Is there a Manta Ray Season in Kona?

[MellieCee]

Hi there! My husband and I are going to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii mid-August. We plan to shore dive most of the time to keep our costs low... However we've been told several times that the Manta night dives are an absolute must. We really want to do it! However we've also been told to be careful, because there is a season for Manta Rays. I do realize that there are no guarantees at any time, this is just the way of underwater life. However, if August is not commonly a time for Manta Rays, then we will save the small fortune it will cost us to take the Manta dive and rent some extra tanks instead! Does any one know if there actually is a season for Manta Rays in Kona?

 

[Abidon]

From what I was told when I did the Manta Ray dive two months ago, there is no "season" for manta rays. They said that the mantas make an appearance throughout the year about 95% of the time. The night before my dive, only one manta ray appeared. On my night, we had 13 manta rays show up. :cool2:

I occasionally monitor the website of the dive-op I went with to see how many they saw the previous night (Big Island Divers Diving Scuba Snorkel Kona Hawaii Manta Ray Black water pelagic magic dive). A couple of days ago, they had 22.:shocked2:

The Manta Ray Night Dive is a little pricier, but well worth it IMO. I would suggest a 2-tank dive, so you'll also get a regular dive in daylight. That was also very cool.

 

[tc]

I was there in August about 4 years ago- we saw about 16 on our dive.

 

[friscuba]

August is as good as any time. Since the tail end of February, I think there have been 2-3 nights they've been skunked. We had 4 on Wednesday night, that's low for the airport site but the divers were still stoked.

They're wild animals and they come and go at will, but it's generally pretty consistent that there are sightings (and by sightings, I mean mantas basically bouncing off your head - this is not an event that you see mantas swim by, it's usually 40-60 minutes of wild manta action). If my only concern was the manta dive, I'd avoid coming in January and February, mainly because high surf might cause for undiveable evenings.

Have fun.

 

[Acanthurus]

My husband and I dove Kona in Feb and the Manta Ray Dive was spectacular although there was some surge there that night.

We dove with both Dive Makai ( did the Manta ray dive with them) as well as Sandwich Isle Divers and we really enjoyed both of these outfits - friendly people and limited number of divers.

There are nice shore dives -we did some but I would absolutely say that it was well worth the $$ to do the manta ray dives. I didn't think it was outrageously expensive either

Have fun!!

 

[drl]

We were there last August and did 2 manta dives, with 6-8 mantas each time. We did it off the Kona Aggressor so it didn't cost us extra, but I'd say they would have been well worth it if they had.

 

[sfc_peterson]

Just a little information about the Manta Ray night dive. I have been to Kona three times now and done the dive about 9 total times and never paid for the boat ride. It is a very do able night dive as a shore entry. It all depends on your skills and desire. If you have any questions just ask.

 

[friscuba]

The Sheraton location is a doable shore dive. The airport location, where most of the action is found, isn't.

 

[rhone]

I hadn't thought about "manta season" when planning my trip. Great question! Glad to hear from others that I'll be fine in October.

friscuba, I gather you do the airport site?

 

[00scuba]

I was there in July a few years ago, we had 4 or 5 show up for the night dive.