Sunlight on Water Manta Snorkel Rate (SOW2) These giant rays gracefully glide, twirl and do somersaults to swoop up the tiny little food particles, sometimes within a foot or so of the snorkelers! You, too, can witness these spectacular ocean creatures in their magical underwater ballet in an event you'll never forget! 3.5 hours You'll be fitted with a wetsuit and snorkel gear, and just after sunset slip into the water and hold onto the floating platform which has lights that attract the plankton. This vessel goes to the manta location near the Kona Airport, which consistently attracts the MOST mantas. This Manta Ray Night Snorkel tour is done on a 40' Coast Guard certified vessel that is fast and comfortable and is well-laid out. SUNLIGHT ON WATER MANTA SNORKEL 40 foot speedboat from Honokohau Harbor We offer two different locations with three different tour operators for this experience! Select your date using the calendar on this page and we will show available space for each boat on your date. This is a MUST DO activity and one of the best / most reliable places in the world to participate in this fantastic activity! This concentrates the plankton near the snorkelers, and the leads the mantas to perform a water-based acrobatic dance as they swoop in circles just below the amazed observers. Lights are placed on the ocean bottom in about 30 feet of water, and snorkelers float at the surface holding onto a raft that has more lights shining down. They truly are gentle giants вЂ“ most of the mantas found along the Kona coast have a 'wingspan' of 8-13 feet! There are two spots along the Kona Coast where mantas congregate in the early evening. Swimming with them is completely safe for both humans and for the manta rays. Their mouths are designed like a giant funnel to filter plankton. They don't have any stinging spines on their tail. With their giant mouths constantly open, they glide through the water and filter these tiny creatures.Manta rays are often called 'the butterflies of the sea' вЂ¦ they are shy, harmless, and graceful. Some people find that they get chilled after being in the water at night, so we recommend you bring warmer dry clothes and even a hat.Visitors to the Kona Coast of the Big Island have an opportunity to participate in one of the most unique ocean adventures in the world! Manta rays frequent the warm waters of the rocky volcanic coastline in search of plankton, their primary food source. What to bring: any personal dive gear, certification card, camera, towel and sense of adventure. What's included: tanks, weights, snacks, water and a professional, experienced dive guide Where: Honokohau Marina near the mountain-side (mauka) boat ramp Times: Varies based on sunset (1-tank or 2-tank available) We're pretty confident you'll come out of the water and exclaim that it's the coolest thing you've ever seen.

If you're snorkeling, you might find yourself belly to belly with a 10-foot manta. If you're lucky, your light collects lots of plankton and a manta flies right over your head. And everyone watches the manta rays perform their night-time ballet, swooping and flying through the water column. Snorkelers gather on the surface with bright lights shining down from rafts. Once it's dark, divers gather and settle in the sand around the campfire they hold up their dive lights. We don't want to kill coral while we're watching mantas!Д«efore sunset, dive guides put a crate of the brightest lights available (currently 33,000 lumens) to accumulate plankton. A natural sand channel allows divers to sit or kneel on the bottom without impacting the environment. Why the airport? Because it is a good, reliable site for plankton accumulation (mantas show up about 90% of the time). And thus, a show was born.ДЄt a site just off the airport, dive operators built an underwater вЂњcampfireвЂќ using large boulders. If divers could congregate large amounts of plankton, they could encourage manta rays to stay and feed in one area.

When they held an underwater torch in place, plankton gathered in its beam. Many years ago, divers discovered that light attracts plankton.

Manta rays feed on tiny marine organisms called plankton. And Pacific Rim Divers has been taking people diving with manta rays for 25 years. The Kona Manta Ray Night Dive is one of the most popular activities in Hawaii.

Manta ray night snorkel kona