An under-the-sea adventure on the Atlantis Adventures submarine in Kailua Kona
Hawaii Adventures in Our Own Back Yard
One of the best parts of having friends and family come to visit us in Kailua-Kona is that it prompts us to get out to enjoy activities we as kama’aina sometimes “forget” to find the time to do. As part of the agenda during a recent family visit, we planned to do the submarine tour with Kona’s Atlantis Adventures. Since I hadn’t been on the submarine tour before, I was excited to hear that this was something our guests were very much looking forward to and that we were going to be able to join them!
We checked in at the Kailua-Kona pier, where we boarded the Atlantis transport boat. Within minutes were off to climb aboard the submarine, where (with the Indiana Jones theme playing in the background) a sense of adventure took over!
It was awesome to be able to look out the portholes, at first seeing the sun shining above as we made our way deep underwater. There was a full tour (nearly all of the sub’s 48 seats were in use), but each person still had a GREAT look-out window and the cool air-conditioned comfort was the perfect setting for our family outing.
Exploring the Coral Reef Ecosystem
The tour itself was a little over 35 minutes, with the sub descending over 100 feet below the surface. We toured two shipwrecks and an amazing 25-acre, 18,000-year-old coral reef bursting with activity. We also canvassed the sea bottom in search of activity. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any hammerhead sharks (which I had been hoping to see), humpback whales or creepy eels that day, but all-in-all, it was a TON of fun and we did see a tremendous amount of ocean life! I definitely recommend this adventure to friends and family!
(Atlantis also offers a great kama’aina discount to local residents that also applies to members in their party, so be sure to mention that when making your reservation!)
Please contact Marco A Silva, R for information about the West Hawaii real estate market or about relocation to the Big Island of Hawaii.
Very nice information and great work.
It was great to see this post by Marco this morning. We often paddle board out near the Atlantis Submarine in Kailua Bay and I have often wondered about what the tour is like. It’s amazing how much is under the water that we don’t see when we are out on our boards on top of the water. And I had no clue there were shipwrecks down there! Nice post and Mahalo!
Mahalo plenty!
It was a really fun trip–you should most definitely get out there for a cruise Blake! I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t done it, after realizing how affordable and easy it is. I have a feeling we’ll be doing this more with future guests and family members who visit!