Kealakekua Bay Snorkeling Tour With Optional Honaunau Bay

Hawaii-Kona, United States of America

Discover colorful fish and coral reefs in Hawaii’s crystal-clear waters on a snorkel tour that visits spectacular Kealakekua Bay, with trips to Honaunau Bay and other pristine locations included with optional upgrades. Explore sea caves and lava tubes along the Kona coast and keep an eye out for dolphins, turtles and whales as you cruise to the best snorkeling sites on the Big Island with your expert crew. Small-group tour with a maximum of 14 people allows for more individualized attention from your guide.

Make your own way to Keauhou Bay where you check in for your snorkeling tour. Your expert guide gets you outfitted with snorkel gear and provides a safety briefing before you set out by boat to nearby Kealakekua Bay.

At Kealakekua Bay, stop to snorkel at one of the best snorkeling spots in Hawaii. The bay has been protected as a marine sanctuary for more than 30 years and it typically features excellent water clarity. The sheltered bay provides a great place for beginners to gain confidence in the water, and the diversity of colorful fish and coral reef thrills novices and experienced snorkelers alike.

On the ocean, keep your eyes peeled for Hawaiian spinner dolphins, Pacific bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales who live year-round in these waters. If you visit in the winter, you might catch sight of humpback whales who migrate from Alaska to spend the winter in Hawaii, where they give birth to their calves.

Your guide shows you sea caves and lava tubes along the rugged Kona Coast. Your boat — a rigid hull inflatable raft — is designed to be narrow enough to enter many of the bigger caves along the waterline. You also see important Hawaiian historic landmarks such as the Captain Cook Monument, located at the site of the former Hawaiian village of Kaawaloa.

USD $94.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by:   Mark B,    July 2017
Great snorkeling trip included two neat stops, Michael offered interesting facts about marine life, Captain Bill very friendly, fun and entertaining. Took time to find dolphins. Not just your typical take you out and dump you in the water trip. Highly recommended.

Review by:   Bob E,    July 2017
We did the 4 hour tour - it was great. Captain Bill and Morgan made it even better

Review by:   Beckie W,    July 2017
3 great snorkeling spots. Knowledgeable guide and boat captain who shared fun facts about the island, its history and the land formations. The 5 hour tour is perfect. We even got to see the dolphins spinning and flipping in the air. Captain Jenna made this a fun adventure.

Review by:   Jasmine K,    July 2017
We had three stops to snorkel. The first two were OK, the third stop was GREAT. The boat ride included informational stops at sea caves and various formations with our guide providing history and background information. A wide variety of fish were seen during snorkeling, a manta ray about 10' was posing for pictures at one stop. On the ride back, Spinner dolphins came to show off their acrobatic skills and were jumping and spinning all around us. The boat was stopped so we could enjoy this natural show. Rather than stay on schedule, we hung out with the dolphins and got back a bit later than scheduled. If you enjoy snorkeling, you will have a great experience with this tour.

Review by:   James M,    June 2017
It was an awesome cruise. It would have been nice if Viator would have give us the name, address and phone number of the company that was doing the snorkeling! Had to call 3 companies to find this information!

Review by:   Lenard H,    March 2017
Very good outing. They were helpful for beginners and the bay was gorgeous and clear for snorkeling! We saw so many beautiful fish. We also saw lots of waves crashing against the volcanic shoreline. All beautiful.

Review by:   houseocats5,    February 2017
This snorkeling tour was AWESOME!!! Our captain was Laura and deck hand was Kai. Both were so GREAT. Really nice and super helpful. Laura was very, very knowledgeable about the area and marine life. Small boat and very bumpy ride which we liked but if you get seasick keep this in mind.

Review by:   James D,    November 2016
Loved every second of the trip. Lots of friendly chat from the guides and great diving locations. Beautiful reefs and amazing fish. Lucky to say I also got to swim with a turtle that came up from the reef for about 15 minutes! Big bucket list moment ticked off! Good, basic lunch, but that's all that's needed when swimming and traveling on a high speed boat!

Review by:   Richard R,    October 2016
Fabulous! Very knowledgeable crew, great sites, and bonus got to see bottlenose and spinner dolphins. Highly recommend this tour.

Review by:   Adela A,    October 2016
I loved it! The tour guide was awesome, I was scared, so he was patient and made sure I felt comfortable Captain Steve. The fish were so beautiful and tropical. I just wish I saw a turtle!

Review by:   DUMITRU C,    September 2016
We loved being on a speed boat! Captain Kendra and Mike were great: professional and very funny. We were able to see both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa from the same spot while on boat. We loved the three snorkeling spots and all the caves, lava tubes, arches, cliffs , Captain Cook monument. Food was very good too.

