Dolphins and You

What a fun time.
It was me, my wife, and two kids, ages 9 and 4.
This young crew was so helpful and fun to be around. They really went out of their way to create a great experience for everyone on board. No one was left out. We didnt want to get off the boat. A girl on our boat was sea sick and you could tell she wasnt having a good time because of her dizziness, the crew were really trying to look after her and took really good care of her. They were constantly checking in on her. Hands down one of the best customer experiences I have ever seen. I highly recommend this excursion to everyone.

We drove to the harbor before 7 am and waited for them to come with all the people from Waikiki, they arrived around 7.15 am, we signed the waiver and the tour started around 7.40 am. It was very crowded in the boat. The crew was very good. The music was good, the boat was clean. Unfortunately I could not see any dolphins, but my son saw them so I am happy. I would say it is an above average experience. We really liked the snorkeling after the dolphin tour. We saw fishes and turtle. The burger was great. I thought they should price the photo package fairly so more people can buy the same. Overall an above average experience.

My wife and I had an amazing experience with dolphins and you. The crew made our last day in Hawaii very special and unforgettable. We saw a lot of dolphins swimming below us and saw some beautiful fishes and baby turtles. Im glad I signed up for this tour and I’m definitely returning the next time I come back to Hawaii. Thank you dolphins and you!

Pono, the whole day was pono (perfect). The sunrise was spectacular, the water warm and flat with great visibility. We saw dolphins on our first dive, including a mother and calf feeding as well as got a visit from a large turtle.
The burger for lunch was ono.
The worst part was the tantrum on returning to the dock when we had to get off the boat but my wife settled me down fairly quickly and no one else seemed to mind too much.
Ok the staff were great and we all will be back on next trip to Hawaii.

Went on this little excursion via Groupon. My wife and I were not disappointed. It took three drops, but we had a pod of dolphins swim under us twice. That was pretty sweet.
Didn’t see any turtles so that was a bit of a bummer.
The surprise highlight of the trip were the burgers the captains made. They used a sweet poi (taro) bun that was delicious. It made a standard grilled backyard cheeseburger into something really delightful.
The crew were all super nice. There was this odd juxtaposition where the Japanese crew member would explain something jubilantly for a good 5 minutes and then the captain, who was diving with us, would explain it in English in one or two sentences and not nearly as excitedly. It kept throwing me off, but didn’t really impact the whole experience.
Free temporary tattoo was a nice touch too.

This excursion was worth every penny! We swam with wild spinner Dolphins, sea turtles, and tropical fish. The crew was so much fun! They even did some singing and hula dancing as well. They have an ongoing groupon, but if you aren’t comfortable with using groupon you can contact them directly and book it at that discounted rate. Make sure to get the professional photos as well. Nate, our photographer did an amazing job getting up close photos of us with all the sea life. The tour also includes a free shuttle and cheeseburger lunch

