Imagine this: You're in the water, with a mask and snorkel, surrounded by Spinner Dolphins as they go about their everyday activities. Watch them swimming or playing and if your lucky, maybe they'll do a spin for you!
Novice snorkelers.... No Problems.
Your professional guide will instruct you, giving advice and pointing out dolphin behavior. (Snorkeling and safety gear provided) Getting Wet with the dolphins is an event that is certain to make your day, if not your entire vacation!
Spinner dolphins are the most common cetacean found around the Hawaiian Islands. They average 6 feet (2 m) in length and 175 pounds (80 kg). Pod size ranges between 10-100 individuals. Spinners travel far offshore at night to their feeding grounds and return close to shore each morning to rest. Rest behavior is characterized by swimming in tight groups, surfacing synchronously to breathe and gliding along the sandy bottom in a "carpet" formation. Aerial activity, such as spins, head and tail slappings, increases as they "awaken" during the late morning hours and through the afternoon.
Cetacean Swim Guidelines
It is our hope that these suggestions will help to protect Hawaii's dolphins from unintentional harm.
1) Let the dolphins approach you. Maintain a quiet, relaxed manner when swimming among or near them. Avoid separating dolphins from the pod at large. 2) Swim with your hands by your sides. Chasing after, reaching for, or touching the dolphins will frighten or startle them, and they will move away. Be as quiet as possible when moving through the water. 3) Leave foreign objects aboard, such as rope, plastics, or playtoys. Dolphins prefer to find and play with leaves and other organic debris. Follow their lead. 4) Trust in nature's food supply. To attempt to feed wild dolphins would be harmful to their health needs as well as their social behaviors and it is illegal. 5) Be sensitive to dolphin behaviors. If they are in a state of rest or traveling, please respect that they may choose not to interact with you. Honor their habitat. 6.) Be considerate. Watch out for other swimmers, allowing them adequate space for an intimate encounter. 7) Be cautious approaching the dolphins. Watch for swimmers. When near the dolphins, go slowly, quietly and with focused attention so as not to disturb or change their course or behaviors. 8.) Avoid sudden actions or noise. Erratic changes in speed, direction, or sound can confuse or startle dolphins.9.) Avoid diving down with dolphins. Dolphins play out a cat-and-mouse game with their predators everyday of their life. In the unlikely event that a predator does charge a dolphin you do not want to be close to them underwater. Your guides on the boat will explain.
Swim with Dolphin Adventure
3 hour Swim with Dolphin Adventure: Adult - $105.00 plus tax. Children (12 and under) - $75.00 plus tax. Hotel pick up...6:30 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. Leaves boat harbor...8:30 a.m. Limited to 22 passengers. Our boat has a capacity for 30 guests, for our excursion we limit the number to 22 guests, this limit and the fact that the dolphins are more playful during mornings gives a better opportunity to swim with the dolphins. Playtime and photo opportunities with the dolphins (30-40 minutes). Snorkeling among some of the most pristine reefs, teeming with colorful fish and inquisitive Hawaii Green Sea Turtles (30 - 45 minutes weather permitting). Excursion duration on the water 3 hours. This tour operates seven days a week. Includes: Fresh tropical juices, bottled water, tropical fruits, yogurt, cheese and granola bars.
Spring Break Schedule between March 10, 2008 and April 15, 2008: Two morning trips daily at 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Hotel pick ups will start at 5:45 a.m. for the 7:30 tour and 9:00 a.m. for the 10:30 a..m. tour.
After April 15, 2008, Excursions resume with 8:30 a.m. departures with hotel pick ups between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.. Check in is at 8:00 a.m. at the Waianae boat harbor located on the west shore of Oahu, off Highway 93.
Summer Break Schedule between June 15, 2008 and September 30, 2008: Two morning trips daily at 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Hotel pick ups will start at 5:45 a.m. for the 7:30 tour and 9:00 a.m. for the 10:30 a..m. tour.
After September 30, 2008, Excursions resume with 8:30 a.m. departures with hotel pick ups between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.. Check in is at 8:00 a.m. at the Waianae boat harbor located on the west shore of Oahu, off Highway 93
Things we reccommend for you to bring along....Swimsuit, towel, Cameras (including video), lots and lots of film, sunscreen, light clothing for coverup and a small bottle of water. Gear included with your excursion; Snorkeling gear, flotation tube, Baja Bags (for dry storage), raingear (rarely needed) and all safety equipment is provided. Please note that the boat ride is very dry therefore cameras and video equipment will be safe and are very welcome onboard.
CANCELLATION POLICY: A minimum of 24 hours notice is required to cancel any reservation. A full refund will be paid on any reservation canceled prior to this minimum notice. In the event of dangerous weather or ocean conditions, we may cancel your tour, you may choose to transfer your activity to a later date or receive a full refund.
We pick up at all Waikiki hotels. If you prefer to driver yourself, Please write down or print these instructions. Our dolphin tour does not leave from Hanauma Bay. We leave from the Waianae Boat harbor.
Join our monthly newsletter for a chance to win a free snorkeling tour, scuba diving lessons, swim with dolphins tour, a Hanauma Bay photo cd and original t-shirts.
Receive free underwater marine life screen savers of dolphins, turtles, manta rays and Hawaii's tropical fish.
Learn interesting facts about Hawaii's marine life.
Learn about special activities being held at Hanauma Bay and more.
You may un-subscribe at any time instantly by clicking on the remove link in the email or by this form. *Your information in NEVER shared with anyone!
Hawaii Fish Cards
Franko's O'ahu Reef Creatures Guide (fish card). Franko's fish cards are stiff, laminated plastic, with a hole for a lanyard. Take it snorkeling or scuba diving with you! Size of Fish Cards: 6" x 9"
Franko’s Oahu Reef Creatures Guide
Side 1 shows a mini-map of Oahu with a few of it’s best diving and snorkeling spots located, most notably Hanauma Bay. The map is a scaled-down version of Franko’s Map of Oahu, showing the island’s lovely shape and green mountains, and the beautiful surrounding Pacific Ocean. A humpback whale, spinner dolphin, and Hawaiian monk seal are depicted on the map. Oahu’s main towns, Pearl Harbor and it’s highways and freeways can be seen. Below the beautiful mini-map is a fabulous photo of Oahu’s most popular snorkeling destination, Hanauma Bay. There is nowhere else on earth that is snorkeled by so many. Just beyond the reef line, which can easily be seen in the photo, the snorkeling just gets better and better. There might be 2000 visitors at any time in the shallows, but out where it is 12 to 18 feet deep there will usually be no one else out there with you. Visibility might reach 80 feet or more. I just had to put it on the fish card to represent the truly fabulous underwater Oahu.
Side 2 shows the wonderful reef life of Oahu. Oahu has such great snorkeling and scuba diving that it must have it’s own quality fish card. This is it! This picture of Oahu’s fish is the result of personal inspiration, as Franko has snorkeled and scuba dived all around Oahu, and especially at Hanauma Bay. The fish card, which measure 6" x 9", is printed on plastic and then laminated so that it is stiff, shiny and waterproof. It has a hole for a lanyard, so you can actually take it diving or snorkeling. I’ve used a thick rubber ban
d as an effective lanyard for mine. The reef creatures depicted on these cards are taken from my own artwork on Franko’s Map of Oahu. The fish shown include over 80 species, including a dozen or so that are found nowhere else on earth. The Hawaiian fish shown are selected from about 435 species that exist in Hawaii, and are based on Franko’s personal exploration. The colors and the means of showing them are based on personal observation. The naming of the fish in Hawaiian as well as English is helped by the experts at the Maui Ocean Center, The Pacific Whale Foundation, Hanauma Bay rangers, The Waikiki Aquarium, and local knowledge. I love them all, but maybe my favorite is the Humuhumu Nukunuku Apua’a, Hawaii’s State Fish.
Side 1 shows Franko’s Map of Oahu, with a view of the whole island, it’s mountain ranges shown in beautiful green shaded relief, as well as it’s freeways and major roads, plus creeks, trails and things to see or places to go. Beyond the island, the ocean waters are shown in beautiful shades of tropical ocean blue, indicating ocean depth contours. All about the island there are descriptions of it’s fabulous scuba and snorkeling spots, famous surfing spots, and great places to visit. Favorite dive spots include Hanauma Bay, possibly the most snorkeled spot on earth, and also Magic Island right next to Waikiki, the wreck of the Y0-257, which is visited by the Atlantis tourist submarine right out of Waikiki, the M/V Mahi on Oahu’s west where eagle rays soar by, Turtles, where numerous green sea turtles can been seen on almost any day, U’lua Cave, or Black Rock, where white tip reef sharks guard a big cave, and many more. The North Shore not only features dive spots like Shark’s Cove, Snagles, Turtle Street and Hale’iwa Trench, but also great surfing spots like Sunset Beach, Banzai Pipeline, Waimea Bay, Chun’s Reef, Laniakea, and Hale’iwa. Follow Franko’s map to Laniakea and check out the old, 300-pound green sea turtles grazing on the algae right at the beach, or even resting on the beach there, as they have for thousands of years. The East Shore shows the map owner where to find the Polynesian Cultural Center (the PCC to the locals), the Mormon Hawaii Temple, which is probably the most beautiful edifice in the State of Hawaii, and Sandy Beach, famous for it’s body-whomping heavy shorebreak, which commonly ruins a few unwary tourists’ vacations, as they find out just how powerful the beautiful ocean can be. Around the map there is a collection of artwork of tropical fish, which are named in Hawaiian and English, and depicted in a reef environment with photos by Franko.
Side 2 shows Franko’s Map of Waikiki & Oahu South Shore Details. The entire South Shore from Honolulu to Makapu’u Head, Oahu’s easternmost point, is shown so that the viewer can get a close-up view of the island topography, including Diamond Head Crater. More things to do, places to visit, dive and diving sites are shown. The highlight of this side of the map is the superbly detailed map of Waikiki, which shows where everything is, including most of the hotels, Kapiolani Park, Ala Moana Beach Park, Waikiki Beach, the Ala Moana Shopping Center, the International Market Place, over 200 buildings, the DFS Galleria, the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, Ala Wai Harbor, Ala Wai Canal, Ala Wai Golf Course, and much more. Local well known surfing, snorkeling and diving spots are shown with descriptions as well. This map of Waikiki is the very best there is, except for the one that appears on Franko’s Map of Waikiki and Oahu with Things to See and Do. In depth topographical map of Oahu with detailed listing of beaches dive sites and the tropical fish in the area. Printed on waterproof tear-resistant paper. Measures 21 x 14 open 7 x 4.25 folded.
