Hawaii Island & Ocean Tours LLC.

I love the night manta Ray snorkeling tour.  I've done this now four straight years and highly recommend it to anyone.  Not strenuous and very relaxing.  The owner, captain and crew were all  very professional and charming.  This tour company does this every evening from the boat launch near the Marriott and last night there were two female manta's that were actively feeding on plankton and gave us a super show.  They are majestic and really  cool.  Next time I will buy a go-pro get some video  and post.  Needless to say I will be doing this again next year when I visit Kona again! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

we tour with this company not once, but twice and we are planning another trip to Kona soon and will be booking another tour with these folks. yes, there are bigger tours. These people treat you like family and are all about you having a great time! Dont over look them, book worh them today! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Excellent group. They are about getting you and a small group out to swim with these majestic creatures. Everything was excellent.

Reviewed on Yelp

A friend of mine went on their manta snorkel last year and recommended them to me. After doing my due diligence and researching several companies, I decided to go with them. First because their operation is so close to shore. No matter how safe a company is, bad things do happen at sea and the person I was going with is not a good swimmer so we wanted to make sure we could swim back or be easily rescued if anything goes wrong. They take you out right by Sheraton so there are plenty of people and pretty well lit. I was apprehensive about swimming out to the surfboard at first but Captain Jon even eased me into the water. The swim to the surfboard is only about 5 feet and you use pool noodles. The boat trip to the spot only took 2 mins as well so time with mantas is maximized.Our guide in the water, Ola, was awesome. He was very knowledgeable about the mantas and you could tell he has much respect for the ocean and the creatures. He was proactive about the group's needs, just be sure to speak out if you're not comfy! We saw about 4 mantas who got very up close and personal, brushing against us. It really was epic and life-changing! After our snorkel, Captain Jon pulled the zodiac up close to our group and there was a ladder to climb back up. So don't worry about  getting back into the boat. Back at shore we were treated to hot drinks and snacks. Honestly, I felt the entire snorkel was way worth more than they charged. This is really bang for your buck! My cousin went on the snorkel with a big group with one of the big companies and didn't enjoy as much because some lady was kicking in his face. It was definitely nicer to have a small group. I highly recommend this company and will definitely support them again when I get a chance.Tip: parking is a bit hard so plan to be on site earlier than check in. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Really can’t say enough about how fantastic this experience was. The guide was very knowledgeable and other boats even came over as we had the best position. Hot chocolate and cookies after was the cherry on top! (: More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Dylan at Hawaii Island & Ocean Tours provided the most spectacular​ experience​. This was a life-changing​ tour. Swimming with 14ft manta rays simply electrified our lives. This is a must-do​ for any ocean adventurer. It was magical. Five stars all around! We would​ go again in a heartbeat​. Here's a short youtube video of our experience. Simply Magic! youtu.be/yTaR7bXm6BQ More...

Reviewed on Yelp

If you are visiting the island the manta ray snorkeling with Hawaii Island and Ocean Tours is the best way to spend your money while you are here. I live on the island. Whenever friends and family visit they are on top of our to do list. Small groups, only six people at a time, make it much more enjoyable than the large tour boats. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

We had an unforgettable time last night at our Manta Ray Night Snorkel Tour. Our guides were great and took extra time to make sure we had the best experience. We left the dock early and headed out to the manta ray snorkel site. The site is only five minutes away and we quickly got in the water. We saw a few fly-bys but that wasn’t enough for our guides. We got back in the boat and searched for more. When we got back in, we were able to share some quality time with Vicky and Queenie who swam around and came within inches of us. More...

Reviewed on Facebook

Enjoyed them so much. Last year went on their night snorkel to se the Manta Rays. Found it 1 of the most moving experiences of my life. Enjoyed it so much that went again last month ❤️. 5 stars for sure More...

