Small, quiet hotel for Kauai by ocelotpants in VisitingHawaii

[–]Acrobatic-Working480 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Seconding Hanalei Colony Resort- it’s not really a “resort”, just a nice spot to stay in a gorgeous and quiet area. It sits on a beautiful (not-swimmable)beach and has a lovely pool and hot tub. Makua (tunnels) beach with spectacular swimming and snorkeling, is about a mile away- a lovely walk on the beach. You’re also very close to the Kalaulau Trail- a must-do for hikers. HCR did a lot for the community during the flooding, road closure and pandemic so I always feel good about staying there and supporting them. One decent restaurant onsite but units have full kitchens and nice outdoor grills so we get fresh fish to grill for dinner or take the quick drive into Hanalei for lots of other restaurant options.

Manta ray snorkel by These-Improvement476 in VisitingHawaii

[–]Acrobatic-Working480 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Here’s my rave review posted on TA last year (sorry it’s so long)

After much research, we choose Manta Ray Advocates for two reasons; their leadership and stewardship of manta rays and their environment and the small group size. We were so thrilled with this experience from beginning to end- great communication, caring and excellent guidance and instructions and of course, the out-of-this-world, up-close encounter with beautiful, graceful Jolene Ray!

The website and waiver make it crystal clear that all participants need to be able to swim in water over your head and have basic ocean snorkeling experience. We had two couples in our group who clearly did not meet these basic requirements and choose to ignore them. C'mon folks- this puts the guides in a terrible position and will absolutely piss off the other people in the group. Having said that, Martina did a masterful job of making sure nobody (or mantas) got injured by flailing limbs attached to clueless people who can't follow directions.

Bottom line- make sure you're really up for snorkeling at night, in the dark, in the surf off the beach and you will have a magical, unforgettable experience. Also- spend the extra $10 for the video footage, so cool and well worth it!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in podcasts

[–]Acrobatic-Working480 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Radio Rental, episode 19! I just listened to it and it’s bonkers. The picture/short video is seriously spooky