Despite the crash course on mantas and their size before diving in, seeing them in real life is unbelievably magical.ĭefinitely want to say a SPECIAL THANK YOU to our amazing crew - RON (captain), RYLEE (snorkel guide), KENI (2nd dive guide), and especially to my dive guide, HOLLY!!! Holly found us a safe place to hold onto amidst the powerful swell and front row to the mantas. Also beautiful to see them swim towards each other and then upwards to avoid a crash. I felt surrounded by the mantas as they danced around the water. Absolutely breathtaking and highly recommend the dive option. Holly estimated about 25-30 mantas and they came so close with their mouths wide open that I kept thinking they were going hit me, but just at the right moment, their fins would glide just over my head. We had a swell that day, so it made the dive more difficult, but was definitely rewarded with more mantas than even the guides expected! We were under for about 40 mins, there were a ton of campfire lights at the bottom, so didn't even need our personal torches to see. They have a really neat Zodiac that you ride in/on that is loads of fun! You also get to experience the sea caves along the coastline and see the Goddess Pele! It was an unforgettable day.ABSOLUTELY AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE, SPECTACULAR CREW AND GUIDES, and 100% THE HIGHLIGHT of our trip on the Big Island and we got lucky with 25-30 MANTAS! I especially loved that there was an option for both divers nad snorkelers to be on the same boat, since my fiance does not dive, but we wanted to enjoy the experience together. It was incredibly beautiful!! The water is crystal clear and the reef and fish are stunning. It was beautiful.įor another terrific experience snorkeling, be sure to check out “Captain Zodiac” and take their snorkeling trip to Kealakekua Bay. They also have a swim with the wild dolphins trip that was very thrilling and spiritually moving! On that trip we also saw mantas on the reef during the day at the “cleaning station”, slowly cruising along the reef.

“China” Mike and his wife are truly dedicated to what they do and have a very deep and spiritual connection with the dolphins and creatures that inhabit the waters there. We went with a company called “Sunlight on Water”, Capt. It was absolutely the most surreal and awesome experience we have ever had!!! If you get to the Big Island, don’t miss doing this. We took the night manta snorkel trip on the Big Island September, 2011. Manta at the cleaning station- Big Islandīy Cary Bennett – (Roswell, GA) – Jan 3, 2012 My wife has not stopped talking about this to all her friends and keeps stating that it was the best tour in our lifetime. We stayed in the water for about an hour. During the course of the evening, a total of about 11 manta rays showed up.

With all the lights it was like an underwater stage show. It is like everyone described, it is really a once in a lifetime experience, we were mesmerized by how graceful the mantas swam past, under and around us. The mantas followed us as we made our way toward the others. We had these mantas to ourselves for about 10 minutes, when our guide started moving us toward the large group which was about 40 yards away. It was amazing that the mantas came to our light first, three very large ones. Once we entered the water, we did not swim toward the other groups, but toward a private boat that was also anchored away from the others. The captain anchored about 25 yards away from the other boats, which numbered about 10. The ring they provided was about four feet in diameter, with the lights mounted in the center. Our particular tour (Coral Reef) limits the number of participants to six, which also helped to make us feel at ease. She never took the time to practice with the vest and she just didn’t like the idea of snorkeling at night in the ocean. My wife, who is a better swimmer than me, was very reluctant to go. These practice sessions showed me how very little air I had to use to keep afloat (3-6 breaths) with hardly any indication that the vest had any air in it. I did practice with a snorkeling vest in a swimming pool a couple of times prior to the trip. I knew that it was the thing to do from watching all the various videos and reviews. I am a beginner snorkeler and very much afraid of deep water. I went night snorkeling with the Manta Rays on the Big Island. Night Snorkeling with the Manta Rays – Big Island Hawaiiīy James – (San Mateo, CA) – May 10, 2012 Last trip in September 2016 found us at Mauna Kea Beach and in the bay at 2pm with two mantas that decided to swim there. We did it as a result of this site several years ago and it was great.

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