Dolphins and You was the highlight of our trip!
We started with a bus ride from Waikiki. The crew was entertaining on the long ride over.
Then we got on the boat. They offered water and lemonade the whole time. The crew was very informative and entertaining the whole time. They really seem to enjoy their jobs so it helps everyone on the boat have a good time.
Once the crew explained everything to everyone, we all jumped in and swam around, though we didn’t see too much the first time. Don’t get me wrong, we saw tons of tropical fish and reefs, but no dolphins or turtles. We saw dolphins at a distance, but they swam away. After 30 minutes or so, we jumped back onto the boat and the captain took us a bit farther out to jump back in. We swam around for 30 minutes. On this occasion, we saw about 20 dolphins swim directly below us! It was absolutely amazing! We then jumped back into the boat and the captain took us to another location in the hopes of seeing turtles. This time, we jumped into the water for about an hour or so. We did not manage to see any turtles, just more tropical fish and reefs. The crew made a kayak, water slide, and paddle board available to use, but we wanted to snorkel the whole time since it was so amazing!
Lastly, we jumped back on the boat, started our long trip back to Waikiki and ate some great Taro-​bun purple burgers. They definitely hit the spot!
This was absolutely the best part of our trip and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Dolphins and You was not only the highlight of our Hawaiian vacation but it was one of the best days of my life! (Ask my husband. I must’ve said «I think this is the best day of my life» about ten times throughout the day)
The weather and water couldn’t have been better. My husband and I are both are VERY prone to seasickness and we each took a motion sickness pills first thing in the morning. It worked! Not a single person was sick on the boat! Not one. Thank you Captain Shanti and Mother Nature!
Our day started with a 6am pick up in Waikiki. Tai was warm and welcoming on the bus ride out to the boat. The bus ride was great! This is a luxury tour bus and they play videos from previous tours to get you excited for your day.
Once on the water the whole crew created a really fun and friendly environment. It was early in the morning but everyone was happy and smiling and the crew was always making sure everyone onboard was having a good time. They have water and lemonade available for you at any time on the boat. I also paid $ 5 to rent a wetsuit because I’m always cold. It’s great that they offer this! They also had a *prescription snorkelling mask*!!! For someone with poor eyesight this really made a huge difference in my underwater experience.
Alright: now for the dolphins! We spent at least 30 minutes in the water with at least 50+ dolphins! They were so close! It was magical. Yes. Magical. Then we went to another location and snorkelled with tropical fish and sea turtles! The sea turtle swam so close to me I could’ve touched it. Once again I must use the word *magical* to describe this.
I had a delicious veggie burger, listened to a live ukulele performance, and before you knew it we were stepping off the boat and back to reality. I didn’t want the day to end!
Do yourself a favour and book this tour! Also don’t forget to tip the amazing staff. They deserve it! The next time we are in Hawaii we will definitely be doing this again!
*We went in April, 2015*

What an amazing experience.
The crew we had on our tour on the morning of 7÷9÷15 was great. They were one of the most professional tour groups we have ever had the pleasure of being led by. They were all SO nice and helpful. They seemed to really enjoy their jobs.
They picked us up at the Hyatt Regency at around 5:55am. It took almost about an hour to get to the boat where we were going to ride in. Definitely take Dramamine BEFORE getting on the bus. It helped a bunch.
We took the boat out another 20 – 30 minutes and they found a spot where a lot of dolphins were swimming. It’s a little hectic once they spot the dolphins because then it’s a mad rush to get everyone off the boat (though it’s still very safe), it’s really 1−2−3 jump, NEXT 1−2−3 jump. We were able to see a little family of dolphins (about 6 of them) swim right under us! We followed them around for a little and then hopped back up on the boat to go to a different location for snorkeling.
There, we snorkeled, had a water slide, paddle board, and kayak to play with.
All in all, great tour. One word of advice though — the morning tour seems to be the primarily Japanese tour. The afternoon tour is for the Americans it seems. They still speak to you in your preferred language but they spoke Japanese over the mic and then had a tour guide right next to us translating after they would speak.

This tour is pricey… but totally worth it! My husband and I swam with dolphins, turtles, and fishes. Although we weren’t able to swim close to the dolphins, we were still happy. The crew made an honest attempt to get us as close to the dolphins as possible. The crew fed us with a yummy taro burger too.
The picture package is totally worth the cost. The sweet girl Mori took so many pictures of us. I’m 100% glad we got them. It’ll be great for scrap booking out vacation.
Overall, this was a memorable experience

This tour is hit or miss depending on whether there’s the dolphins part or just you who came all the way only to get seasick. Unfortunately, there were no dolphins on Sunday ⁵⁄₂₄ for Memorial Day weekend There were big waves so many people got sick. Definitely bring Dramamine to help reduce the motion sickness.
The crew was very energetic and nice, but the snorkeling location was disappointing too. There was one turtle and some fish, but the water visibility was so-​so. There needs to be a backup plan if no dolphins are seen because it turned into a very mediocre snorkeling tour without them. We only got to snorkel in one stop and that’s all we did today besides eat and some hula dancing onboard. It was really disappointing.
Overall, I hate to say we got the miss as there were no dolphins and snorkeling site was not that great. They are offering a 50% discount voucher since we didn’t see any dolphins, but it’s difficult to use as most people have limited time on their vacation and who knows when they will be back on the island. And frankly, I don’t think the tour is worth 50% of the price.
My suggestion is if you want to see dolphins, go somewhere that guarantees seeing them such as at the Kahala resort. Swimming with wild dolphins is NOT a guarantee so book this tour at your own gamble. You will be happy or disappointed. It varies on the wild card factor of whether dolphins appear. We spent 9:30am-4:30pm for this tour, and that’s a lot of time for not getting what we came to see. If you want to snorkel you can just go to Hanauma Bay, which is a better snorkel site. But at least we saw one turtle…

