Kona Deluxe Snorkel: Early Morning Exploration at Cook's Monument and Puuhonua O Honaunau
4.8
223 Ratings
Kailua-Kona
Experience the early morning beauty of Cook's Monument and Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park with our Kona Deluxe Snorkel. Explore crystal clear waters, encounter tropical fish, and maybe even spot dolphins or whales!
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- 78-7138 Kaleiopapa St - Enjoy the two best snorkeling locations in one trip. Providing guests with snorkeling, as well as cultural, and environmental information relevant to the island of Hawaii and its history. Your captain will also show you several spectacular, unique volcanic geological phenomena including sea caves and lava tubes.
KEALAKEKUA BAY: Kealakekua Bay is a well-known historical site and underwater marine sanctuary. The large bay is situated to ensure calm waters year round and one of our best Kona snorkeling tours. The waters here are clear, offering great visibility. Kealakekua Bay is home to over 100 different varieties of tropical fish. As we leave the bay, we may even spot some dolphin.
HONAUNAU BAY: Located off Pu’
uhonua O H
d
naunau National Historic Park often referred to as the
Place of Refuge
is a famous snorkeling location. Honaunau Bay is a uniquely beautiful. Snorkeling here is quite different than snorkeling Kealakekua Bay and the waters have exceptional visibility most of the year. You get to explore beautiful coral shelves with white sandy patches in between. It is here that you might get to see a Honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle).
Must have swim experience.
What's Included
- Full snorkel gear provided, including mask, fins, snorkel, and flotation aids
- Guided by friendly, knowledgeable experts
- Refreshments provided, featuring snacks, fruit, juice, and bottled water
What's Not Included
- Gratuities for your crew always appreciated
- Please bring towel and cover-up
- Use reef safe sunscreen (zinc based is recommended- no oxybenzone and octinoxate. lotion, no spray)
Additional Information
Start your day with us to be one of the first to experience the aquatic allure near Cook’s Monument and Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park each morning. Our departure is scheduled early, enabling us to immerse you into the water before it gets crowded. At this hour, the Kona coast waters are typically lucid, offering impressive visibility. Encounter over 100 distinct species of tropical fish, and keep an eye out for the occasional reef shark or sea turtle in these vibrant snorkeling locations bustling with marine life.
Depending on the day, we might add a dash of sightseeing alongside the coast, offering sights of sea caves and lava tubes. Stay lucky, and you could even spot a group of dolphins or a whale, as they inhabit this area throughout the year (although, humpback whales are seasonal wanderers!)
- Minors must be accompanied by an adult at all times
- Minimum age requirement is 6yrs old
- Must be under 285lbs
- Must be comfortable swimming in the ocean
- Electronic Waiver required to be signed prior to tour
- Must be able to climb up a metal ladder to get back in the boat
- Our vessels are RHIBS (zodiac style boats & seating is on a pontoon).
- We have full discretion to refuse service to guests based on attire, behavior, physical fitness & condition
- Restroom facilities not available on boat
- Not recommended for travelers with neck problems
Location
78-6831 Ali‘i Dr
Ali‘i Drive
To Check in: Keauhou Shopping Center, 78-6831 Alii Drive, Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i 96740, Space F-146. Located in courtyard behind Tropics, KTA & Bianelli's. From there, you will drive to Keauhou Bay where the crew will greet you for the tour.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(223 Ratings)
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Susan_m
May 14, 2024
Best snorkeling experience! - Memorable moments were numerous! The highlights were for us - the thrilling ride out to each site, the history from Captains Dennis and his first mate throughout this morning excursion, and the pretty good equipment provided...The reef and the fish were numerous and the seas calm for snorkeling. We liked the detail to safety from our Captain, yet his personal experiences and warm vibes made this day even better! We were served snacks, water and juice throughout the day, and the ginger chews were a nice touch! Just one small issue with 2 separate stops, one at the Dolphin Adventure Office, to collect our gear, then again at the pier...our driver was nice enough to wait for us, but it would have been perfect to collect our equipment right at the Zodiak. The tour, nevertheless, got a 10! I would definitely recommend for visitors wanting a pretty cool snorkle outing!
