Big Island of Hawaii Boat Tours

This manta ray tour was easily the coolest thing I’ve done during my time in Hawaii. I went solo, but the entire crew made me feel welcome and safe from start to finish.Our guide, Meredith, was incredible. She was fantastic with the kids from other families on board, explaining all the safety rules and instructions so clearly that everyone could understand easily. She is incredibly knowledgeable and gave us a mini-lesson about the mantas using a book, along with tons of interesting ocean facts. She also made sure no one was intimidated by the size of the mantas, and whenever anyone in the water needed a hand, she was quick to assist. Captain Raj was also great, super friendly, welcoming, and helpful to everyone on board. The actual "show" was mind-blowing; we saw so many massive manta rays swimming right up to us. It’s hard to put into words how majestic they are. To top it all off, the boat ride back under a massive blanket of stars was a sight in itself. Huge mahalo to Raj and Meredith for an unforgettable night!

Best tour I have been on in a while!! The Mantas were beautiful and so majestic. Meredith and Scott were amazing! I really appreciate how knowledgeable Meredith was, and it was amazing having a real marine biologist giving us the facts. I really enjoyed every minute and hope to come back next year.

20/10 — One of the Most Incredible Ocean Experiences We’ve Ever Had!I honestly don’t know how to give Scott, Kate, and Kona Ocean Adventures enough stars for the experience they gave us tonight. Five stars doesn’t even come close. This was a 20/10 experience from beginning to end.We booked their private sunset snorkeling trip, rustic dinner, and nighttime manta ray experience, and the entire evening was absolutely incredible.A little perspective: we’re from Florida, we’re scuba divers, and we spend a lot of time in and around the ocean—so it takes quite a bit to really blow us away. Scott and Kate absolutely did.The sunset snorkel alone would have made the trip worth it. We saw an unbelievable amount of marine life—puffer fish, purple tangs, yellow tangs, unicorn tangs, blue boxfish, angelfish, foxface, all kinds of wrasses, urchins and so much more.And then there was the monk seal.A HUGE monk seal came right up between the boats and literally used the line between them to brush her teeth! 😂 We just sat there watching her work the rope through her mouth like dental floss. It was one of those completely unexpected wildlife encounters you know you’ll be talking about for years.But somehow the night was just getting started.The nighttime manta ray experience was absolutely unreal.We had at least SIX different manta rays swimming with us, and when I say close, I mean INCHES FROM OUR FACES.They came straight toward us and did barrel roll after barrel roll directly underneath us. At times they were so close you could look straight into their mouths as they rolled beneath you. They actually made physical contact with us multiple times as they passed.We have video of it, and even watching the video doesn’t completely capture what it felt like to actually be there.There were moments when you’re floating on the surface, looking down at these enormous animals coming straight toward you, and your brain is telling you there’s no possible way they can get any closer—then they roll at the last second and pass just inches underneath you.Again. And again. And again.It was spectacular.What really made the evening, though, was Scott and Kate. A private charter is supposed to feel different from being shuffled through a big commercial tour, and this absolutely did. They made the entire evening personal, relaxed, fun and memorable. You never felt rushed or like you were just the next group being moved through an itinerary.The sunset, snorkeling, dinner, wildlife, manta rays and the personal attention from Scott and Kate all came together into one of those rare vacation experiences that completely exceeds what you thought you were booking.We’ve done a lot of ocean activities and diving over the years, and this is easily one of the coolest marine experiences we have ever had.If you’re coming to Kona and considering a manta ray trip, do yourself a favor and book the private experience with Kona Ocean Adventures. Especially if you want something more personal than a large-group excursion.Scott and Kate — thank you for an absolutely unforgettable evening.We came hoping to see some manta rays.We left having watched at least six of them barrel roll inches from our faces, had a monk seal stop by to floss her teeth, saw an incredible variety of Hawaiian marine life, and made a memory we’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives.Five stars isn’t enough. 20/10. Absolutely phenomenal. 🤙🌅🌊🤿

We are a family ranging from 4 to 73 y/o. We enjoyed the boat ride although sitting for awhile in a bumpy ride is not so comfortable still we had fun. Captain and crew were very friendly and informative. We saw a lot if dolphins and fishes while snorkeling at captain cook. We wish we even had more time snorkeling. My niece 6 y/o and nephew 4 y/o was their first time snorkeling and they were experts right away. I was kinda scared for them going into the water but they actually had the most fun. There was enough lunch and snacks and drinks for our family. We even brought home the leftovers. It’s also easy to find the location and once you book, you just show up and they were really nice. They even gave us sun screen to use. Also everything is provided for the snorkeling.

