Captain Cook Snorkel and Kona Manta Night Dive (2026)

~9 min read · Last updated: September 2026

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Two things happened on the water in Kona two days apart, and only one of them had all four of us in it. Friday morning we were on a Sea Quest boat headed down the coast to snorkel Captain Cook. Saturday night we were on a lanai at the Outrigger with a mai tai, watching two teenagers float in the black Pacific waiting to be touched by something enormous. We had done that one before. Once was enough.

At a Glance

📍 Name

Captain Cook Exclusive and the Night Manta Experience, both with Sea Quest Hawaii

📌 Location

78-7138 Kaleiopapa St, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

💰 Price paid

$527.08 for four on the Captain Cook snorkel, $115 a person; $262.97 for two on the night manta, $114.75 a person

📅 Date visited

Friday May 29 and Saturday May 30, 2026

⏱️ Time spent

three hours for the snorkel, an hour and a half for the mantas

🎯 Best for

families with strong-enough swimmers, repeat Big Island visitors on the snorkel, first-timers on the mantas

⭐ Our rating

10/10 on the Captain Cook snorkel, and that is hard for me to give; 10/10 on the mantas with an asterisk that says once

Is This Right for You?

These trips are for:

• Anyone who wants an amazing snorkel experience and would rather pay for a boat than earn it on foot
• Families, as long as everybody in the party can sit on an open-ocean boat that is a little jarring and get themselves up a ladder afterward
• Repeat Big Island visitors who have already done the standard three-stop run and want a longer look at one site
• First-timers on the manta dive, because it belongs on the list once and the list is the point

These trips are NOT for:

• Anyone who wants to snorkel two or three spots in a morning. The Captain Cook Exclusive is one cove for three hours and that is the whole design
• Anyone unhappy floating face down in open water at night with no bottom in sight. Shana is one of those people and she is not wrong
• Divers looking for a dive. Both of these are snorkels, gear provided, no certification involved
• A tight budget. Two water days for a family of four ran $790 before anybody ate anything

Our Experience

Friday morning: the Captain Cook Exclusive

We love SeaQuest and their snorkel experiences. We booked this one because Max gets cold quick and the last time we did their 3 stop snorkel experience it was too much for him. Max is one of ours and he is an accomplished swimmer- state champion and highly ranked in the region. He still gets cold quick. Both of those are true at once, and the second one is the one that picks your boat.

The ride down to the snorkeling area is a fun, open ocean jaunt in SeaQuest’s rigid hull inflatable. It is a solid boat, which I appreciate, and has a covered canopy (which Shana appreciates) with bench seating and RHIB seating, both with needed hand-holds. The motors provide plenty of HP to make it entertaining for the young- and young at heart.

The reason this trip is named the Captain Cook Exclusive is that you snorkel exclusively at the Captain Cook Memorial, kind of obvious in hindsight and you’ll understand a little more if you read to the end. The Captain Cook Memorial is also the Hawaiian cultural site Honaunau-Napoopo’o, and it is just as beautiful above the waterline as it is below. It is accessible via a long and steep hike, also something you’ll understand a little more if you read on. The memorial is somewhat subjectively named as such, considering it is where Capt Cook had his first (and ultimately last) encounter with the Hawaiian natives. That is a separate lesson in hospitality, being a good guest, and understanding your host. One worth reading on your own time. You have to go when you’re on the Big Island.

Once we arrived, all four of us got in the water, and the reason to come here stops being about the boat.

The coral at the reef is the inspiration for Finding Nemo’s ‘the drop-off’ scene where he goes out to ‘touch the butt’ and gets scooped out of the ocean; and when you snorkel here you can tell why. It is hard to describe, except that it isn’t if you’ve seen the movie. The animators did a really good job of capturing what it is like to be in that deep water, and then suddenly … you’re not. Or, the other way around. Feeling the temperature change, the colors change, the silence to the surf. There are often dolphins that visit this cove, and they showed up towards the end of our trip.

