Whale & Wildlife Report | July 29, 2026
Highlights
Risso’s dolphins
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Jumping tuna & marlin
Whale & Wildlife Report | July 29, 2026
Our team is back on the Big Island and so are our 8:30 AM Pelagic Dolphin/Whale Watch Tours! On our whale watch this week we had a remarkable welcome home, a rare pod of Risso’s dolphins - our best encounter with this species to-date! A true reminder that really anything is possible while whale watching off the Kona Coastline.
Join us on Sunday’s 8:30 AM Pelagic Dolphin/Whale Watch tour to see what the ocean has in store!
We started our morning in our absolute favorite way possible, with Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins greeting us at the harbor mouth. Resting in shallow bays during the day after an exciting night of hunting we never know where spinner dolphins will choose to rest each day. It’s a treat when they get to be the first and last animal we see on a whale watch!
We also witnessed lots of fish activity with tuna jumping and even a large marlin finning at the surface while hunting. Our guests got to see the bill, dorsal fin, and tail of this giant fish!
The encounter of the week goes to our rare sighting of Risso’s Dolphins! An uncommon deep water dolphin species that rarely comes into shallower waters. Shallow is of course a relative term off the Kona coastline as this encounter was in just over 7,000 feet of water.
We have only encountered Risso’s Dolphins on one other occasion in April 2024 with a small shy pod. This encounter was the opposite with a large number of individuals that were quite social! We even witnessed some surface activity including tail slaps and breaching!
For more epic sightings, hop on our upcoming 8:30 AM Pelagic Tour on Sunday, August 2nd!
Interested in experiencing our tours?
Hawaiian Adventure’s tours provide the best opportunity to explore the Kona Coast and the wildlife beneath the waves.
If you’ve been on other tours, you’ll appreciate the Hawaiian Adventures difference.
