Night Manta Ray Snorkel
Hawaii is considered the #1 place in the world to view Mantas. The Manta Rays here in Kailua Kona have become conditioned where to go each night to find an easy meal; feeding on the plankton that is attracted by our underwater lights...which makes locating them easy for us! The Manta Rays wing span can reach over 20 feet across and weighing upwards of 1,000 pounds. Viewing these creatures is a wonderful experience and one to remember.
Highlights:
*Exclusive Small group snorkel
*Manta Rays are NOT in many places around the world.
*Breathtaking views of the Hawaiian sunset
*Manta Rays are only seen in the West waters of the Big Island.
*Dont miss this spectacular event!
How it works:
As the sun is setting we tuck into a bay at the Manta feeding area and listen to the story of how the world-famous Manta Tour was started, learn about the mantas here in Hawaii and receive a briefing on Manta viewing guidelines and proper "manta etiquette. After the sun sets you will step into your wet suit, put on your snorkel and enter the water with your swim guides.
Snorkeling
When snorkeling with the Manta Rays you will hold on to a comfortable bar attached to a large surfboard that has 16 bright LED drop lights. This makes it easy to keep our groups together and the mantas feed on the plankton underneath us that is attracted by our lights. Your swim guides will keep your board positioned over the manta ray snorkeling area. All snorkel gear is provided.
MANTA BOAT #1 30ft Zodiac ( 16 passengers )
Check-in 15 min prior to departure time
Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, 6:00 pm
March, April May, June, July, Aug, Sept, & Oct 6:30 pm
MANTA BOAT #2 43ft Zodiac ( 30 Passengers )
Check-in 30 min prior to departure time
Jan 1 - Jan 31st, 5:30 pm
Feb. 1st - April 15th, 6:00 pm
April 16th - Aug 15th, 6:30 pm
Aug 16th - Sept. 30th 6:00 pm
Oct. 1st - Dec 31st, 5:30 pm
Approx 2 hr ( We spend about 45 min in the water with the manta rays)
Honokohau Harbor. GPS: 74 Kealakehe Pkwy, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
We text all customers specific directions the morning of the tour. Manta Boat 1 and Manta Boat 2, both depart from the Honokohau Harbor, however, they are slightly different areas.
- Drinks
- Snacks
- Wetsuit
- Flotation if needed
- Snorkel Gear
( Rx masks are available in a limited range and by request. Please add notes to the comments section when checking out)
Towel and Warm clothes such as light jacket or windbreaker. It can be a bit cool on the ride back in.
Please have your bathing suit on before boarding the boat
Personal items such as cameras, cell phones, or any other valuables brought on board are at your own risk. We would recommend putting your cell phone in a zip lock bag or dry bag. We do have some storage space available.
FAQ'S
Absolutely! They are like gentle giants. Manta Rays do not have a stinger and because they are filter feeders they have no need for teeth.
Our boat is one of the fastest and gets to the snorkel location with in 10-14min
Plankton is the only thing manta rays eat. Plankton is attracted to lights that we turn on and the manta rays come to feed on the plankton.
We take guests north towards Kona Airport to Makako Bay (Garden Eel Cove), also known as "Manta Heaven". Since 1999 our manta rays have been conditioned to show up for their nightly “all you can eat plankton buffet”! This area is naturally a great place to see mantas.
We are able to snorkel with manta rays about 80-85% of the time. Remember, manta rays are wild animals and sometimes they unforatinatly do do show up. That is why we gurantee manta rays or come again for free!
On average we see 6-10 manta rays every night. We have had as many as 25-30 in one night.
In Hawaii the manta rays can range anywhere from 3-16 feet wide and weight about 100 pounds per foot of wing span. For example one of our most common visitors is a manta named Big Bertha. This manta ray is one of the largest females with a wing span of about 16 feet and weighs 2,000 pounds!
The highlight of the show is of coarse snorkeling with the manta rays, howerver there is often a huge school of Hawaiian flagtail fish that come to eat plankton as well. Although rare, we have also been visited by the bottlenose dolphins and Hawaiian Munk Seal.
At times we see manta rays on our Dolphin Reef Snorkel during day hours, however the manta experience at night cannot even compare to the day time. You will have much more interaction with the manta rays on our night tour because this is when the mantas come to eat plankton and plankton is attracted to light.
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