Oh yeah, because that is what they forgot- the surf. What actually happens at the ‘real’ drop-off is that eventually the water meets the shore, in another abrupt drop-off. But this time, the drop is a cliff to get out, and you have to stand on the protected coral to do it- so don’t. Unfortunately, people do. You can drive to the memorial area, park, and walk your way down and then snorkel. And then take that very steep hike back up (and it looked unpleasantly steep) back to your car after a long day of being in the sun and ocean. That is the last thing I want to do after being in the sun and water all day- hike up long and steep paths back to my car.

But YOU don’t, because YOU’RE smart and you booked with SeaQuest. So you climb the ladder (still, not easy but manageable), where they collect your gear, and give you a plate of freshly cut local fruit and a can of the local Aloha Maid drink. Lilikoi Passion is my go-to flavor.

After pulling up anchor, you ride back with stops along the way to visit a few sea caves, lava tubes, different colored beaches, local culturally important sites, and experience some more high speed boat runs. The history on the actual spot was good, and the geology on the way back breaks up the ride.

Saturday night: the manta rays, watched from a bar stool

The night manta ray snorkel is truly an amazing experience, and if you’re like Shana a somewhat terrifying night-time, into the open ocean, excursion. Shana flew Coast Guard helicopters for twenty-two years, and she is also the person in this family who decides what we are not doing again. This was on that list.

We had all done it a few years ago on a Spring Break trip, and I remember it as feeling somewhat dissociated from the event. You’re floating there, and then, crazy, out of seemingly nowhere, these crazy big sea creatures made loops. They came out of the depths to come within inches of your face, turned their bodies toward your face to suck in the plankton that had been attracted by the hotel lights and then … BAM! Gone again into the inky black of the Pacific. Their black backs blending perfectly into the black depths, the perfect camouflage. And the part nobody puts in the listing: you can’t touch them, but they don’t know they’re not supposed to touch you- and the touch of a slimy manta ray is jarring, unexpectedly cold, soft yet firm, and undeniably slimy.

For Shana and our kids with us, a beautifully terrorizing experience that she didn’t want to recreate on this trip. So we sent Max and his friend and went across the way to have a Mai Tai and watch. Because we’re adults.

Shana and I watched from the Outrigger Kona Resort, which is the hotel that emits the lights that attract the manta rays. Now, I have to say, enjoying a Mai Tai with your wife, watching the sunset as the waves crash against the rocky shore … that beats floating face down in the silence of the cold Pacific, clutching a pool noodle, waiting to be brushed by a moist, somewhat slimy sea creature that appears and disappears without warning from the depths of the inky blackness. Regardless, it is a good vantage point to watch and listen to the shrieks of surprise as others are brushed by those slimy sea creatures. Which we did, and it was a fine way to spend a Hawaiian evening with your beautiful wife.

The Best Things

SeaQuest is our go-to snorkel company on the Big Island. We’ve used them on every trip and have never been disappointed. Things I’ve come to appreciate about SeaQuest after having snorkeled with a subpar company while in Oahu- their face masks are prescription, so my eyes can actually SEE things down there; their snorkels have purge valves that WORK (and check valves that work, or whatever those are called that don’t allow water into the snorkel); and most importantly for the 3-5 days POST snorkel, the nose sections fit my (apparently) large nose, so I don’t feel like my nose has been shoved into an extra small box.

Thank you, SeaQuest. I liked the first trip out with them so much that I bought their branded sun shirt afterward, and I wear it like a fan-boy, somewhat apologetically, every time we go back. But hey, as the boat Captain, somewhat mockingly, pointed out to me, the best sunscreen is a sun shirt.

On the manta side the honest best thing is the animal, and that is the whole point. Everything else about that trip is transport.

The Most Disappointing Things

This was our first time doing the single spot snorkel package, and it seemed longer than it needed to be. We would have preferred a two snorkel spot but that is on us, won’t book 3 hrs in one spot again. If you have the swimmers for it, the two-stop trip is the better ticket.

The manta dive seemed so short, like they were not there, then there, then not there- and was a lot of money. They don’t guarantee the rays will show, but they will rebook you if they do not. Max is 2 for 2 on them showing. We recommend. Once.

