Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures

Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures

Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures
5
Scuba & SnorkellingSwim with DolphinsDolphin & Whale Watching
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
Swim with Wild Dolphins & Manta Rays everyday. Established in 2002 and still going strong; We have been the Winner of the Certificate of Excellence for 10 years now. We are a Big Island of Hawaii adventure for swimming with Dolphins & Manta Rays. Eco friendly, we follow the guidelines established to make our tours safe for the Manta Rays, dolphins and our guests. We are on the GREENLIST FOR MANTA RAY TOURS. ONLY CHOOSE A COMPANY THAT IS REGISTERED FOR SAFETY OF THE MANTA RAYS on the Green List. Morning Dolphin charters take you up the Kailua Kona coast to a pod of wild dolphins, usually 100 plus. Snorkel with them right next to you. Lunch & snacks included. Rated as #1 Night Manta Ray snorkel company by all the review web sites. These are the most exciting activities you'll do here. All gear included. These 2 activities with marine life will be a highlight of your trip. We take children of all ages.
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Meets animal welfare guidelines

Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours and Tickets by Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures
Travelers talk about

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles1,360 reviews
Excellent
1,290
Very good
39
Average
17
Poor
6
Terrible
8

These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
This service may contain translations provided by Google. Google disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to translations, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from forgery.

EJAdec2009
Baltimore, MD70 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Couples
Excellent snorkeling trip. Sarah and captain Joe did a great job getting us to kealakekuaa bay- it was 30 minute boat ride on a small boat- fortunately there were only 3 couples aboard- we saw dolphins and a humpback whale breaching in the water- while the snorkeling spot was crowded with other snorkeling boats, we were able to snorkel for about an hour- the area was teeming with tropical fish- anemones etc. I saw a small sharp- we boarded the boat for a return to the harbor- sarah suggested we walk over to the beach near the marina to see turtles- we saw lots of turtles and found a lovely spot for a dip. A really nice day. Sarah and captain Joe are very knowledgeable and fun!
Written November 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Debra Phillips
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Friends
We did the manta ray nightvsnorkel with Jolly Jeff and Jacob. It was very well organized. The boat was comfortable. We liked the 6 person limit for the group. We were able to get in and out of the water quickly and easily. We saw manta rays up close as soon as we got in the water. Our guide, Jacob moved the group well and communicated what we needed to do politely, but firmly so everyone was safe, comfortable, and able to see the manta rays. I have done 4 different manta ray tours and I highly recommend this one over the more crowded groups.
Written November 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

stephaniegraham45
Munich, Germany24 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Couples
This exceeded my expectations SO much . While pulling out of the harbour we saw a 12 foot tiger shark , so they stopped the boat and turned around so we could get a better look . We cruised about 20-25 minutes to the Manta Ray spot and immediately saw so many Rays !! We were in the water about an hour and saw 10-12 who kept coming back again and again , our guide Corey was informative , educational , friendly and funny. I learned a lot about Manta Rays , their individual markings and the tracking system Hawaii has in place for them . This was an amazing experience that I would highly recommend!!
Written February 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pjj
Washington Township, OH7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022
I can't say enough great things about this excursion. Starting with the sightings of spinner dolphins on our way and the beautiful sunset. As the boat arrived at the site we could already see manta rays at the surface! This is truly one of my best experiences on the water. I am a certified diver and have had amazing dives through the years, but I assumed being on the surface instead of diving would be best. I was right because you get to watch the underwater ballet of the mantas coming up to scoop the plankton. Having a great boat captain and crew member certainly added to the experience along with the max of six snorkelers.
Written April 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian
Charlotte, NC10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Family
We had an amazing experience on our tour - our guides were very helpful and informative. We had an amazing experience... From what we were told not everybody gets to see as many manta rays as we did that night, but we lucked out and had over a dozen manta rays swimming around us, partly due to a nearby diving group that had underwater "campfires" going to light up the area. When they turned off the campfire lights, all of the manta rays came over to our lighted board and we got to enjoy 30 minutes of manta rays only inches from us, and even occasionally bumping up against us. We will forever remember this trip and experience thanks to coral reef snorkel adventures!
Written April 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Decibel13
Laval, Canada33 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
The experience with the manga rays at night was great we saw at least 9 or 10 they spent our entire tour with us because there was no other boat in the water. Thanks to Carmelle our guide, she was great and gave us lots of information about the rays. Even for experienced divers like us it was truly a superb excursion. I highly recommend.
Google
Written December 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jenny O
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Friends
Brent and Shelly host an amazing day of boating and snorkeling. My friends and I were able to get the boat to ourselves. Brent took us out to snorkel and was so knowledgeable about all of the different fish we saw. Both gave us great history lessons during our cruise. They even gave us great recommendations for places to go to eat after. We had a great day with them! We would definitely book with Coral Reef Adventures again. Highly recommend this company!!
Written April 22, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mackieman
Cupertino, CA10 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2011
When you are dealing with Mother Nature, you cannot always predict how things will turn out. I had read all the glowing reviews, so perhaps I had unrealistically high expectations when I booked this tour for my family of four for about $750 including taxes. Since it was Sunday morning, we had a substitute team, Captain Carl and Jessica, a new swimmer with Coral Reef. Both were very friendly and helpful. To avoid motion sickness, we showed up well-dosed on Bonine - somewhat stuporous as a result, especially our two daughters who did not say 10 words apiece in 4 hours - despite Captain Carl's valiant efforts to stir up some conversation.

