Snorkel with Manta Rays Guaranteed
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Big Island of Hawaii, USA
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Embark on an evening adventure and swim near Hawaii’s manta rays. Start the tour with a sunset sail on a comfortable catamaran to ‘Manta Ray Village’. After a safety briefing, put on your snorkel gear and spend an hour in the water using a state-of-the-art, lit up flotation device to stay on the water’s surface and observe the manta rays bellow as they feed on plankton.
- Take a sunset cruise on the luxurious catamaran Hokulani with drinks and snacks offered onboard
- Sail to ‘Manta Ray Village’ to observe the tropical ocean giants in their natural habitat
- Float on the water’s surface on a one-of-a-kind “manta floatation device”and see the creatures down below
- Feel secure with an expert led safety briefing and use of all snorkel gear
What's Included
- Wetsuits, Masks, and Snorkels Provided (fins not needed)
- Use of Snorkeling equipmentUse of Snorkelling equipment
- Filtered Water
- Soda/PopVaried Juices
- Gratuities are not included but greatly appreciated
- Due to safety concerns we do not allow full face masks on our tours
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Keauhou Bay, Kahaluu-Keauhou, HI 96740, USA
Sea Paradise guests check in 15 minutes prior to departure at the Sea Paradise Van located at Keauhou Bay at the end of 78-7130 Kaleiopapa Street continuing past the boat ramps. You may find parking along Kaleiopapa Street and it will be approximately a 5 minute walk to the pier.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 49 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Lynnette_H
The crew was great. Choppy water that night but they made everyone feel safe. The knowledge they shared was wonderful. The night time experience was the best hands down. Would do this again in a heartbeat.
Reviews
4.8
based on 755 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Hur_J, Mar 2026
We spent an hour in the water shivering and didn’t even get to see any manta rays. We chose this company because we believed it would be a reliable experience, and we paid a significant amount for it, which makes this even more disappointing.
What’s most upsetting is that this may end up being a very negative memory for my child during our trip.
I also did not see any of the Sea Paradise staff checking in with guests or asking whether anyone hadn’t seen the manta rays, which made the experience feel even more disappointing.
I would never recommend that anyone spend this much money on this kind of experience.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Aloha, we are so sorry to hear your experience with us. Unfortunately, we cannot control Manta Rays to show up as they are wild marine animals. We typically average 1-3 Manta Rays every night and it is very rare to not see any! We are deeply sorry that you felt like our crew didn't check in with you guys while you were out there. We hope you are able to give us another shot in the future and we can give you a better experience. Mahalo nui loa
Susan_T, Mar 2026
What a wonderful experience. The crew was fabulous and were very knowledgeable. The manta rays were so amazing. I would highly recommend this company for a experience of a lifetime.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Mahalo Susan for your review of our Manta Tour. So happy that you had such a wonderful time viewing the Manta Rays. Hope to see you again!
Amy_F, Dec 2025
This was my second time doing a manta ray tour but the first time with this company. I had done a snorkeling tour with this company a few years ago and wanted to do another tour with them. I was not disappointed! The swell and surf were big this night but we felt closely watched over, we had succinct instructions and assistance was provided quickly (like when my husband’s noodle was kicked away by his oblivious neighbor who was practically lying on my husband because this guy was only holding on with one hand while filming with the other in rough water—Dude, use a chest harness, come on!).
I also REALLY appreciated not having to boat far in the dark—very convenient if you tend to be prone to seasickness.
I will definitely use this company again for future tours!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thanks Amy for your excellent review of our Manta Tour. Even though the conditions were not good, so happy to hear you still had a great time enjoying the magnificent rays. Hope so see you again!
Victoria_M, Oct 2025
This was the most special and beautiful experience I’ve ever done! I recommend this to anyone going to Kona.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thanks Victoria for your review of our Manta Tour. So happy to hear it was such a memorable experience for you. Aloha!
Laura_B, Aug 2025
This was an awesome experience. We chose the later booking (9:00). Shortly after we arrived there were more mantas than we could count. I heard our guide said there were at least 10, but another guide I heard saying she thought there were around 15! I was the first one out to the platforms and one of the last back on the boat and spent 50 minutes in the water. My husband got a bit sea sick and went back in after 30. My kids probably went back about 40 minutes. Our guides said for a summer night the ocean was a bit rougher than normal (but not near as rough as they sometimes see in winter!). Holding on to the platforms as they hit each other back and forth and the waves went up and down was a bit tiring. But my whole family is glad they did it — even my 9 year old who had heretofore never successfully completed a snorkeling trip. The guides made us feel comfortable and safe.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Mahalo Laura for your detailed review of our manta tour. So happy to hear you and your family had a great time viewing the manta rays. Hope to see you again!
Lynnette_H, Jun 2025
The crew was great. Choppy water that night but they made everyone feel safe. The knowledge they shared was wonderful. The night time experience was the best hands down. Would do this again in a heartbeat.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Mahalo Lynnette for your review of our Manta Tour. We are happy to hear you had such a great adventure viewing the manta rays. Please return again!
Sarah_U, May 2025
What an amazing experience! We were hoping for 1-3 manta ray sightings and saw 8! This was the best boat in the water and bonus with steps to easily get in and out of the water. The staff was amazing!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thanks Sarah for your review of of our Manta Tour. We are to pleased you had such an amazing experience with the manta rays and enjoyed our boat and crew. Aloha!
Eric_C, May 2025
This is a truly unique experience. When the guide said you will get "close enough to the rays that you could lick them" it was not an exaggeration. They are very graceful creatures and being able to share the water with them is amazing
Response from Host, May 2025
Thanks Eric for your review of our Manta Tour. We are so pleased you had such an amazing experience viewing the manta rays. Aloha!
Julie_T, Mar 2025
What an amazing experience! The guides told us that there were 7 different manta rays, and they usually see between 1-3. We really lucked out. Even so, before they were all there, I would have been happy with even 1, because it is such a cool experience. Guides were great, knowledgeable, fun and also safety conscious. Their first rule - don’t touch the manta rays. They also put your feet on the floats so that large snorkels fins don’t accidentally harm the manta rays. I saw other tours out there with all of these fins down in the water. I was happy to be supporting a company that regards these gentle giants as marvelous and doesn’t want to harm them. That extra mile means a lot to our family.
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Aloha Julie, mahalo for giving us such a great, and thoughout review! That's awesome you got to see so many different Rays!! That is pretty special and an exceptional night out there! Thank you for noticing our hardworking and knowledgeable crew! We are so joyed you loved the entire experience with us! We hope you guys get to enjoy a future tour with us again! Thank you for choosing Sea Paradise and aloha!
Margaret_O, Mar 2025
This was such a cool thing to do! When the first Manta Ray approaches, it is shocking how large and beautiful it is! The set up makes you very comfortable. It does not require much swimming - you are holding on to a bar.
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Thanks for your review of our Manta Tour. We are so pleased you saw the graceful Manta Rays so close! Hope to see you again!
Andrew_H, Dec 2024
I read several reviews and heard Sea Paradise was the best choice for the Manta Rays. I was a little nervous as the check-in and loading was a little disorganized.
Once aboard the boat, it was smooth sailing, literally. I tried an underwater phone case and it didn't really turn out. I would recommend an action camera like a Go Pro or rent one of theirs.
Amazing experience! Staff was great. We saw 5 mantas at once and they swam all around us and just inches from your face. This was the highlight of my trip!
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Aloha Andrew,
Mahalo for taking the time to leave us a review. We are so happy to hear you ended up having an overall great experience and ended up turning into the highlight of your trip. They are truly magical. We value your feedback and would love to hear about your check-in process. Feel free to connect with us at info@seaparadise.com if you get the opportunity. We hope to see you for more adventures in the near future, maybe for a daytime snorkel next? :)
Christopher_B, Dec 2024
This was an incredible experience, they were knowledgeable about the history of the location they took us to. The crew did a great job making sure everyone was comfortable, and made sure to explain what to expect. We were lucky enough to watch 5 or 6 Manta Rays chasing each other around, and one even gave my daughter a love tap as it came by us.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Aloha, mahalo for such an awesome review! we are so happy to hear you and your Ohana had such a great time with us! That is awesome to see that many Manta Rays as a time as we normally average 1-3 per night! How lucky to get a Manta Love tap as well! Thank you again for joining Sea paradise, we hope to see your on your next Hawaiian, ocean adventure. Aloha.
Jeff_C, Nov 2024
The crew was very knowledgeable. We had never snorkeled before but wow so cool. The manta ray came up from the bottom and leveled off about a foot from us. Totally worth the price of admission!!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Thanks Jeff for your excellent review of our Manta Tour. We are so pleased you had such a memorable experience with the manta rays and enjoyed our crew. Aloha!
