Best Route to Kona to see Mantas

[susan6868]

I desperately want to see Mantas!
I've read the posts, watched the videos and have been assured by my husband that "Yap" isn't in the cards right now. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, he can play golf on the Big Island, a strong selling point!
I know there's no guarantee, but is there an time to go that would optimize my chances for Manta encounters? I missed the whale sharks in Utila by a mere week because of poor planning on my part.
We only have a week, and plan to spend it on the Big Island. We're on the East Cost, New York area, and I wondered if anyone can offer advice on which route to take.
Looks like you can fly directly into Kona from the west coast or maybe even Texas.

Thinking about maybe taking a condo for the week, once I get there I suspect I need a rental car, but is the diving (mantas) on the same portion of the island where he will find the golf courses?

Just started researching, you folks have got me convinced that Kona is a "must do".
Any advice on traveling or situating myself on the island would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Susan

 

[JMC99]

I desperately want to see Mantas!
I've read the posts, watched the videos and have been assured by my husband that "Yap" isn't in the cards right now. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, he can play golf on the Big Island, a strong selling point!
I know there's no guarantee, but is there an time to go that would optimize my chances for Manta encounters? I missed the whale sharks in Utila by a mere week because of poor planning on my part.
We only have a week, and plan to spend it on the Big Island. We're on the East Cost, New York area, and I wondered if anyone can offer advice on which route to take.
Looks like you can fly directly into Kona from the west coast or maybe even Texas.

Thinking about maybe taking a condo for the week, once I get there I suspect I need a rental car, but is the diving (mantas) on the same portion of the island where he will find the golf courses?

Just started researching, you folks have got me convinced that Kona is a "must do".
Any advice on traveling or situating myself on the island would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Susan

Check ATA. They are usually the cheapest to Hawaii from the west coast. Sometimes you can save a lot by flying into Hilo instead of Kona and driving 2 hours to Kona. Kona Seaspray condos are GREAT. Right across the street from Kahaluu Beach and close to Mile Marker 4 shore dive spot. $120/night on the first floor, $165 on the third (great views). Lots of operators do the manta dive. I prefer Jack's. Another way to see them is to do a manta snorkel with Sea Paradise. I've done both, and frankly, unless you want to spend an extra $60 to log it as a dive, the snorkeling is a great option. And if it turns out the mantas don't show (which happens a lot--the operators won't tell you that), you'll feel better about wasting $80 than you will about $140.

Yes, you need a car. Yes, there is golf on Kona side.

 

[Teamcasa]

I can’t be much help with the flights, other than to say you can fly direct to Kona from LAX and most other West Coast Airports.

As for Manta diving, my lovely bride and I just returned last June and the diving was magnificent. Schedule your Manta dives early in the trip, if they get cancelled, you will be able to re-book before leaving. We used Big Island Divers, they were very friendly, accommodating and they limit the number of divers to a manageable size. For me, I would use them exclusively. While the Mantas are not 100%, they rarely get skunked, if you do schedule two dives, you will see them at least once and maybe twice!

Rent a car, there is a great deal to see and do in Kona. Condos – get one that is air conditioned. Kona can get very warm if you are not used to it.

There are several world class golf courses in and around Kona. If your husband loves golf, he will have a great time there. If he plans on playing while you dive, rent two cars, unless you stay at a resort like Waikoloa. Distances from dive shops to golf courses can be long. Traffic can also be a pain so plan for delays.

All in all, our dive/golf experience in Kona was worth it many times over.
We have already decided to return next year!

Dave

 

[friscuba]

When are you coming over? Sometimes the surf and manta activity can be iffy, usually January and February, there's never a guarantee mantas will be there, but when the surf's huge they're often not and most operators will cancel if the surf high enough to make it a crummy outing for everyone. Most operators are quite open about whether the mantas are currently showing or not, as it's common knowledge (anyone can mail mantareport@mantapacific.org and sign up for the daily reports). Nobody can predict IF they will show at any given future date. A few of the smaller operators will obligingly cancel if the mantas haven't shown for a stretch, not sure if that's the case with the bigger companies.


Condos are a good way to go, check out www.vrbo.com and there will be loads of them to choose from. Stick to the Kona side, South Kohala's OK too, and you'll be within 5-50 minutes (depends on where you stay) of both the golfing and Honokohau harbor (where the majority of the operators leave from for that dive). A car is a definite necessity in Kona, as there is little to no public transportation and a cab or shuttle to just about anywhere will cost as much or more than a day of car rental will. Kailua is the main town on the Kona side, is centrally located and does have some golf courses. Many of the nicer resorts are up in South Kohala (although most people still refer to it as "going to Kona") and will have great golfing, expect everything (shops, restaurants, activities) to be pretty resort atmosphere and high end.

Direct into Kona may be pricier than to Honolulu to Kona. I personally wouldn't fly into Hilo as there'd be another 2.5 hour or more drive, after all that travel from the east coast, just to get into the Kona area, but to each their own and if it's an early arrival it's a nice drive. I met a lot of people who did it when ATA started flying into Hilo from Oakland, opinions were mixed, ATA has since added a Kona flight from there (don't know if there's s price difference).

I'd recommend you log on to Amazon or one of the other booksellers and pick yourself up a copy of "Hawaii the Big Island Revealed", it's a real good general reference for the island, better than Fodor's and such. Have fun, and try to get in some day dives if you can as there's more to Kona diving than just the mantas. It's different than the Carribean, some people prefer it, some don't.

