Diving and Manta ray night dive off the kohala coast - which dive OP?

[NZAnna]

Hi,
I'm going to the BI in a few weeks and definitely want to do a manta dive. I have actually booked a snorkel moonlight swim off Mauna Kea Beach hotel, but still am keen to do a dive too! I have seen Blue Wilderness divers advertise the night dive, but I'm just wondering what the experience is like with them, given its not one of the popular sites. How common is it to have no-shows from the mantas? I wont have a backup day so I'm reluctant to book just yet! I wont be hiring a car and I will be staying in the Waikoloa resort area. I''m also keen to do 2 morning dives too. I have looked at Blue wilderness and Waikoloa coast divers but am not sold on any at this stage, so any tips/advice would be great! Any know what kind of boat Blue Wilderness have? They say they take up to 14 divers, but I've read on here they use a RIB. Anyone been lately?

Thanks!

 

[Steelyeyes]

Looks like the best place to see the mantas is near Kona. They don't seem to be seeing many lately, probably a low plankton count.

Big Island Manta Report | Jack's Diving Locker

 

[NZAnna]

Looks like the best place to see the mantas is near Kona. They don't seem to be seeing many lately, probably a low plankton count.

Big Island Manta Report | Jack's Diving Locker

Yes I know that kona is said to be the best. But that's not an option for me unfortunately. I have also heard the mantas haven't been around lately....hopefully they'll be back when I'm there!

 

[Steelyeyes]

Good luck. We did it in December. None came to the lights so we just went on a night dive and ran into one as it swam by. It was still a good dive.

The Kohala Diver's website did mention setting up a boat to go to the Kona site but if the mantas aren't around it seems like a waste. My GF Mary and I checked out the Kohala area for another trip. It seems like a pretty laid back area compared to Kona. It's an older part of the island geologically so the bottom contours are different. We plan on checking it out one day.

 

[AZTinman]

As noted by others, the manta count really depends upon the availability of plankton. Mantas go where they can eat. It's difficult to predict what's going to be going on with the plankton. I've done the manta dive three times; once in December and twice in July. I had an additional December manta dive scheduled, but a major swell event cancelled it.

During one of the July dives, our dive operator thought mantas would show up at Garden Eel Cove while most of the other operators headed for the Sheridan Site. We got skunked while those that went to the Sheridan saw lots.

Last year, I thought I had developed the perfect strategy to ensure that I would see mantas and also ensure that cancellation wouldn't become an issue. I booked manta dives on both the front and tail ends of my trip. Unfortunately, I didn't factor in 'being stupid'. We had over thirty mantas on my first dive and I captured incredible images. The day before my second manta dive, I mangled my left hand pretty good while chasing sea turtle photographs. I skipped wearing my gloves and a surge current bounced me off some lava rocks pretty good. The ER doc patched me up, but banned me from diving during the remainder of my trip. The 'being stupid factor' will get you every time!

-AZTinman