- IN SEASON NOW
- Ages 4+
- 3 hours
Experience the majesty of nature on a three-hour whale watching tour on the west end of the Big Island! Use the hydrophone and hear the whale songs.
Captain Zodiac is dedicated to providing responsible and holistic tourism to help create a stronger visitor connection with Hawaii’s past, present, and future and to create a more connected and sustainable Hawaii. We strive to implement sustainable practices into our business through continually assessing and lowering our carbon footprint, participating in respectful and educative wildlife interactions, and by providing historical and cultural connections to our visitors. We aim to create continuous environmental improvement to promote the health of our community socially, economically, and environmentally. We use our tours as a way to inspire change towards a healthier planet.
For more information on how to make sure you tour sustainably click the this link: Sustainable Tourism Hawaii!
We are grateful to now be a carbon neutral tour company! We have joined up with Carbon Buddy and now donate to carbon positive projects to offset the amount of emissions that we produce. Our guests are given the option to help us offset emissions during the booking process. Protecting the future of our ocean environment depends heavily on the action that we take now. The first quarter of our donations will be going to Waikoloa Dry Forest, a local project dedicated to restoring native Hawaiian vegetation. You can learn more at https://www.carbonbuddy.com/captainzodiac/
Captain Zodiac is proud to participate in citizen science by contributing photos of a number of species of whales and dolphins to the long-term photo-identification studies being undertaken by Cascadia Research Collective. These photos are used to estimate abundance of different populations, examine social organization and life history of species including endangered false killer whales, as well as resident populations of short-finned pilot whales, pygmy killer whales, bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins, Blainville’s and Cuvier’s beaked whales, and dwarf sperm whales. By going out on tours with us our guests participate in citizen science and help contribute to this amazing research by providing opportunity for interactions with these rarely seen species.
For areas that you are unable to cover with clothing it is best to use a reef safe sunscreen option anytime you are in or around water. For Kealakekua Bay snorkel trips it is required that only reef safe sunscreens are used.
We now offer our guests 26 oz. reusable Captain Zodiac aluminum water bottles. They are offered at a discounted rate at the time of your booking. We offer these water bottles to encourage guests to reuse them in the future both while visiting our island and when they return home. A million plastic water bottles are bought every minute around the world and a small amount of those bottles are actually recycled. Please help us do our part and use reusable water bottles and other reusable items over single use plastics.
There is no shortage of activities in Hawai’i but there are some operators who go above and beyond to continually improve their commitment to our islands and the people. Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawai’i has an excellent guide to find the operators that put in the work to make travel more sustainable. We highly recommend taking this guide into account when planning your Hawai’i itinerary!
Check out these resources to understand more about why we use sustainable practices such as reef safe sunscreen and reusable water bottles:
Kahalu’u Bay Education Center’s guide to reef safe sunscreens
Educational video on sunscreens and their effects on coral reefs
Reefs at Risk – Hawaii’s ban on sunscreens
Disturbing single use plastic facts from Earth Day
New beach in Hawaii already littered with micro plastics
Everything You Need To Know About Single-Use Plastic Bans And Plastic Bag Recycling
Experience the majesty of nature on a three-hour whale watching tour on the west end of the Big Island! Use the hydrophone and hear the whale songs.
Beat the crowd and enjoy more time snorkeling at the Kealakekua Bay, one of Hawaii’s premier snorkel spots with incredible visibility and calm conditions, on this five-hour tour! This is the longer tour compared to our original Kealakekua Bay Snorkeling Tour.
Take the concerns out of booking with large crowds and book a Private Charter starting at $1000 *plus tax and gratuity*. Enjoy creating your own adventure with the family during your Hawaii vacation.
Do you have any feedback for us regarding our sustainability efforts? We would love to hear from you!
Please email us at [email protected] and share your thoughts!