Big Island of Hawaii Boat Tours

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!

Such a wonderful trip we booked again! Boat is solid. I am sensitive to motion. I took 1 Bonine and had no problems. I honestly may have not needed it. Captain and staff were so knowledgeable. We learned a lot about the whales and Hawaii. The cruise was not only to see whales, but a beautiful view of the coast.

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!

Wonderful trip with Brooke & Gail! Loved it so much I went back the next day! Great sightings!

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.

As an old fart that lives here and spent the bulk of his life on the oceans around the world, I have had the opportunity to experience good and horrible tour operators. Hilo Ocean Adventures is 1st class from top to bottom.I had an 87-year-old woman from San Francisco visiting me, accompanied by her 65-year-old daughter. There was another couple on the vessel with us from Florida as well. It was an awesome trip. We all chatted, laughed, and made fun of each other. Between the occasional sprinkles and the ocean spray, I FINALLY started getting a tan! Until yesterday, my legs looked like white pipe cleaners that belonged on Phyllis Diller!Our Skipper for the day was Nanook of the North, and the mate was a beautiful, friendly woman named Emily!In short, it was a perfect adventure with a perfect crew on a beautiful island. Who could ask for more?!

Captain Chad’s Charters is a family operated North Hawaii Boat Company localized in the Kawaihae area (South Kohala) of the Big Island of Hawaii. They catered and educated us all. My sister the beginner snorkeler and my advanced fisherman brother in law. My dad the marine observation enthusiast of whales and dolphins. They are Veteran friendly and will accommodate any of your custom requests to make an experience of a lifetime. Trip of a life time.

I recommend this company and our crew (we had Captain Rick and Gabe). The adventure was a blast riding in the Zodiac to get where we needed. They were informative and helpful (and with a great sense of humor) - they obviously love what they do. The snorkeling (again with guiding and advice from crew) was amazing - so much to see and just the right amount of time. They provide the equipment and provide lunch/snacks/rehydration on board. It is a 5 hour trip and you can expect to spend quite a bit of energy (and can get lightly pounded by the waves while traveling at speed to get to/from destinations), so this isn't your trip if you have any limitations...but if you are in shape and want to have a great time, go for it! (Wear lots of sunscreen...they do have some to share.)

This was a great way to get out on the water and view some of the local land features from that view point. The crew was very friendly, informative and easy to talk with. And we were lucky enough to have perfect weather...sunny with little wind and calm seas.

What a wonderful tour. Our captain, Devon, was professional and very knowledgeable of the area. Very impressed with the way he handled the boat in the waves. It was a fun tour!!! Would definitely recommend!!!

Our family of 15 had a wonderful snorkeling experience with Brenna & Fatu. She is a great captain and he provided exceptional support on our trip. This was my wife's and my third experience with this company over the past 21 years and we would definitely do it again!

WOW we highly recommend booking a private 5 hour zodiac tour. And request Marco!!! He was amazing! We did this with our 2 teenage daughters. This was their favorite thing we did on our trip to Kona. We had the best snorkeling, seeing caves, and a bonus of seeing short fin pilot whales and oceanic white tip sharks. BEST DAY!!

Not a bad day out on the water with friends plus skipperB and Fatou. Visited some more remote areas of the coast, good snorkeling and company. Luckily the person we saw cliff jumping into rough seas managed to get out again. The day was so nice, would have been good to have a canopy as a few of us got sunburnt.

Captain Rick was awesome! Good energy, good stories! Great Snorkeling we snorkeled for 2.5 hours+ Beautiful!! On way back he showed us lava tubes and caves! Very recommended!

The trip exceeded our expectations. Captains Marco and Ashley did an excellent job and are very knowledgeable of the animals and sights in the area. We saw whales, hammerhead sharks as well as the many species while snorkeling. The trip was well worth the time and money!!!