Boating Tours and Marine Animals in West Big Island, Hawaii
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Boating and Snorkeling Tours
The Big Island in Hawaii is the perfect place for marine animal lovers, ranging from tiny creatures like seahorses and colorful fish to giants like dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and manta rays. More information about the island in the article: Travel in Hawaii, the Big Island.
A visit to Hawaii will not be complete without a boat trip along the western side of the Big Island in the Kona area. Daytime boating is completely different from evening boating after dark. The most popular boat trip in West Big Island is a cruise in a quiet and beautiful bay called Kealakekua Bay, where the Captain James Cook Monument is located. Near the monument, there is a fantastic reef that is undoubtedly the best place for diving and snorkeling on the island, featuring an abundance of fish and beautiful corals. The water near the monument is crystal clear, calm, and deep. Pods of wild dolphins often frolic in the bay's waters, including near the many boats anchored there.
In recent years, the heavy tourist load in the bay has led several companies to find alternative nearby locations for snorkeling, swimming, water activities, and dolphin watching. There is no doubt that any lover of marine life, especially dolphins and turtles, and any snorkeling and swimming enthusiast must go on a boat trip, preferably in the morning when the sea is usually calmest and visibility is at its best, to the Kealakekua Bay area.
Booking guided tours on the Big Island from GetYourGuide.com:
Recommended hotels on the Big Island:
In the West of the Island:
Recommended to stay in the Waikoloa area
Wonderful 4-star hotels:
Highly recommended:
Or:
♦ Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
Or:
♦ The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort
Cheaper, recommended suite hotel full of facilities and activities (not on the beachfront):
♦ Kings' Land by Hilton Grand Vacations Club
Even cheaper (and more distant from the sea):
3-star resort with 1-2 bedroom villas, abundant in sports facilities.
In the East of the Island
Hilo
♦ Grand Naniloa Hotel, a Doubletree by Hilton
4-star hotel, located in Hilo Bay, close to Hilo city center, includes family rooms and suites with a kitchenette, pool, and restaurant. Free Wi-Fi and parking.
4-star hotel, located in Hilo Bay, close to Hilo city center, includes family rooms, pool, and restaurant. Free Wi-Fi and parking.
Or: High-quality Bed and Breakfast:
Includes pool and jacuzzi, about two miles north of Hilo. Air conditioning, terrace and garden, grill, free private parking, free Wi-Fi.
Night Snorkeling with Manta Rays
The greatest experience in the Big Island's bay waters awaits you in the evening, after dark, on a snorkeling trip with giant Manta Rays. These gentle and friendly giant fish can reach a weight of up to 1350 kg and a length of 7 meters. They are considered highly intelligent fish that can even recognize themselves in a mirror. Their upper side is black, but their belly on the underside is white with black spots. Each Manta Ray has a unique pattern of spots that effectively serves as its "fingerprint".
Booking recommended tours on the Big Island from Viator
The giant Manta Rays feed on tiny plankton that are greatly attracted to light. The Sheraton Hotel at Keauhou Bay illuminates the nearby sea waters with the bright light of massive spotlights, attracting boats from many companies right after sunset. Each boat lowers floats into the water that passengers lean on, using "pool noodles" for comfortable buoyancy. Each boat lights up the surrounding waters to attract the Manta Rays following the plankton. The giant fish brush against the floating people, roll under the boards, swim leisurely, move away, and return. You can see 3-4 Manta Rays at once within touching distance. An extremely powerful spectacle like no other. A once-in-a-lifetime experience not to be missed!
Recommended guided tours for cruise ship passengers from Hilo port:
(Includes pickup and return to the port)
Short video on night snorkeling with Manta Rays:
Swimming and snorkeling with rays during the day is common in many Caribbean islands and other destinations like French Polynesia, but the intensity of night snorkeling in the dark among these impressive giant creatures is much higher. It is recommended to take the Manta Ray boat trip from the small harbor adjacent to the Sheraton Hotel at Keauhou Bay because the boat ride to the snorkeling site is only a few minutes long. Only a small portion of the companies depart from the nearby harbor for a one-hour trip (which is more than enough). Most companies depart from the much further Kona harbor, sailing before sunset to include sunset viewing (the Big Island's sunsets are magnificent) and arrive at the snorkeling destination after dark. The problem is that the long boat ride back to the departure harbor is exhausting, especially since you are wet and it can be chilly and windy.
Google Map of the Big Island Hawaii:
Recommended Boating Companies on the Big Island, Hawaii
Many companies organize boat tours both during the day and after dark. One should compare companies in terms of boat size, number of passengers, what is included in the price (and what is not), the departure point, and of course, check reviews.
Boating in Kealakekua Bay near the Captain Cook Monument
The bay waters are perfectly calm and bustling with dolphins leaping between the boats. It is nice to jump into the water and swim near them. These are wild dolphins. The deep, clear waters near the monument are considered one of the most recommended snorkeling spots on the island. The monument can only be reached by boat.
Fair Wind Cruises
Another recommended and recommended company for morning and afternoon boating with large and well-equipped boats.
Eka Canoe Adventures
recommended Manta Ray boating with the company Eka Canoe Adventures.
The experience, which lasts only one hour in total darkness, includes about a five-minute boat ride from the harbor adjacent to the Sheraton Hotel to the main gathering area of the giant fish. Sailing is in a large double-hulled canoe in a small group of no more than 10 people.
It is much more intimate and personal than large groups sailing on large catamarans that include sunset viewing, and it is much shorter and more concise. The vessel feels more authentic and enhances the feeling that you are in exotic Hawaii. The company provides all the necessary equipment, and its guides are lovely and very professional.
Kona Style
If you prefer a longer boat trip that includes sunset viewing, it is highly recommended to sail on the sailboat of Kona Style, which also offers intimate cruises rather than large groups. The trip departs daily at 5:30 PM and lasts two and a half hours. The company also has recommended morning cruises for snorkeling and dolphin watching, and in addition to group cruises, they offer private charters, particularly suitable for families or small groups.
Seahorses and Octopuses
Marine animal lovers who prefer not to go on a boat are invited to visit two adjacent attractions located near the Kona airport, about fifteen minutes north of the city:
Seahorse Rescue and Breeding Farm Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm
Guided tours of one hour are conducted 2-3 times a day (depending on the season) at a location where over 20,000 seahorses and several types of sea dragons live. (Reservations are required!). You will learn everything you wanted to know about seahorses and their lifestyle, see these unique creatures from just a few days old to mature adults in a variety of colors.
You will learn to appreciate the male seahorses, who are the only males in nature that become pregnant! Every visitor will also pet and hold a seahorse and of course take a picture with it. The tiny seahorses are in danger of extinction, and at the farm, they are bred to satisfy the domestic demand for aquariums so that the wild population is not harmed.
Tanks where seahorses are raised on the farm:
Short video on the seahorses:
Kanaloa Octopus Farm
This is a non-profit research institute where they attempt to raise octopuses while studying their lifestyle and engineering special food for them. So far, they have not yet succeeded in raising octopuses that survive to adulthood, but since the place has only been operating for a few years, they continue their research and attempts tirelessly. Meanwhile, visitors who participate in a guided tour held twice a day (by reservation!) for about an hour enjoy this.
During the tour, you will see many fairly large octopuses and also play with them, learning about their lifestyle and reactions. You can put your hands into tanks where fairly large octopuses, which change colors in a flash, will grip your fingers with their vacuum suckers. Visitors also feed the octopuses while listening to fascinating explanations from laboratory researchers.
Short video on the Octopus Farm tour: