I can now officially cross off Swimming with Manta Rays on the Big Island of Hawaii from my Bucket List! I honestly didn’t think I was going to go through with it. Even my husband was surprised that I didn’t chicken out.
I’m not a strong swimmer and I’ve never been in the ocean, let alone at night time. But I did it! I went night snorkeling with manta rays in Hawaii! And it was a really exhilarating experience that you have to experience at least once in your life time.
Even though I got a bit sea sick and my husband got very sea sick, I would still recommend it. Skip to the end for my tips on how to avoid getting sea sick so you can enjoy this amazing excursion yourself!
What are Manta Rays?
Manta Rays are beautiful docile creatures of the sea. They are gentle giants that feed on plankton and they do not have stingers on their tails that can cause injury. Certain species can get quite large in size, reaching up to 23-ft in width! The ones here in Hawaii are smaller in size, so don’t panic. They also have huge wide open mouths that act as filters to feed on the plankton. The gills inside their mouths are quite interesting to see up close.
Swimming with Manta Rays on the Big Island of Hawaii is a popular excursion. You can find many tour companies that provide this experience in the area. If you are certified for diving, there are tour operators that also provide night diving with manta rays. Both tours only operate at night or right after sunset. It is the only way to attract the Manta Rays to your location by using bright lights.
Find a local tour operator for the best Night Snorkeling with Manta Rays in Kona, Hawaii.
Plus other special tours around the area!
Manta Ray Snorkeling Evening Tour from Keahou Harbor – $115.00
Manta Ray Night Snorkel Kona – $120.00
Swimming with Manta Rays Tour Description
Our Tour Operator
We chose to use Sea Paradise for this particular tour to go swimming with manta rays on the Big Island. They provided the least distance to travel on the boat to the snorkeling sight. I was afraid if the boat ride was too long, I would run a higher chance of getting sea sick.
Sea Paradise provided Shortie Wet Suits and snorkeling equipment with your ticket purchase, and a GoPro for an additional fee. The wet suit will keep you warm from the water even though it wasn’t cold in the least. And we definitely paid the extra $45 for the GoPro and captured amazing footage. So don’t skimp on this option if you don’t have your own.
You can rely on your own underwater camera or your smartphone in a waterproof case as well. Catching your memories on photo or video is a must for this tour!
The Manta Ray Experience in Big Island Hawaii
The entire excursion for the Night Snorkeling with the Manta Rays lasted a bit over 3-hours for us. Starting at 5:30pm for check-in at the boat docks, we spent the next half hour getting our wet-suits and wiggling into them. Then we boarded the small boat which was big enough for about 25-30 people. No bathrooms are available on the boat. This is important.
The night of our tour, the water was choppy, the waves were big. I was freaking out! But I managed pretty well on the boat. So did my husband.
Once on the boat, we sailed to our snorkeling sight which was only 15-minutes away. Directly off the coast by the Sheraton Kona Resort. The tour operators anchored the boat and began to brief everyone about safety and rules. Then we waited for the manta rays to show up, which can take up to 30-minutes. So you can enjoy the sunset while you wait.
Our Manta Ray Experience
When the Manta Rays finally made their appearance, the crew members begin to help everyone into the water one by one. When we first got into the water, we held on to a pool noodle while a crew member guided us to the lighted-bar. Bobbing around in the strong current was a bit off-putting, but the lighted-bar system was not far away, only about 6-meters. Once we reached it, we slid the pool noodle down our body to our ankles so it kept our legs floating up instead of dancing below and treading water.
We waited for about 5-minutes or so before we saw our first Manta Ray swim by. I constantly had to adjust my snorkel mask because water kept leaking into the area around my nose, so I do recommend bringing your own snorkel gear if you have a favorite set you prefer. (Do not use the full-face masks that cover your mouth, because you will need your mouth to communicate.)
There were other things swimming in the water as well. Not just the Manta Rays alone. There were a lot of fish too! You can also see the ocean floor, it was maybe about 20-ft max below us.
The Manta Rays will swim from site to site. There were maybe half a dozen tours operating at the same location, each with their light-bar system. So the Manta Rays pretty much have an evening buffet of plankton set up for them every night.
They swam below us and came pretty close as well. We can almost reach out and touch them, but we are not suppose to. They somersaulted and swam down to the ocean floor, then swooped back up to us again. It was so mesmerizing to watch.
The hubby (Ilya) got great footage from the GoPro we rented but unfortunately, watching the screen, and all the bobbing around in the water made him start to get ill. He opted to get out of the water early and I followed him.
Rules & Safety
Do Not Touch the Manta Rays
NO TOUCHING of the Manta Rays whatsoever. That is the #1 rule! Manta Rays have a protective gel-like membrane on the surface of their skin that protects them from bacteria and pathogens. If they are often touched by human hands, this membrane can break down. Which can result in the Manta Rays catching diseases and bacteria growth.
Do Not Panic
While the Manta Rays swim and feed on the plankton, they basically do a circular somersault. Swooping and diving to catch all the food in their mouths as the gills filter it into their small throat. Their mouths may be large, but their actual throat is quite small. So if a manta ray accidentally gets a person lodged in their mouth, do not panic. They do not have teeth, and they will dislodge and spit you out quite fast. Do not punch or touch the manta ray to dislodge on your own.
