01-20-2010, 12:12 PM
We went out of Kawaihae Harbor because we wanted to avoid the bad wave action in Hilo and the boats that go from there guarantee whales or you get a free trip on a later date. It was very calm when we went and saw many whales within 2 minutes of the boat leaving the harbor. The water there is SUPER CLEAR and you can see the bottom at 100+ feet. Hard to beat that. Sure, the drive from Pahoa is long, but well worth it.