Practical Information

🕑 Captain Cook Exclusive

Friday May 29, 2026, 9:00am to 12:00pm on the confirmation. The itinerary said 8:45, which is the meet time rather than the sail time. Three hours, one site. We prefer to go in the morning before the sun gets too hot

🕑 Night Manta Experience

Saturday May 30, 2026, 7:15pm to 8:30pm on the confirmation, an hour and a half. Expect a fast run out to the site, so be on time

💰 What we paid

$527.08 for four on the snorkel and $262.97 for two on the mantas, taxes and fees included- confirm current pricing with the operator, tour prices move seasonally

📌 Meeting point

78-7138 Kaleiopapa St, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740, for both trips. Instructions ahead of time were clear

🧴 Sunscreen

Reef-safe only at Kealakekua Bay and Honaunau. Sea Quest sells it at the office if you turn up without it

👕 What to bring

Bathing suit, SPF sun shirt, ball cap or wide brim hat (tight or with a neck strap for the boat ride). Please wear a swimsuit, bring a towel, sunscreen, and a camera. Your beach bag is welcome onboard. Wet suit shorties are provided on the night trip

🏊 Fitness

Strong enough to be able to sit on a boat in the open ocean, just a little jarring, and to get yourself up a ladder. Basic swimmer for the mantas. Neither trip is accessible

👥 Group size

Both boats fill- 12 to 18 people

🌐 Website

Sea Quest Hawaii

🎟️ Book the snorkel

Kealakekua Bay Captain Cook Snorkel Exclusive on Viator

🎟️ Book the manta night

Night Manta Ray Experience on Viator

Is It Worth It?

For anyone who wants an amazing snorkel experience, absolutely worth the price. It seems a little steep, but it really is competitive. Ten out of ten, and that is hard for me to give. Don’t shop around, book with SeaQuest. Our only correction is to the shape of the trip, not the operator: our favorite is the 2 stop trip- Two Step, and Captain Cook.

The night Manta Ray is an amazing experience- once. Do it once and then you can check that off your bucket list. It is an expensive ninety minutes the second time, and there is no shame in being the one on shore with the Mai Tai. First Big Island trip, book it. Fourth, send the teenagers.

It is beautiful above and below the waterline. You have to go when you’re on the Big Island.

Our verdict: Book the Captain Cook and Two Step snorkel every trip and the manta snorkel on your first one.

We love driving around the island listening to GuideAlong. While we’ve been to the Big Island three times, we still use it whenever we go because we seem to either forget what we heard the last time, or we find ourselves driving in a new spot and listening to new content. Either way, it’s like 50 First Dates and new to us and makes for a better experience. Don’t use my GuideAlong link, I don’t care. Mostly do it for yourself.

Found this helpful? 📌 Pin it for your trip planning.

Planning the rest of it? Our Big Island, Hawaii Travel Guide has where we stayed and how we got around. HGV Kings’ Land Big Island is where we slept between the two water days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Captain Cook snorkel worth it?

Yes. We paid $115 a person in May 2026 and rated it 10 out of 10. The reef is the best snorkeling we have found on the Big Island, and the boat saves you a steep hike down and back up from the shoreline. Book the 2 stop trip instead if your party can handle two swims.

Is the manta ray night dive worth it?

Once. The animal is extraordinary and the trip around it is ninety minutes and about $115 a person. We have done it, and on this trip we sent the teenagers and watched from shore. First-timers should absolutely book it. Repeat visitors can skip it without missing anything new.

Do you have to be a strong swimmer for the Kona manta snorkel?

A basic swimmer is enough. You float face down holding a lighted board or a pool noodle and you are not asked to swim anywhere. The harder part is being comfortable in open water in the dark, which is a different question from fitness.

Can you snorkel Captain Cook without a boat?

You can. You park at the memorial area and hike down, then hike back up at the end of the day, and you have to cross protected coral to get out of the water. It looked unpleasantly steep, and the coral is the reason we would not do it that way.

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