Use the Pool Noodles
During the excursion, you are holding on to a lighted bar device that floats above the water’s surface. And your feet are guided to float on pool noodles to keep them up and floating, to reduce to risk of accidentally kicking the rays. The noodles may escape from under your feet sometimes, but don’t worry, there are at least half a dozen tour guides in the water with you at all times and they will help retrieve them.
Also, I recommend to hold onto the bar gently and not grip it for dear life. Otherwise, your hands and your arms will be quite sore afterwards. Because that is exactly what I did!
Get Out of the Water Anytime
If at any time you want to get out of the water due to anxiety, illness or you’re just done, feel free to give a holler and the guides will be happy to assist you. My husband and I lasted about 15-minutes in the water before he started feeling really ill and I started to feel a bit woozy too from bobbing in the water. But the total time you get to stay in the water would be about 30-minutes.
How to Avoid Sea Sickness
I am very prone to getting motion sickness. Whether it’s on the plane, in the car, in the water, roller coasters, anywhere really. And it restricts me from a doing a lot of things. But I try not to let it hold me back from doing things I really want to! Especially something from my bucket list!
Motion Sickness Medications
My tips on how to avoid Sea Sickness while swimming with manta rays on the Big Island, is to start saturating your body with motion sickness medication early!
Before you have to do the tour or whatever activity you have planned. At least 2-3 days beforehand, start taking one 24-hour Bonine Tablet per day. Take it in the evening after dinner because it might make you drowsy. The Bonine brand is my favorite over-the-counter medication to take. I prefer them over Dramamine.
THEN, on the day of your planned activity, I suggest using the Scopoline Prescription patch that you can wear behind your ear. You can only get these from a doctor’s prescription, so plan ahead and see your doctor. You stick it to the skin behind your ear about 4 hours before your activity.
Another tip you can add to the medications, is the Anti-Nausea Acupressure Wristband by SeaBand. It uses acupressure to prevent motion sickness. I use this as well sometimes, but not on this trip, I had forgotten about them. They should not interfere with the medication.
What We Did Wrong
For this particular tour, I had taken a Bonine Tablet a day before my Manta Ray snorkeling because I was flying in the previous day. Then the next day I used the Scopoline Patch. I still got a bit seasick, but nothing I couldn’t handle. On a scale of 1-10, it was probably a 4.
My husband got it bad though. He had only taken ONE Bonine Tablet just ONE hour before the tour which was not enough and in too short of a time. He was fine on the boat ride until he got into the water and started filming, using the GoPro. Then once he got out and sat on the boat waiting for everyone else, it got worse. He had to drink a lot of ginger-ale and chew on ginger candy that was provided by the boat crew.
All in all, I am so happy I did this excursion. If I wasn’t going to be able to see live flowing hot lava, then this was the next best thing! Another awesome experience during our trip was finding wild Sea Turtles on the beach! I am working on a new post on tips for how to find sea turtles so stay tuned!
Find your Perfect Manta Ray Tour Operator
Find your local tour operator and BOOK NOW for the best Night Snorkeling and Swimming with Manta Rays in Big Island, Hawaii.
Manta Ray Snorkeling Evening Tour from Keahou Harbor – $115.00
Manta Ray Night Snorkel Kona – $120.00
This just got added to my bucket list!! It looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing your experience and tips!
There are so many epic experiences on the Big Island, I´ve only done the helicopter flight and visited a few sights! I´d love to return for more nature experiences like hiking or swimming with manta rays! Thanks for the inspiration!
It looks like such a fun experience to have! Even though being seasick doesn’t sound fun at all! Still looks like you had an amazing time! I would love to do this when I go to Hawaii!
What an amazing experience to have in Hawaii! I can’t believe your first experience in the ocean was at night time, that seems way scarier than the day. It’s too bad that sea sickness cut your time in the water short but it looks like you got to see lots of manta rays anyways. I had no idea that swimming with manta rays was a thing in Hawaii so I’m definitely adding this to my bucketlist now!
Wow. They are gorgeous and graceful. I loved the video. We went scuba diving with stingrays in Grand Caymen, and I swore I would never do it again. But, your video makes me want to go. I have been contemplating a Hawaii trip, so maybe next year, we will make it over there. We will sign up for this excursion for sure.
Wow what a bucket list activity. Such great advice in this article. Especially the info on sea sickness.
Great experience! Nothing like observing wildlife in a responsible way. Mantarays are so magic when they just float in the water.
Magical wildlife!
I went swimming with manta rays in Fiji and it was amazing. Definitely a once in a lifetime bucket list experience! Thanks for such a useful and detailed post!
Oh wow, Fiji sounds epic!
Okay wow! What an incredible experience this must’ve been!! Adding it to our bucket list 🙂
Yay! I hope you get to try it one day.
What a cool experience to do in Hawaii! Thanks for all the useful tips!
You’re welcome.
This looks so awesome! Adding it to my bucket list too! I actually have 3 weeks in Hawaii planned come August so I am totally making this part of my itinerary!
Oh yes! DO THIS FOR SURE!!!
Awesome experience, I want to try, thanks, you inspired me!
I hope you get to try it! It was super incredible!
This is amazing, what an incredible experience! I didn’t even know that you can book tours to swim with Manta rays but definitely will be adding this to my bucket list! 😍