Dolphin Excursion?

[KristieGriggs]

I booked a wild dolphin excursion for our upcoming trip to Aulani in June. When I mentioned it to my DD9 she told me that she was really scared. It got me thinking about it and I was wondering if anyone can share their experience if they have done a similar excursion?

 

[dededisney]

We have done the same wild dolphin excursion the last two times we have been to Hawaii. I have to say, it was the best thing we have done. The first time our DS's were 11 and 13 and they loved it. The one we did was pretty small and we loved the crew (they had a photographer come with us and take pictures in the water and you could pay for the digital copies of all the pictures). Once we found the spinner dolphins, we got in the water near them and watched them swim below us and around us. They never got close enough to touch (you are not allowed to touch them anyway), but it was just the best experience to see them in their natural environment. They also took us to other spots to get some more snorkeling in...and we saw lots of different animals. I recommend this to everyone who goes to Oahu. Oh, and the one we go with is just north of Ko Olina, so not too far.

 

[KristieGriggs]

Thank you!!! My girls had a sleepover at Sea World last weekend with their Girl Scout troop and heard how dangerous dolphins can be in the wild. So it made them extra nervous. (They were already worried about sharks before that.) But I called the excursion company yesterday and they said the dolphins are a different kind (spinners, not bottlenose) and they are much smaller and not aggressive, and we would not get close enough to touch them anyway. So I am feeling much better about it.

 

[dededisney]

I can see how they would be nervous after hearing how dangerous dolphins can be. I never once felt in danger and I'm sure you will love it. Are you going with dolphin excursion at Waianae Boat Harbor? If so, that is who we have gone with...and if you drive yourself, you will get 10% off.

 

[KristieGriggs]

Oh yes! That is the one we are using. I did notice that they give 10% off if you drive yourself, but we are returning our rental car a couple days before that so we will let them pick us up. (We are staying two nights in Waikiki and one night on the North Shore before heading to Aulani, so we will return our rental car then.)
I appreciate the help! I think my girls will love it after they get out there and see the dolphins.

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

We were there in February and did this through the "Dolphins and You" tour group. They took us to the pod that hangs out off of Electric Beach just up the road from Aulani. The experience was AMAZING!!!! If you're lucky, the dolphins will swim in the area of you, but they are not coming up to you for an interaction. The water is very clear and you can see all around you and down to quite some depth, so you don't have to worry about the scary things lurking below the surface that you cannot see I will say that the one thing I observed were more than a few people hesitate and taking a moment or two to jump off the boat. Once one person hesitated, that created some anxiety in a few other people. But, once they were in the water everyone seemed to be fine. Also, swimming with a group of people as you will be brings a certain sense of security for some folks. I think it was that first jump in that was the hardest, because I don't recall there being as much drama or delays in subsequent drops (we had 3).

Swimming with dolphins in the wild is the only way, and best, way to observe them in my opinion. You absolutely will not be disappointed! I would also suggest you splurge for the professional photos from the trip. Well worth the money!

 

[KristieGriggs]

Funny you say that, because I was thinking the same thing about other people being hesitant to jump in. I would like all four of us to jump in together, but I have a feeling it may not go that way, and that's fine. Even if she prefers to hang out on the boat for the first drop, that would be fine. And that makes me feel better that the water was so clear that you could see below you. I had no idea that we even had books on sharks inside our house, but that is what my youngest was reading last week...LOL. So that hasn't helped. And yes, I absolutely plan on purchasing the professional photos. (I'm a photographer and feel like I'm rarely in photos, so I'm excited to hear there will be one on the boat!)

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Funny you say that, because I was thinking the same thing about other people being hesitant to jump in. I would like all four of us to jump in together, but I have a feeling it may not go that way, and that's fine. Even if she prefers to hang out on the boat for the first drop, that would be fine. And that makes me feel better that the water was so clear that you could see below you. I had no idea that we even had books on sharks inside our house, but that is what my youngest was reading last week...LOL. So that hasn't helped. And yes, I absolutely plan on purchasing the professional photos. (I'm a photographer and feel like I'm rarely in photos, so I'm excited to hear there will be one on the boat!)

If your boat is like what I was on, there is only space enough for one person to jump at a time. I think it would probably work well to put one parent in the water first to have the kids jump to, then have the rear brought up by the other parent. Also, the water is warm, so it's very comfortable. You don't have to worry about sharks in this area. There are sharks (you don't have to tell them that), but you won't see them. Even the guides say they never see them. If they are there they hang out under the ledges and there is no danger.

 

[Jfine]

Can anyone recommend a company that has a short boat ride and/or steady boat ride out to the Dolphins? I'm sensitive to a lot of motion. I do okay on boats close to the coast that are going slow but once they pick up speed and are "bouncing", I get bad headaches. Obviously I am trying to avoid getting seasick!

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Can anyone recommend a company that has a short boat ride and/or steady boat ride out to the Dolphins? I'm sensitive to a lot of motion. I do okay on boats close to the coast that are going slow but once they pick up speed and are "bouncing", I get bad headaches. Obviously I am trying to avoid getting seasick!

I never get sea sick, unless I'm on a boat in Hawaii. I don't know what it is, but it never fails. That is, until I started taking motion sickness tablets! I didn't want to take the pills, but I also didn't want to not do things because they made me sick. Did it for the first time on this last trip, and so glad I did. Never felt anything while several folks on the boat were getting ill. Might be an option to think about.