Bought a Groupon deal for this adventure & it was so well worth it.
We took the 11 am meet at boat dock slot because we couldn’t get up early enough for the morning slot plus the water would be cold.
Wet suits are $ 5 extra per person.
We saw pods of dolphins, a couple of turtles, & tons of fishes on our trip.
We even saw the dolphins playing with a plastic bag.
It was exciting to see the turtles so close and some even came up for air right next to us.
Service: A+
Staff was friendly, fun & nice.
The staff even taught us to hula & danced for us.
Lunch was included (hamburgers with taro buns, veggie burger available also if you request it).
The only gripe that I have is that they should get new fins & life vests for their customers. The ones that they provide are very short & low quality. –1
Overall, this was an amazing experience which anyone should do if they’re in Hawaii.

Overall this was a great experience, but I did not think it was a great as all the rave reviews I see here. First of all they leave super early, and it felt so rushed. They go through the safety info and snorkel instructions so fast you barely have time to process it. By the time they spotted dolphins, they were rushing us off the boat. I was having difficulties with my snorkel, so I totally missed the dolphins. Such a bummer.
But #1 this is NOT a close encounter with the dolphins if that’s what you’re expecting… You may be able to snorkel and see them far away but that’s about it, and #2 this is for experienced snorkelers, which should be emphasized! I have done snorkeling a lot but it’s been a while, and they just kind of expect you to know what to do. They were VERY helpful if you needed it, but they need to realize most tourists probably have limited experience. It was a bit overwhelming!
Next they let us snorkel on our own to see some cool fish and turtles over by Makaha. This was cool, and they also had kayaking and snorkeling for us to try. They cooked up some delicious burgers, and even danced hula for us. The crew really was AMAZING like everyone says. Super happy people, and they made the experience awesome. However I have to give this 3 stars because it just wasn’t what I expected, and I personally did not get to see any dolphins, a huge disappointment.
Another thing I did not appreciate is they take all these pics of you (I mean a TON) and they don’t let you purchase them individually. They tell you that you can purchase ALL the pics from the entire day of everyone for a RIDICULOUS amount. Come on. Seriously? They can do better than that.

WE LOVE THESE GUYS! Honestly — the best $ we spent on the whole trip to Hawai’i and hands down one of the best experiences of my life. Words can not express how happy I am with Dolphins and You and how much I would recommend them to anyone making a visit to Oahu.
The staff was incredible. They put everyone at ease from the beginning and made us laugh throughout the trip. That being said, I don’t think there was a second where these guys sat still! They were constantly accommodating the tour guests — whether it be performing for us, grilling up burgers, teaching us new Hawaiian words, or giving us fun tattoos. They really made the experience a blast and unforgettable.
I don’t know if everyone gets this lucky (I am told we had the perfect trip) but our tour was SPECTACULAR. We saw well over a hundred dolphins and had the opportunity to spend a ton of time with them in the ocean. It’s indescribable how amazing it feels. The pods of dolphins were all around us and the ocean is super clear (or at least was that day). We even saw a sting ray making its why across the ocean floor 40ft below with no issues. **I was told you’re more likely to see dolphins in the earlier hours so if you can do the morning trip I’d for sure recommend that.**
This tour is recommended for anyone and everyone. My mom doesn’t know how to swim and getting her in a pool deeper than 3ft is damn near impossible. Imagine my surprise when she agreed to give this snorkel a shot (assuming there were multiple flotation devices of course). The crew was so kind and helpful in making her feel comfortable and safe. Seeing her in the middle of the ocean bobbing around and looking at the dolphins below is a sight I never thought I would see and a memory I will forever cherish and be grateful for.
We chose not to bring any underwater cameras because we wanted to fully take in the experience, but the staff was snapping pix on the boat and underwater throughout the trip and we had the opportunity to buy a USB of the photos afterward for $ 60. We chose not to because there weren’t that many photos of us BUT it’s a small regret because seeing as this was the BEST DAY EVER it’s a small price to pay. :)
If you go to Oahu and are a fan of dolphins, please fit this into your plans! I promise you won’t regret it!

