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Adventures at Dolphin Quest

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read our disclosure policy for more information.

November 28, 2017 by Tricia 10 Comments

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!

 

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read our disclosure policy for more information.
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Filed Under: Activities, Travel, Travel/Activities Tagged With: Activities in Hawaii, dolphin quest, Dolphins, education, entertainment, family, family activities, Family friendly, fun, Hawaii, oahu, sea turtles, sting ray, swim with dolphins, swimming

Comments

  1. Dedreanna Drost says

    December 6, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    That would have been such an amazing experience!

    Reply
    • Tricia says

      December 12, 2017 at 6:47 pm

      Dedreanna – it is an amazing experience and Dolphin Quest makes it fun and easy!

      Reply
  2. Ranjani Sudharshan says

    December 6, 2017 at 9:01 pm

    The pictures look amazing! I agree completely of how children have to learn through real life experiences!

    Reply
    • Tricia says

      December 12, 2017 at 6:22 pm

      The best way to learn!

      Reply
  3. Corinne says

    December 7, 2017 at 7:12 am

    OMG I would loooooove to do something like this! I’ve never been close to a dolphin 🙂 it looks like you had a great time!

    Reply
    • Tricia says

      December 12, 2017 at 6:22 pm

      It is an opportunity of a lifetime!

      Reply
  4. Angie says

    December 7, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    This is such an amazing experience and it looks like such a fun park. I would love to swim with dolphins one day but first I have to learn how to swim. Lol

    Reply
    • Tricia says

      December 12, 2017 at 6:22 pm

      The good news is they provide life jackets – but knowing how to swim is helpful!

      Reply
  5. Kassi says

    December 8, 2017 at 4:01 pm

    I would have loved to have had this kind of experience as a kid. I can only imagine how much fun you all had!

    Reply
    • Tricia says

      December 12, 2017 at 6:21 pm

      It was great! I highly recommend going!

      Reply

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