![]() ![]() Honestly, you can get just as good snorkeling (if not better) at "two step" which is a public access area adjacent to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park. The snorkeling is good, but the bay can get crowded. DAY TRIP to Kealakekua Bay - The crew is VERY patient with children, and the videographer does a short presentation on the return trip that is wonderful for kids. We've used Fair Wind tours in 2007 and again in 2009. This company has great attractions for families and beginner/intermediate snorkelers. If you have kids who want to have the experience of a life time and squeals of delight from their water slides, plan your next excursion with them! All you need to bring is sunscreen and a towel. Delicious food and snacks are offered on both boats. They even provide noodles, intertubes to float in and boogie boards with reflective built in masks so the kids can enjoy a wonderful first time snorkeling experience. They make sure everyone has a great time. The crew is very personable and professional. It was incredible seeing spinner dolphins, bottle nose dolphins who would lead us out to the bay and the gorgeous tropical fish where we snorkeled near Captain Cook's landing in beautiful Kealakekua Bay. Once snorkeling and again on a dive with Katie the Dive Master a few days later on the Hula Kai. What a great experience! We loved it so much we went twice. I want to Thank Tracey, Captain Kirt, Mitch, Captain Kirk ( Yes, there are two Captain K's!) Dive Master Katie, Diver Dan and crew for an amazing time on the Fairwind and diving excursion on the Hula Kai. It was completely worth it and a fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime experience. You can purchase DVDs or still pictures from the night. You have the option to stay in the water about 45 minutes, which was plenty of time. The spotlights were definately bright enough to see everything. It feels like the rays get inches from your face!! There are spotlights on the floating ladder that attract the rays so they swim right by you. Once you're in the water, you swim to a floating ladder-type thing and use noodles to keep you parallel to the surface so you can look down into the water. The boat ride to the location was about 5 minutes, then the manta ray expert gives a little lecture about the manta rays, what to expect, how to act, etc while the crew gets things set up. They provide you with wetsuits, snorkel equipment (including prescription goggles-which my husband appreciated), and hot chocolate, rolls, and soup after the snorkel. This trip we chose the night snorkel for a different experience. We had previously done a Fair Wind II snorkel to Kealakekua Bay, and had a positive experience, so we were familiar with the company. We took the night Manta Ray snorkel after seeing it on TV. I would suggest a bracelet, or watch, or something different like this if you're going to purchase the video or pics. My husband had an orange float around his wrist for our water camera, so it made it perfect to find ourselves in the video and pictures. It's hard to pick yourself out since everyone's in wet suits. We purchased the video and the pictures, and both were really cool. The ride is very short-about 5 minutes, so they aren't going fast enough for a strong breeze to make you cold. Once I was on the boat and out of my swim gear with a sweatshirt on- I was fine. I just sucked it up, and realized it's once in a life so just be cold. I didn't think about it at the time, but should have swam away- treaded water to warm up, and then come back to watch more. They provided us with wet suits, but you're floating in 82 degree water, and not moving around. They are gorgeous! I admit the one thing that wasn't great, was I was shivering in the water. Yikes! When I was in the water and looked down, I was more amazed than nervous. We had 2 show up, one was about 7 foot, the other 10 foot. They care about their customers and are always concerned about your safety. The absolute, best thing we did on the island!! This tour group knows their stuff. ![]()
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