Adventures at Dolphin Quest

Learning is a lifelong process. While the classroom is important, so are life experiences to really understand how learning applies to life.

We are always looking for ways for our children to learn outside the classroom as well as compassion for others. For our vacation to Hawaii, one of the best opportunities we discovered was Dolphin Quest. They generously invited us to come experience swimming with dolphins and have given us amazing photos to share with you!  While Dolphin Quest sponsored our adventure, all content and opinions are mine {and I am honest to a fault!!}.

The staff at Dolphin Quest were wonderful. We arrived extremely early {I dislike the stress of not knowing where I am going and having a time crunch on top of that}. Alisha was an amazing help upon arrival. In addition to watching the dolphins play; they have a sea turtle, sting ray, water fall and a beautiful beach. Watching the sea turtle and the sting ray is a huge hit for the kids {they are never sitting still so the kids can run around to watch them wherever they may go!}. Swimming in the ocean is another great activity, but we decided to wait to get wet until it was time to get in with the dolphins.

Holly was our dolphin trainer with Hoa {the dolphin} is the main attraction . Hoa is their youngest dolphin at 9 years old. He was spunky, fun and very well trained.

Hoa is the kids’ favorite part of the experience. He is well trained and overall just amazing! Sister bear was hesitant {she is pretty little}, but she was put at ease when he would roll over. She loved seeing his belly button, tail and most of all to give him a BIG hug! Brother bear was much more active with Hoa. He loved swimming next to him and seeing him under water. Every action Hoa took was exciting and inspiring. For me, I enjoyed feeding Hoa fish.  It was amazing how quickly Hoa could retrieve a fish that missed his mouth!

Hoa is without a doubt the highlight!

Here is what made Holly one of the best parts of the experience for me as the mom. {Hoa was the best part for the kids}

Holly had a fun, upbeat personality keeping the kids’ attention and making them feel at ease. If they were uncomfortable with doing something, she would quickly change it up so they were comfortable. For example, the kids did not want to kiss the dolphin. For my son she posed the dolphin near him and then we came up with a “nose bump” instead {which he LOVED}. For my daughter, she had the dolphin role over and she was able to hug the dolphin’s belly. It was a huge success!

Education in a fun way is what Holly is all about. {Mommy happy dance!!} Every activity is filled with tidbits of knowledge. If you want to actually LEARN about dolphins: how they live, what makes them unique and amazing, why some are in captivity, and how you can help them to live in the wild – Dolphin Quest is the place to go!

Our biggest take-aways:

1) Dolphins are amazing and the kids think they should get to be with them daily!
2) Humans are the main reason dolphins struggle to live in the wild.
3) We can help dolphins by recycling, picking up litter and eating sustainably/responsibly caught fish. Please look to see how your fish was caught before buying it! Learn more here.

Things I would do differently next time:

1) The parking structure was a little difficult to find. Look for the hotel sign (see picture below) at a four way stop. To the right you will see the parking garage (see picture below). Now that you know what it looks like it will be easy-peasy for you!

2) They are very clear when you book about Dolphin Quest being located within the Kahala hotel {they have pictures on their website also so check out the link!}. What I did not know is the Kahala is a VERY nice hotel. The next time we go {and there WILL be a next time!!} I would wear a cute sundress instead of the workout shirt and shorts I showed up in.

 

3) If you have Google maps on your phone you really don’t need to leave yourself as much time as I left to get there. Dolphin Quest plans ahead and gives you an arrival time ahead of your swim time to give you the opportunity to get checked in, settled and to see the other exhibits. They really do think of everything! Give yourself an extra fifteen minutes, not nearly an hour like I did!

During your time on Oahu, Dolphin Quest is a MUST do on your itinerary! Do not miss this amazing experience and a chance to give your children an inspiring learning opportunity!

BONUS: You get to enjoy the experience while they take AMAZING pictures! {Have I mentioned how much I LOVE pictures?!?}  The photos are on an online portal that come with neat borders and stickers to add to the photos to customize them!

Contact Dolphin Quest today to book your adventure!

 

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