Wild Dolphin Watching and Snorkel Safari off West Coast of Oahu

Badge of ExcellenceOahu, USA

Waianae Coast Snorkel Cruise with Dolphin and Seasonal Whale Watching from Oahu

3 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Cruise along west Oahu’s pristine shoreline to see the spinner dolphins, humpback whales (seasonally), and other marine creatures that frequent the Waianae Coast. Your 32-foot USCG vessel is led by a lifeguard-certified crew of marine biologists and naturalists, maximizing your chances of spotting Hawaii’s underwater wildlife. Plus, with snorkeling gear included, you can choose to swim alongside tropical fish and sea turtles, too.

View marine life such as humpback whales (January–March) and spinner dolphins from a safe and respectful distance
The 32-foot boat only allows 15 people on board for a relaxing experience with unobstructed views
Snorkel with tropical fish and sea turtles, with gear included
Bring your own food and drinks or purchase from Spinners Cafe with a discount of 10%

What's Included

Snorkel gear: mask (prescription masks available), snorkel, fins and a life vests
Dolphin viewing
Seasonal Humpback whale viewing (winter months only)
Lunch
Hotel transportation included on our Dolphin Excursions.

Gratuities
Wet suits available to rent for $10
GoPro Rental $40.00, you keep the SD card.

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

85-639 Farrington Hwy, Waianae, HI 96792, USA
Check in time is 30 minutes before your tour time. Meet us NEXT TO Spinners Cafe at the Waianae Boat Harbor: 85-491 Farrington Hwy, Waianae, Hawaii 96792. Make sure you type in "Waianae" or the zip code "96792" so you do not get routed to the wrong Farrington Hwy. There are two on Oahu.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

We pick up at most hotels in Waikiki and Ko Olina. If we do not pick up at your hotel in those areas, we will give you one nearby. This is only because some hotels do not have accessibility for our vans. HOTEL PICK UP must be SET UP before 4:00 pm the day before the activity date. After hour bookings are self drive to the Waianae Boat Harbor only.

What To Expect

Get ready to have a whale of a time off the western coast of Oahu. Your meeting point is the Waianae Boat Harbor or you can request a pickup from your Waikiki or Ko Olina hotel. Lifeguard certified naturalists and marine biologists will join you on a USCG vessel.

Head out into the waters in hopes of spotting marine life like dolphins, seabirds, and humpback whales, depending on the season. Because this excursion is both a wildlife viewing tour and a snorkel tour, you have double the opportunity to spot Hawaii’s marine life.

Gear is included, but food isn’t, so bring your own meal if you’d like to enjoy lunch at sea. Dive back into the water one more time in hopes of swimming with tropical fish before heading back to harbor.

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 3 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Most travelers can participate
We do not allow children under 4 years old.
We will only be able to pick up from hotels on the early morning 7:00 am departure. Later morning 10:30 am departure is meet at harbor only.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
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 experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Nancy_S

It was exceptional — the crew was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and a pleasure to be with. I’d highly recommend this and definitely plan to do it again.

Reviews

5.0

594 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 594 reviews

Awesome to see whales, dolphins and turtles. Highly recommend this outfit

jeremy_w, Apr 2024

The crew was friendly, knowledgeable and worked to get great experiences! Made several stops and allowed for swimming and snorkeling to experience ocean life.

Best three hours of the trip!

Jeremiah_H, Mar 2024

In three hours we saw a humpback and her calf, dozens of spinner dolphins, sea turtles, and many fish while snorkeling on a beautiful coral reef. Amazing.

Best day EVER.

Brittany_H, Mar 2024

Booked a last minute solo trip to Hawaii and this excursion came up online and I am SO happy I booked this trip! Mandy picked me up from my hotel in Waikiki for the 7am tour and we hit the water! Within 30 minutes we were already seeing whales! Snorkeled with turtles and about 30 dolphins. The best day of my life ever! A must do activity while visiting Hawaii, and they even provide lunch too! GoPro and wet suits are available to use for an additional fee....these photos are from their GoPro!!! Book this tour ASAP and choose the morning run as there are less people out on the water too!

