Hawaii – Night Snorkeling with Manta Rays on the Big Island
Poise, beauty, grace. Even at thousands of pounds, the Manta Rays seemed to float through the water doing backflips with effortless precision. While planning my Big Island of Hawaii adventure, going snorkeling at night with Manta Rays was a TOP priority. The Manta Rays did not disappoint. Although a little nerve-wracking to get into the ocean at night, I felt safe with SeaQuest Hawaii and could focus entirely on watching these majestic animals. It was one of the best wildlife interaction that I’ve ever had and would do it again in a heartbeat. Let’s get into the details of the experience.
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Manta Rays on the Kona Coast
Although Manta Rays live globally, the Kona Coast is one of the primary habitats for these gentle giants. The Sheraton hotel, south of Kona, began lighting up the ocean each night for hotel guests. They noticed Manta Rays feeding in the area because the lights attracted plankton. Tour outfitters started to run tours to shine additional lights into the water to attract plankton and bring Manta Rays to dine. Three areas have developed as the main places to see Manta Rays: The original location near the Sheraton called Manta Village, an area near the Kona airport called Manta Heaven, and on the Kohala Coast near Waikoloa Village.
For this first trip, I opted for a tour operator called SeaQuest Hawaii that offered snorkel tours in Manta Village, the original area. I would love to experience the other locations, so don’t be surprised if I update this post in the future!
At a Glance:
- Rating: 4 (out of 4) stars, would go again in a heartbeat
- Intensity: Swimsuit!
- Location: Trailhead is at the Pololu Lookout on the Big Island of Hawaii
- Cost: $108, $134.14 with tax when going with SeaQuest Hawaii
- Restrooms: At the Harbor, there are public restrooms available
- Timing: 2 – 3 hours
Highlights:
- Seeing the majestic Manta Rays up close.
- The Manta Rays felt comfortable enough to eat close to humans, which is a testament to these companies caring for these creatures.
- Knowledgeable guides were informative and kept us safe/comfortable while snorkeling.
- The boat ride was short.
Lowlights:
- Since they are wild animals, there is no guarantee of a sighting, and we waited a good 10 minutes in the water before they arrived – perhaps it would be better to go on the later shift when all the light has attracted the Manta Rays.
Suiting up to Snorkel
Although I had wanted to do this snorkel adventure for years, I was still nervous when the day finally came. The SeaQuest Hawaii office is right at the harbor. After checking in, I took a few photos of the gorgeous Hawaiian sunset. As the sunset, we got an overview of what to expect on the tour, instructions, and put on wet suits. For wetsuits, we had the option of a long sleeve top or a shorts wetsuit. I opted for the shorts version as I run cold easily, which helped in the water.
Before I knew it, SeaQuest divided us into two groups, and we were ready to board the boat. I recommend packing things up as if you are about to get in the water when you board the boat. There is not much time once you are there to do repacking or packing. Be ready to snorkel when you board. The boat ride was only about 5 minutes to an area just outside the harbor. There were already a couple of boats in the area.
The company provides a board that is about the size of a 6ft table in the water. The board has a type of handrail around the exterior that everyone holds onto. They fit four people on each side. SeaQuest gave us a noodle that you place under your ankles. This way, all participants are floating at the water’s surface, and one guide was on either side of the board. The board shines massive lights into the dark water.
Lights, Camera… not a lot of action
Once everyone is floating comfortably, the guides repositioned us to link up with other tour outfitters with the same boards. The guides are the links holding us together. Connecting with other board and near boats that have lights shining in the water created the perfect conditions for plankton. A swarm of tiny plankton began to gather at each of the lights, which attracted needlefish. We floated and snorkeled, waiting for the Manta Rays to show up.
It was a little creepy to be out on the ocean at night, but the guides made it comfortable. They checked in on us and encouraged communication. If we lost our floating noodle, they would retrieve it.
As we waited, the guides told us about Manta Rays, what they were studying, and more. The build-up of plankton was a perfect sign that Manta Rays would show up, but there was no guarantee that they would….
The Manta Rays Arrived!
After what felt like an eternity, but was likely five or ten minutes, our first Manta Ray arrived. The squeals of other passengers down the row. Then I saw her. Gliding in on a mission, a Manta Ray named Jana. She came right up and did three or four backflips right at my light and moved down the line with each flip. She arrived in style.
Jana was a seasoned professional. Our guide called her a “frequent flyer” as she often dined at this location. The Manta Rays must keep moving to breathe and eat, but the most significant concentration of the plankton was right next to the lights. Intelligent as they are beautiful, they adapted and learned to do backflips or skim along the boards upside-down to take advantage of the gathered plankton. And Jana was not afraid. For the next 20 or 25 minutes, she would dive, come up, flip, and skim the boards to everyone’s delight.
I don’t know how long we watched Jana before we all spotted another Manta Ray named Queenie. Queenie was a bit smaller and a bit more shy but just as majestic. By shy, I mean that she did not come up to the boards in the way Jana did. However, it was nice to see Queenie at a tiny bit more distance to see the agile dexterity in the water. Truly magical.