Amazing, incredible, fun, beautiful!!! Brian and Tracey were amazing! The best experience so far on the Island and best fishing experience ever! We caught sooooooo many fish, including a 20lb Wahoo! Don’t waste your time going elsewhere🐟😍

Extremely knowledgeable captain and guide. Our all female crew was so engaging and did a fantastic job explaining to us the Captain Cook story and pointing out anll of the incredible sea life. Our family of four took the 7am tour. It was absolutely exceptional! Will definitely be back for another excursion.

BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!! My boyfriend and I went out for the 7 am tour (HIGHLY recommend the early slot, we were literally the only people out on the water!!) with Hana and Meredith who were absolutely AMAZING!! Since we got out before all the other tours, we saw an eagle ray, a Galapagos shark, two octopi, AND A SEA TURYLE!! It was quite literally the most glorious day of my life and Hana and Meredith could not have been better guides. If/when we come back, we will most definitely be booking w Kona again!!🌸☀️💕

We dove with Kona adventures in January and then again this week in July and both experiences were top-notch. They were friendly professional and accommodating. Both dives we saw Tiger shark turtles eagle rays rock fish and all the other animals of the sea. This trip we got to jump into a pot of dolphins and swim with them for a little bit. The post refreshments have never been better. Highly recommend this group.

Over all great experience! Highly recommend!! The boat was super fast!!! Quality equipment!! I’ve always had issues with the mask leaking but NOT on this trip! Was able to enjoy the snorkeling!! Mitch and Riley lead us to spinner dolphins! Will book again next time we are back on the Big Island!

A wonderful charter experience that was easy going and supplied everything we needed so was stress free Led by Captain Mitch and Riley as guide. The 10 person boat was great to avoid crowds and get in and out of site with ease. We had one family member not comfortable with the ocean/snorkleing but the guide and captain made her uncomfortable with the experience she was in the water the entire time! We saw beautiful coral reefs and a multitude of fosh along with spinner dolphins chasing our wake. The captain and guide were top notch and very knowledgeable about the marine life and history of Hawaii. Can’t wait to call them and book next trip to the Big island.

This was a very fun family event with snorkeling and having dolphins swim next to us and behind us. The snacks were tasty. Highly recommend!!

Bring a jacket. It was slightly raining but overall the experience was fantastic! Highly recommended

We took the small boat tour out into Hilo bay for a two hour waterfall tour. Our captains, Koleco and Morgan, took excellent care of us. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire adventure. Morgan made the safety tour fun and interesting. In spite of no promises, we did get a pod of spinner dolphins that follwed us around for awhile and showed off why they’re called spinners. The scenery, old sugar mills, ans waterfalls were just all so lovely. Morgan was a great source of information about hos the sugar mills operated and shaped the coastline. Koleco was a master at avoiding as many of the larger swells and kept us relatively dry. It only really rained on us the last 15 minutes or so and in no way dampened our enjoyment of this trip. Great job, mahalo, brothers!

Our trip to the national volcano park on Hawaii Was fantastic, out your guide -Henry was one of the best tour guides I have ever encountered, his historical knowledge of the island made this trip so much more fascinating! The day was filled with beautiful scenery and historic value. I highly recommend

You can stop looking for whale watching excursions if you come across this company! This excursion was worth every penny. First of all, it's a small group tour. The max they can take is 6 people....the minimum is 2. So for me and my friend ...it was just us that they took out and that alone was awesome as it felt more personal. Samantha and her partner (in life and in business) were informative and just overall fun! They offered us drinks and prepackaged fresh fruit and cheese for a snack which was wonderful. Now about the boat...it appears to be new...its beautiful! Super clean and bright white. It has twin outboard motors and was a rather smooth ride for us sitting in the back. They played Hawaiian reggae like music and were thoughtful to ask if the volume was too loud or needed turned up. They allowed plenty of time for us to look over the horizon for whale activity. We were fortunate enough to see a LOT of whales...solo whales and a few in pairs. Where the boat ramp and harbor is there is a pod of spinner dolphins that had babies so they allowed us to hangout there to get video and photoz...even offering to take photos and videos of my friend and I with the dolphins on the background. They showed us video and sound clips of past trips they took which was great too. They have an awesome underwater 360 camera which allowed us to see some of what they experience on a daily basis! Again, an overall WONDERFUL excursions managed by WONDERFUL people. If you want a more intimate experience...you should book this tour with this company. It literally was the highlight of my Hawaiian cruise trip where we ported at multiple islands. I'd definitely book them again in a heartbeat if I can afford to visit Hawaii again!

I had a great experience New Year’s day with Colin. It was my family of 5 and it felt very personal and fun. We saw dolphins, whales, and lots of fish. The snorkeling spot was awesome, and the food and drink provided was wonderful. They also have prescription goggles with was nice and the whole trip was very accommodating. Colin told us all about history on the island and went above and beyond with the history and sight seeing.