Review provided by Viator
Xsincerelysarahx
May 14, 2024
Great experience for couples and friends! - This was an amazing experience! Captain Cook had a ton of fish and was awesome to see. I highly recommend the 7 AM tour, a lot less crowds and so many fish. Dennis and Kalia were awesome! They were super attentive to everyone and showed how much they love their jobs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lucaskg9361jx
May 9, 2024
4 person snorkel and boat ride with friends and Captain Dennis - Our group was a small one that went out with Captain Dennis. He was very informative, entertaining and helpful. He gave us a lot of the history or the sites we saw and gave us a trip we will not forget. He made us feel safe and comfortable in the water and the snacks and drinks were also a nice treat.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tom_s
Apr 26, 2024
Perfect First-Time Snorkeling Trip - My wife and I had an amazing time snorkeling at Captain Cook and Place of Refuge, hearing the history of the various coves and caves and bays we stopped at, and even just riding in the boat with the skillful, helpful, storytelling duo of Dennis—our captain—and Chad—our crewman.
The varieties and numbers of fish, corals, and other sea life we saw in the crystal clear waters was mind-boggling. Dennis and Chad helped us and our fellow snorkelers with everything from gear-troubleshooting and fish identification to thirst and sea-sickness.
I can hardly imagine a better experience for my first time snorkeling—and part of that was never seeing crowds unless we were leaving them behind.
Review provided by Viator
Johnny_j
Apr 26, 2024
Great experience - My first time snorkeling and I had a blast. We were the first ones in the water at Captain Cook and saw a pod of spinner dolphins. Such a great experience
Review provided by Viator
Katy_n
Apr 15, 2024
Great time! - We really enjoyed our experience with Jen and her crew. They delayed us an hour due to rain and I’m so glad they did, as it would’ve been miserable doing this activity in the rain! Jen was knowledgable about the area and had tons of tips and stories to share which made the adventure quite fun. My fiancé and I are not avid snorkelers, so in hindsight, we probably should’ve done the tour with one snorkel stop as we were exhausted after stopping twice LOL. Seeing the coral and fish was such an amazing experience and I’d recommend this tour to just about everyone.
Review provided by Viator
Nicole_l
Apr 14, 2024
Dolphin Discoveries was the best decision for this excursion! - Okay - there are dozens of places to go for this excursion. However - Dolphin Discoveries - namely Robert and Shelley - were amazing. Incredibly fun, knowledgeable and safe. We were so happy we booked a second excursion with this company. It’s a smaller company which gave a much more fun experience! Thank you so much for a great time!!! Mahalo!
Review provided by Viator
Nicolelove2022
Apr 7, 2024
Great crew, fun relaxed experience! 10/10 recommend!!! - This trip was fantastic. Robert and Shelly were the best. Super fun and knowledgeable.
We saw Spinner dolphins, tons of beautiful fish and coral, and even saw a Manta Ray jump out of the water!
Thank you for such you wonderful time. Kayla, Braycen, Skip and I had the best time!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vonnie_s
Apr 3, 2024
Fun snorkeling adventure! - Our tour with Seth and Rahj on the snorkeling tour was amazing!! We saw many different types of fish, including puffers and trumpet fish. Also saw a sea turtle. The boat we rode on was nice and new! The tour was well organized to get our gear at one location and a short drive to the dock. The captains were knowledgeable and fun. Recommend bringing a towel for sure and possibly warm coverup as it was chilly on the way back from being in the water so long. Would recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Kat_b
May 10, 2024
Subpar experience - Don’t label a tour as being five hours long when you allow an hour for check in before you even get on the boat and then arrive back 15 minutes before the tour supposedly ends. Boat was way to full to be a comfortable/ enjoyable ride.
The sites we subpar. There was way too much white water at Captain Cook, which made the water unclear. We saw some fish, but not nearly what the tour advertised. I understand the Tour company does not control the weather in cannot track the marine life however, don’t advertise snorkeling with turtles if it’s unlikely to see turtles.
The second location was abysmal. The only thing we’re seeing was the coral there is barely any marine life.
Tour guides were fine. They were friendly, but not fantastic.
Terrible value for the money. Go look up the 4hr tours offered for the same locations. Way cheaper and I would expect it would be better than this even it there was just less waiting around and better guides.
Review provided by Viator
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