Any reviews on the Dolphione Tour near Aulani

[surfer_ed]

Hi all,

Going for first trip to Aulani in 31 Days, Arrviing on Feb 1st.

Has anyone done the Dolphin Excursion, Hoku Naia...I think it is called? Is this a good family excursion? We are a family of 4. DS 6 and DD 8. DD is really jazzed up about Dolphins.

1. Would you recommend it?
2. Do I need to book ahead of time?
3. Should you do the lunch package?

Any other recommended excurtions?

Wow just noticed my spelling is bad today...sorry

 

[surfer_ed]

Anyone have any advice for us?

 

[tguy47]

We did it last year. We saw dolphins and humpback whales (which you should too in February). It's a large catamaran and they are "dolphin friendly" which means they won't approach the dolphins once they see them. Unfortunately, other boats aren't, so we got to see other boats speed right into the dolphins for a close up look. I like to be dolphin friendly too but it's frustrating when not everyone plays by the same rules. I would still recommend it. The boat is stable, the crew is nice, the food was ok.

 

[cruella1114]

We too are arriving on Feb 1 with our 8 year old. Where can I get info on this tour ?

 

[Psychodisney]

We did two dolphin excursions last June. One was out of the Koolina marina called Ocean Joy. This was a large catamaran. The dolphin part was strictly dolphin watching and did include snorkeling(deep water) and a nice lunch..
We also did Dolphin Excursion which was up the coast in a not so great(safe) area. The excursion set out on a small watercraft which was like a raft. The crew was very nice. Once we found the dolphins, we were allowed in to float/snorkel without fins over the dolphins. They would pop up occasionally. Later, we went to snorkel where there were tons of sea turtles. Lunch was provided on land afterward.
My kids are significantly older(18, 16, 13) and experienced snorkelers so we thoroughly enjoyed both. Have your kids snorkeled before? Both areas are deep water. When we first took my DD snorkeling she was 6. I brought her life jacket from home so she felt secure in the water.

 

[tguy47]

Those are awesome pictures! We just did the watching only tour last week on the Hoku Naia and it was nice. Saw dolphins and whales. website is www.hokunaia.com. We also did the snorkel/watch with Hawaii Nautical. website is www.hawaiinautical.com. We did the snuba but it was tough on the younger kids (5 and 8), the 10 yo did well. Like the above reviewer said, it is deep water snorkeling. Both are availabe for booking through the tour desks at Aulani. Both are top-notch organizations and I would recommend either.