There was no shark talk or any mention of sharks at all. Don’t panic and start flailing around or you will make him interested.” If you see a shark, stay calm and keep your distance. It goes a little something like this, “Occasionally we will see a shark in the area where we are swimming. I’ve been snorkeling many times and there is usually a “shark talk” before getting off the boat. They are small compared to the manta rays but big compared to the colorful fish you normally see while snorkeling around coral. Other fish are also attracted to the plankton buildup around the lights. Don’t plan this for your last day in Kona just in case you need to reschedule. If swimming conditions are not safe then the tour company will cancel the trip. Make sure you ask about this before booking. A lot of tour companies will re-book you on another tour or give you a discounted rate for a second try if no mantas are there. This is one of the most magical aspects of seeing them in the wild as opposed to an aquarium. Some nights a lot of mantas will show up and others there might not be any. ![]() The manta rays are wild and not forced to be there. The Sheraton advertises that you can observe the manta rays from the shoreline most evenings, so I’d certainly expect that boats don’t anchor very far from shore at that site either. However, the airport site has a rocky coast so don’t have any expectations of swimming up onto the beach. The tour company I used went to the airport site.Īs you can see in this picture, the shore is not far from where the boats anchor. One is by the Kona Sheraton and one is near the airport. There are two primary sites for the manta ray night swim. Instead I wrote a whole separate article to help you choose which option is best for you. I couldn’t answer this in a couple simple sentences. Even on a night with a lot of mantas, the experience is not the same if you stay on the boat. He said he could sort of see one when it came near the surface. When we got back on the boat I asked him whether he was able to see the mantas. The mom and daughter went into the water and the dad had no intentions of leaving the boat. Can you see the mantas if you stay on the boat?Ī family of three was part of our tour group. I think this was mostly due to the number of people and lights that were surrounding us. Jumping into the dark water at night was not as scary as I had expected. There were plenty of boats already there and many more that arrived after us. This was partly due to the depth of the water and partly due to the lack of sun shining down on it. Regardless, the water looked pretty dark. It was dusk by the time we arrived at the manta ray site, so not exactly the middle of the night like I had expected. ![]() It was still light out when our boat left for our adventure. You seriously want to go into the ocean in the middle of the night? Watch this video from our trip and find out. What do manta rays look like and how close do they get to you? I’m going to answer some of them now to help you decide whether the manta ray night snorkel is right for you. I failed to find anything claiming the manta ray night swim was dangerous and yet some part of my brain kept asking “you seriously want to go into the ocean in the middle of the night?” Manta Ray Night Snorkel In Konaīefore experiencing the manta rays I had quite a few questions that I struggled to find the answers to. I’ve gone on a helicopter without doors in Kauai, rode on a float plane in Alaska, and even jumped out of a perfectly good airplane in Austin, Texas.īut that doesn’t mean I’ve never been scared. I’ve taken a flight lesson where I was allowed to fly the plane in Pittsburgh. I’ve gone on numerous zip line adventures around the world, ridden a bicycle down a volcano in Maui, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and repelled down a cliff in New Zealand. ![]() I’ve gone snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef and scuba diving in the Caribbean. My sister once accused me of not knowing the meaning of the word “scared” but I don’t know if that’s completely accurate. I think of myself as a pretty adventurous person. If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, your question certainly isn’t “how great is the manta ray swim” but rather, “how scary is it?” I’m here to answer that for you. It has made many lists such as CNN’s 50 Best Dive Sites, National Geographic’s Top 10 Things To Do In Hawaii, and PADI’s Top 5 Places To Scuba Dive With Manta Rays to name a few. The Manta Ray Night Dive/Snorkel off the coast of Kona, Hawaii is certainly a bucket-list attraction. Cover photo is a Scenic States photo from the Georgia Aquarium.
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