Manta ray night snorkeling made it into my top 5 best life experiences list. It beat out bungee jumping in Switzerland, windsurfing in Maui, and snowboarding in the Sahara. I like adventure but anyone can snorkel with manta rays.
And they should. Here is the manta ray night snorkeling guide you need to overcome your fears (if you have them) and what to expect once you plunge into the dark waters off of Kona, Hawaii.
Manta Ray Snorkel and Dive Guide: Read before you book!
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Manta Ray Tour Operators:
Keauhou Bay (Manta Village) Manta Ray Tour with Sea Paradise:
Manta Heaven night snorkel or dive with Kona Ocean Adventures:
Manta Heaven night dive with Kona Honu Divers:
Manta Ray Advocates on the Kohala Coast:
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Here is our favorite Island of Hawaii Tour Operators, researched and tested by Erica and Jordan:
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GoPro HERO 8 or Underwater Camera Settings for Night Time Filming
* Resolution/FPS: 4K/24p
* Lens: SuperView
* Hypersmooth: On
* Bit Rate: High
* Shutter: 1/48
* White Balance: Auto
* ISO Min: 100
* ISO Max: 800
* Sharpness: Medium
* Color: GoPro
The ISO is the biggest factor, take it off auto and change the max to 800. Adjust the ISO as needed per your underwater camera.
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[Music] [Music] This shit’s good I don’t that mean just Single or taken or what looks good nice Snorkeling with manta rays It was absolutely thrilling experience For me Erika Dan get to go somebody had To stay home with Henry that’s fine That’s fine so I made this video show Her whether what she missed out on But I’m looking forward to taking her Back to go doing it yeah so snorkeling Manta rays 85 to 95 percent success rate When you go out it gets a little timid a Ting but this is what you can expect When you go snorkeling with manta rays On the Kona Coast of Hawaii I’m Erica And I’m Jordan We’re from the Hawaii vacation guide and This is your guide to snorkeling manta Rays and the Kona Coast Oh good do you think I’m up in Kota Coffee country right now Erica and Henry Are sleeping because it’s seven o’clock It’s just like passengers bedtime so I Get to go snorkeling with the manta rays So go into a night dive right now sorts Of 7:30 up in Kona coffee country Lea Said it’s it’s like 20-minute drive down To the harbour I’m going with oceanic Hawaii should be a lot of fun I’ve been Looking forward to night diving or night Snorkeling with manta rays for like ten Years since I first heard about it so
I’m really excited to go so off we go Down the mountain all right your new Question manta rays how big are these Things in Kona the Kona Coast get really Big they average about 12 feet to 15 Feet wingspan they can get up to 15 to 18 feet wingspans they’re the largest Manta rays in the world okay how far Away from you are they inches know you Like you they came right by our nose You’re not allowed to touch them cuz it Could hurt them but like it’s hard not To touch them because you’re so close Did anyone get touched by one on Accident yeah one time like some people Spins kind of touched on but they just Got a maneuver around it they use sonar So they can totally tell where you’re at It’s really cool just such graceful Animals okay wetsuit is on made it here Just in time last one to check in bad News though last report from the last Trip they didn’t see any memories up North so now we’re going down south his Last boat saw two of them so hopefully We see some be just my luck right that’s A may rise but we’ll see what happens Alpha both tonight tell people should be Fun you go at night are you wearing a Wetsuit is it cold no should I say is at 75 to 80 degrees so it’s warm but since It’s night they do give you a wetsuit Which is really nice so what I recommend Is bring like a you already have your
Warm change of clothes so you’re going To change out of those bring a bag Because you’re gonna store that on the Boat okay so okay keep all your personal Belongings together but that’s really All you need to bring is this warm Clothes and they provide the mask the Fins in the wetsuit for you [Music] From what I understand you get in the Water with the light and the light Attracts them yeah exactly so this you Hang onto a paddleboard and there’s LED Lights on the paddleboard shining down And plankton gets attractive the lights And then the manta rays come to are the Plankton zapped okay yeah and it’s Somewhat natural all the resorts around There have all these lights that shine On the water so plankton has already Attracted those lights so that’s why It’s kind of a natural Mantaray feeding Area for the last lights this is 70s so We hang on to these handles right here Six people on each side you’ll hang on And what we call the Superman pose okay So what is Superman look like wings Flying legs are out flat Want to have that happening is so that You know making a barrier for the Matarese to come up underneath board Right there you’re not kicking the manta Rays at no time is it okay for us to try To touch man rays we see you trying to
Touch the manta rays that’s just you’re Gonna go right back to the boat because We don’t do that alright it’s not Because we want to micromanage you guys It’s for the protection of the Mariner Raise themselves Okay how how long was the ball right I You were gone like a total of like three Hours I feel like how long was the boat Ride out of you where they are so where You go out from like what – our company Use is pretty important so I went out From the harbor which is between the two Monterey snorkeling points so there’s a North Area called Manta Haven and then There’s Manta village right you cannot So because we went from the harbour and End up going south is about 40 minute Boat ride which is long yeah but you can Also pick a tour company that leaves Right from Manta village where the Sheratons at and now you’re talking just A couple minutes which is really nice Because then you like stay warm you have More time in the water and I’m even the One I went on Hawaii oceanic they’re Moving their operation from the harbor Down to Mantha village Party Utley Guys our daughter Let’s hang loose over there They got sent over there There’s no bedding just do it [Music]
Got a noodle you got it [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Wow well how long are you in the water For we’re in the water I think for 30 to 45 minutes but I think it also depends On if you leave from man to village and Then also like if you see manta rays or Not I think they’ll keep you there Longer try guarantee you aside Did it feel completely safe or were you Nervous at all I was a little nervous I Mean you’re going in the water with like 15 foot you know animals they’re cousins To sharks all right yeah all right they Don’t have any teeth barb stingrays Nothing like that so they’re like super Safe super friendly animals but yeah it Gets intimidating before you go in Because they’re so big so noise out Guard oh it’s like a flat is this Blackness in the water well once again The white which is nice with Manta Village is that it’s only like 15 to 20 Feet deep so with the light shine you Can actually see the bottom of the Bottom of the ocean I’m the Cove shower
Time oh very well we’re leaving the Harbor right now that was this an Awesome trip got to see three manta rays And they did numerous like triple barrel Rolls underneath our board it was so Cool ah also a really nice warm feeling Good I’m excited that was that was what Worth it okay final question Jordan yeah Go for it how guilty do you feel leaving Me at home while you were having this Incredible life-changing experience yes This we saw three mana rays on that trip Yeah I feel pretty bad Heather like Contain my excitement but I was pretty Good II when I came back was it nice Yeah yeah it was great but so it’s good Reason for us to go back to Kona and Hang head check it out so I had a great Time and I definitely want to go back it Was such a thrilling experience to go See manta rays like especially out in The wild like that Yeah and Erica needs to go yeah yeah so For more information and more details on Manta rays and the costs and all that Stuff head to the Hawaii vacation guide Comm slash manta ray and you’ll get a Full guide I want to expect when you go Snorkeling the manta rays