Anelakai Adventures in the Press
Anelakai Adventures Announces Qurator Elite Certification
Anelakai Adventures is excited to announce its Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) Qurator certification acknowledging the company’s commitment to responsible tourism. Qurator, the State of Hawai‘i’s official mark of excellence for Hawai‘i-based and operating businesses, serves to guide visitors to Hawai‘i products and experiences that incorporate responsible tourism practices, while adding value and recognizing those businesses for their positive contributions to the environment, community and economy.
“Qurator isn’t just a stamp of approval,” said Mufi Hannemann, HTA board chair. “It speaks to a set of brand values for the Hawaiian Islands, that we care deeply about our land, our people, our culture, and our guests. It’s a recognition of the interdependent relationship between businesses, visitors and our broader local community.”
To achieve Qurator certification, businesses are evaluated based on the program’s six categories of criteria: Environment, Cultural Support, Equity, Safety, Community, and Guest Experience.
“Qurator exemplifies HTA’s commitment to championing businesses and organizations that enrich our community as a whole,” said Daniel Nāho‘opi‘i, HTA’s interim president and CEO. “Many travelers want to make responsible choices, and with Qurator, visitors can easily identify businesses that align with their values and contribute to a more sustainable, regenerative Hawai‘i.”
Qurator was designed as a community-first program, seeking input from more than 100 outside groups before the criteria were written. This broad base encompassed more topics than any other program of its kind. A 24-member advisory committee of representatives from the visitor industry, business associations, government, and non-profits also provided guidance to the development of Qurator.
Experience the ocean after dark.
Stargaze and snorkel with manta rays on an Anelakai Adventures after-dark excursion off the Kona coast on the Island of Hawaii. All ocean activities with this Native Hawaiian-owned tour company are people-powered (no motors used), so participants can enjoy the quietude with stars above and manta rays, plankton, and other marine life below.
Read 15 Best Things to Do in Hawaii With Kids featuring Anelakai Adventure.
Tapuwae Leave Only Footprints
Season 1 Episode 7
An indigenous travel series with popular presenter Pio Terei. Tapuwae-Footprints shares indigenous connections, values and a unique approach between Māori and international indigenous operators.
Watch Tapuwae Leave Only Footprints Season 1 Episode 7 featuring Anelakai Adventure.
Can You Say Kuleana?
On the water or on land, it’s no secret that the island of Hawaii is an outdoor adventurer’s paradise. Fortunately, there are many outfitters, tour operators, and resorts committed to sharing the island’s wonders—reverently and responsibly.
Read Spotlighting Responsible Tourism on the Island of Hawaii featuring Anelakai Adventure.
The Complete Guide to the Island of Hawai‘i — Including Locals’ Favorite Stops
“There is nothing like it in the world,” Lee says, adding he recently took his kids, ages 5 and 7, on the nighttime adventure. Companies like Anelakai Adventures offer eco-friendly tours aboard paddled Hawaiian canoes that are non-invasive to the rays.
Read
The Complete Guide to the Island of Hawai‘i — Including Locals’ Favorite Stops featuring Anelakai Adventure.
My top 5 things to do on the Island of Hawaii
My absolute favorite thing I got to do on Hawaii was night diving with the Manta Rays with Anelakai Adventures. It sounds terrifying, but it was absolutely thrilling. You meet up at the water’s edge near Kona at sunset. Then you get put in partial wetsuits and life jackets, and then you get to help paddle a double hulled canoe out into the bay.
Read about the Points Guys adventure with Anelakai Adventure.
Eco Traveler
National Geographic's Eco-Traveller is a unique exploration of eco-tourism practices transforming responsible travel around the globe.
Watch the National Geographic Eco-Traveller video featuring Anelakai Adventure.
8 Guides and Tours to Honor Indigenous Cultures
Our 10 Essential Experiences on Hawaiʻi Island
There aren’t many places in the world—and none in the U.S.—where you can swim with friendly manta rays in luxuriously warm water. In Keauhou Bay off the Kona coast, you can get in the water with dozens of resident rays on guided tours at night. Anelakai Adventures takes guests out on a traditional double-hulled Hawaiian canoe to a spot in the bay where, after sunset, giant manta rays come to feed on photoplankton, attracted to the area by ultraviolet lights.
Read Swim with Manta Rays featuring Anelakai Adventures.
Top Things to Do in Kailua-Kona
From snorkeling with manta ray to visiting historic parks, there's so much to do in Kailua-Kona.
One of the best things to do in Kailua-Kona is to book yourself a night-time snorkeling adventure to see manta rays up close and personal. These gentle giants love feeding on plankton right off the coast of Kona and can grow up to 15 feet from wing tip to wing tip. Tour companies like Anelakai Adventures provide visitors and locals with an eco-conscious method of seeing the manta with its double-hulled canoe—and yes, they’re powered entirely by paddle power.
