Kona Manta Ray Night Snorkel: Three Minutes From Keauhou Bay

The Kona manta ray night snorkel is the one thing on the Big Island that people still describe in detail years later. After dark, lights go into the water off Keauhou, the light pulls in plankton, and the plankton pulls in manta rays. They loop and barrel-roll a few feet under your mask with their mouths wide open, feeding, while you float on the surface and watch.

This page covers the manta tour we book, what it costs, who should skip it, and the one detail that matters more than anything else on a night ocean trip: how far your boat has to go to reach the mantas.

Why this made our list

Distance is the first reason. The manta site off Keauhou is a 3-minute boat ride from Keauhou Bay. Much of the manta fleet runs about 30 minutes each way to get to a feeding site, at night, in a boat that rolls. Three minutes means less time bobbing in the dark, fewer queasy stomachs, and more of your evening spent in the water with the mantas instead of on the way to them.

Group size is the second. The boat takes 17 guests at most. On a crowded night at the manta site, the size of your group decides whether you get a clear view down the light or a face full of someone else’s fins.

The third is the setup in the water. You float on a lighted board with a flotation belt for about 30 minutes, with 300,000 lumens of dive light shining down into the water to draw the plankton. Guides are in the water with you the whole time, not watching from the deck. For a first-timer who is nervous about dark water, that last part is the difference between enjoying it and counting the minutes.

Why this operator

Hawaii Manta Ray runs the tour we send friends and family on. We compared the Kona manta boats on three things: how long the ride is, how many people share the light, and how the crew handles nervous swimmers. The big boats out of Honokōhau Harbor carry more people on a longer ride. The dive boats are for certified divers who want to watch from the bottom; we cover the best of those on our Kona scuba diving page. For snorkelers who want the shortest ride, a small group and guides in the water, this is the one. It also comes with the Manta Guarantee: no mantas, and you ride again free.

What the Kona manta ray night snorkel is like

The whole trip runs about an hour and a half from check-in. Here is how the night goes.

1. Check in at the van. The check-in van sits by the Outrigger resort at Keauhou. Arrive in your swimsuit. This is where you pick up a wetsuit, life jacket or GoPro if you want to rent one.
2. Gear up. Your mask, snorkel and flotation are included. The crew gets you sorted before you head to the boat.
3. Three minutes to the mantas. The boat leaves Keauhou Bay and reaches the manta site almost as soon as you sit down.
4. Into the water. You slip in, put on your flotation belt and take hold of the lighted board. Face down, legs floating behind you at the surface, and you are in position.
5. The mantas arrive. The lights draw the plankton up into the beam and the mantas come up to feed, sometimes passing within inches of the board. You get about 30 minutes in the water with guides beside you.
6. Short ride home. Three minutes back to the bay, still dripping and still talking about it.

Prices and what you get

The manta snorkel costs $118 per adult and $99 per child, plus tax and booking fees. That covers the boat ride, mask, snorkel, flotation, the lighted board and the in-water guides. Wetsuit, life jacket and GoPro rentals are extra at check-in. If you want the full math, including the rentals and tip, Hawaii Manta Ray has a breakdown of what a manta night snorkel costs.

Two policies make this an easy booking to commit to. If no mantas show up, the Manta Guarantee gets you a free second trip. And you get a 100% refund if you cancel up to 72 hours before departure.

Who it’s for (and who should skip it)

It suits anyone from age 4 to 80 who is a confident swimmer and comfortable with their face in the water at night. You do not have to swim far or fast; you float on a belt and hold a board. Families do this all the time, and there is a good guide to snorkeling with manta rays with kids if you are deciding whether yours are ready.

Skip it if dark open water makes you panic, even with a flotation belt and a guide beside you. Skip it if you cannot put your face in the water. If you are certified and would rather sit on the bottom and look up, the night manta dive is the better fit. And if you are staying in Hilo, know that Keauhou is roughly a two-hour drive each way; our Kona vs Hilo guide explains why most people do the manta night from a Kona-side base.

Where to check in and how to get there

Check-in is at the van by the Outrigger resort at Keauhou, and the boat leaves from Keauhou Bay. Keauhou is south of Kailua-Kona, about 25 minutes from the Kona airport (KOA). Hawaii Manta Ray has directions for getting to Keauhou Bay. Current departure times are on the booking page.

Best time to go

Time of year. Any month. The mantas feed off Keauhou year round, and sightings are very reliable, though they are wild animals and nothing about wildlife is certain. That is what the Manta Guarantee is for.

Time of night. Take a later departure if you can. Later trips tend to see more mantas and quieter water. For more on timing, read Hawaii Manta Ray’s guide to the best time to see manta rays in Kona, and for the island as a whole, our best time to visit the Big Island.

Local tips before you book

• Book it early in your trip. If the mantas skip your night, you want spare nights left to use the guarantee.
• Choose a later departure. More mantas and calmer water, on average.
• Rent the wetsuit if you run cold. Thirty minutes of floating still at night chills most people, even in Hawaiʻi.
• Keep your legs up. Float flat with your feet at the surface. Kicking down blocks the light and the mantas’ path.
• Do not reach out. The mantas will come within inches. Let them; do not touch them.
• Make a day of Keauhou. The Kealakekua Bay Zodiac snorkel checks in by the same bay, so a morning on the reef and a night with the mantas fit neatly into one day.

The verdict

If you do one thing on the Big Island, make it the Kona manta ray night snorkel, and do it with the shortest ride on the coast. Three minutes from Keauhou Bay, 17 guests at most, guides in the water the whole time and a free second trip if the mantas do not show. Book a later departure, wear your swimsuit, and keep your legs up. Our manta ray night snorkel guide has more if you want to read up before you go.