Garden Eel Cove / Manta Ray Heaven — Attraction in Hawaii

We went SCUBA diving at night to see the Manta Rays. There's a large circle of rocks that is called the campfire. About 60 divers were around the circle right after the sun went down. Each of us had our own light with several larger lights in the center of the campfire. The surge was strong. We were holding onto the rocks, trying to stay in one place. But any SCUBA diver knows that you don't have much control in a strong surge to stay in one place. We were all kneeling as we were advised to do. Even though we were overweighted it was actually easier to lay on the bottom of the ocean in the surge. One of the larger surges pushed me into a long spine sea urchin that was on the underside of a rock. It went through the 3ml wetsuit. My first Hawaiian tattoo. A 10 foot wide Manta Ray appeared. She was magnificent! She hovered at arms length away from me for several seconds. Then off she went. There was a large school of goat fish enjoying the lights that were in the center of the campfire. One eel about 4 feet long that is regularly there was basking in the light. He's been named Fred. Since it's nighttime, the only thing you can see is what's in the lights path. It's a nice dive. I would do it again, preferably with less surge and warmer water. We went in early December. There's also snorkelers out on the surface looking down at the campfire. They didn't see much. I wouldn't snorkel for this. Try to stay away from the sea urchins. I've been snorkeling and diving in Hawaii for over 60 years. This is the first time I was poked by a sea urchin. It took about a week for the pain to go away and the remaining spikes to get out. I used vinegar to dissolve the remaining spikes because they were very thin and have barbs on them. When I tried pulling them out,...

We met at a fixed time in the parking lot in the harbour and it was then explained to us with other people what the next steps would be. The captain of the boat introduced us to the person who would be diving with us. The very friendly person explained the snorkeling equipment and gave us the right size wetsuit. We were then taken onto the boat which was beautifully lit and the captain explained to us what the safety precautions were. There were plenty of cold drinks and snacks for everyone who wanted them. Then we went out on the boat and after about 10 minutes of driving with good music we arrived at the place where we wanted to see the manta rays. We were led into the water one after the other after the floating island was lowered into the water and we were all instructed to go to the right place in the right position. After a very short time, the first manta rays came out of the depths and it was just incredible. After everything went well, we swam back to the boat and were

brought safely back to the harbor

with good music,...

Beyond amazing! Scuba diving I saw about 8 mantas at one point, they said they saw about 30! If you are visiting this beautiful Island, this is an experience of a lifetime!Amazing experience, hard to express with words the feeling when the giant mantas come so close to you. Snorkeling experience with Big Island Divers was very good, great service overall.If you scuba, definitely go on this dive. The snorkelers on the boat also said they enjoyed it and had great views.If you’re in Big island, choose a local store to do a night snorkeling or night dive here. Manta rays are so beautiful, smart and deserves to watch them dancing around you ✨You must do this! At least one time In your life, you must see these Beautiful creatures!!! Manta rays are so awesome beautiful and gentle!! This is a mind blowing experience!!!We have gone out with Jacks Dive Locker multiple time! ...