The Oahu dolphin tours are one of Oahu's most unique ocean excursions. There is one particular portion of the island on its northwest coastline between Ko'Olina and Kaena Point that is famous for its dolphin activity. This is a place where you can both watch these wild dolphins and amazingly, actually 'swim with dolphins Oahu style'. We offer many of these dolphin tours at discount pricing.
It is very rare to have an area off the coast of any island that you could pretty much have a guarantee of finding dolphins. But this is the case off the coast of Oahu where on any given day you will have a tremendous likelihood of not only seeing these amazing animals but snorkeling with the dolphins as well. Dolphin snorkeling Oahu is so popular that we have many different boats you can choose to take.
The Oahu Dolphin Tour Locations are Remote
These areas of fairly remote coastline seem to be the ideal habitat for the dolphins and the dolphins can be found here with absolute regularity. The morning hours often find the dolphins resting in huge pods just off this coastline. Evenings and night-time for dolphins are the times when they go out to sea in deeper water to search for food but the morning time is a period of relaxation and convivial fun and playfulness.
'Swim with Dolphins Oahu Style' in the wild
Not only can the dolphins be found here but on most days you can actually get into the water and swim with them as well. In fact it is estimated that you will be able to see dolphins here about 95% of the time and a full 80% of those times you will be able to swim with them too. The fantasy of swimming with wild dolphins seems to be a common one and you can fulfill your fantasy here on the Oahu coastline.
The dolphins are our friends and enjoy swimming with us as well but we are taught on these dolphin tours that we must be very respectful of them in return. Every effort is made to not intrude on their surroundings and there are certain protocols you are asked to follow but the result will in all likelihood be that you will be in the open ocean playing with and enjoying the antics of these wild Hawaiian dolphins. The dolphins are quite curious and if you simply enter into the water fairly near them, they will come over to you for a peek and in this way we engage them only when they themselves want to be engaged.
Almost everyone we send out to experience the dolphins on Oahu comes back with great stories to tell and fantastic photos of incredible spinner dolphins to share with family and friends. Many dolphin companies also provide hydrophones so you can listen in on the dolphins communicating with each other. Pick-up for these dolphin adventures are offered from Oahu's Waikiki hotels on some of the dolphin watches.
Swim with Dolphins at Sea Life Park
In addition to wild dolphin viewing we also have dolphin watching and swimming with dolphins at Sea Life Park. In fact on the last couple of times that President Obama came to visit Oahu on vacation he took his children here for a dolphin swim experience. These dolphin swims are extremely popular and are often booked up well in advance so your best bet is to book them early so you can be assured of the day and time you would like to go. Pick-up can be arranged from your Waikiki Hotel for the round-trip transport to Sea Life Park.
What Types of Boats are Available to Take You Out on your dolphin adventure?
Hawaii Nautical offers a large variety of boat tours throughout the island of Oahu and on the Big Island of Hawaii. Snorkel tours and dolphin watches are offered in the mornings and the afternoons and in addition they offer sunset sails, dinner cruises, scuba and snuba options, whale watching in season and private charters. More Info / Buy Now
Dolphin Excursions operates off the Waianae Coast of Oahu and its daily morning and afternoon snorkel tours specialize in swimming with dolphins. Going out with small groups on this fast and maneuverable 'SCARIB' boat makes it all the more personalized. Van pick-up is included from your Waikiki Hotel. More Info / Buy Now
Iruka Hawaii offers snorkel and dolphin watch tours off the coasts of the two islands in Hawaii that provide the very best venue for observing dolphins, the Waianae Coast of Oahu and the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. More Info / Buy Now
The 232' Star of Honolulu is the largest dinner cruise boat in Hawaii, has four levels and seats as many as 1500 people. You will have your choice of various tiers of dinner options varying between 7 course, 5 course and 3 course meals, all at varying prices. A smaller vessel, Starlite, seats only 149 passengers and provides dinner cruises as well. In the winter months the Star of Honolulu also provides whale watches. More Info / Buy Now
Ko'Olina Ocean Adventures is a tour boat company that operates out of Ko'Olina Harbor on the west facing Waianae Coast. They operate two separate boats, a 37' catamaran called the Ko'Olina Explorer and a 35' custom power boat called the Pacific Passion. Both are fast and maneuverable and will whisk you off to pristine snorkel locations and race you against the wild dolphins found along the coastline. More Info / Buy Now
Sea Life Park is essentially a 'marine playground' you can visit, they are located on the eastern shores of Oahu at the base of the cliffs of Waimanalo. Here you will be able to swim with the dolphins, view reef life in a large aquarium, pick up and touch some of the sea life and view educational shows which feature many marine animals. This is a great place to bring children and makes for a great day outing. More Info / Buy Now
West Oahu SUP and sport's mission is to be the premier ocean sport activity center on the Waianae Coast which is a beautiful coastline area where you will see nature at it's finest. This is the real country of Oahu. Away from the lights, noise of crowds from Waikiki and the North Shore. More Info / Buy Now
If you're staying on Oahu, and you're interested in doing something with dolphins, you're in a really good spot, really lucky.
Oahu is one of the best places that we have for viewing dolphins. In fact, it's one of the few places that we have in the state that you can actually swim with the dolphins. Well, let me explain. Let me pull up a map here.