Amazing experience with very knowledgeable staff

Alex_M, Feb 2024

Definitely highlight of our 8 day trip to Hawaii. The staff was more than just tour guides. They were excited to see the whales, dolphins, turtles and fish just as much as we were. They all had degrees in marine biology so it seemed like they knew everything there was to know about the marine life. As a budget traveler I was pushing outside of my comfort zone with the price but it was worth every penny I spent. This was an amazing and once in a lifetime experience.

Great experience

Sophie_C, Feb 2024

Great experience. Friendly crew - girls only! - on a small boat with a limited number of people, which makes you feel like a VIP :-) we tracked the dolphins and swam among them, incredible feeling ! And also came close to a whale and snorkelled on the shore and saw a turtle. I recommend !

Ocean Safari is where it’s at!

Frieda_B, Feb 2024

Excellent tour with a very experienced and professional Safari team. We saw whales, dolphins and swam with beautiful fish and turtles! Definitely take Dramamine if you tend to get motion sickness so you can enjoy your time exploring the ocean. Very cool experience!

Sweet day

Farzaneh_K, Feb 2024

It started with friendly greetings in the morning. the team was very nice and careful and professional. two strong, super women who organized everything very well. cute dolphins and shy choice was the best experience. Several places for snorkeling are offered.Thanks

Excellent experience! We...

Lija_R, Jun 2023

Excellent experience! We highly recommend this tour. The boat captain and her assistant were very professional and had great information to share regarding the wildlife and Hawaii.

Super friendly and...

Gordana_M, Jun 2023

Super friendly and knowledgable. We had a great time! We loved snorkeling and watching the dolphins!

It was exceptional — the...

Nancy_S, May 2023

It was exceptional — the crew was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and a pleasure to be with. I’d highly recommend this and definitely plan to do it again.

Our Vacation Highlight

Greg_L, May 2023

The tour was expertly led and the experience was amazing. We had the good fortune of able to view both spotted & spinner dolphins. I would highly recommend this to all who visit Oahu

Awesome boat and snorkeling experience

nicolevoigtman, Apr 2023

This was one of my favorite snorkel and boat tours on Oahu! I like the small number of people on the boat. We saw whales, dolphins, turtles, and fish. The captain and guide were both marine biologists who were very knowledgeable and shared much information. A pod of dolphins swam right toward us, so we saw them fairly close! We saw spinner dolphins and then bottlenose dolphins.

a must do!

ashley_a, Mar 2023

We saw dolphins, pilot whales, humpback whales, and sea turtles! the tour was absolutely fantastic and the tour guides were amazing!

Love it it was the best...

Zayury_L, Feb 2023

Love it it was the best experience of my life. I saw whales dolphins and turtles. Love the snorkeling

Amazing

Ellen_F, Feb 2023

Amazing experience!! It was very informative and we saw a lot! The crew were very friendly and told us so much.

Amazing experience

Dayann_R, Feb 2023

We have such a wonderful time. We were able to watch not one but six humpback whales. In addition to that, the crew was cheerful and knowledgeable, simply fantastic! We couldn’t get to see dolphins but we got a voucher that doesn’t expired, so we can come back whenever we want to until we can get to see some dolphins. Highly recommended!

Can’t Imagine a Better Tour

benjamin_m, Feb 2023

The two guides really made this trip. They seem to love what they do, and they worked really hard to put us in places to see some wildlife. And boy did they succeed. We watched Spinner Dolphins dancing around, watched some hump back whales, and even “swam with” sea turtles, Pygmy killer whales, and tropical fish. Also, three hours is about a perfect time for this.

The wolphins were amazing!

Riley_R, Feb 2023

We loved it! The whales were unbelievable. The morning started beautifully calm, whales, dolphins and turtles what more can u ask for?

Highly recommend

brettandroberta, Jan 2023

Great tour! Saw whales, dolphins and turtles. Even got a little swim in even with some BIG waves......

Fabulous experience!

Kamille_T, Dec 2022

Seeing the whales! And dolphins! And the octopus when we were snorkeling! The guides were very knowledgeable and fun!

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