Coral Reef Snorkel Adventures — Local services in Hawaii

Please use any other company to see the manta rays. This was the worst snorkeling excursion I have ever done in my life, mostly due to the captain who had long blonde hair. I never got his name. I have been on dozens of snorkeling trips and this is the first one I’ve ever been on where they did not mention where life vests were in the event of an emergency all he said instead in his “safety intro” was “if you can’t swim and you fall off the boat then we need shouldn’t have got on the tour, cuz we don’t want to spend time saving you” Second problem was part of our tour group was late so he was going very fast in a small inflatable navy style boat. I am a jetski owner so I understand waves and although he navigated them well, his speed felt reckless because he wanted to be on time for the next group. I felt unsafe the entire trip. I have snorkled many times and I’ve always had a life jacket or waist noodle in the ocean. When we only got ankle floats I was confused so I asked if we were getting life jackets or waist floatation and he literally raised his voice at me and told me if I don’t know how to swim I shouldn’t be there. To which I said I know how to swim I was just a little afraid never doing it with only ankle floats. He told me I should not get in then because I will panic which will make me drown and he won’t save me. As someone who has done many tours and works in customer service I have never been yelled at or belittled so much by an employee anywhere. He made me feel so stupid. I got into the water in tears because we saved for years planning a whole trip to Hawaii because this was my number one bucket list item and it felt like he completely ruined all of my hopes and dreams I had for this experience and how excited I was for for it. I felt so belittled and humiliated. When we got in the water it was better, we only saw one ray but they’re so amazing. When the girl was having us swim back one by one to the boat my boyfriend noticed two more rays beneath us we looked because we were last to go in and she only called the first person so far. From the boat, the captain screamed at us again in a hostile tone saying to get our heads out of the water and listen. After only seeing one the whole time and our water time being cut short because they chose to wait for a big group he was again yelling us and at mad at us for glancing at a ray when it’s what we paid to do. All in all, the captain is what ruined this experience, this company, and this trip. I have never felt so disrespected by someone or uncared for in my life. lastly a big thing that bothered me is that I felt there were no life jackets on board incase of an emergency because he wouldn’t even allow us to know where they were. Please choose your safety and a company who respects you. Anywhere is better than here.

In response to the business reply, I was told I could not have a life jacket on the boat ride by the captain. It would have made me a lot more comfortable to have at the high speeds we were traveling.When I asked for one I was told no and to get off the boat if I needed one on the boat or in the water because he did not...

What a fantastic experience! A friend recommended Coral Reef Adventures, and they did not disappoint. We chose the first time slot 6:30pm, since I'm an early to bed, early to rise person. We left right on time (suggest arriving 30 mins before departure to get 'geared up'), so we got to see the spectacular remnants of the sunset - orange glowing sky - as we made our way to the manta ray site on the north side of the island (note, there is also a spot where the Rays hang out on the south side). Water was fairly calm, so we made it to the snorkel spot in 11 mins, but it took longer to get back as it got a bit choppier later. Our boat was relatively small, but comfortable and our boat driver was quite skilled. I booked a few weeks in advance, as they do mostly sell out (especially on weekends it seems). It was plenty dark by the time we got in the water and there were probably 50+ other people already there, 4-6 boats maybe? Some of the boats were huge! We saw several mantas, with one in particular (Jim?) that repeatdly did flips under our lighted board. They are much bigger than I expected, with one (Claire?) measuring 14" across. At any given time I saw up to 4 Rays. Despite wearing a weatsuit jacket, I was a little cold at first, but did warm up from excitement. The time spent in the water was just right, as I started to get a little cold again, and another lady was struggling with water in her ears. Someday I would like to try this again on the south side. All the Rays are named, and some prefer one end or the other, we were told. Our boat driver was extremely kind and knowledgeable. She knew so much about the rays. My only 'complaint' or warning about this experience (NO reflection on the company) is how loud and busy it was while in the water. The lady next to me kept screaming in my ear when a manta came close, and constantly elbowed me while another lady 2 people down kept flopping around like a fish. Our guides had explained what NOT to do quite explicitely, and I even her our guide 'remind' the lady to lie flat, but it didn't seem to help. Her feet were in my chest at one point. All around people were shouting and yelling. Music was playing loudly from another boat. NOT a peaceful in nature experience, as I'd somehow expected. I think I'd prefer being down with the divers we saw. :) Our guide was actually quite soft spoken and I couldn't hear most of what she talked about (we were at the opposite end of the light board), but I could hear the guide on the board next to us talking about the species of fish swimming around us, and she pointed out some giant fish on the bottom that were chasing a large eel (we were quite close to shore). Very cool! We booked through Tripadvisor because it was quite a bit cheaper than direct at the time (I always try to book everything direct), but then discovered upon arrival that TA didn't communicate some of our information to Coral Reef Adventures - email and waivers, but not a big deal. I would go with this campany again in...

Amazing experience(s)! Since I know most people won't read my long-winded review, I want to say upfront that our in-water guide Sara was fabulous and she enhanced our already mind-blowing tour exponentially. My husband and I just returned from our first trip to Hawaii and the one thing I read and heard over and over again was "You HAVE to swim with the Manta Rays off the Kona coast of the Big Island." After quite a bit of research, I settled on Coral Reef Adventures for their tour departure time options, small group sizes, and included wetsuit (we went in February and you absolutely want this). We booked the late night 10pm snorkel tour. Weather had been particularly rough while we were there. Our first tour had really choppy water and a great view of the night sky which, honestly, made for a really cool and exciting boat ride out. When we arrived at the site adjacent to the airport, we were the only group there. Our group of 11 got in the water, assumed the position and waited...and waited...and nothing. We saw plankton, a needlefish, a shrimp, and a couple of generic fish. After half an hour we had to call it. Not a single manta ray. We made the boat road back, again under a beautiful star-filled sky, and were very happy to hear that the no-show from the mantas meant a free rescheduling for another night - a really great company policy! We rescheduled when we got back to shore for the 6pm sunset tour the following evening - our last night in Hawaii. I assumed at this point that it just wasn't in the cards for us this trip but at least we'd get a lovely sunset boat ride out to the site. It was a beautiful boat road out complete with spinner dolphins and distant whale sightings. We got to the same site as the previous night, but this time it was quite crowded. We immediately started hearing some whoops and hollers from other groups before we got in the water. We all jumped in, assumed the position, and maybe 20 seconds later, our first sighting. Then all of a sudden they were EVERYWHERE! For the entire time we were in the water, we must have seen at least a dozen and the action was non-stop and right in your face. Our guide Sara kept saying "Man, you guys are getting spoiled tonight!" and we absolutely were. I really can't begin to describe how incredible the experience was. A huge 'thank you' to the whole crew of our second tour in particular - Sara, Alex, and Dylan. You were all fantastic. But I've got to give one extra shoutout to Sara. She was incredibly knowledgeable, did everything she could to swim our group to the best spots, and was simply a great human (and hilarious) that made our little group of 9 feel more like friends than strangers that got lumped together. All that said, the hype is legitimate. If you're going to splurge on one activity on the Big Island, night snorkeling with the manta rays is THE one to pick and I can't recommend Coral Reef Adventures...