A 3.5-hour evening from slip G-2 in Honokohau Harbor, with a fixed 4:30 PM departure and more than 45 minutes of coast to cover each way.
Updated 21 October 2026
In shortCheck-in is 4:15 PM HST at slip G-2 in the far south corner of the harbour, and the boat is out for 3.5 hours: the run up the coast, sunset on deck, then the snorkel over the northern viewing area. The crew works in English, and the boat has a head and a warm fresh-water shower, which is why this trip suits families and anyone who would rather not rush. You still need to swim on your own at the surface, holding a lit float while the rays feed below.
3.5 htour length
from $125per adult
★ 4.8819 reviews
Manta ray night snorkel, Honokohau Harbor: how the evening runs
Check-in is 4:15 PM HST and the boat leaves promptly at 4:30 PM. That fixed clock is unusual on this coast, where most evening departures slide with sunset through the year, and it means you plan your afternoon around the boat rather than around the sky. Total time on the tour is 3.5 hours.
Honokohau sits on the northern stretch of the Kona coast, and the viewing area it serves is Makako Bay, also called Garden Eel Cove. The crossing takes more than 45 minutes each way, so a large share of those 3.5 hours is deck time: the coastline on one side, the sunset ahead, water and a light snack on board. Hawaii's boating authority names only two night viewing areas on this coast, Makako Bay in the north and the water fronting Keauhou Bay in the south, so this is one of the two places the boats go.
The mechanism is light and plankton. Lights over the water draw plankton into a column, and the reef mantas come up to feed on it, which is why the boats carry dive lights and lit floats and why nothing happens until the sun is down. Operators report mantas on the great majority of nights, and no operator promises a sighting.
In the water you hold a lit float, keep your legs horizontal and stay still at the surface. Touching a manta is out, as is any underwater flash, and phones on neck lanyards are not allowed. Tours on this coast expect independent swimmers with some snorkelling behind them; ages on this ticket are set at youth 7 to 13, adult 14 and over, senior 55 and over.
The boat is the reason to pick this one. It is large, it has a bathroom (head), and there is a warm fresh-water shower afterwards, which changes the drive back when you have been in the ocean after dark. Gratuities are not included.
Manta ray night snorkel, Honokohau Harbor
The longest evening among the tours on this site: 3.5 hours, from $125, rating 4.8 (819 reviews), with a light snack, water, a head on board and a warm fresh-water shower at the end.
Meeting point: slip G-2, in the far south corner of Honokohau Harbor.
Parking: an ample parking lot at the harbour, then a short walk to the slip.
Check-in: 4:15 PM HST, with departure promptly at 4:30 PM.
Ages: youth 7–13, adult 14+, senior 55+.
Photos: ours and the tour operator's
What is included
Included
Light snack, water and a warm fresh-water shower; large boat with a bathroom (head)
Not included
Gratuities
Other night snorkel tours compared with the Honokohau Harbor departure
This one is the longest and the most comfortable evening, with the trade-off of a long run each way and a start time you cannot move. The two 2-hour tours cut the time on the water, the small-group option keeps numbers down, and the 2.5-hour Big Island trip is by far the most reviewed on this site at from $138.
