Manta Ray Snorkeling Tour und es war einfach perfekt! Das ganze Team super freundlich, hilfsbereit und witzig.es gab frische Ananas und homemade Cookies und natürlich jede Menge Mantas hautnah!

Loved this experience! The Captain and his crew were awesome! The equipment they have is top of the line

I'll start by saying that I'm not very comfortable ocean swimming so, even though I really wanted to experience this, I was anxious. My fears were soon put to rest as the entire staff was extremely friendly, informative, and accommodating. Rest assured, this boat is run with extreme efficiency! If you choose to do this, this company is the way to go! I had an amazing experience. Make sure you get to the dock on time so the boat has plenty of time to secure a good spot!

My wife and I had a great time on the night Manta Ray trip with this crew. The boat was nice and new and the crew was very knowledgeable and safety conscious. The boat has tons of lights on its underside that helped bring in the Mantas right to us. Some of the other boats actually were upset that the Mantas were only by us. If you're going to do a Manta Ray night swim, this crew is the only way to go.

This was an amazing trip. Manta rays swoop by you only interest way from you. The guide is very nice and makes everyone feel safe. Manta rays are attracted buy plankton which is attracted buy very strong lights in the evening. Experience of a lifetime

Pretty Rad stuff.
The Captain runs a tight ship. The crew is knowledgeable and efficient. Lots of manta rays to look at! Big ones. They come real close but never touch you. Money well spent.
Plus, they will charter a private excursion during the day.

Great manta snorkeling experience! They provide good service, on a quality boat with good equipment. They are a tiny but more expensive than the others, but make up for it by better quality!

Amazing experience with amazing staff. This was a very special evening. Highly recommended. We saw many rays up close.

10 plus.bill gabe and tanner were awesome. They are so personable and knowledgeable you will love going out with them. Can't wait to go back.

Great crew and boat not overly crowded. Early to the snorkel site. Great briefing and preparation. Swimming with manta rays is an experience not to be missed! Book with Manta Adventures and you won't regret it! Make sure you bring something to take pictures with underwater!