Over Before I Knew It
More than one time, I was watching or filming Queenie, and Jana would come out of seemingly nowhere as she skimmed along the boards. I yanked my camera out of the way, but she did gently bump my forearm one time! Amazingly, a 3,000 lb animal could sneak up on me! During one of the passes, I felt like she looked me right in the eye. So incredible. And it made sense why all passengers needed to be floating horizontally on the surface of the water — that roughly 12 ft wingspan needed some space!
Before I even noticed, it was time to start heading back to the boat. We broke away from the chain of boards, but I kept watching the Manta Rays until the very last minute. I was chilled but could have watched the girls for hours. Back on the boat, all of the passengers excitedly recounted the experience. Then at the harbor, we took off our wetsuits and enjoyed hot chocolate with cookies. SeaQuest Hawaii has two times each night to see the Manta Rays – sunset and then again at about 8 or 8:30. I wished I could get right back on the boat and go for a second snorkel!
Photographing the Manta Rays
For this water-based night time excursion, I brought a GoPro-adjacent camera called the Akaso EK7000 Pro. A GoPro-esque camera is definitely the call for this snorkel experience because you can use it more-or-less with one hand. With the noodle below my feet, I definitely needed to hold onto the board in order to keep in the area. I was able to switch between camera and video functions pretty easily and get both types of content. It also helped that I am very comfortable snorkeling – something to consider if you’re going to try to photograph the Mantas. I read reviews for the Akaso camera that I have, saying it does not perform in low-light. Sure these photos are not ultra-clear, but I’m still pretty stoked on them.
It is a challenging environment – you’re moving, the subject is moving, and there is low lighting. It’s great that I was able to capture something, but I was also distracted by trying to capture the photos and videos. Regardless, be sure to capture the sunset and yourself in the wetsuit before and/or after the snorkel-session. I wish I would have taken a formal photo in my wetsuit! If you’re not blogging the experience, I would go in without a camera and just enjoy the majesty of the Manta Rays.
A Positive Wildlife Interaction
Out of the many wildlife and animal experiences I’ve had while traveling, this one felt very positive. I am not an animal expert, but the tour operators were not asking the Manta Rays to do anything they wouldn’t normally do. They also were not feeding the Manta Rays but instead utilizing the natural ocean environment. I also liked that there was a guide on either side of the board, watching participants to ensure they did not endanger or hurt the Manta Rays. Before going on the boat, they warned us not to touch the Manta Rays as it would erode the protective skin of their wings. I also feel like having Jana get close was a testament to her feeling comfortable and safe. Crazy.
At the same time, I do believe human interaction would have an impact on the Manta Rays. For example, the Manta Rays have adapted to the boards by doing backflips, and they might also adjust their feeding habits based on the tours. On the whole, I imagine hundreds of people go on excursions every year and gain an appreciation for these incredible giants with such a small footprint.
As a point of comparison, here are some of my other animal/wildlife experiences where I’ve questioned if the animals are okay:
- Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Thailand
- Olympic Game Farm in Washington State
- Caturday Cat Cafe in Thailand
Choosing a Company
I had a tough time choosing a company to do the night snorkel with Manta Rays. I ended up choosing SeaQuest Hawaii (I paid out of pocket for the experience) for a couple of reasons: they were a snorkel-only tour, they were at the original location of Hawaii Village, and they enacted Covid-related policies (reduced the number of people per boat, sanitized the entire boat beforehand, took our temperature during check-in, etc.). Then during the experience, I felt like they did an incredible job. The guide I was closest to was a chick who studied or had an in-depth knowledge of the Manta Rays. She was kind and so incredibly informative—overall, a great experience.
When I do it again, I might opt to do a later timeslot if there is one available. With all of the boats gathering plankton initially, I feel like there might not be as much waiting for the Mantas. However, they are wild animals and unpredictable. If no longer in a pandemic, I would probably feel more comfortable on a bigger boat with more people. This tour was a rare case where having more light and more people was a good thing, rather than a drawback! And finally, I would be curious to try out the other locations – Manta Heaven and along the Kohala Coast.
For more information on doing night snorkeling with Manta Rays, check out this blog post from Love Big Island. It has even more in-depth information and where I found the tip to go with a snorkel-only tour if you are snorkeling. On a snorkel-only tour, you do not have to wait for the divers.
Overall Thoughts: Night Snorkeling with Manta Rays
Whew, I loved this experience. It might be my favorite experience from my Big Island Trip! I loved it so much because it was completely different than anything that I’ve ever done, and to see these giant creatures gracefully glide through the water had me completely mesmerized. Manta Rays must eat around 200 or 300lbs of food in a week, so it felt like we were helping these beauties thrive.
- Exploring Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
- Kilauea Iki Crater Hike
- Pololu Valley Hike
- Coffee Tasting at Buddha’s Cup Coffee
- Vegan/Vegetarian Eats on the Big Island
Have you done night snorkeling with Manta Rays? Perhaps on the Great Barrier Reef or in the Maldives? I’d love to hear if you loved it or if you have another equally magical ocean experience that I should check out. Let me know in the comments!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