 

[susan6868]

So much great information, thank you. January and February are out then, I'm thinking maybe next fall as our "travel dance card" is full until then.
Looks like a lot of people go in summer, is that high season there? I'll get the book ans start reading up so I can make the most of it. Friscuba, I'll give you a shout when we have the time frame nailed down.
Thank you all again so much.

 

[JMC99]

When are you coming over? Sometimes the surf and manta activity can be iffy, usually January and February, there's never a guarantee mantas will be there, but when the surf's huge they're often not and most operators will cancel if the surf high enough to make it a crummy outing for everyone. Most operators are quite open about whether the mantas are currently showing or not, as it's common knowledge (anyone can mail mantareport@mantapacific.org and sign up for the daily reports). Nobody can predict IF they will show at any given future date. A few of the smaller operators will obligingly cancel if the mantas haven't shown for a stretch, not sure if that's the case with the bigger companies.


Condos are a good way to go, check out www.vrbo.com and there will be loads of them to choose from. Stick to the Kona side, South Kohala's OK too, and you'll be within 5-50 minutes (depends on where you stay) of both the golfing and Honokohau harbor (where the majority of the operators leave from for that dive). A car is a definite necessity in Kona, as there is little to no public transportation and a cab or shuttle to just about anywhere will cost as much or more than a day of car rental will. Kailua is the main town on the Kona side, is centrally located and does have some golf courses. Many of the nicer resorts are up in South Kohala (although most people still refer to it as "going to Kona") and will have great golfing, expect everything (shops, restaurants, activities) to be pretty resort atmosphere and high end.

Direct into Kona may be pricier than to Honolulu to Kona. I personally wouldn't fly into Hilo as there'd be another 2.5 hour or more drive, after all that travel from the east coast, just to get into the Kona area, but to each their own and if it's an early arrival it's a nice drive. I met a lot of people who did it when ATA started flying into Hilo from Oakland, opinions were mixed, ATA has since added a Kona flight from there (don't know if there's s price difference).

I'd recommend you log on to Amazon or one of the other booksellers and pick yourself up a copy of "Hawaii the Big Island Revealed", it's a real good general reference for the island, better than Fodor's and such. Have fun, and try to get in some day dives if you can as there's more to Kona diving than just the mantas. It's different than the Carribean, some people prefer it, some don't.

Regarding the Hilo option, I just did that last week. Direct flight from Oakland then a 2+ hour drive. $375 to fly into Hilo, $775 to Kona, X4, easy choice. Maybe for a $100 diff per, I'd fly to Kona. Comparing flying to Kona through Honolulu with a stopover and direct to Hilo with a drive, not much difference in travel time and hassle. Driving back to Hilo in the driving rain last Tuesday while Flossie approached was fun.

Tell me how you like living on the Big Island. I've been telling myself and others for years I'm going to die on that Island, but what's it like living there day to day?

 

[friscuba]

Wow, that much difference between Hilo and Kona for the same airline, that's nuts.

As far as living here, I'm liking it, it's not for everyone though. Probably half the people who move here are gone within 1-3 years. There's lots of stuff many people take for granted back on the mainland that just isn't readily available here. It's better the last couple of years with Home Depot and Lowes coming in, but there's still many many things missing that yould typically see an any town of 30-50K or more back on the mainland - and you can't just drive to it like you can if you choose to live in a rural area on the mainland, you've got to fly and get a rental car, maybe even a hotel room, just to go to Circuit City or see a concert by anyone not named Jesse Colin Young. The health care here is 15 years behind the times and there's a serious doctor shortage on the island... last year there were ZERO OBGYNs, for a while, serving the 50-60K or so residents on the west side. Everything is expensive. A run down starter home will be in the mid to high 400K range in the Kona area. A studio rental will run about a grand. I think our last powerbill worked out to about 42 cents a killowatt hour, or something outrageous along those lines, they disquise the rate by breaking down fees for this that and the other thing. The culture is definitely somewhat different. At any rate it's a big change and some people don't take to it well.

To Susan... Summer season is definitely the busy season in the dive industry. Also, spring break, major holidays, any time a family is likely to travel. Fall would probably be my favorite time if I were looking to come here for diving - warm water, generally calm, not so busy, it seems usually the mantas are around, etc. You may be able to pick up a NY/Chicago to Honolulu flight with a transfer to Kona cheaper than flying to the west coast and getting a rate from there. I'm also thinking there is a more or less direct flight into Kona from Chicago through United, but maybe not. It might be worthwhile to see if there's a direct to Maui with a transfer option, we found that to be the cheapest way to get from here to Seattle one year.

 

[Teamcasa]

Susan, do your own flight research. We fly direct to Kona form LA for 350 - 450. Depending on flight times. Ask a travel agent to look into it as well. Many of the internet flight reservation services have great fares as well.

Dave

 

[DiverBeth]

All I can do for you is give you a manta report that's 2 weeks old. They showed and showed early. My son and I were on the Kona Aggressor and we did an afternoon dive and the mantas were already showing up. They are spectacular! I hope you can make arrangements, it's a great dive to do.

 

[MeiLing]

If you really want to do this dive cheap, get yourselves a couple of tanks and you can shore dive it by the Sheraton Keahou. They shine lights onto the water there so the Mantas go right up to the rocky edge.

Go scope out the site during the day first so you can pick an exit and entry point.