LIGHTSUP PUAKO
Explore the pristine coral reef and abundant marine life of Puako! Located 30 minutes north of Kailua Kona, our playground is miles of shelf reef that is home to all of Hawaii's reef fish, the green sea turtle and spotted eagle rays while the drop offs we cruise over is home to the Manta Ray, pelagic fish and Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. Take a guided tour with us or explore on your own. It is THE MUST DO ocean adventure on The Big Isle that is a next level human experience.
We believe if you can stand, you can do Stand Up Paddling with LightSUP Hawaii! This experience is for everyone who loves the ocean and all the life that calls the ocean home. Standing up is not required! However, our guides are experts at providing proper instruction, ensuring success. We promise, it is easier than most think!
Your safety and well being are paramount! This is why we work with Mother Nature and our guests' comfort level to determine the course of our adventure together, ensuring you have the ultimate SUP experience. Truth is, we spend far more time paddling on our knees or simply lying on the board gazing upon the wonders of life beneath the surface than we do standing up and paddling toward a destination.
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Children are welcome to join you on our tours as passengers on your board! As ocean parents, we all want our children to love the ocean and the marine life as much as we do. However, we are well aware of the difficulties of getting kids in snorkel gear and worrying about their safety. LightSUP boards are the perfect alternative to the kid snorkeling ordeal! The minimum weight we require for child passengers is 30 lbs. and the total combined weight of the child and adult cannot exceed 230 lbs. The cost per child rider is $28.
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LightSUP Hawaii tours are all about the disconnect to reconnect. Our boards are the tools we use to connect to Mother Nature in the most unique way. Our passion for reef preservation and reef restoration is what drives our guides as our way of being the change we want to see in the world. It is not just about looking at the fish and turtles through a window. Our tours are about increasing the understanding of our connection to all we see and the things we can do to improve the health of the reef to the way it used to be.
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Over 5000 known species of marine plants and animals find their homes in Hawaii’s coastal reefs, 25% of which are found nowhere else in the world. Yet, these reef resources are degrading at an alarming rate worldwide, due to numerous local and global stressors. Our goal is to increase understanding of our valuable, yet vulnerable, nearshore reef ecosystem through scientific research, monitoring and education. We donate $8 per guest for reef restoration, a proactive solution to reversing the demise of this invaluable ecosystem.
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We do not require our guests have SUP experience, however we do require our guests to understand there is a basic physical fitness requirement for this excursion. We will be on the ocean for at least an hour per tour. It does not sound like a long time, however with Mother Nature always in charge, that hour can be a long time for some. Our boards have a weight capacity of 250 lbs. Although our guides are trained and certified with medical emergency plans in place, for the safety of our other guests and guides, we ask that you assess your physical and mental capacity for our tour before booking with us.
LightSUP Hawaii Equipment
LightSUP Nightlight Model
We are proud to paddle on the LightSUP Nightlight model, the perfect all around Stand Up Paddle Board. Our boards provide our guests with the largest viewing window of any board out there! The three internal light ports are strategically positioned to provide the ideal lighting created by LumeCube, casting up to 4500 lumens for our viewing pleasure. These boards are highly stable and very maneuverable, perfect for the "never paddled" to the "experienced". There is an extra thick deck pad for kneeling and laying comfort as standing up is never required!
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Board Specifications:
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Length: 11"
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Width: 33"
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Thickness: 4.5"
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Volume: 245L
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Weight Capacity: 250 lbs
$8 to change the Fate
Be the change you want to see in the world... LightSUP Hawaii wants to see healthy oceans, reefs and marine life! It is our responsibility to ensure future generations are able to experience this wonderland as we do. Better yet, healthier than today!! It is our long term goal to replicate reef nurseries here on the Big Island of Hawaii so we can be the change we want to see in the world...