Turtles and You:Turtle Snorkeling Oahu — Attraction in Honolulu

We were scheduled for an afternoon snorkling excursion, (1:00) to see the turtles. Our day began with a 12 noon trolley pick up with Cheryl. She exhibited so much patience and professionalism as not all attendees were on time for the pick up at 12 noon at the IHop location. Although I found it rude that one member of a two person group was late, and held us up, Cheryl never showed any signs of frustration. (This two member group were not from the US, so perhaps there are cultural differences with the concept of punctuality as well as a language barrier). After a short ride to the pier where Cheryl shared highlights along our route, we had a brief wait where it was recommended to use the public bathrooms before boarding. The crew aboard the boat that day consisted of the captain, Mark. He was assisted by Tiana. Rachel acted as the spokesperson and shared the details of the trip while Ryan and Kaipo were our guides in the water. On this particular day, there were probably about a dozen in our group. (I didn't actually count how many participants there were in addition to myself and my husband). I appreciated that the group was small. We were provided with our snorkeling gear and detailed instructions. The website description as to what to expect was accurate to a "T". Although I am a capable swimmer, I was very nervous about being in the ocean as I would describe the water as being very "choppy". I really didn't know what to expect the water to be like as I am usually only in the water close to the beach and not far out on a boat. I used the "pool noodle" to increase my comfort level and I expressed my anxiousness to Rachel before getting in the water so she made certain that Ryan and Kaipo knew that I was a bit anxious. We saw quite a few turtles, an eel and lots of fish. About 3/4 of the way into our time in the water, I didn't feel so well. I let Ryan know and she personally swam with me back to the boat. Shortly thereafter, everyone was back on board. I luckily did not end up actually becoming sick as others did, but there were accomodations in place to handle anyone getting sick. On the ride back to the pier, we got to see some dolphins which was an added bonus to our trip. Our trip ended with our return trolley ride with Cheryl. She so graciously had some "chips" on the trolley that she offered me to calm my upset stomach. The chips helped a great deal! I was so thankful for Ryan's patience and help with getting me back on the boat. Overall, it was a great experience. My only disappointments: (1) the water that was offered for free in the beverage holder on the boat had an odd taste and after coming back on the boat and not feeling well, this did not help to calm my stomach, (2) other than "bags" to use if you were to get sick, there were no other options offered for free or to pay for to help calm a queasy stomach like ginger ale or crackers and if they were available, I was not aware as there were no suggestions made to purchase them. (I obviously did not anticpate not feeling well otherwise I probably should have "packed" these options in my small tote bag that I brought with me to hold my phone and cash.) Cheryl is a great ambassador for the business and she shared information about other tour packages and had the weather been better for the week that we were on Oahu, we would have booked another excursion. Unfortunately, our stay from May 14th to our departure on the 20th was filled with lots of rain which I was told was not typical for May in Oahu. I know this post is a bit long but I hope others might find it a bit helpful. The entire crew was...

The crew (Rachel, Nathalie, the captain and all the others) was fantastic, very kind and caring, asking often if everyone was fine. The food was very good, I just wasn’t hungry so I wished I could have booked a ticket without food! The snorkeling attire was very clean, which is very appreciated and they had fins that could fit everyone. On my tour, we had the chance to see 4 turtles and lots of fishes so I felt very happy about paying for that tour ! They took time to help everyone adjust the equipment and had inflatables stuff for people who felt like swimming less. They also explained how to be respectful of the turtles and made us do a little chant to bring good luck to the tour so we felt in good hands. As a biologist, I was very happy they took time to explain about the turtles and how to respect them and that they wrote to bring reef safe sunscreen on the voucher. They really are ecoresponsible!

Only thing I liked a bit less is the turtle canyon was a bit crowded and other people that weren’t on our tour (so with other companies) didn’t pay attention to other around them and I got hit by fins and had people bump into me several times and it was hard moving around, which made me a bit angry considering that our guides had taking the time to explain snorkeling etiquette and how you should be mindful of the turtles and people around you. However, it’s not the crew fault if the other companies didn’t do that so that’s why I gave 5 stars ! The only thing I would have changed is I wished we would have left early so there was less boats at the canyon but I would take the tour...

I'm giving 4 ⭐s for the overall experience. I did something I never thought I would do and although I wasn't in the ocean long, I enjoyed the time I was in the water. The crew was pretty nice and the music selection was good! You also get a tattoo towards the end of the trip. Now onto the not so good parts... If I'm being completely honest there were a few things I didn't like, maybe it's just the germophobe in me. I didn't like the bathroom on the boat and you had to be barefoot to use it (yucky), I didn't like that we had to use old and used mouthpieces (yes "supposedly they're disinfected", but that isn't enough to me) and lastly I didn't like my food at all. I took one bite and threw the rest away. I just couldn't eat it. I ordered the fish, if anyone is wondering.

(Just a tip) I highly recommend motion sickness pills or patches for those that aren't use to a boat, during my visit a lot of people were getting seasick.

Also, to me with the price of the excursion, I believe the company can at least buy brand new mouthpieces for each customer to use and keep after their snorkeling is complete.

Would I do this again? Sure, but I would definitely bring my own mouthpiece or all of the whole snorkeling gear and beach...