Hawaiian Coastline Adventures — Local services in Hawaii

If I could leave zero stars I would. First of all, my small group wasn’t on Brian Bender’s, the owner of this company’s boat. We independently snorkeled off the shore at the Sheraton, which we have done for 14 years, before these companies were even bringing people here. The Sheraton shines a light which attracts the manta rays, and we love to respectfully observe these majestic creatures. For free. About 50 feet away are the boat companies with their tour groups. We swam over to see what mantas were over there and wow what a beautiful show, four large manta rays feeding and doing tricks. While observing them we were harassed by Brian, from his boat. He was telling us we couldn’t be there, that it was illegal because we didn’t have lights (which we did and showed him), and then told us we were stealing his show. As if he owns the ocean and the manta rays are his property. We weren’t intimidated and Brian proceeded to turn on his engine and rev his propellers at us with them out of the water to try to scare us. We were about ten feet away from the people who were unfortunate enough to book with him. He threatened us repeatedly with his props, getting as close to us as he could. One of the guys in the water even said to us that if the boat hit us and killed us it was our fault and they hoped to see it happen. The police were called by a nearby boat. We decided to go closer to the Sheraton to get away from these hostile tour operators who have monetized an experience that anyone can have for free, and when we eventually exited the water the police officer was there. He was great and didn’t have a high opinion of the boat operators which he knew by name. Brian was called and on speakerphone, with us standing there, lied to the police saying we didn’t have lights, (again, we did, and also, if we didn’t it isn’t illegal)and then changes his story and said we were shining them in his eyes, (we weren’t). Then the real rub came out of his mouth, which was that we were there and didn’t pay. Money is obviously number one to this guy, not human kindness or the safety of others. Think twice before you book with a guy like this, who can lose his head in such a violent way, threaten people and then lie to police after the fact. ...

Joni and the guide Nalu were friendly and helpful! We were experienced snorkellers and it can still be intense when there’s a ton of boats and other groups out there as they crowd all together around you! However they warned us about that so we knew it was coming and Nalu did a good job of keeping other groups away and towing us to where the best Manta action was! The boat ride is only three minutes so if you get seasick like me, go with this company who doesn’t have to boat down from up north! They give you all the gear you need, but if you haven’t snorkeled before at all, do yourself a favor and try out the equipment before hand so you can enjoy the experience. We were with 4 people who hadn’t ever snorkeled and two who couldn’t swim- they still had an excellent time since you don’t have to swim at all, but struggled with masks and how to breathe thru the snorkel. but there’s no swimming, just climb down a ladder and hold onto the surfboard. The boat captain was sort of a surly drill Sargent but you really need to be with all the chaos and different things going on once you get to the site, and he really seems to know how to safely drive that boat, and get us back to harbor quick when you’re seasick! Definitely a life experience, and this crew was better than the previous company I tried with! I highly recommend...

All in all this was an extraordinary experience from start to finish. Prior to the day of, the employees were super helpful in booking our snorkeling experience and the price was incredibly affordable. We found a tremendous deal on groupon that made this one of our most affordable excursions of our entire trip. On the day of our scheduled snorkel, my husband sprained his ankle rather badly. The staff at Hawaiian Coastline Adventures were very accommodating -- we arrived well ahead of our scheduled time and they let us on an earlier boat, checked on him throughout to make sure his ankle was comfortable, helped him on and off the boat -- they were very kind and thoughtful of his injury.

The actual experience with the mantas is rather indescribable -- it's worth going into it and letting the experience unfold without having much expectations. We were mesmerized -- we got to watch the sunset along the coast from the boat and had the pleasure of seeing half-a-dozen or so mantas as they performed for us and swam up against us. To top the whole thing off, we were handed cups of hot chocolate as we came out of the water. This was truly a highlight of out Big Island adventure that I'd strongly recommend for singles, couples, and...