1. Iruka Hawaii Dolphin

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Honolulu, HI

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Iruka Hawaii Dolphin

4.3 (122 reviews)
Open • 7:00 am - 9:00 pm

Iruka Hawaii Dolphin Photos

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Zhuqjn L.

We booked a dolphin tour through Indigo Ocean Hawaii LLC. The night before departure, we suddenly received a text saying our booking was transferred to another company. We only got a vague email after 10 PM, and the next morning we almost missed the bus because the phone line said "not working hours." Very unprofessional and stressful. We were handed off to Iruka Hawaii LLC, which was even worse: * Two guides - one only interacted with white customers, the other only with Japanese customers. As two Chinese female guests, we were completely ignored. * We clearly told them we were beginners, but once in the water, no one helped. My mask leaked, I choked several times, and no one cared. Extremely unsafe! * The captain told people "don't hesitate, just jump," but no real guidance or safety support was provided. * Equipment quality was poor. * The worst part: at the end, the Japanese guide handed dolphin keychains to every Japanese guest (adults and kids), but skipped us. We only got one after we asked for it ourselves. That kind of treatment felt discriminatory and disrespectful. Later we learned this is a common scam in Hawaii's tour industry: companies take bookings, then dump guests on others if group sizes don't fit, pocketing the price difference. Real quality and safety are not guaranteed. And it's not just us. Other tourists have reported the same issues: last-minute tour transfers, lack of care, discriminatory treatment, and serious safety concerns. Bottom line: Both Indigo Ocean and Iruka Hawaii are unprofessional, unsafe, and discriminatory. We strongly do NOT recommend them. If you value safety, fairness, and respect, avoid these companies at all costs.

M W.

Iruka was amazing to work with! Our originally booked tour never showed up. Iruka was at the same location as the one that never showed. Iruka's staff bent over backwards to help get us on one of their Oahu dolphin tours that was leaving that same morning. No one made us feel badly for the all-extra effort spent getting us onto the boat. The staff on our boat were: Tim, Tim, Travis, Drew, Gaylen, Fuko, and Yuya. During the tour all staff were amazing and friendly. They clearly explained what to expect during the tour and what to consider before jumping into the water. For example, to be in the water near the dolphins, you will need to jump into the water while the boat is moving and them swim quickly away from the boat with the staff. This information was really important because it allowed my mom to make the smart decision to stay on the boat instead of going into the water as originally planned. Despite staying on the boat, Mom enjoyed watching the dolphins swimming and jumping. In fact, she probably had a better view of the dolphins than those of us in the water. The staff were wonderful with both adults and kids. I watched them help kids who started to panic in the water. They were great at calming them down and provided any additional assistance they could to make everyone's tour enjoyable. I greatly recommend this company to anyone looking to do tours.

Lovely and sweet dolphins
Summer F.

A wonderful experience with wonderful crew! Drew, Sean, Ken and especially Captain Steph provided exceptional customer service. They insured all passengers on our speed boat were able to swim with dolphins! Safe, friendly, and so respectful to the ocean. My family and I loved them!

So beautiful!

Army of dolphins is what we saw along with turtles! We Swam with them both 3 different times! Stef Ken Cristen were all amazing !! Recommend !

Excellent service and amazing experience. Staff was absolutely perfect, from booking, pick up, boarding , boating, snorkeling and even picture taking. They focused on the people on the boat. 10 out of 10

Spinning dolphins

The crew was so friendly and funny, it made the amazing dive trips so fun that I did another trip with them 2 days later.. The dive with dolphins was the best dive I've ever done in hawaii !

Koko M.