One option for the boats is to take the Aulani catamaran out. I'm pretty sure that goes much slower than the motorized boats. You just can't get in the water. The other tour boats that go to the area leave from a marina about 30 minutes north of the beach where the dolphins are, so you will be in for a bit of a ride.....

 

[Jfine]

I never get sea sick, unless I'm on a boat in Hawaii. I don't know what it is, but it never fails. That is, until I started taking motion sickness tablets! I didn't want to take the pills, but I also didn't want to not do things because they made me sick. Did it for the first time on this last trip, and so glad I did. Never felt anything while several folks on the boat were getting ill. Might be an option to think about.

One option for the boats is to take the Aulani catamaran out. I'm pretty sure that goes much slower than the motorized boats. You just can't get in the water. The other tour boats that go to the area leave from a marina about 30 minutes north of the beach where the dolphins are, so you will be in for a bit of a ride.....

You're definitely not alone! Every company I've come across has at least one review where someone says "I got seasick..." I really want to swim with the Dolphins. I'm even debating renting a private boat so that hypothetically I could ask the captain to slow down? I looked at Dolphins & you, but they leave from Waikiki so I believe that will be too long of a boat ride and the ones out of Wai'anea (assuming much shorter trip from here?) all seem to be inflatable boats?!

OP hope you don't mind me asking on your post. I never know if it's better etiquette on here to add to an existing post or create a new one.

 

[KristieGriggs]

You're definitely not alone! Every company I've come across has at least one review where someone says "I got seasick..." I really want to swim with the Dolphins. I'm even debating renting a private boat so that hypothetically I could ask the captain to slow down? I looked at Dolphins & you, but they leave from Waikiki so I believe that will be too long of a boat ride and the ones out of Wai'anea (assuming much shorter trip from here?) all seem to be inflatable boats?!

OP hope you don't mind me asking on your post. I never know if it's better etiquette on here to add to an existing post or create a new one.

We are going soon, and I booked with Dolphin Excursions. They were very nice on the phone and did suggest I take a motion sickness pill. I'm also planning on bringing some ginger gum, ginger candies, and essential oils...LOL. I want to be prepared! I really want to avoid getting seasick. Last time I had motion sickness it took almost a week to fully go away.

 

[lmb80129]

Can anyone recommend a company that has a short boat ride and/or steady boat ride out to the Dolphins? I'm sensitive to a lot of motion. I do okay on boats close to the coast that are going slow but once they pick up speed and are "bouncing", I get bad headaches. Obviously I am trying to avoid getting seasick!

We went on the Hawaiian sailing canoe out of Aulani last week and it was awesome!!! They recommended the 9am time for the smoothest ride and we saw pods of spinner dolphins and a couple sea turtles. We booked it at Makiki Joe's the morning of our sailing and it was $100 per person.

 

[Aaryana]

We (mom and myself, ages 53 and 27 at the time) went to Aulani in May 2015 and had a really incredible dolphin experience at Sea Life Park. It's a small park, but we got to get in the water with the dolphins and get kisses from them! It is by far my favorite memory from the whole trip and probably my favorite vacation memory ever! It's on the opposite side of the island from Ko Olina, but well worth the drive. We went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay the same day, which was also truly incredible.

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

You're definitely not alone! Every company I've come across has at least one review where someone says "I got seasick..." I really want to swim with the Dolphins. I'm even debating renting a private boat so that hypothetically I could ask the captain to slow down? I looked at Dolphins & you, but they leave from Waikiki so I believe that will be too long of a boat ride and the ones out of Wai'anea (assuming much shorter trip from here?) all seem to be inflatable boats?!

OP hope you don't mind me asking on your post. I never know if it's better etiquette on here to add to an existing post or create a new one.

We did Dolphins and you. Their office is in Waikiki, but they leave out of Wai'anea. No inflatable boat, regular solid hull (or whatever you call it ) And they picked us up from Aulani in a nice fancy bus. They were INCREDIBLE! AND they almost always have a Groupon offer going. I cannot recommend them enough! If you use them, spring for the picture USB. Totally worth it!

 

[happymommy]

We did the Ko Olina Ocean Adventures dolphin snorkel trip years ago, and my daughter loved it! I think she was 9, and she spent more time in the water than I did (I got a bit chilly)! She had been snorkeling since she was 5 or 6 though (we took her to Hawaii first time when she was 5 I think?).

It is a really cool excursion! She shouldn't miss out on this!

Ours also went up by Electric Beach. We also saw tons of cool fish.

 

[Jfine]

We are going soon, and I booked with Dolphin Excursions. They were very nice on the phone and did suggest I take a motion sickness pill. I'm also planning on bringing some ginger gum, ginger candies, and essential oils...LOL. I want to be prepared! I really want to avoid getting seasick. Last time I had motion sickness it took almost a week to fully go away.

How did your excursion go?

 

[twodogs]

See page 2 of my trip report to see details and lots of photos of our dolphin excursion with Wild Side tours. One word: AMAZING. http://www.disboards.com/threads/ma...ration-first-timer-trip-report.3522920/page-2

 

[KristieGriggs]

How did your excursion go?

It was wonderful!!! The crew members were so much fun. Even if we wouldn't have seen any dolphins we would have still loved the excursion thanks to them. The first two drops we didn't see many dolphins. We saw a few, but not as many as I expected. Thankfully they were determined to find more, so the third drop there were so many. Even a baby one. They were everywhere. Swimming all around us and even under us. The meal they served on the boat was awesome too. I did take a Bonine before the excursion. (On the bus ride on the way there.) And I did not get sick. I did see one lady get sick on the boat.
It was a fabulous day and I do recommend it!