My oldest picked Hawaii for their Quinceñera trip and they had one request. They wanted to go snorkeling. And not just any snorkeling adventure. They wanted to do a night swim with the Manta Rays. The more I looked into it the more intrigued I was. These nocturnal gentle giants are off the coast of the big island and are known for playing and swimming right up close to the humans who come to view them. I was sold! We used GetYourGuide to book Manta Ray Night Snorkel with Hang Loose Boat Tours and we were excited for this nighttime adventure.
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Why Go
Manta Rays are often mistaken for their more dangerous cousins, the Sting Ray. But these peaceful creatures are actually harmless and playful. They are beautiful creatures and there are few places in the world where you can see them. Hawaii (the big island) is one of those places. Tours will take you out a distance from the shore, to see these creatures in their own environment. You can see them swim, barrel roll, and sometimes even come up and touch you if you are lucky. It’s an experience you can’t get on just any snorkeling trip.
About Hang Loose Boat Tours
Hang Loose Boat Tours runs out of the Honokohau Marina, and they offer a number of boat tours that take tourists to the big island out to deep water for the best adventure in Hawaii. We choose this company because they were one of the few that had adequate staff and equipment for families with kids and allowed less experienced snorkelers on the Manta Ray Night Snorkel. The last time my daughter snorkeled was over 6 years ago and I didn’t think that counted. They also have snorkeling near the Kealakekua Bay and Whale Watching Tours.
About the Tour
We chose the Manta Ray Night Snorkel. Long after sunset we met at the Honokohau Marina North Boat Ramp, where the group going on the trip were told about the process and the rules. The most important rule about this trip was that you are not allowed to intentionally touch the Manta Rays. The Manta Ray may end up touching you, but you can’t reach out and touch them. (I would say many of the younger members of our trip didn’t always follow that rule, but me and my crew made sure to be respectful). We were also given the opportunity to rent a GoPro for $40. The same educator told us how to use the GoPro, gave some instructions and sent us on our way.
Once educated we were all walked over to the dock, where we lined up. Everyone first took off their shoes and put them in a bin, then we were given a wet shirt to wear. They were pretty good at getting our sizes right, they clearly do this often. We then were handed masks and flippers as we entered the boats. They had different sized masks and were able to get a smaller one for my daughter’s small head.
Once we were on board, in our wet shirts and sitting down, we started heading out. As we were in the bay, the boat went slowly and the crew on board instructed us on how to get the mask to fit correctly, and passed out sodas and waters, and snacks (chips). Then once out of the bay, we sped up and headed out to open water.
As we got to the location, the crew put out light boards. These boards are long boards that have lights and rods to swim up to. The crew explained the process. You were given two pool noodles. You would swim out to the board, hold on to the bars, and use the pool noodles to keep your feet up, allowing you to lay flat comfortably for a period (and keep feet out of people’s field of vision). There were 3 boards connected, each board fitting about 10 people. They suggested if you were less experienced, it was best to wait and go to the closer boards. Stronger swimmers and more experienced snorkelers were encouraged to go first and out to the further light boards.
My daughter was nervous and so even though my oldest wanted to get in the water, we waited a bit until we saw the first two boards were filled. Then I jumped in the water first and waited until the other two joined before we swam out to the boards.
The water was rougher than I expected and I’m glad we decided to go to the closer board. Once the kids found a space, I squeezed in next to them and put my face in the water. I was immediately mesmerized. Right away I saw two smaller Manta Rays playing and crossing over each other in the deep. But nothing prepared me for when my field of vision was suddenly filled with a large Manta Ray swimming up to my face and down. I looked up to see my oldest excited and pointing! “Did you see that mom?!”
The next 30 minutes were more of the same. There were dozens of Manta Rays in the area. They would play with each other or put on a show by rolling in front of you. Several came up close and “kissing” the guests brushing by them as they did their dips and turns. One of the best pieces of advice I got was to just turn on the GoPro and hold it down in the water the whole time. I got lots of footage, but I was able to be in the moment and enjoy the beautiful animals as they danced all around us in the wide ocean.
About 20 minutes in, my daughter was done. She is not a confident swimmer, and the mask kept leaking causing her to have to fix it. She started to panic and wanted to return. Thankfully, the crew was amazing. They had several crews in the water with us, and when they saw my daughter panicking, they came over. She told my daughter to hold onto the pool noodles and relax, then she took her over to the boat where she went up on her own.
After 30 minutes I was getting cold and ready to head in as well. But my oldest was not ready to go in. They are a strong swimmer, and this was their birthday trip, so I told them to stay out as long as they wanted. They were one of the last ones in.
Once you leave the light boards, you climb the ladder to the boat and then are told to take off your wet shirt. The crew has a hot shower that you then go under to warm up and it’s heaven after being in the cold water. Then you can wrap up in the towel you brought, take snacks and water, and sit and wait for everyone to be done.
After that, the boat had some music as we rode back to the shore. I’ll admit, sitting for a time on the rocking boat did not do well for my sea sickness. I don’t remember much of the ride home as I was concentrating on making sure that if I was going to lose my dinner, it was over the side and not on my children.
After we got back, the crew had our shoes all lined up on the dock to easily get them back on and head up to our cars. I turned in the GoPro, got my MicroSD card, and then we headed back to our rental.
What to Bring
One of the wonderful things about this tour is they take care of most of everything for you. There are just a few things that you might want to make sure you bring.
- Swimsuit: You will need to have a useful swimsuit for this. This trip is not for the cute tiny bikini. Bring the one piece or the secure two piece that will stay in place when you are swimming. My daughter and oldest had rash guards under the wet suit that helped with the warmth.
- Towels: Bring a towel and maybe extras. Bring the big fluffy ones.
- Underwater Camera: If you don’t have one, you can rent a GoPro for $40, but if you do own one, you’ll want it for this trip.
- Seasickness Bands or Medication: The trip out, when you are moving fast, isn’t that bad. But once you are out at the snorkeling point, you are out in open water, and the waves are rough. I seemed to be fine in the water, but on the boat, the motion sickness hit hard. I missed my seabands. If you are prone to it, bring it along.
Tips
- This is an excellent tour if you have less experienced snorkelers. You aren’t actually doing much swimming, there is something to hold onto the whole time, and you can stay in one spot and see some pretty amazing things. That was the only tour I saw that was recommended for less experienced swimmers.
- Don’t be afraid to ask the crew for help, that’s what they are there for. They were amazing helping when my daughter panicked, in helping us size the masks, and even providing snacks that would help settle the stomach.
- Bring extra towels and dry clothing. The one issue on the way back was that we were wet, wrapped in now wet towels, and cold from the breeze. The kids were running to get their dry clothing on.
- You are coming back late and the public restrooms are not open when you return. We got creative with holding up towels in a corner to change. But you may want to think about if you can change into dry clothing in your car or on the boat.
Initially, I was disappointed that we weren’t going to be snorkeling in the day and seeing a variety of colorful fish (the budget only allowed for one snorkeling trip). But once I was in the water, I knew my oldest made the right choice. This was something unique and majestic. I had never had such close and interactive experience with such large sea creatures. The kids talked for weeks about how cool it was to see these creatures come up close. I got home and was able to look at my footage and relive the experience over again. Take the chance and go out. You will not regret it!
Edited by SKS
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