Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
an expansive shop offering tours and certification courses; all boat dives are open to
snorkelers.
Sandwich Isle Divers
DIVING
smaller outfit run by a husband-and-wife team with decades of experience offers trips
that feel personalized due to a six-person maximum.
Kona Diving Company
DIVING
family-owned dive outfit that specializes in a more personalized diving experience.
Kona Honu Divers
DIVING
company that offers a big range of excursions, including nighttime manta-ray dives and
Nitrox trips.
BLACK WATER MAGIC
For many, a night snorkel or dive with Pacific manta rays is the capstone experien-
ce to their time in Hawaii. The ocean at night is spooky enough, but to see these
graceful, gentle creatures (with 8ft to 14ft wing spans) glide out of the darkness
and spin cartwheels as they feed is unforgettable. There are two main dive loca-
tions: the original site in front of the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and a more
northerly site near Garden Eel Cove. If you snorkel, you'll likely be put in the water
with a floating metal ladder-rig that you'll hang onto as mantas whir beneath you. A
powerful light is attached to the ladder rigs, which attracts a buffet of plankton
and, subsequently, mantas.
While clutching the rig you may feel a little like someone is holding your hand,
but it is illegal in the state of Hawaii to touch manta rays, and the floating ladders
are a good preventative tool that wards against accidental contact. Some kayak
outfits lead tours out for night manta dives that do not include the floating ladder
rigs. While it is possible to enter the water yourself from an access point near the
Sheraton, we do not recommend trying to do so. The currents in this area are un-