Reviewed on Facebook

This was an amazing experience! Everyone that we that works for this company made us feel welcomed and comfortable. Dylan our in the water naturalist did an awesome job of taking us to where the plankton was so that we had amazing up close experiences with the manta rays. We saw 4 or 5 manta rays for an extended length of time and they come so close. They provided wetsuits which other companies did not and cocoa and coffee afterwards. I can't recommend this company enough! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

My wife and I did this tour in 2018 and we went again in 2019.  Let me tell you...a night and day experience!  I did not think it could get any better than 2018. ..2019's experience literally blew our mind!  I must say that it would be impossible to get a better manta ray experience then we had on our last trip...IMPOSSIBLE!!!  We are talking about one of time experiences here...one that is remembered for a lifetime!Okay, there were about 8 manta rays circle below us off and on.  I counted 8 in one shot!  They kept coming and coming and coming right to the surface of the board we were holding onto.  They would literally skim the board and your face and body over and over and over again.  I literally cannot count the number of times this happened.  If I took a guess, I am not exaggerating with the number 50!  Some manta rays would do this looping affect 3-4 times in a row, gobbling up all the plankton.  Absolutely breath-taking!  Truly truly the moment is surreal!I have been to all the Hawaiian islands many times and I have to say my top three favorite activities on Hawaii is:#1) Playing with lava and watching it enter the ocean#2) The manta-ray experience#3) The Stairway to Heaven (on Oahu)Don't miss this!  My wife hates the water and I was impressed that she took the initiative to get on the boat and then into the water!  She almost did not get off the boat, but she was way thankful she did.  This is the type of experience you tell your children and your children's children!! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Very friendly staff. Loved that this was a small group rather than a huge boatload. Had a great time with the mantas. Highly recommended.

Reviewed on Facebook

This was such an amazing experience.I'm not a swimmer so was very anxious about getting in the ocean but this was very easy. You jump out of the small boat with a noodle (probably the hardest part for me but it was very smooth with the noddle) and only have to swim about 5-10 feet to get to the guide who is handling a converted surfboard. For the rest of the time, your only job is to hold on to the rope on the surfboard while floating and enjoy the experience as the guide takes you around smoothly. The rays can get up right to your arms / body / face (but barely touch you) so it's incredible thing to watch from up close. We got lucky and saw multiple of them for long periods of time. Overall, great support & education from the employees and would highly recommend going with them, especially since it's a small group tour (only 6 people). More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Highly recommend the night snorkel with Manta Ray.

Reviewed on Facebook

The manta ray tour was incredible. The staff were very knowledgeable and experienced. I especially enjoyed that the tour was kept to only 6 people. It felt much more personable and we got more attention with questions or issues. I highly recommend this experience with Hawaii Island and Ocean Tours. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

My family and I went with Hawaii island and ocean tours on the late night manta Rey excursion . They were professional , affordable and gave us the best possible showing ! Got to see big Bertha and Vicky the 2 biggest manta's on the island Thank you ! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

First time visitor to Hawaii - and my head is still spinning from everything I have seen - but this has been THE highlight of the trip. Our first attempt was cancelled due to choppy water, which was disappointing, but I appreciated the concern for everyone's safety and the staff was very accommodating getting us booked for the following night. The staff was professional and helpful, the boat ride was short and comfortable. And the experience was otherworldly. There just aren't words to describe the experience of watching the manta rays do their underwater ballet right under you. On several occasions the rays got so close I found myself holding my breath so I wouldn't disturb them. It felt like such a privilege to see this in person.If you have the opportunity to do this tour you should absolutely go. This is a great tour company with excellent and friendly staff that is intimately familiar with the rays that make their nightly appearances here. I just cannot recommend this highly enough. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Absolute incredible time! I want to thank the whole crew from Hayley greeting us at the harbor to Captain Mike and Dylan the safety swimmer. They made us feel very relaxed and comfortable throughout the entire trip.Their knowledge of the area and mantas really impressed us especially my visiting daughter and her boyfriend from Northern Ireland.Only complaint were the nautical jokes by Dylan and the other safety swimmers. Need to get them up to date with fresh material.We had a wonderful time-mahalo gang! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

