Have you been dreaming of an epic Hawaii vacation? Which island are you going to? If you want to swim with dolphins Kona it’s no longer allowed on the Big Island! The Big Island is also known as Hawaii Island. One of the great things about Hawaii Island is it’s a giant mountain, in fact is the world’s largest mountain, sticking out of the ocean. This means there’s lots and lots to see. It also means we have a massive coastline. This coastline is embedded with many bays where dolphins come to rest at night.
Kona is home to four different kinds of dolphins. Primarily you will encounter spinner dolphins here. These wild dolphins are predominant along Kona’s coast. If you’re looking to swim with dolphins Kona is no longer the place to do it. This is because you will encounter dolphins regularly along the coast. Dolphins hunt at night and they come in during the day to sleep in the bays. This means that you can find them regularly along the coast. Come out on a snorkel tour with us and see the dolphins.
There are three other kinds of wild dolphins here on the Big Island of Hawaii. Often times we will see bottlenose dolphins. These are dolphins that you will find throughout the world. They are less common but you will often see them escorting whales during whale season or maybe a few individuals here and there along the coast. There are also spotted dolphins these are typically found deeper off the coast of Kona. They like to play in the wakes of boats. They are very high jumping of jumping as far as 30 feet in the air! There are also rough tooth dolphins. They are found offshore usually around the buoys. They like to steal bait off of fishermen’s hooks! You often see them in pairs there. They are a little more shy than the other dolphins typically.
One of the things about dolphins is they will often come in very close. Now that it’s illegal to swim with dolphins you can no longer see this behavior legally. A large pod of dolphins will often have a small juvenile with it. It’s fun to see the baby dolphins after they are first born. There slightly pink and they have a full down the middle of their body where they were folded in half and the mother’s womb. When dolphins are swimming during the day they are usually sleeping. This means that they’re using half their brain to swim while the other half rest. Kona snorkel trips prides itself on being eco-conscious with our dolphin encounters. This means that we never approach dolphins and follow the Federal Guidelines put in place to protect these magnificent creatures. We also do our best to try to avoid them early in the morning. This is typically the best time to interact with them. It is also good for weather purposes.
There are plenty of other things to see in the ocean when you come to Kona. After your dolphin encounter, you may get a chance to snorkel Kona’s beautiful reefs. Sometimes we don’t encounter dolphins.
During whale season you’ll often see whales as well as dolphins. Sometimes you will be cruising along the coast and you might see other animals like whale sharks, sharks, pilot whales, or other cetaceans. Kona has so many different potential surprises! You just never know what you might encounter.
There are many wonderful and amazing things about dolphins. You never know what the dolphins are pretty wild beings. During the day they like to rest and sleep. At night they are extreme apex predators. They often hunt fish and squid at night off the coast of Kona. We will see them when we are scuba diving on the Blackwater dive at Kona Honu divers. They swim extremely fast and hit the squid very hard. This abundance of food offshore is what sustains the dolphins. There are hundreds of dolphins up and down Kona’s coast. But sometimes they don’t show up. We don’t know why, but the dolphins do their own thing on their own time. Sometimes we will find the dolphins resting and they don’t want to be interacted with. This means that we will let them do their own thing and just observe them from the surface. This is how we protect the dolphins from harassment. This is very important because our dolphins are extremely precious to us. Sometimes we will get in the water and the dolphins will swim over to us because they’re very curious.
Spinner dolphins are called spinner dolphins because they like to do acrobatic moves. You’ll often see them leaping and jumping and spinning around trip three or four times before they land back in the water. It’s an amazing sight to see. Even the babies will be able to jump into acrobatic moves. Dolphins also like to ride the bow wake which is the week in front of the boat. They like to use this pressure wave to swim. It’s fun for them because it makes it very easy to swim and they can go really fast. It’s kind of like surfing! Dolphins love to play.
We can also arrange a private Kona tour. This means just you and your group will have an exclusive experience. This is recommended for marriage proposals or small families.
Kona snorkel trips prides itself on our ability to deliver an exceptional experience. If you want to swim with dolphins we can no longer offer you the experience you are looking for. We are the highest rated snorkel company on Google we are also the top reviewed snorkel company on Google. If you looking for a Kona snorkel tour Kona snorkel trips are going to be your number one choice. Give us a call at 808-326-4774.