Read Top Things to Do in Kailua-Kona featuring Anelakai Adventures.
Pride Journey: Hawai‘i
After a quick power nap, we headed out for our first excursion, an evening swim with manta rays organized by Anelakai Adventures. This will definitely go on my top 10 list of most memorable experiences.
Read Pride Journey: Hawai'i featuring Anelakai Adventures.
Exploring the Island of Hawai'i: A Week on the Hawai'i's Biggest Island
Within minutes, several other giant manta rays join her – and then there are five huge manta rays swirling in the water below. It’s exactly the kind of encounter I’d hoped for during our trip on the Island of Hawai’i.
We’re on a nighttime manta ray snorkel experience with Anelakai Adventures, a locally owned, eco-friendly outfitter. Anelakai takes a different approach to ocean excursions. Instead of using a motorboat, six guests and several guides paddle out in a double-hulled canoe.
Read Exploring the Island of Hawaii featuring Anelakai Adventures.
The Best Places on Earth to (Ethically) Visit Rad Wild Animals
Animal and wildlife tourism can be incredibly sketchy. Here's where to go to do it right.
The serene shores of Hawai'i’s Kona Coast are teeming with aquatic life. Among all that natural wonder, manta rays capture the imagination like little else. They’re also highly sensitive to vibrations given off by outboard motors, which is how most tour groups get close to them. Thankfully there’s another way: Anelakai Adventures affords you the opportunity to snorkel with these impressive beasts in a wholly unobtrusive way.
Read The Best Places on Earth to (Ethically) Visit Rad Wild Animals featuring Anelakai Adventures.
Five Incredible Ways To Experience Wildlife On Hawaiʻi Island
When it comes to manta ray tours, Anelakai Adventures offers a truly spectacular opportunity to come face-to-face with these gentle giants.
Read Take a Midnight Swim With Massive Manta Rays featuring Anelakai Adventures.
The Ultimate Island Road Trip Is 232 Miles Of Pure Coastal Paradise
The family-run business is the only one using a motor-less outrigger to bring guests up close and personal with the massive maritime marvels. You’ll snorkel right alongside dozens at a time, some with wing spans as wide as 16 feet from end to end.
Read The Ultimate Island Trip featuring Anelakai Adventures.
Manta Swims & Dolphin Spotting: Experiences That Actually Protect Hawaiʻi’s Endangered Species
f you, like me, are a wildlife aficionado who dreams of seeing everything from turtles hatching to humpbacks breaching – come to Hawaiʻi Island and spend time with locals like Koka and Iko. It’s inspiring to hang out with humans who not only respect their ancestral connection to ʻāina (the land) and kai (the ocean) but are also actively working to improve and share that connection with everyone – one lucky tourist at a time.
Read Mission: Save the Giant Manta Ray, with Anelakai Adventures featuring Anelakai Adventures.
This is what it's like to snorkel with manta rays at night in Hawaii
While the other boats carrying large tourist numbers hoon off with their propellers and engines, we take extreme care climbing back into the canoe from the water. Crane lowers a small step ladder into the water, but advises us to move quickly so we can pull it out quickly to prevent a manta ray bumping into it. The care Anelakai Adventures take to avoid any harm to these creatures is impressive.
Read This is what it's like to snorkel with manta rays at night in Hawaii featuring Anelakai Adventures.
The Island Of Hawaii: Small Groups, Big Discoveries
For a unique opportunity to encounter these graceful creatures in their natural habitat, book a nighttime snorkel session with Anelakai Adventures. With only six passengers per boat, you can enjoy plenty of time to meet the mantas.
Read The Island of Hawaii featuring Anelakai Adventures.
Island of Hawaii: In the State’s Biggest Island: Fun, Food, and Fine Art Reign Supreme
Anelakai Adventures provides a canoe paddling by day and a manta ray expedition by night. Unlike other outfitters that use motorized, gasoline-powered boats, this one is completely eco-friendly.
Read About Champagne Living featuring Anelakai Adventures.
Hawaii’s Big Island Itinerary You Need For An Epic Getaway
Diablo Magazine March 2021 issue
The Big Chill: Inspiring and Restorative Adventures Await on the Big Island
PSA: Hawaii Is Not a Theme Park
”A lot of people, they want to have that front row seat. They want to be up and personal instead of being careful,” says Iko Balanga, a big wave surfer, lifeguard and ocean safety expert featured in a ocean safety film promoted by Hawaiian tourist authorities.
Kona by Canoe
Entrepreneurs Holly and Iko founded Anelakai Adventures as a way to share their love of the canoe, the ocean, and the incredible sea creatures - like manta rays - that live in Kona’s waters...
Kona's Manta Rays
Big Island Activities
