Whale Watch Excursion from the Big Island

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Tour Overview

Get a prime view of Hawaii’s migrating humpback whales on a Big Island whale watching cruise from Kailua-Kona. Whale sightings are guaranteed on this immersive catamaran tour with onboard naturalist guides. Listen to whales through a hydrophone connected to a sound system, and get comfortable in between sightings with amenities such as cushioned seating, a shaded sun deck, light refreshments, and a premium bar.

Tour Name: Whale Watch Excursion from the Big Island
Availability: Check availabilty
Duration: 2h 30m
Start Time: Check availability

What's included

Live commentary on board
Professional guide
Snacks and light refreshments
Beverages (alcoholic drinks available for purchase)
All taxes, fees and handling charges
Free parking 75-5629 Kuakini Hwy., Kailua Kona, HI 96740-about a one block walk away from the pier.

What’s not included

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)

What to expect

Check in for your excursion before the scheduled departure time and board a specially equipped, 65-foot (20-meter) whale watching catamaran at the Kailua Pier. Settle into a shaded cabin with seating, tables, and three restrooms, or take advantage of the cushioned seating and unobstructed views of an upper sun deck. Throughout the cruise, enjoy provided snacks and beverages, such as Kona coffee, or treat yourself to something from the premium cash bar.

Venture out into the Pacific Ocean to look for pods of humpback whales that migrate to Hawaii’s warm waters to breed every year between December and April. Learn about the lifecycle and habits of these amazing animals from marine-life naturalist guides, and listen to the humpbacks’ distinctive whale song through a hydrophone connected to the boat’s PA system. Keep an eye out for other passing marine life, such as sperm whales, pilot whales, and dolphins. Whale sightings are guaranteed, or you can take the tour again for free.

Departure and return

Start:
75-5629 Kuakini Hwy, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740, USA
All cruises board 30 minutes prior to departure. 75-5629 Kuakini Hwy, Kailua Kona, HI 96740 (Ilima Court Shopping Center) is the address for Body Glove Cruises main office where the closest free parking is located. Guests must walk one block to the Kailua Kona Pier for boarding.

End: This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Additional information

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Most travelers can participate
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Wheelchair accessible via a customize boarding ramp with portable extensions that accommodates manual and electric wheelchairs and scooters. Please include in Special Requests at the time of booking if wheelchair assistance is required
Boarding 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure time
This adventure is on Hawaii Island in Kailua Kona.
Liability waiver must be completed by all guests prior to boarding.
Hotel pick-up is not available.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 110 travelers

Refund policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

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Child	99
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Tour Overview

Tour Name: Whale Watch Excursion from the Big Island
Availability: Check availabilty
Duration: 2h 30m
Start Time: Check availability

What's included

Live commentary on board
Professional guide
Snacks and light refreshments
Beverages (alcoholic drinks available for purchase)
All taxes, fees and handling charges
Free parking 75-5629 Kuakini Hwy., Kailua Kona, HI 96740-about a one block walk away from the pier.

What’s not included

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)

What to expect

Departure and return

End: This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Additional information

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Most travelers can participate
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Wheelchair accessible via a customize boarding ramp with portable extensions that accommodates manual and electric wheelchairs and scooters. Please include in Special Requests at the time of booking if wheelchair assistance is required
Boarding 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure time
This adventure is on Hawaii Island in Kailua Kona.
Liability waiver must be completed by all guests prior to boarding.
Hotel pick-up is not available.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 110 travelers

Refund policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

What others are saying...

James T.

3/25/2024

Humpbacks Great experience with friendly staff.. we saw four humpbacks and the captain let us stay a little longer to see them because we found them at the end of trip.

Lauren H.

3/18/2024

Beautiful Breaching! The crew aboard The Body Glove whale watching boat was fantastic. After checking in on the pier, we boarded the boat (folks move between upper and lower decks). Lower deck gets you vlose up shots and upper deck gets you distance viewing. Mayara (bartender) was welcoming and gracious. My family watched 2 pairs of mothers and calves just offshore. It was fantastic!

GoPlaces287784

3/02/2024

This adventure did not work for us :( Unfortunately we did not have a good experience. We went in the afternoon. Not the best time. The water was choppy and we got sea sick which is not normal for us. We had a much better experience on the Deluxe snorkel seal boat the next morning. In that trip we saw a few whales! It was a much better experience.

James H.

2/18/2024

Whale Cruise Nice catamaran friendly staff and good cocktails and tasty snacks Saw whales & spinner dolphins during the cruise. Cruise was 2-1/2 hours a bit too long.

Diane G.

2/03/2024

Fun whale-watching! Saw quite a few whales and appreciated the naturalist's info. We even saw a group of dolphins which was super cool. Staff was great!

Helen S.

1/25/2023

A bucket list must-do! The staff was great! Very attentive and friendly. Captain Bob obviously wanted to create a memorable experience as he made several course corrections to help the passengers get great new views. He didn't rush us back to the harbor when, at the last minute, we saw more whales in the distance and took us in closer to see them. Dennis was our naturalist and seemed just as amazed by these animals as we were! This is someone who truly loves his work. We were fortunate to be "visited" by a curious whale more than once up close. Great trip overall!

Diana H.

1/18/2023

Explorer Boat Whale Watch - great time! We went on the Explorer Raft for a smaller group (23 max), faster boat. Boat was a large inflated zodiak type raft that went really fast. We were on the afternoon whale watch trip and it was awesome! Crew was great, naturalist was very knowledgeable. Best of all, we saw three different groups of hunchback whales. About 5-6 whales total. One or two of the whales breached about three times. It was a bit of a distance but we could see them. We also saw a good sized pod of spinner dolphins who put on a fun show for us, right around the whales. There was also a pod of spinners right in Kailua harbor when we returned. The place you check in and park is about a block up the street from the pier, which is a fairly steep climb on the way back to your car. It was a great way to spend an afternoon and I recommend this!

Andrew C.

1/04/2023

Whales were watched, fun ensued. Shortly after Capt Bob and crew launched the vessel, we spotted a mom and calf off the port side. Capt Bob did a great job getting us close enough to see the action without disturbing the whales. That was just the beginning of our many whale sightings.

Aleigh was a terrific guide and even if she wasn’t an Oklahoma dime (which she was), her presentation was also a “10”. She kept us engaged with relevant marine facts/trivia and exercised a keen sense of when to use her mic and when not to. On the drive home my kids were saying things like, “Dad, did you even know that orcas are actually dolphins and not whales at all?” The tour was definitely time well spent—thanks Bob and crew!

Bonita R.

12/18/2022

A glorious whale-less cruise! Everything about our Body Glove experience was top-notch. Alas, alas, however, we saw nary a Cetacean, the first whale watch of our long lives that came upon no whales. We’ll try again!

Greteltx

3/22/2022

Would not recommend Nice vessel great boat crew. Really good service and a nice snack. Now I know I’m spoiled by doing so much whale watching in Maui but this captain went out to where he knew a female whale was and her calf. We stayed there for over two hours and the most we saw was a dorsal fin. Never made an attempt to find any other whales. Thank goodness I met a very interesting woman to talk with. Now that is just minor compared to the young man that was a graduate of the University of Hawaii who was there to educate us about whales. He did a good job till he said he thinks humpback whales are jerks and he hoped we would agree with him. It was a long story but that was his main opinion and I was no I believe you might be. Would not recommend.