We headed North towards the Four Seasons, but about 30-40 minutes out we had to turn around because the winds and chop were restricting our forward motion. So we turned around and headed south for another 40 minutes before getting into dolphin territory. Now, you read about 200-500 dolphins, but they live over several miles of coastline and the trick is to find some. Perhaps because we were late in arriving, we found a few very small pods of 3-5 dolphins. When we jumped in the water, they typically dove down about 2-30 feet and swam away faster than we could keep up. So, we'd jump back in the boat and try again. We did this 6 or 7 times.

To his credit, Captain Carl stayed out about an hour longer than the other boats to make up for our lost time, but I think the dolphins were entering their sleep mode as the morning wore on. The one group we saw was pretty motionless about 30 feet below us. Jessica sat out the last couple of swims, leading me to think she was off the clock at noon.

Bear in mind these bottlenose dolphins are not the big fish you see at Disneyland's exhibit. The biggest ones here are about 4 feet long and weigh 150 pounds. Still, they are beautiful to watch, and we saw several babies swimming close to their mothers.

We did get fairly close to one pod of 3, and another single one swam almost close enough to touch. We saw several jumping and spinning right in front of our boat and a pod of five or six swimming in formation alongside the boat. For the most part, however, we spent our time in fruitless chases and water jumps.

Now, my wife had not read any reviews, so she had no expectations. She though it was a terrific day out on the water with a nice crew and some fun in the water near the dolphins. I have to agree with all that, but the between the money and the memory of the experience, I think I'd prefer the $840, including tips. This is nothing against the crew or the firm, just luck of the draw. I wrote this review so you'll have the chance to moderate your expectations as I should have.
Written August 22, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ChiQuynh
Fort Lauderdale, FL43 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2012
My family (4 adults) went on a 7-day intra-island cruise in Hawaii. I always do my best to avoid being herded around like cattle, so I research and book excursions outside of the cruise ship. Knowing that my sister and I wanted to swim with dolphins (not in captivity), I found Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures and booked it after seeing the site, speaking with Captain Ron and seeing the good reviews. We could not have been more pleased with our experience. We got personal service as we were the only 4 people on the boat. We saw the boat from the cruise ship excursion near us and were so happy to see how cumbersome it was for them to have about 30 people on the boat, having to corral everyone in and out. Since we only had 4 people, we could easily get in and out of the water to get to the next great spot to head-off and swim with the dolphins. We must have gone into 5 different spots and saw pods of 200-300 dolphins. From seeing them below our feet sitting on the boat, to swimming right next to them multiple times, this was our favorite experience in Hawaii. Don't get me wrong; seeing the volcanoes and waterfalls, hiking, going to the beaches and luaus were great, but being able to be so close with so many dolphins in their own environment was amazing. Captain Ron and Natalie were so personable and fun. They ordered our sandwiches from a local deli (that were great); Ron's wife cut fruit for us from their own tree, and she even baked us homemade macadamia nut brownies! The experience was so fantastic; Captain Ron obviously knows how to make his clients feel comfortable and excited, knew exactly where to bring us to see and play with the most dolphins, and even got us to see some whales. I can't speak more highly of this experience. Thank you!
Written February 5, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

kdsensei
Seattle, WA1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2017 • Family
Just came back from a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii and went snorkeling to see manta rays with Coral Reef Adventures. This experience was the highlight of our vacation!!! I booked with Coral Reef adventures for myself, my wife, and our two kids ages 10 and 7. My kids were a little hesitant at first, but once they jumped in the water and were able to see the manta rays, they were thrilled and mesmerized!!! Coral Reef Adv can only take 6 guests maximum per trip so you get a very personalized guide and experience. Emily was our guide and Zack was our boat captain and they were amazing especially with my kids. They provided everything you needed to the wetsuits (we looked at other places that charged extra for wetsuits), free drinks, and even home-baked brownies with macademia nuts for after the swim. You don't get more personal than home baked goods! The manta rays came so close to us that one slightly grazed my leg! Next time we go to the island, we plan to book a dolphin snorkeling tour with Coral Reef Adventures! I can't recommend Emily and Zack enough and my kids couldn't stop raving about this experience. They're bragging to all their classmates about it!!!
Written April 18, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for such a nice compliment for company. Especially our captain Zac and swim guide Emily. We count it a privilege to be able to offer visitors to Hawaii this wonderful experience. Our past guests have mentioned that even years later it truly is a memory that is never forgotten. Thank you so much for going with us and we're so glad you had a great time.
Written April 21, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Showing results 1-10 of 1,331
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

All things to do in Kailua-Kona
Day Trips in Kailua-Kona
RestaurantsFlightsVacation RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars