The "BEST" snorkel trip on the Big Island. - Aloha, I once again took a friend on the wonderful "Hula Kai' snorkel adventure. As always, the experience is one of those "once in a lifetime's". For over 50 years I have been grateful and enjoyed my snorkelling adventures on the Fairwinds and then Hula Kai. This has always been for family and visiting friends the very best snorkelling experience on the Big Island. I had written a review in January regarding the food now served as family members missed the burgers and fresh fish. Now with deeper understanding we so appreciate the dedication the Fairwind owners have to preserving the environment.... sustainable agriculture...using local ingredients, fueling the boats only with biodiesel fuel.. With the compassion shown for over the years to those taking their snorkel adventures, the owners of the Fairwinds, Hula Kai realising the footprint too often harmfully placed on our precious Hawaiian Islands.. are also dedicated with compassion to protecting the the Hawaiian Islands, the environment ...utilizing local products and creating tasty food grown on the islands promoting this mission. I applaud them for their dedication. Thank you... The "BEST" snorkel experience while on the Big Island.

Turn it up to 11 - Holy crap this was great. Can I give 6 stars on a 5-star scale? They earned it. Look, snorkeling is snorkeling, so I can't rate them on quality of the fish and coral and stuff (which were way cool), right? But the crew was outstanding - friendly, engaging, helpful. Heads were clean and well-stocked. Drinks were solid. Boat was comfy. Gear was clean and well-maintained. Fatties like me appreciate that they provided flotation devices (belts, tubes, noodles). No request was dumb. But ohmigod the food was next-level. On a snorkeling trip that advertises breakfast and lunch, I unfortunately expect Costco bagels and bananas for breakfast, crappy white-bread sandwiches for lunch. Nothing like that here. I'm no vegan but I appreciate that this company is trying to be better, and whoa they nailed it. Breakfast and lunch were both abundant and absolutely delicious. Ever had jackfruit mock-pulled pork? I hadn't either. LOVED IT, and I'm a diehard meathead with an old-school offset smoker. Can't rave enough about the unexpected good food, good crew, good views, good times. Yes we saw humpback whales. Hell, we even had an earthquake while offshore and knew nothing about it, the trip was that good.

Awesome Snorkel Trip! - Fabulous trip on the Hula Kai !!! Second time on this amazing snorkel tour. Crew was fantastic / food delicious / areas we visited spectacular. Saw lots of fish, coral etc. at each stop & saw spinner dolphins as well!!! Could not have had a better day. Will go again next time we are here!

Great trip! - Staff was attentive informative and totally AWESOME! Snorkeling was great - saw turtles, and tons of beautiful tropical fish.

Amazing experience - The crew was amazing! They were friendly and very respectful with the different levels of ability. The food was amazing! Each seat on the boat was prime! We saw many whales, dolphin, beautiful schools of fish and even a turtle or two.

Great Day on the Hula Kai - Our concierge recommended this tour to us. We found Fair Winds at Keauhou Bay without any trouble, and not too bad street parking. They have a good setup with picnic tables and reef safe sunscreen while you wait, a small shop, as well as coffee. We were on the Hula Kai, a 55’ hydrofoil boat, smaller, and travels quickly. Today a small group of about 30. Nice individual seats, and we were able to get seats under the sun screen on the main deck. It was a perfect calm, sunny day. They served breakfast while we were on our way to the first stop. It was traditional muesli, banana bread and fresh fruit. We went quite far south to Rob's Reef In the Pali Kaholo region as they thought this would have the best viewing. We used our own equipment, and they used baby shampoo in water for anti-fogging, which worked well. We tried the noodles for flotation. Unfortunately there wasn’t too much in the water to see, just a very few fish. We did have the place to ourselves. Boarded again, and on the way to the next site we were lucky to see a pilot whale. Then some staff went in the water to try and lure some predators! Shortly a white tipped shark came along. Next there were about a half dozen bottle nose dolphins, they hung around for quite a while. Next site was Kealakekua Bay, by the Captain James Cook Monument. We ate our vegan lunch there - BBQ Jackfruit (pulled pork style) and cole slaw slider, Chickpea (tuna salad style) slider, Ulu (breadfruit) and purple sweet potato salad and mixed green salad. We are not vegan, but it was all pretty good. We went in snorkelling here - there were a lot more fish to see, and we stayed in quite a while. It was a bit more crowded, with people who were on kayak/snorkel outings. On the ride back we had delicious vegan ginger cookies and Macnut chocolate chip cookies, and even saw a manta ray as we were docking! Staff were great, ensuring everyone was safe and having fun. A very good day.

Had an Excellent time - Extremely well done with comfort. Very professional and pleasant captain and crew The food was delicious

Hula Kai on Jan. 19, 2024 - I've done a number trips with Fair Wind. I love the boats, I love the crews, Iove the snorkeling. The only thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is the food. Over the years it has gotten weirder until There is very little I, as an older person with a somewhat limited diet , can eat. If they would provide some simple thing, like plain cheese and crackers, or a pbj sandwich, I wouldn't have to deal with all the truly bizarre seasonings and undigestible ingredients they've been using lately. Otherwise, I still enjoy the cruise and will do it again if I have a chance--only bring my own snacks.

Another Day in Paradise - We book this trip every time we go to the Big Island and this one did not disappoint. We saw Humpback Whales, a pod of Spinner Dolphins, and a wide variety of tropical reef fish while snorkeling. Thank you for another memorable day on the water!

Good snorkeling but got food poisoning - Staffs are very nice and friendly. We saw 7 wheels during our trip. Snorkeling is fine, they provide all the gears. Foods taste good but few hours later me and my friend felt stomachache. We got symptoms of food poisoning, diarrhea and fever. Guessing that there was something wrong with the lunch or there was no chance for us to wash our hands after snorkeling