I went again in December with visiting friends and have new advice (see previous review for more details).  I previously recommended the sunset tour, but on my second trip, the sunset trip was so crowded with boats that HI& OT, as well as other small manta tour operators, all stayed very inshore.  The issue with that is the halocline, where the cold fresh water bubbling up along the shore is mixing with the warm salt water and the visibility gets blurry.  Our previous trip further out from shore had much better visibility.  My friends still loved their first manta trip anyway, but for me, my previous trip was way better.  So now I recommend waiting to go out until later in the night when the big boats are gone (they usually only do one trip a night) and the smaller operators can go out a little further from the shoreline. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

I would totally recommend Hawai’i Island and Ocean Tours! It was a much more intimate group than the other catamaran companies and significantly less expensive. All companies go to the same spot, so there’s really no difference in success rate and Hawai’i Island and Ocean Tours caps their group size at 6 whereas the bigger companies had 20-30 people all holding on to the float at the same time. I loved not having to worry about bumping into people in the water! The whole crew from booking, check-in, captain, and guide were easy-going and made us all very comfortable. Definitely rent a GoPro from them if you don’t have a water camera, you won’t want to miss capturing this experience. I live on Oahu and fully intend on doing this experience again with this company. A great experience with nice people...and I would rather support smaller local businesses anyway! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

The best service! I used Groupon for Manta Ray snorkeling. Our tour guide refused to tell us to have lowest expectation. We might not see any in some cases but the experience is too good to be true. I encounter 4 Mantas and they even touched me. I got it that close. I think i was in water for like 45 mins, then I was with Mantas for like minimum 15-20 mins. Improvement- i hope they show or test our snorkeling goggle before we went down. Mine was a bit lose and there is no way to fix it in water. It could have been better if i found out on the boat and got it right. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

We had the most wonderful time doing the manta Ray night swim.  Definitely a "bucket list" item.  The service was excellent and the adventure was spectacular.  Definitely go for the later time 9:30+, less boats to compete with your viewing. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Our Lyft driver who picked us up from the airport recommended doing the manta ray snorkeling and said it's a once in a lifetime experience, so this was one of the first activities I booked. I called this company and booked directly with them vs going through Groupon and they were super friendly over the phone and easy to book with. Got an email confirmation right away. My husband and I showed up at 8 pm sharp like the instructions said and signed our waivers and got the quick explanation/instructions from Haley and got into our wetsuits. I'm 24 weeks pregnant and had no issues getting into the wetsuit or on and off of the boat or into the water. The boat captain was Johnny and the guy in the water with us was Ola. We floated in the water holding on to the light board for about 40 minutes and saw the most amazing manta rays. They literally swim right up underneath you, so close they are almost touching you! It was truly breathtaking!! They're so graceful and gentle looking and the water was so peaceful with them swimming underneath us. My husband wished he had his go pro with him to capture it. Ola knew all about the manta rays and shared interesting facts with us about them and even knew their names.  It was seriously so cool. At the end we went back on the boat and they took us back in and had hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. Loved the experience and would totally do it again with this company. Thank you for the amazing experience! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Highly highly highly recommend the manta ray snorkel with this company! We lived in Hilo for 4 years and always wanted to experience the manta rays but a staycation in Waikoloa brought us to finally do this. We booked the night before and luckily there was still an availability for a party of 5. We called to book instead of booking online and was told about a special going on. Original price online is $111/person, the telephone special that was given to us was $140/couple (2 people). Since there was 5 of us the 5th guest was still given the $70 price. Check in was conducted with Hayley - we signed waivers, given wet suits and instructions about the tour. We would be given 40 minutes of time in the water with the mantas and it would take about a 5 minute boat ride to and from the site. Ola and Randy were our guides on the boat and in the water. The ride out was smooth and throughout the tour we felt safe. Ola was very knowledgeable about the mantas and could even differentiate each one by name via their personal characteristics (almost like tattoos). There are not enough words to describe the experience in its entirety, the mantas are so magical and are swimming right up to you. When we got back to land, Hayley had warm beverages and snacks ready for us. Mahalo mahalo for the great experience and taking care of the locals! We will definitely be back! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Had an amazing time on our manta dive!! The crew was awesome, and of course the mantas too! This is where you’d wanna go to check out ocean tours!

