Whale & Wildlife Report | August 10-17, 2025
PC: Olivia Miller
Highlights
Short-Finned Pilot Whales
Bottlenose Dolphins
Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins
Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
Smooth Hammerhead Shark
Oceanic White Tip Shark
Reef Manta Rays
Whale & Wildlife Report | August 10-17, 2025
Short-finned pilot whales were the whale of our week! A genetically distinct population of pilot whales resides year-round in the waters around Hawaii, so there’s a high likelihood that we will encounter them on our tours.
PC: Olivia Miller
Pilot whales are known for being deep divers, and we saw one group converge for a dramatic hunting dive in unison. Super cool! Another group had a new little calf that we have seen on previous trips. The older members of the group were pretty curious and we got some big spy hops. One of the bulls even passed beneath our bow and there was an oceanic white tip trailing and finning up at the surface. The pilot whale highlight of the week however had to be a pod that was super surface active and spy hopping for at least half an hour!
PC: Olivia Miller
Right outside the harbor we were treated to larger pods of Hawaiian spinner dolphins. A tad further offshore, we found a trio of playful bottlenose who rode our bow and hopped in for some wake surfing! The most interactive dolphins were a pod of Pantropical spotted dolphins, and we found ourselves totally surrounded. To top it off, the same day we also saw a smooth hammerhead shark cruising at the surface and all our guests got good looks!
PC: Olivia Miller
This week we had our final night manta snorkel tours on our vessel Artemis (exciting news regarding a new addition to our fleet is coming soon)! We headed to our favorite manta site at Garden Eel Cove and had great manta action. We watched a couple fly bys down deep and then had epic up-close barrel rolling right beneath our boards! There were around 10+ mantas and everyone had a blast with these incredible ocean giants.
PC: Olivia Miller
Captain Andrew and Naturalist Olivia are heading to Tonga to lead humpback tours for a few weeks with Ocean Outcast! Our Kona dolphin/whale watching tours will resume on September 17th, but you can follow @livfortheocean and @andrew.aggergaard on social media to stay up to date on their adventures. See you in September!
Interested in experiencing our tours?
Hawaiian Adventure’s tours provide the best opportunity to explore Kona’s coast and the wildlife beneath the waves. Our top-notch vessels, experienced crew, and oceanic expertise will make your Big Island adventure unforgettable.
If you’ve been on other tours, you’ll appreciate the Hawaiian Adventures difference.
