Manakai Catamaran — Local services in Honolulu

TLDR: This was by far our worst excursion during the 2 weeks we spent in Hawaii. Some things were under Manakai's control (cancelling if poor visibility) - but others are related to animal welfare for turtles in this area (overcrowding - at least when we were there).

Full review: Our initial date was cancelled due to worse-than-usual rain and flooding. We were able to reschedule to two days later and attended. Because visibility was still so bad on the day we went (from the ongoing rain and lack of sunshine) - you couldn't see anything other than the turtles when they came to the surface.

First, and most upsetting is the apparent lack of coordination of snorkeling between companies in this area. There were 3+ other boats of people - with 75+ people who would swarm any turtle who was attempting to come up to breathe. The welfare of these animals could only be negatively impacted by this and I am horrified that I may have contributed to this by attending this tour. This may have been particularly bad due to the prior weather cancellations & fact your couldn't just see the turtles on the reef itself. Much of the time we spent just trying to avoid being swim-trampled by the moving swarm of people who would scream and swim toward any sightings.

The fact that the Manakai crew took 15+ minutes just to find the line to tie to should have been a cue that this tour should not have run. The crew did their best to coach us not to crowd the turtles and steer us to areas that briefly had some visibility, but the company needs new policies re: visibility and the other companies (or regulatory organizations) need to better coordinate efforts to ensure animal welfare (and secondarily, a better experience for snorkelers). The nearly-zero visibility was also unnerving when you can't see the bottom and you kept hearing "shrieks" in an area where everyone was talking about sharks. As a SCUBA diver (with comfort around friendly sharks I can see) and frequent snorkeller - I've never seen visibility this bad and noted many people opted to return to the...

Today we did the snorkel tour and oh my gosh was it awesome. We saw the boat on Waikiki Beach and looked it up online. They had a lot of different sailing options and we chose the snorkel tour because sea turtles.... The booking and instructions were easy peasy and less expensive than the other catamaran excursions we researched. (We paid $65 each) The boat had a staff of 3, the captain, the on board life guard and another life guard who was in the water with us. All 3 of the guys were awesome, friendly and chill. We motored out to Turtle Canyon where all the other more expensive catamarans were also moored. The crew gave us each a life jacket belt and a snorkel mask and encouraged us to jump in. So we did! We snorkeled for a solid hour over a reef and saw tons of tropical fish and yes... TURTLES!

One thing to note.... there was another passenger on the boat who was too scared to snorkel, but wanted to try. The captain took her in the water himself and patiently taught her how to use the mask and was so encouraging to her. I thought that was above and beyond his job and just showed the Aloha spirit.

We brought our own lunch and drinks and had plenty of time to eat after snorkeling. The captain cruised around for a while after we were all back on board trying to find us a whale or some dolphins. It was nice to not zoom right back to the beach and get hurried off the boat to load the next batch. I appreciated the hospitality and expertise of the whole crew....

Our experience with mana Kai couldn’t have been better! We originally booked a sunset sail on our last evening in Waikiki. Unfortunately it was raining and cold and we didn’t want to go. Mana Kai offered a full refund without hassle. Instead of taking the refund they booked us on a mid day snorkeling tour the following day and it was even better than expected. We saw so many turtles and had dolphins jumping right next to the boat as we sailed. It was a magical experience for our anniversary and truly our favorite part of our Hawaiian holiday.

I also wanted to mention that the crew was extraordinary! Captain Kani was so professional and did a great job making everyone comfortable and informed. Life guards Victoria and Kekoa were fantastic to chat with and were attentive in the water. Deckhand Kaika was helpful and funny and did an excellent job assisting everyone on the tour. I have to say that the entire crew had an excellent way of working together, was so friendly and kind and honestly made the experience something even more than it already was. I felt we left with new friends and amazing memories. I can’t say enough good things and I sincerely can’t wait to go on another cruise with them. Job well...