Reviewed on Facebook

Incredible experience that is something everyone should do at least once in their life. We were lucky enough to get to see 3 Manta Rays at the same time! Recommend that you go as late as possible at night (we went at 10pm) so there are fewer boats in the water trying to attract the Manta Rays.Free hot drinks and snacks after the event were a nice touch as well! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Amazing hour watching a manta ray do loops right underneath us!  I didn't exactly know what to expect;  we had a grand show.  The three employees just couldn't be nicer; Hailey st check in, Ola our dive master, and Mikey our Captain did a perfect job. The smaller boat and smaller group makes for a more personal experience than some of the big gang boats that look like they hold 30 at a time; this was far better. Can't recommend enough! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Great experience seeing the Manta Rays feeding and barrel rolling right under us. The crew was the best. Knowledgeable, funny and they were always making sure everyone was ok and having fun. Highly recommended

Reviewed on Facebook

This was one of the coolest excursions if ever done! I am 17 and I went on a trip to Hawaii with my high school and part of the trip we were able to pick excursions we wanted to do. I was so excited to go on this excursion as I have never seen manta rays before, and it was totally worth it! the first day we went we were unable to snorkel due to high waves which made it unsafe so swim. We came back the next day and the water was still pretty choppy but we were able to snorkel and I was amazed to how many manta rays we saw and how close they got to us! we were laying flat with the water and some of the manta rays got so close the almost touched me! Overall I would highly recommend this to anyone you definitely get there moneys worth! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Hands down the BEST experience I've ever had in my entire 42 yr life! Life has forever changed!! Most majestic and peaceful animals you'll ever see up close and personal. Manga Rays literally skimming against your skin. I was lucky enough to actually see breaching Mantas at the end of our excursion. AMAZING!!!! Great boat crew, friendly and informative. DO IT!! Mahalo! More...

Reviewed on Facebook

First off thank you for your kindness and hospitality before during and after the dive.  The dive was memorable and will be recommended to anyone we know that comes to the big island.  It's a great price for what the experience is and make sure you book directly with company.  They put in the extra effort to make sure you have a wonderful time. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Best money I've spent on the island! John Mike and Sam were perfect. We couldn't of asked for more. I was initially hesitant because I got a great Groupon deal, and people always say "you get what you pay for". This was not one of those instances, I don't see how the other tours could match them. Family of 6 under $400,  Memories: priceless More...

Reviewed on Yelp

this was such a wonderful experience with this company. they did not follow the crowd and we were rewarded w/the only manta that night, which we were able to enjoy until the others figured it out and interrupted our peaceful encounter but we still were able to enjoy the manta

Reviewed on Facebook

Excellent way of snorkeling with manta. We took a night trip. We are pretty average swimmers so we were bit scared initially,  but it turned out very easy. They had wetsuit for us . Also they gave us additional life-vest. Everyone got a noodle as well to keep their legs up in the ocean. Boat ride was hardly a minute or two. Once we reached at the place ,  we put on our snorkel gear and we had to hold on to the board which is floating around in the water , which is probably few feet away from the boat. So not a long distance to swim. Around 40 min in water , all the time we were holding on to the ropes attached to the center board which had lights going into the sea. It was extremely easy and i loved it. Mantas came so close to us. May be even in inches . I had my go pro on and i have some exceptional videos out of it. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

A great small boat tour. Very happy with the personalized service. All questions answered. Very kind staff. Hot drinks and snacks provided after the event. Very professional. You won't be disappointed. The mantas were amazing. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

