Manta ray night dive in Kona, Hawaii

I heard and read many stories on how Kona became such a famous place for diving with manta rays at night, becoming a bucket-list dive for adventurous travellers eager to go diving in Hawaii. While I think diving in Maui is a better choice for avid scuba divers visiting, Big Island is getting all the spotlight with the manta ray night dive in Kona. I had to check it out!

At the beginning of the 1970s, floodlights were switched on at night, shining towards the waves at the Kona Surf Hotel in southern Kona. Soon, people noticed it concentrated on plankton, the favourite meal of manta rays. What happened next was accidental indirect feeding every night, which conditioned the manta rays to stick around for dinnertime after sunset.

At the beginning of the 1990’s, the first dives were organised by scuba diving operators for the greatest pleasure of scuba diving tourists. What was once a unique night dive once a week quickly became an everyday craze. But then one day in 2000, the Kona Surf Hotel closed, the floodlights were switched off, and the manta rays went away.

A determined scuba diving operator, having heard about manta sightings in northern Kona, decided to look for them. This is how he finally found Eels Garden Cove, a dive site near Kona International Airport, where this video was shot. Bringing the underwater lights to this natural feeding location was an even bigger success, allowing us to see the manta rays at night.

In 2004, the Kona Surf Hotel reopened as the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa, and the manta rays came back. As a result, it is now possible to see them in both north and south locations. In October 2017, the manta night dive was happening every night, weather permitting. On the day the video was shot, there were at least 12 boats, with an average of 20 scuba divers or snorkelers on board, waiting for sunset.

I’m not going to lie, the manta night dive in Kona was magical, the soft blue and purple lights, the grace of the manta rays spinning above our heads, I was hypnotised for 40 minutes.

However, I have to say the number of divers around and the way it was artificially staged through indirect feeding left me with mixed feelings… In this video, you can feel the peaceful feeling of watching the manta rays again and again, but you can also clearly see the number of scuba divers around.

Knowing that October is usually the low season in Hawaii, I would say it is fair to expect twice as many people underwater if you are going in the high season (December-April & June-August).

So, what do you think: should the manta night dive in Kona remain on your scuba diving bucket list?

Learn more about the manta rays of Hawaii

• www.mantapacific.org
• www.mantarayshawaii.com

Average prices for the manta ray night dive in Kona

• Price for a 2-tank Manta Night Dive trip: 155 USD (with tax and tips, about 180 USD or 153€ / £135)
• Price for snorkelers: 125 USD (with tax and tips, about 145 USD or 124€ / £109)

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