I have now done the Oahu dolphin tour 3x and the Oahu turtle tour 1x. I first discovered them a year ago and had the absolute privilege of meeting the owner herself! What a treat, Yuriko is the sweetest and I'm ever so thankful our paths crossed. The dolphin tour out of Waianae Harbor is most definitely a show stopper! It was my first time ever swimming in open water with dolphins. I've been lucky enough to see spinner and spotted dolphins on this tour! The last time we lucked up on a nursing pod and there were wee babies too!!! Absolutely breathtaking experience on the double decker boat with a slide, climbing wall, paddle boards etc. While we were cruising around we crossed across another pod and one spotted dolphin in particular was having a ball jumping through our wake a few times! Hahahaha it was fantastic first time experience for me on that one too. I swear he was giggling at all of us squealing at how cool he was! Lol The dolphin tour comes with a light lunch, juice, and water. The turtle tour goes out of Waikiki and its a much smaller boat, really enjoyed the small group for that tour. Max and Nate make a great team! We got the early morning tour so had a nice sunrise cruise out to the turtle spot. Lucky enough to get there so early because it got super crowded after about an hour and a bunch of other boats showed up and those guests from the other boats were loud and splish splashing and well rude. After swimming around and away from the gobs of people our group got blessed with a young turtle that popped up right in front of our group and hung out for a bit before we packed it on up and headed back. The cruise back was just as beautiful as the ride out with the sunrise. Such a peaceful and beautiful experience. Bring your own light snacks and water bottles on the turtle cruise. For both tours. All gear is provided so just bring some reef safe sunblock, wear your swimsuit and enjoy the views. Highly recommend and cannot wait to take my next swim!

had a great time during our experience! the crew was great, shout out to Wiley, tanner and Jake for making our time in the water safe and enjoyable!

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2 years ago

Fun experience. The crew is extremely friendly and nice. Highly recommend!!! We did the sunset tour and the kids loved it.

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Page 1 of 4

Ask the Community - Iruka Hawaii Dolphin

Review Highlights - Iruka Hawaii Dolphin

“Extra brownie points to Captain Nate, Maki, and Max for making my first snorkeling experience wonderful!”

Mentioned in 6 reviews

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Star of Honolulu - Friday sunset

Star of Honolulu

3.5(664 reviews)
1.1 mi

The ambiance, entertainment, and service was a five. The food was a four. Really disappointed with…read morethe lobster but the filet was good. Really liked the charcuterie board with a good selection of cheese, fruits and crackers. The best part was the entertainment. Great music and the hula show was spectacular. My five year old granddaughter was dancing and having a fantastic time. The lady performers interacted with her making it a wonderful experience for her. That made my night. The gentleman playing jazz and easy listening music did a good job. The lady jazz singer sounded great. Views from the ship were phenomenal. All in all my kids and grandkids had a good time so it was a win/win for my wife and I.

Unfortunately, our experience on the Star of Honolulu was very disappointing. Feels just like a…read moretourist trap. The best part of the entire evening was the beautiful views that was honestly the only highlight of the cruise. Beyond that, the operation felt disorganized, almost like a group of children were running the boat instead of a well-trained team. The food was just okay and definitely not worth the price we paid. Lobsters we received were pregnant which I'm sure is not okay, a lot of green near the tail. The performances were okay seemed all over the place and not authentic. Cheap costumes and again just seemed like children needing a job. We also paid extra for a celebration cake, but it arrived with a "Congratulations" banner that wasn't even appropriate for our occasion. When I finally spoke to the manager she told me there's no option to choose the occasion so all cakes come that way. To make matters worse, it was simply handed to us off to the side with no presentation or effort to make the moment feel special. The most frustrating part was the customer service. I asked to speak with a manager three separate times and was ignored each time. The manager never came to us--I had to find her myself. You can definitely find another better event For the price of this experience, I expected much better service, attention to detail, and professionalism. The views were beautiful, but they weren't enough to make up for everything else. I wouldn't choose this cruise again. Morning after update: my daughter woke up puking her brains out, im sure from the unpleasing looking lobster. I'd definitely stay away from this company and boat

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Star of Honolulu - Precious moment captured by me!

Precious moment captured by me!

Star of Honolulu - Our gorgeous crew!

Our gorgeous crew!

Star of Honolulu - Mai tai drinks!

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Mai tai drinks!

Iruka Hawaii Dolphin - snorkeling - Updated October 2026

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