Kim_B, Oct 2024
A once in a lifetime experience. You will NOT regret it. The manta rays are such huge, graceful and gentle creatures. You are close enough to touch, but DO NOT! The guides were professional, experienced and so very kind.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Aloha Kim, thank you for sharing your wonderful 5 star experience on our manta ray adventure. We appreciate the compliments and sharing important info to keep these beautiful gentle giants safe. Mahalo nui
Emily_C, Aug 2024
Sea Paradise did such a great job!! There were so many mantas and they were SO close!! The guide were incredibly knowledgeable and helpful between both the mantas and gear/process. It is a short boat ride to the “snorkel spot”. They give you an in-depth tutorial about what to expect and how to use the float. You get a solid 45 mins in the water with the mantas and can ask to get out at anytime you need. You are required to hold onto the floating light raft the whole time which can be quite wearing on the shoulders, so if you have shoulder problems or you get kiddos this might be one to sit out. My 9yo went with us and did great, but I would not recommend much younger kids do this and he was definitely the youngest on the boat. Expect to get face to face with the mantas or even have them brush up against you. It can be a bit intimidating but once you get past that fact, the experience will leave you in awe!
Of note, there are multiple tours all meeting down at the same place at the same time. The meet up point is around the building on the right, not the boat ramp.
This was 100% worth the money and I highly recommend it!
Response from Host, Aug 2024
Aloha Emily,
Our Sea Paradise 'ohana thanks you for taking the time to share your grand review of your manta ray experience with us! We're very pleased to hear of your experience with those beautiful creatures, they sure can get up close and personal! We recommend gripping the light rafts gently for the duration of the viewing. Holding it rather tightly/ intensely can cause arm/ shoulder pain like a workout. We hope to have your party join us for another tour.
Mahalo!
Vanessa_N, Jul 2024
This is a must do! Shoutout to the amazing staff who were extremely organized and made us feel so comfortable in the water. I wasn’t sure if my 8 year old would freak out but he did great! He hates amusement park rides but will swim in the ocean at night with giant sea animals. Go figure. We saw many many of the gorgeous majestic rays, sometimes centimeters from our faces. Our minds were blown. My son was in absolute awe. Also want to add that this company had wetsuits of all sizes and didn’t make me feel bad that I needed a larger one. There aren’t many reviews that mention this so wanted to just throw that out there. I also love that the boat was larger and had a bathroom. If you are on the fence, do it! You won’t regret it.
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Aloha Vanessa! Thank you so much for such a great and thorough review! Mahalo for noticing our knowledgable staff and our beautiful boat. We are so glad your son loved it as well! We hope to see you out with us again on your next Hawaiian, ocean adventure! Aloha!
Michele_T, Jul 2024
Great experience! The staff made safety their priority both on the boat and off especially with kids. We booked the last slot of the night and it did not disappoint. When the other boats left all the manta rays stayed by us.
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Aloha, thank you for sharing your experience on our manta ray tour! We're ecstatic to know our guests can see how our crew prioritizes safety. It really is beyond amazing when our lights are the only ones out there and all the manta rays spoil us with their presence. We hope to have your family join us on another ocean excursion! Mahalo.
Danielle_H, Jul 2024
Very cool experience! Water was chilly so be prepared for that. Staff/crew were extremely nice. Very nice clean boat and equipment! Definitely recommend doing!
Response from Host, Jul 2024
Aloha Danielle, our Sea Paradise ohana thanks you for your compliments. We're pleased to know our guests enjoy our vessel and amenities provided to them. We appreciate you trusting us with your manta ray snorkel adventure. We hope to be apart of your next ocean tour. Mahalo!
Amy_E, Mar 2024
Amazing experience! Highly recommend! Super cool. Once in a lifetime chance to get close up and personal with beautiful Mantas! :)
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Aloha Amy,
Thank you for leaving a review of your experience on our Manta Ray tour. We're ectsatic to receieve a grand recommendation and hope to have you join us again.
Mahalo!
evelyn_h, Mar 2024
a very incredible night, saw 6 manta rays. staff were fun and friendly and very helpful. It was so majestic seeing the Manta rays swimming and passing by.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Mahalo Evelyn for your review of our manta tour. We are so pleased you enjoyed our boat and crew. Hope to see you again.
Colleen_W, Feb 2024
Amazing night had with my husband and mother-in-law, such a wonderful experience to see such graceful creatures, staff were brilliant and full of energy, I unfortunately got sea sick after I returned from seeing the manter rays, as sitting on board was a bit ruff, other than that short coming we reallyenjoyed iour experience.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Aloha Colleen,
Mahalo for taking the time to leave us a review. We are so happy you enjoyed seeing our beautiful manta rays :) and we hope you can join us again.
Safe travels and a hui hou!