If traveling to Kona this adventure is a must!  Hawaii Island and Ocean tours is the best company to host your adventure.  They only take 6 people out at a time and this almost guarantees that you will have a close encounter with the Mantas .  The staff is very professional and knowledgeable.  This was the highlight of our trip so far. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Absolutely Amazing Once in a Lifetime Experience!! The crew were informative, knowledgeable and so personable. We were so incredibly impressed with the whole experience. A must do on the list of things to do in Hawaii! I wish we could do it every night until we go home! Groupon offered a killer deal. You can even mention it when booking and they'll match the deal! So worth it! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Wow!!! Best. Experience. Ever. John and Sam were thee best. my cousin and i did the dolphin encounter in the morning back in september. They were even nice enough and gave us the option to continue the experience with a boat ride and i think stop at a beach to snorkel, but unfortunately we werent able to extend the expereience. The morning dolphin excursion was so much fun! I dont Know how to swim and was scared kinda just jumping in and thought I wouldn't keep up or lose everyone in the group, but they provided life jackets, floaties, and were very descriptive on how to get on and off the boat and told us where to look and where to swim out. We saw almost well over a hundred dolphins and at one point we just drove on the boat and coasted with a bunch of them while they jumped and followed us back to shore. This is definitely one excursrion you need to try! You literally are swimming with the dolphins. You think its just a couple but once  you look down into the water there's so many. Thank you Hawaii Island and Ocean Tours for one of the most memorable experiences ever. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

From start to finish this was an amazing adventure. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly. We saw three mantas, and they did barrel rolls in front of us the entire time. I don't think this could've gone any better, I highly recommend it. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Absolutely loved this small tour, we went on the late 10:30 pm manta snorkel and found the crew to be friendly and informative. We were able to see two resident mantas right away and during the entire float which was incredible! Such an ethereal experience. I was a bit nervous beforehand, but the crew put me at ease right away. I cannot say enough about the small tour size too...I appreciated that we weren’t packed in around the float board like sardines...it felt almost like a private charter! � More...

Reviewed on Facebook

My friend and I did a manta ray tour. I would highly recommend this company. The groups they take out are small which keeps it nice and personal. The captain, in-water guide and coordinator on the docks were all great! I felt very safe and confident during this whole experience. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Amazing experience! Saw at least 10 manta rays, might have been a few swimming around the same area. It was such a thrilling experience. I don't know about you guys, but something about the ocean at night just scares me a little. I was a little freaked out, but after getting into the water and floating on the noodle, it was so relaxing. The service was great, from the person who checks you in, to the one that drives the boat, and the one in charge of us in the water! They let us stayed a little longer, knowing that being in the 6 pm time slot, manta don't come out until the sun is completely down! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

This is the best tour hands down.  Our guides Mike and Mike were awesome!  They initially took us to a spot with several other boats and there were a few mantas.  We would have been happy with that, but they had us get back on the boat and took us to a more secluded area, with less swimmers and better visibility.  We had 4 or 5 large mantarays that came right up to us and swam with us for the 45 minute duration of the swim . It was magical. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

This is probably my favorite Hawaii activity I have ever done. My brother and I booked the night snorkel with the manta rays. Im not going to lie I was a little scared and nervous before going. We got there early and went to the bar above the water to see what we are getting ourselves into. The water was perfect temperature and our guides were awesome. The tour groups are pretty small so you can have an intimate experience. The manta rays are HUGE!!! They come close to you and swim up to you and thing youre holding on to. They are really sweet and big gentle giants. Its really breathtaking to see these huge creatures close up and personal to you. I will never forget this experience and I recommend it to everyone. Thank you for an amazing time. More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Thank you for a magical experience! We booked  a Saturday evening at 8pm but unfortunately did not see any Mantas. They were so kind and honored their policy to book again which we did the following night at 6. We ended up seeing over 7 mantas swimming directly under us and up to us. The crew was wonderful (shout out to Sam). Overall an incredible experience I'd recommend to everyone visiting. They only take 6 people at a time which was very intimate. We saw boats with over 30 people which seemed way too overwhelming. A must do on the big island. More...

Reviewed on Yelp