Reviewed by: Deb P
This was a very interesting adventure. Our tour guide, Don, was fantastic. and helped make it a very enjoyable trip. He was very accommodating and made sure we saw as much as time would allow. Very long day but lots of good information and local lure.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Elite Volcano Hike from Hilo Hotels |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/30 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/18 |
Reviewed by: Alma S.
Nice ride in the ocean at night, beautiful skyline and warm ocean.
Rays pass by few inches from you, possibly enjoying themself as well.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Moonlight Cruise & Evening Manta Snorkel Tour [2 hours] |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/28 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/07 |
Reviewed by: Nasreen Kassam
Bryce, our driver, was amazing! Made the tour everything it was. We all enjoyed the amazing tour with friendly employees and clean vehicle.
Thank you!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Tour |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/28 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/10 |
Reviewed by: Stacey D
My husband and I took our 15yr old son. We enjoyed the food, good portions and several options were available. The show was fascinating, and the performers were enjoying themselves which made the show even better. Would highly recommend.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Ohana Package |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/25 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/22 |
Reviewed by: Nicole
Overall, awesome experience! After reading reviews, I was super nervous about the validity of this site, especially considering that this site was able to get me tickets to a Luau that was sold out on all other sites. I called the venue to be reassured that this was a real site, and they confirmed it's validity! We showed up to the luau, had an amazing experience, and had 0 complications! Def. recommended!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Royal Kona Resort - Standard Luau Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/23 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/27 |
Reviewed by: Sarah h
It was an amazing snorkeling adventure. My husband and I have never gone snorkeling the crew was amazing. They were helpful and very funny. I suggest doing this. You get to see many different types of animals and sights
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | 5-hour South Kona Expedition with Lunch (3 Snorkel Stops) |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/23 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/21 |
Reviewed by: CHZ
Tour guides were great, nice, and informative. Sadly did not see any manta rays on our cruise. They said this was highly unusual but still disappointing to not see any. They offered for us to go back on a future tour, but we were leaving the island and they do not offer any refunds.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Moonlight Cruise & Evening Manta Snorkel Tour [2 hours] |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/22 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/01 |
Reviewed by: Denis
We left late and were, as far as I could tell, the last boat to arrive. The place was pretty packed with people from the other boats. The ocean is pretty big so I'm not sure if we were so clustered because there's one particular spot that is best or because of some other reason. For the safety of the manta rays and possibly for your own safety, you don't actually get to swim in the water but rather your entire group are always holding on to a shared flotation device. It's not a good thing or a bad thing but something you should be aware of before signing up.
We saw one manta ray, which was a nice experience. Right after we saw it, the crew packed us up and headed back to the harbor. These are wild creatures so it's not like you're guaranteed to see them but I was expecting the crew to keep us there a bit longer. Anyway, my kids liked it, but I still wouldn't recommend this experience.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Package: Sunset Manta Snorkel |
Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
Posted on: | 2021/08/22 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/20 |
Reviewed by: Karen
Not quite what I expected as you don’t get to snorkel around but breathtaking and amazing to watch those beautiful creatures at night in the light, it’s like they are dancing for you!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Package: Sunset Manta Snorkel |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/21 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/30 |
Reviewed by: V&M N.
My husband and I got to experience this activity five years ago for the first time and we knew we had to bring our kids this time. Our kids liked the food and the family enjoyed the entertainment. It was great seeing Derek again (the musician/singer). He sang pearly shell again per our request :)
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Dinner Cruise |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/18 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/08 |
Reviewed by: Bridget D
Lovely evening and views with informative narration and entertainment and great food.
Thank you so much for joining us! We appreciate the time you took to leave us a five star review! Mahalo! We hope to see you again some day!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Dinner Cruise |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/18 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/07 |
Reviewed by: Angimono26
Super fun boat ride with great boat crew. Mata rays were fun adventure
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Package: Sunset Manta Snorkel |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/14 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/24 |
Reviewed by: Ang
Nice people running the boat, but there were SO many boats out there, and other boats had bigger/brighter lights - so they were all "oo-ing" over manta at their sites, and we were on the outskirts, only saw a handful flying by. No barrel rolls under us.