Arnav_P, Jan 2024
I highly recommend this experience. The crew is very friendly, professional, and helpful. They make you feel completely comfortable if this is your first time doing night snorkeling, as it was for me. Seeing the rays itself is magical. There are tons of them, and they come so close to you that you can see every detail. You spend a good amount of time in the water, so you have plenty of time to appreciate what you're seeing.
Response from Host, Feb 2024
Aloha Arnav,
Mahalo for joining us for your manta adventures! It truly is magical being able to be present in their environment. We hope you'll think of us on future visits to the Big Island!
jim_b, Oct 2023
Looks gimmicky but we signed up and WOW! We saw three mantas swimming in harmony, then they all swam toward us and did their ballet in water. They come within 4-6 inches of you and it’s breathtaking. We saw so many swimming at us, by us, and underneath. Such fun.
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Aloha Jim,
We appreciate you taking the time to leave us a review. They truly are mesmerizing. Mahalo Nui Loa for choosing Sea Paradise for your Manta adventures, we hope to see you for more fun soon!
Sydney_D, Sep 2023
The tour was great, but booking through aviator was awful. The booking email didn’t have the company name on the email and only had it in small print. The Google link did not go directly to the pickup location. Plus the the email didn’t have a phone number. I loved working with this company but the booking experience was not the greatest. I will definitely be more cautious booking through Viator. Sea Paradise was an amazing company, they might want to look for a different booking app.
Response from Host, Sep 2023
Thanks for your review of our manta ray tour, we are so sorry about the confusion with Viator booking. In the future you can certainly book directly with sea paradise on their website.
Deborah_B, Sep 2023
The manta rays are awesome and it was an amazing experience. The crew is incredibly professional and wonderful. I got nervous getting into the water as I had never been in the ocean at night before and the crew in the water was right there helping me in and to the ring - then it was great. Highly recommend!
Response from Host, Sep 2023
Mahalo Deborah for taking the time to leave us a great review. Our crew takes great care in making sure everyone has the best time possible. We are thrilled you enjoyed your manta ray experience and we hope to see you for more ocean adventures in the future.
Mahalo for choosing SeaParadise and A Hui Hou!
Kim_C, Aug 2023
A once, in a lifetime experience! The crew were helpful, and very knowledgeable about the history of the Manta Ray. A must when visiting!
Response from Host, Aug 2023
Aloha Kim, Mahalo for taking the time to leave us a great review. We are thrilled you enjoyed your time with the manta rays.
Mahalo for choosing SeaParadise and A hui Hou!
Matthew_K, Aug 2023
The fact that the mantas come literally within inches of your face is astounding! The crew were very knowledgeable and the boat was clean and spacious. Great to hear people yelling with delight through their snorkels.
Response from Host, Aug 2023
Mahalo Matthew for the excellent review of the manta ray tour! We are so happy it was such a magical experience seeing the manta rays up close. Please return again in the future.
Dustin_S, Jul 2023
This was an amazing experience. The crew made us feel safe and supported. I didn’t know what to expect, but the manta rays were inches from my face when in the water. It was amazing! They are beautiful creatures. This is a must of you visit the big island!
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Thanks Dustin for your excellent review! We are so pleased you enjoyed the manta tour with our crew. The mantas are truly a "one of a kind" experience. Hope to see you again, Aloha!
Deb_L, Jul 2023
Manga Ray snorkel with Sea Paradise was amazing! It’s a short boat ride to and from the snorkeling spot and once in the water, we saw manta rays within the first ten minutes. After that, they kept coming back and did several barrel rolls with in front of us. It was a beautiful sight to see. Ginger ale and chews were served on the boat for anyone who wasn’t feeling well. They also offered various other beverages. The captain and crew did a great job. The crew that was in the water with us was very informative and helped to calm anyone who was nervous.
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Mahalo Deb, for your review! We are so pleased that you had such a memorable experience viewing the Mantas and happy our crew was able to make you feel safe and comfortable. Aloha!
Kate_B, Jun 2023
First the good: the crew were wonderful, and the boat was clean, new, and comfortable.
But the manta ray experience itself was only okay. Yes, we got very close to some magnificent creatures - lots of them - but I wasn’t expecting such a “cattle boat” feel, and I didn’t realize we wouldn’t really be swimming with the rays - just hanging on to the light bar rafts that attracts the plankton that the rays eat. Be forewarned - the rays get *very* close to you. Within a foot.
Response from Host, Jun 2023
Thank you for taking the time for your review. We are sorry that you misunderstood the manta tour. We do have some procedures in place for your safety and for the safety of the manta rays. Our crew tries to make everyone safe and have an enjoyable experience with the manta rays. We hope you enjoyed the rest of your trip on the island.
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