This tour was amazing. Definitely in my top 5 best experiences.
The staff is knowledgeable, kind, funny, helpful and just all around awesome.
On this day we got to the bay where the dolphins like to play at and we saw at least 2 or three pods of dolphins totaling for at least 100 dolphins swimming all around us. We even got to see a ray at the sea floor. During the swim the staff even takes pictures of you in the water (see photos).
After the swim with dolphins, we got back on the boat and made our way to the snorkeling spot. While snorkeling the captain grilled some burgers. They even have veggie burgers for those who don’t eat meat. Be advised, they only have a water cooler and little Dixie cups onboard, so bring your own water.
After snorkeling we got our burgers while the staff put on a ukulele and dance show.
Back on shore they showed us how to hula and they had us dance. Don’t worry, if you’re shy they won’t make you and you could sit to the side and take pictures of your family members who do decide to dance.
Overall, this was a great tour. I had my GoPro with me so I got some awesome Dolphin and snorkeling footage.
We bought this tour on Groupon so we got it for $ 189 for two people. Great deal. Best $ 189 I’ve spent. If you’re visiting Oahu, do yourself and your family a favor and book these guys. They’re great! Oh! We even saw some whales swimming and coming out of the water not to far from our boat.

Amazing all day experience!
The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about the area. I was picked up promptly from my hotel at 6 am and we headed to the boat dock. Once on the boat we said a Hawaiian prayer and learned a little about the dolphins we were about to see. We were able to swim with the dolphins 2 different times for about 20 – 30 minutes each and had one finally «free» snorkel for about 45 minutes. During the 45 minute free snorkel session we had the opportunity to kayak and paddle board. We hopped back on the boat to have have lunch and had great entertainment. The crew did the hula for us and played the ukulele.
Once we got back to shore we took a hula lesson and learned about different traditional Hawaiian instruments. Once completed we jumped back on the bus and headed back to Waikiki. Overall great experience with friendly staff.

Prior to our trip to Hawaii, I purchased a LivingSocial deal for Dolphins & You.
The day started early, with a scheduled 6:40 AM pick-​up from our resort in Ko’olina. At 6:40, we received a call that they were running a bit late due to traffic. We appreciated being notified and not just kept waiting. The bus arrived shortly after to pick us up. The bus was a brand, spankin’ new charter size bus. And it was practically full. We were not expecting so many other passengers. But I digress, the bus was comfortable and like I said, brand new.
We arrived at the harbor after about ½ hour or so. Our trip followed the schedule provided on the website and as described in most other reviews, so I will not go into details about that. We did see two groups of Dolphins at the first spot. But we were in & out of the water pretty quick at that spot. I would have liked a bit more time to hopefully see more of the dolphins. We were in the water a bit longer at the 2^nd spot. There we saw several turtles and a bunch of fish.
The crew was great and very entertaining. We felt safe at all times. No complaints at all. The tour included lunch which consisted of a cheeseburger. We were each also given a piece of pineapple.
We did have a good time. But I’m to sure that I would pay the price that they have listed on their website. There are a few things that would have made this tour a whole lot better.
A) Water. Drinking water would have been very much appreciated. We were on this tour for over 6 hours and were offered a Dixie cup with hot tea on the boat and when I asked for water on the trip back on the bus, I was given another Dixie cup with lukewarm water. Dehydration is real. I would prefer a couple of bottles of cold water over a burger.
B) Like I mentioned before, there were a lot of people on this tour. At one point, everyone was crowded at one spot watching a turtle. I was wading a few feet away and I spotted another turtle. All of a sudden, everyone was all over me, yelling. Flippers hitting me. It was pretty scary for me, especially since one person was hanging on to me and pushing me down, but I can imagine how scary it was for the poor sea life. Especially when they chased and tried to touch the turtles.
C) My last point is not directly about the tour but about the photos. We did take a water camera but were unsure of the quality. We had decided to possibly purchase the photos from Dolphins & You. Then we were told that the price was $ 60 for a usb of photos from the entire tour. That price point is very steep and I am sure that they would sell 10x more if they would slash that price by at least half. We ended buying it in the end, because I wanted images of this trip. We were in all of about 10 photos. Ther were another handful of underwater photos and the rest were their stock photos. We were not in any of the underwater shots. Then again, there were tons of people flapping around.
One other point about the photos. You can either pay $ 5 extra to have it shipped to you, or you can pick it up at their office in Waikiki. That’s fine & dandy if you’re staying in the area.
We were in Ko’olina. We avoid Waikiki like the plague. They weren’t able to load the usb before we were dropped off but since they had to drop off others in the area, my husband was able to wait across the street to pick up the usb on their way out of the resort area. A good idea would be to start loading a couple of usbs once they board the bus in case anyone in the Ko’olina area wishes to purchase. Which I doubt, at that price point. We
were only one of two suckers to purchase. :)