The worst part is you have to take such a long boatride to get out there, and we had to then get into the water and line up on a raft thing waiting at least 10 minutes in the cold water just waiting for sunset to get dark. We could've at least waited until closer to when out it was dark and the rays would come.
Plus my son and I also got seasick, since the waves were so bad - and it wasn't even the ocean that caused it, it was the motion of all the boats coming in. At least 10 other boats out there, figthing to see the manta.
Would definitely not do it again, for the torture in the process.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Package: Sunset Manta Snorkel |
Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
Posted on: | 2021/08/13 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/11 |
Reviewed by: Bridget D
Staff was very helpful especially with one in our party who just rode along and needed assistance getting on and off boat. Boat was a little crowded but staff very efficient at getting everyone into water. Manta rays swam just beneath us and seemed close enough to touch!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Package: Moonlight Manta Snorkel (Seasonal) |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/13 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/05 |
Reviewed by: Bridget D
Beautiful setting facing ocean, Show was entertaining, staff was attentive, Food was plentiful and good but not outstanding. Mai tais were tasty but seemed watered down.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Royal Kona Resort - Standard Luau Package |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/13 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/06 |
Reviewed by: Stefanie Doty
This was an event booking for my family. My 4 year old and 14 year old both equally enjoyed it. My for year old loved learning the hula. Food was plentiful and the story told was wonderful. All of the staff were efficient and super sweet.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Ohana Package |
Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
Posted on: | 2021/08/07 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/13 |
Reviewed by: Andrea
Bryce was awesome, very knowledgable. We had a big scare about the fire on the way back to the hotel and he was super professional about letting us know what was going on and even offered to stop at a grocery store in case no food options were open in the evening. Highly recommend!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Tour |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/07 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/01 |
Reviewed by: Heather
We had a great time viewing the sunset with our amazing guides Kekoa and Travis. There are a lot of companies that run these tours, but our guides made this one the best of them all. They were both very knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. Most of all, however, Kekoa and Travis have big smiles and even bigger hearts. They brought the spirit of Mauna Kea and o'hana into this experience. The sunset from the summit was miraculous, the lasagna and brownie absolutely delicious and the star gazing was out of this world!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing Tour with Dinner |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/06 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/04 |
Reviewed by: Sophia
Pros: It was worthwhile to do this tour to see the entire Big Island all in one day, without having to do any driving. Adam was very informative and shared many Hawaiian mythical stories along the way. Enjoyed the extra stops at the bakery for Malasadas, the driver got us all plain ones, and the fruit stand we stopped at, at the end.
Cons: many errors due to the fact that Veltra books the tour, through the Hawaii Activities, but they don’t run the tour. So the lunch options were not the options listed when we booked. They called to clarify the meals for our group and still got the lunches completely wrong. No chicken on the salads, not enough sandwiches and too many plain veggie salads. Also, we booked a private tour. We booked a private tour. The website said private tour up to 10, we had 9, so we were under the impression we would be the only group on the tour. This was not the case! There was a group of three in the van when it arrived to pick us up. And the other group had much better looking lunches than ours for some reason. Another disappointing thing was that it was rainy and cold for the volcano portion of the tour. Our tour guide informed us that rainy weather is very very common at the volcano park and near Hilo. We were all dressed for warm weather and we were all freezing for a large part of the tour. Our van had 6 rain jackets, but 12 passengers. It would have been very helpful if the person that called to confirm the tour would have told us there is a chance it might be rainy. One last thing, we accidentally left some candy purchases on the tour bus, we called the company, but have not heard back about retrieving these purchases.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Private Tour from Kona/ Kohala (up to 10 passengers) |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/06 |
Activity Date: | 2021/08/04 |
Reviewed by: Kristy
First tour we had on our trip and it was awesome! The crew was very informative and friendly. Can’t wait to go again! The fresh pineapple they served us was a wonderful end to the trip. Scott definitely knew his stuff!
Aloha for joining us!
Dolphins always give us different pictures and great experiences.
Please come back, we are looking forward to seeing you again!
Mahalo
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Snorkel Cruise & Dolphin Watch Experience |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/05 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/29 |
Reviewed by: Meg
We had the best time, the crew was fantastic, nice boat, brand new wetsuits, we enjoyed this trip so much. And the hot chocolate after the swim was a perfect touch! We saw I think 5-7 mantas and they were with us the entire dive.
