Kohala Tours
Scuba & SnorkellingBoat ToursDolphin & Whale WatchingNature & Wildlife Tours
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
The Big Islands Best Boat tours await you on the north Kona-Kohala Coast in Waikoloa. Our premiere Whale Watching cruises are a winter favorite however year round we make snorkel dreams come true accessing pristine reefs of abundant sea life as well as dolphin watching as an added bonus to all tours. The state of the art Lavakai 2 was tailored to offer a comfort level ride and exceptional viewing for all passengers. Also available is our night manta ray snorkel cruises
Kawaihae, United States
Meets animal welfare guidelines

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles17 reviews
Excellent
16
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1

molsenmotorsport
Gold Hill, OR224 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2016 • Couples
Our cruise was very comfortable and successful. We saw several whales. One in particular really wanted to show off and breached half a dozen times. William and Susan have a very relaxed approach which makes you feel like you are with your friends out looking for whales. They also got us up close to about 30 spinner dolphins and got us a good look at some very colorful local fish.
I would recommend a long sleeve shirt or windbreaker as part of the cruise was a bit chilly for some.
Written 23 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

B S
Kailua-Kona, HI2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2016 • Couples
Susan and William took us out and we saw humpback whales right away. There appeared to be at least a couple groups of two or three whales that were making their presence known! We saw fluke flaps, entire breeches, pectoral fins waves and many, many water spouts from their blowholes. We literally were just hanging around whales for the entire length of the tour. We saw a bottlenose dolphin that was with her baby and they seemed to enjoy the whales' company. They swam under our boat! There was also a pod of spinner dolphins that showed off a little themselves. It was an amazing trip. My wife and I will be talking about this 2-hour trip for the rest of our lives. We finally found time to review the pictures we took and while some are just huge splashes, we have some great shots that we are going to blow up and frame. The boat was new, William was a smooth captain and Susan really knew her facts about the whales and dolphins. Incredible, unforgettable experience. Would recommend to anyone and will do it again ourselves when we return to the island of Hawai'i (hopefully soon)! Mating season peaks in March but we saw plenty of active whales in the final week of February.
Written 29 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lea F
Oakdale, CA50 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2016 • Couples
What an amazing experience! We were supposed to go whale watching out of Hilo but the owner called me to say that they were going to have to cancel out trip due to rough waters but would gladly honor our Groupon for the same trip out of the Kona side of the island. This trip was totally worth the two hour drive it took us to cross the island. Our captain William and naturalist Susan were lovely, engaging people who were as excited to be out of the water as we were. We were lucky enough to see at least 10 whales and I captured some of the most amazing pictures that I'll treasure forever. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fabulous experience.
Written 21 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Renatad4
San Francisco, CA188 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2016 • Couples
A great experience, comfortable, clean boat with professional, knowledgable and fun crew. I grew up on the CA coast and have spent a ton of time in Hawaii. This was by far my best what watching experience. So many breaching whales, frolicking whales, a baby whale....... This boat goes out of the South Harbor, but if you take the 8 am tour, there is no traffic-we made it from the Four Seasons in about 20-25 minutes. We spoke to several people who had gone out of other spots and had not seen as many whales.
Written 20 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Allison Y
Honolulu, HI4 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2016 • Friends
This was to be the highlight of a trip to the Big Isle. We were looking forward to seeing dolphins and snorkeling. They cancelled our trip and we had no time to find another one. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.
Written 17 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
All tours were canceled due to high surf warnings so no boats operated this day. We would love to take you out on a suitable day and have the opportunity to share with you a memorable ocean experience. you were refunded 100% at the time of cancellation we too wish the conditions were better on that day.
Written 28 February 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

myadventureX
Los Angeles, CA4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2016
Captain William and Naturalist Susan provided an exciting and informative morning touring the northern waters of the Big Island. We were able to see whales near and far from the boat. One whale was slapping it's tale repeatedly which was very neat to see such behavior and the captain picked up on it's communication sounds through hydrophone clearly which was extra neat. Will always remember such a wonderful and relaxing adventure.
Written 5 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

111Traveler222
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2016 • Solo
I can not believe the number of whales we saw! The boat was very stable. I normally get a little seasick on boats, but I didn't feel that at all on this boat.
Written 30 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BABH
Henderson, NV11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2016 • Couples
Take this whale watch! This was a wonderful experience out of the Kawaihae harbor. It was a mostly covered vessel that was comfortable . William (the Captain) and Chris and Susan (naturalists) went out of their way to steer us to the active areas of whale activity and inform us with the aid of hydrophones to hear the whale sounds. They were quickly able to orient the boat for best photo conditions and would wait at active spots to allow us maximum viewing and photography. We were not rushed and they gave us maximum time to see all kinds of activity. They were extremely courteous to all of us and we were free to roam around during viewing. We had been on other Whale watches in Hawaii and Maui and this was the best by far. This Catamaran was the best for viewing whales of any we had experienced.
Written 29 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David M
22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2016 • Couples
I will admit that it was hard to find them, but the extra work was well worth it. The captain and first mate of the Lavakai ll were easy going and knowledgeable and made searching for whales fun. The boat was low to the water and intimate in size. We headed out for a two-hour sunset whale watching tour that produced whale sightings from the start. The whale watching was so phenomenal that everyone agreed to stay out a little longer as we followed some very energetic whales who put on an incredible show. We will definitely go again
Written 25 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Glad you had a phenomenal time whale watching with Kohala Tours were happy to provide an alternative to the crowded whale watching boats. Good to hear the crew took good care of you and were able to teach you something new. As for the harbor as Hawaii's newest harbor facility we appreciate your patience in locating us in the construction phase. Mahalo for joining us we'll look forward to seeing you back again
Written 27 January 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

gypsywanderlust78
Keaau, HI5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2016 • Family

We went on a sunset whale watch. Beautiful sunset, awesome whales. The crew was great and trip was family friendly. We especially enjoyed listening to the whales on the hydrophone!! An unforgettable trip. Thank-you Kohala Tours!
Written 23 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sunsets are hard to beat in Kohala glad yours was a memorable one. Always special being able to hear the whales via the hydrophone. The Lavakai II helps radiate those mysterious whale songs in stereo. Mahalo For your kind words see you soon hopefully.
Written 27 January 2016
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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KOHALA TOURS (Kawaihae) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go