Aside from those three points, we had a good day. The hula lesson part was fun and we took a bunch of pictures (with our camera). Like I said, the crew was excellent and they deserved the tip that we gave. I just wish that others would have done so as well. If it weren’t for the crew, I would likely rate them a bit lower.

Enjoyed every minute of our experience. Bought our deal on a social living site and certainly was not let down!
Terry ‘the bilingual tour guide’ is amazing! He’s the reason we had such a good time!
If your visiting Hawaii from the mainland, you should do this— no questions asked!
They dropped us in the water three times, fed us burgers then we learned the hula! So fun!!!

This was an amazing experience! I would recommend it to everyone. They have the day planned out just right for you so you can get the most of your hawaiian dolphin experience. I was extra happy that I found a great deal on living social as well!
The pick up is early but it’s worth it to see the most amount of dolphins. We had to do 2 re-​jumps because it’s hard to predict the dolphins patterns, but I’m glad we did. We saw so many pods including baby dolphins. The actual time in the water is probably about 45mins to an hr. These are wild animals so you can’t get too close of touch them, all with good reason. So if that is what you are expecting I suggest going to the Kahala or any other hotel that has dolphins you can pet or play with.
After you get to swim with dolphins they take you to a spot where you can snorkel with turtles and see a lot of fish. When you come back on board they have cheese burgers cooked for you with chips and a drink. I loved that they had a veggie burger option as well. The bun is a cool purple bread. It was a neat experience.
The crew is hilarious and makes sure you have a good time every minute you are there. I heard that they are updating their boat and the one we were on wasn’t bad so I can only imagine how that will increase the experience. At the very end they dove you a quick hula lessons and show you some
Native instruments.
Overall, this is an experience that I recommend to everyone but be prepared for a long day ahead of you. Ps. I did get sick even after taken motion sickness meds so be prepared that this can happen to anyone.

Really cool experience! The dolphin tour package includes a short hula dancing intro, lunch, a 5 hour boat ride, and of course the snorkeling experience. All snorkels and fins are provided but I would recommend bringing towels, water, and maybe a snack.
Our dolphin snorkeling experience wasn’t as exciting as some other peoples’ seem to have been. We did two quick dunks into the ocean to view a school of dolphins swimming really far below us. I can’t really say how far away they were, but they looked like specks or maybe even tiny fish from our distance on the surface of the water. I would recommend taking the earlier tour at 6am instead of the 9am tour, as many other dolphin watching boats are also out in the ocean at the same time and tend to crowd the dolphins away. I’m speculating that that is what happened to us. We saw the dolphins on the surface of the water, but as our boat (and other boats) came closer, they swam away and thus we only got to see them swim away as specks instead of up close.
Regardless, it was still a cool experience and the crew was very fun. Unfortunately, I don’t remember any of their names except for our guide — Yuko. Not going to lie, I expected the cheeseburger lunch to look like the picture on the website, but it was just buns, meat, and cheese. I was definitely hungry by the time we ended our tour which is why I recommend snacks. We also started our lunch pretty late, after both of the dolphin snorkels and before the regular snorkel/​kayak/​paddleboard.
We didn’t really see much during the regular snorkel. They say that there is a chance of seeing sea turtles but we never saw any. Mostly just rock and sand. It was cool that there was a kayak and paddleboard on the boat too so some people did that instead.
All in all, I thought the experience was worth what we paid and I would do it again just for the chance to see dolphins up close. Maybe we just went on an off day, but the crew was what really made the experience fun. Bring lots of sunblock! You’ll be sitting out in the sun all day.