Thank you for joining with us.
We are glad you felt warmth with Hot chocolate, too ;)
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Manta Ray Night Snorkel with Sunset Cruise |
Attended as: | Friends |
Posted on: | 2021/08/05 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/11 |
Reviewed by: Summerlover71
We loved all the cultural dances and the food was amazing! Great experience on our honeymoon.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Ohana Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/03 |
Activity Date: | 2021/06/22 |
Reviewed by: Ravenclaw
This experience is one of a kind - having manta rays come right up to you as they feed on plankton in the bay! We were provided with a wet suit (top only for adults, body suit for children), snorkel, and mask.
Once anchored, you will slip into the water at the back of the boat, swim over to the lighted surfboards with handles, grip the handles and let your body float flat on the surface. They will give you a pool noodle to help with this. The manta rays will come right up to the surfboard and gently roll over as they feed on plankton that the light illuminates. I will add that it may seem like a short amount of time (about 30 minutes), but by the time they brought us in, I had started to get cold and my arms started aching from holding the handles the whole time. It was worth it for the experience.
If you are not a strong swimmer, they will offer to help you.
All the members of the crew on my boat were great! Very friendly and helpful. Thank you so much!
My one concern is regarding the number of other boats and people also participating in the same activity. There were quite a few and my concern was for the safety and protection of the manta rays. However, it does seem that the manta rays are not in danger and gain something out of the experience themselves because it provides a better opportunity for feeding that they would not have otherwise. The crew also show a great respect and love for them as well.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Package: Sunset Manta Snorkel |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/08/02 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/31 |
Reviewed by: Chris
The whole experience was well done. Captain Danielle and her crew mate were knowledgeable, kind and helpful. We saw tons of mantas doing endless barrel rolls inches from our masks!!! The boat ride is brief and we spent plenty of time in the water on the light-board. FYI- You need to be able to climb up a 3-rung boat ladder to get out of the water, it went fine with our tour but I could imagine that might be tough for some. Well worth the time and money!!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/08/01 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/30 |
Reviewed by: Rich
Clean car on time and communicated and updates in plans
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | [Departure] Hotel to Airport - Shared Service |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/07/31 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/06 |
Reviewed by: P.
The manta rays were incredible to swim with and the crew did an excellent job. You are taken care of the moment you get on to the boat until the moment you get back. This adventure takes you out with light boards to see the manta rays come swim around you. It was well done.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Sunset Cruise & Evening Manta Snorkel Tour [2.5 hours] |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/07/31 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/29 |
Reviewed by: Jesse
I so wanna go again. Very fun and entertaining.
Love the food and music and dancing.
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Ohana Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/07/30 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/28 |
Reviewed by: Donna W.
Amazing crew who shared humor, but were extremely focused on safety and total enjoyment for each guest. Thank you Captain Scott, Bryce, and the entire Ikuka Team for this amazing experience. We will definitely be returning. Mahalo!
Thank you for joining with us and beautiful Manta Ray shots!
We are looking forward to seeing you again!
A hui hou
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Manta Ray Night Snorkel with Sunset Cruise |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2021/07/30 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/25 |
Reviewed by: Ninnette H
This was such an awesome experience! My family and I had such a great time. It was a little scary at first but you get over it really quick once you see the mantas! The crew was also awesome. They made everyone comfortable and constantly checked on us to make sure we were on in the water! 10/10!
Thank you for your nice picture!
People sometimes feel scared first in the dark Ocean but no need to worry.
Manta Rays flip in the blue light is so beautiful.
Mahalo!
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Manta Ray Night Snorkel with Sunset Cruise |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/07/27 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/03 |
Reviewed by: Eileen
My husband and I had a great time on this sunset cruise! The staff were fantastic and the views were spectacular! Highly recommend
Rating: | |
---|---|
Packages: | Sunset Cocktail Cruise |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2021/07/25 |
Activity Date: | 2021/07/23 |
Tips and suggestions
Reply from activity provider
An unexpected error has occurred. Please go back to the previous page and try again, or wait a few minutes and try once again.
Aloha V&M N, Thanks for joining us again! We appreciate that you took the time to share your experience and rated us five stars! We wish you all the best!