DESCENT · 0 FT — Jeremy’s picks for your other days on the island
What this is: the short list of Big Island experiences we genuinely send our own guests to. Our dives never leave the shoreline — that’s our thing — and they end by early afternoon. Which leaves your evenings and land days open. These are the operators we trust with them: the manta night water and the best zipline on the island, with more picks coming. No filler, no ad wall — if it’s on this page, Jeremy has either done it or sends friends to it.
Disclosure: Top Shot may earn a commission when you book through the links on this page. We only recommend experiences we’d send our own friends to. Each experience is operated entirely by the company named on its card — not by Top Shot; your booking confirmation will come from that operator, with their contact details.
The perfect Kona double-header
The move most guests never figure out until it’s too late: our dives run in the morning, and Kona’s most famous experience — the manta night water — runs after dark. Same day. Zero conflict.
Morning: spear your first fish with us off the lava coastline. Afternoon: nap, eat what you shot. Evening: float in the dark while mantas with 12-foot wingspans barrel-roll through the light beneath you. That’s the best single day on this island, and you can book both halves of it right here.
Kona’s signature evening: floodlights in dark water, plankton in the beams, mantas barrel-rolling through it.
Jeremy’s take: “It’s absolutely a don’t-miss — one of the best dives in the world. I lived here for eight or nine years and had never done it. Then a friend visiting a few years ago invited me to go do a manta dive, and I was blown away by how cool it was. It’s truly an otherworldly experience — they’re like big aliens swimming around in the water. Doesn’t matter if you’re picking the scuba dive or the snorkel — they both are awesome.”
Evening · Surface — no certification needed
Manta Ray Night Snorkel
by Kona Snorkel Trips
The way in for everyone — you float on the surface over the lights and watch them work below you. No certification, ages 5 and up.
$189 / person ~2 hrs · in water 30–40 min · meets at Honokōhau Ages 5+ · must swim 50 yds · wetsuit, mask & lighted float board included No manta sighting? Standby rebook another night, free. Certified diver? Consider the night dive →
For certified divers — you’re on the bottom at 35 feet, watching them feed in the light overhead.
~$249 / person · demand-based pricing — exact rate at checkout Scuba — certified divers only (Open Water+) ~35 ft down, mantas feeding in the light overhead Not certified? The night snorkel is the same lightshow from the surface — no certification needed.
Land Day · North Kohala — ~1 hr 15 drive from Kona
Kohala Zipline
by Kohala Zipline · Hāwī
Jeremy: “I’m totally scared of heights — and this was a blast. Blazing through the treetops in a valley that was once a food source for King Kamehameha himself. Amazing experience: super fast, long ziplines. If you’re into ziplining, this is the best one.”