Review by:   Martin K,    July 2016
My husband and daughter had a wonderful time. Very informative and very helpful. Thank you. Have used Viator several times already..

Review by:   bea,    July 2016
This tour was amazing!

Review by:   Rennie C,    June 2016
Highly recommend this tour that I took on 16th June. The guides Bill and Michael were very easy going and humourous and told us a lot about the surrounding area. Despite me not heeding their instructions on where to snorkel and ending up being washed up on the sharp coral rocks they were still able to come to my aid and help me get my wounds and scratches dressed. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the highlight was seeing the spinner dolphins in the bay doing their stuff spinning in the air. Don't forget to take your sunscreen though.

Review by:   Shannon S,    June 2016
Wonderful experience!! Kealakekua Bay and Honaunau Bay were excellent snorkel locations. We saw a wide array of fish, sea turtles, and dolphins during our tour. Captain Dave and Kevin were fantastic! Very engaging, informative, and we had a blast!!

Review by:   Donna W,    May 2016
Had an absolute ball on this tour. Our guide JC and Kevin were phenomenal. First time snorkeling and loved every moment of it and the tour or the caves and boat ride were wonderful.

Review by:   Katelyn S,    March 2016
Wonderful experience. I took the short tour. Glad I did. It was just enough time, especially given it wasn't too sunny I wouldn't have lasted much longer without being too cold. The bay was beautiful. All sorts of colorful fish and we even saw an octopus! Kendra the guide was excellent. Very informative and funny. Totally worth the money - highly recommend.

Review by:   Daniel M,    January 2016
Liked the smallness of the group and being able to go to 3 sites.

Review by:   Markus F,    December 2015
We took the long tour, stopped at 3 snorkling spots. Kealakekua Bay was really nice, but snorkeling with turtles in this lava rocked bay was - at least for me - the thing! Our guide, i think it was Ben been 3 wks already.. sry. Taught us lot about certain spots and history. The food being served was good and the snorkeling trip with this smaller group lots of fun!_br/_ And, we stopped to see WHALES!! Wow, that was soo impressive!!!!

Review by:   sjdeane,    June 2015
We did this trip on May 25th. it was a great sunny day so the snorkeling and the waters were beautiful. We did the 5 hour with lunch trip. I highly recommend the 3 snorkels spots. After Honaunau Bay they provide a light snack of kiwi, pineapple, and papaya with cookies and juice. Couldn't believe how hungry we were. The snorkeling there was good, however we needed to be wary of the rock side and keep an eye out that we didn't get too close. From there we went to a site that they picked based on surf and wave condition. I don't remember the name of the place, it was ok, allot of swells but it was nice. During the entire trip we would stop to look at lave caves were unable to go into any because of the swells. The last place we went was Captain Cook amazing truly the best place in the area. Loved this area. After that we were served a very filling deli sandwich lunch. The raft had a cover so you could be out of the sun if needed. It is quite bumpy when you are going from site to site, but if you sit on the benches instead of the side of the raft it is much better. They had great dry storage and you could get into your stuff any time you wanted . If you got tired you could at all times come aboard. Safety is their 1 concern they learned all of our names . They also provided noodles to use for flotation if you wanted. I highly recommend the use of these, it helps if you get tired, it gives you piece of mind, and it makes it allot easier to adjust your mask if you need to in the water.

Review by:   jeffrey j,    March 2015
The tour was great. Nice boat and crew. Captian Jenna and first mate were amazing. She nurtured my reluctant wife into the water after i failed to. Thanks Jenna... Jeff and Vicky

Review by:   Rhi,    March 2015
This was our first snorkeling experience and I couldn't have felt in better hands. Liam was a great guide, very funny, personable and knowledgeable. I would hands down recommend the 5 hour option- 3 sites. We saw dolphins, pristine reefs with numerous fish, an eel, turtles (my favorite) and a mom and calf humpback whale. What an amazing experience!

Review by:   David P,    December 2014
It was a good day the snorkeling was awesome and I was the only Aussie on the trip. I gave a history lesson on Capt Cook and his signifance to Australia which the Americans on board nothing about. I recommend this trip to everyone.

Review by:   Mandy H,    November 2014
For some reason I thought I would be a on a big boat, but ended up on a pretty small one. In the end I really enjoyed the experience, and I think being on a small boat was even better, the experience was way more up close and personal and I got to see caves that a big boat wouldn't be able to get into. _br/_ I also got a free upgrade so I got to snorkel in both Kealakekua Bay and Honaunau Bay. They were both amazing, clear water, beautiful reefs and plenty of fish. Our guides were great, they spotted dolphins twice while we were out there as well.

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