#Manta ray night dive kailua kona how to

At these locations, you have a 70+ % chance to see at least one manta ray during the manta ray dive and snorkel adventure. Did you know swimming this activity has been named one of the top-10 aquatic attractions in the world? What are Manta Ray Viewing Sites?Īlong the West Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, we’ve got three established viewing sites for manta rays. Travelers from around the globe visit Kona on the Big Island to swim and dive with manta rays. I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but suffice it so say I'll be diving with them again (and hopefully soon).Manta rays are truly remarkable and beautiful creatures, and Hawaii is one of the few places in the world where you can be an arm’s length away from manta rays. All in all, these are the type of guys you befriend and then return to dive with over and over. But, for those of us willing to put in a little more effort and get off the beaten path a bit, it would be really cool. Of course, nothing is as easy as valet diving from a boat. I think this would be an attractive option to mix in with the boat diving as a way to make your dive dollars stretch farther. I would love them to offer guided shore diving for those looking to save a little money. Lol), great homemade brownies to your heart's content, they rinse and store all your gear for you (with a simple name tag system), nitrox 32 and 36%, briefings are informative enough, but not so detailed that you get seasick waiting to get in the water, and they leave and return on-time! One thing I would like them to add - Their prices are not higher than anyone else's, but diving gets expensive for anyone when all you want to do is dive, dive, dive. Other things I appreciated - sodas, not just water, to drink, decent-enough meals (P.S. You'd think that hot beverages would be a no-brainer, but not so with other ops. They also have hot drinks and soup on-board, which also helps to warm you up.

They have a very hot water shower on-board, which was a welcome comfort after a night dive. Instead, you merely take one or two steps and then giant stride right into the water. You don't need to walk to the end of the boat and risk tripping in rough seas.

You gear up and then enter the water with a giant stride off the side of the boat. There are tank racks in the middle of the deck with benches on both sides. It is a tad narrow, but the layout of the boat is so good that you really never notice it. It's a 30+ foot power cat, which is very nicely setup for diving. Their boat (the Hale Kai) is not the biggest or fastest dive boat in the harbor, but also not the smallest. Nevertheless, we had great night dives and got to see cool stuff (a salp, which was serving as home to a baby octopus, a Hawaiian monk seal, countless eels, etc). Of course, these are wild animals, so there's not much that can be done about that. We ended up seeing one on our twilight dive, but not our night dive. The shop wanted to do whatever it could to maximize our chances at seeing one. Our third night, Alex was my wife's and my private guide. After being skunked by the mantas two days in a row, you could tell the crew genuinely cared that we got to see them.

Our dives with her were all over 1 hour with 2 of them going into the 80+ min range. You will be allowed to dive your tank/computer. Most of our dive time was spent with Kerry, who is a nice and mellow diver. Their enthusiasm shows and they are all very knowledgeable about the local marine life. They all genuinely love diving and are not just there to schlep tanks to/from the boat. I had the privilege of diving with Ian, Kerry (the owner), and Alex, but over the course of the time I was there, got to meet and chat with just about everyone.

#Manta ray night dive kailua kona how to

With that said, they know how to have fun and not lose sight of the fact that we're all here for that purpose. Safety is, first and foremost, their biggest priority. From start to finish, these guys are a class act and very professional. First of all, I have dived all over the Caribbean, Florida, and California, and have experienced a ton of different dive operators, so this review should carry a little more weight than that of an inexperienced diver.

I thought about not writing a review of this op so that I could keep them to myself, but they deserve the praise.