Question:
We are interested in visiting the Big Island to go on a Manta Ray dive. How close do the Mantas come to you… Is there a difference in what we will see if we use snorkel or SCUBA equipment?
Answer:
Aloha and mahalo for your inquiry about the mantas on the Big Island.The mantas will swoop right up next to your face! Yes, that is snorkeling! Sure SCUBA is cool, but let the experts sit on the bottom with the light shining up to all of the snorkelers and let the mantas swarm in to feed on the plankton attracted by the light. The advantage of snorkeling over scuba is that you don’t have all of that cumbersome equipment, and you will be just as close as if you were on the bottom. You are only in about 25-300 feet of water anyway. On any given night 250-300 mantas come into Keahou Bay, so everybody has plenty of opportunity to get close and personal with the mantas. When we say getting close, always let the animals approach you, and never touch them as their membrane skin is very susceptible to infection if their sensitive skin is rubbed by humans. So always remember respect them no matter how close they come to you. That goes for all of our creatures in our ocean 🙂 If you need more information or assistance with recommendations for my favorite manta excursion, please feel free to call me on extension 121 or contact me online.