This is Oahu, Waikiki, Honolulu down here. Up at this point, this is Kaena Point right here, this coastline right here is one that is really, really famous for wild dolphins. This is a place that they pretty much hang out in. We can find them almost every day of the year. We have quite a number of different boats that go out from this area. We have some larger boats. We have some smaller ones that are speedy. It doesn't matter. The boat, whichever boat we're going to take you on, you will be seeing dolphins. The smaller ones are a little faster, and possibly a little bit more personalized in the sense that there's smaller groups on board.
What happens generally is you're going to be leaving from Waianae or Ko Olina, somewhere in there, and heading out to find the dolphins. The dolphins are out there pretty much every day. It is such a rarity to not find the dolphins. The captains keep an idea, or an eye on where they are, so everybody sort of knows that particular day where they were last seen, and so on. The first thing that'll happen is you'll go out, and you'll try to spot them. A curious thing happens, at that point. Most dolphin cruises, if you want to call them, throughout the state, are really what are referred to as a dolphin watch, kind of like a whale watch. You're going out looking for dolphins. On these, you will be able to find the dolphins, I would say, 95% of the time and see them. You'll be able to look at the dolphins from the boat.
The really amazing part of what happens on this Waianae coast is that about 75% of the time that you see the dolphins, you'll actually be able to get in the water and swim with them. This is an amazing experience. These are wild dolphins. They are not in an aquarium. It's the real deal, and people just absolutely love this. Now, keep in mind that the utmost respect needs to be paid to the dolphins in this process. We're not in any attempt trying to interfere with their lives. We're just maybe trying to get close enough to see them from a distance, and then get into the water. If they have the inclination, they'll swim over to us. Well, this, luckily, is something that happens all the time.
The way it is accomplished, generally, is that the dolphins are pretty much cruising during the daytime along the coastline. In the earlier part of the day, they're maybe sleeping, or partially asleep. They never ... They've always got one eye open. They're oftentimes either just resting or playing, and so they're in a really good mood. Have you ever seen a dolphin not in a good mood? Well ... They'll travel in their pods up and down that coastline. The idea that the captain will have, of the boat that you're on, will be to get out ahead of where they are cruising, then get everybody in the water at a place where they're likely to come by.
Then, as it generally works, they just kind of filter right through your little group of snorkelers. In this way, you get really close to them. A lot of times, they'll just stop, and do circles around you, and play a little bit with people. We don't attempt to touch them or any of that. Really, all of the movement, all the things that are happening are instigated by them. That's the way we leave it. Anyway, what really happens here is that you get just a world-class opportunity to get up close and personal with dolphins, and many dolphins, because they're in a pod. It is just one of the just exhilarating experiences that you will have on your vacation.
There are many boats we have, large boats, small boats, and we can organize one of these for you without a problem. If you have a car, you can drive up there. We also have many boats that will pick you up at your hotel in Waikiki. This can all be arranged for you. Now, the other thing about dolphins is that they're often seen on boats that are going out for other purposes, maybe a whale watch, maybe a snorkel. That's going to be a possibility for you. These are not boats, tours, that are going out specifically to find the dolphins. They're going out Snorkeling, or they're doing something else. Keep in mind that the dolphins are out there. They're here year round. It's not like the Whales that come and go. They're around, and you may see them. That could actually happen on any part of the island.
Now, the other way to do dolphins is, over here in this part of the island, in the Waimanalo area, we have Sea Life Park. Now, this is an aquarium, and a place where we do shows and so on, with sea lions, and penguins, and a big shark tank that you can jump in, and all that type of a thing. There are pools that we have where there are dolphins. I don't want to say necessarily trained dolphins, but dolphins are very smart. If they know what you want to do, or want them to do, they'll do their best to accommodate. Consequently, we have pools where you can actually get in with the dolphins and swim with them. There's about three different types of dolphin swims we have, each progressively getting a little bit more intense with regard to dealing with the dolphins. The last one, the most expensive one, is the one where you actually have two dolphins, and they could actually take you for a ride. You could hang onto the dorsal fins of each of them as they cruise you across the pool.
Anyway, you're learning a lot about dolphins, and you're really getting to relate to them in a very different way than you do with wild dolphins. It may be easier for some of you ... This may be a little bit more tame scenario, possibly, for seeing the dolphins, that you may gravitate toward. Either way you do it, either in the pools at Sea Life Park, or out in the wild, meeting and swimming with dolphins just in the ocean, it is one of the big experiences that people just love about Oahu. Dolphins on Oahu, that's a big activity. Questions about tours or activities in Hawaii, just give us a call, or check out TomBarefoot.com.
Hawaii dolphin watching together with swimming with the dolphins in Hawaii is an industry all to its own. There is probably no sea creature quite as endearing in the eyes of a human being as the dolphin.
Four species of dolphins are regularly found in the waters around Kauai. They are the Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the Rough-Toothed dolphin, the Spotted dolphin and the Spinner dolphin.
Unlike Maui's famous Humpback whales, dolphins are year-round residents of Hawaii and can be seen off all the Hawaiian islands during virtually every month of the year.
Known for their inshore habits, playfulness around vessels and star performances at aquariums, Bottlenose dolphins are probably the most popular of all cetacean species located off the Big Island of Hawaii.
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