I loved the leisurely pace of the flight over the islands and the helpful guide/ flight attendant identifying the islands. The individual I-pods for narration were an unexpected VIP touch that was much appreciated since they included noise cancelling headphones and small planes can be slightly noisy. The stops including Big Island Candy Company, Rainbow Falls and the Thurston Lava Tube were among my favorites and they stop for just the right amount of time. I do recommend bringing some food or snacks with you as the meal stop isn't till later on in the tour. Finally the opportunity to walk on the "new land" created by the lava at night (with flashlights) was both humbling and magnificent when you realize that people's homes used to be there! The grand finale was the bright orange lights and smoke in the distance of the lava flowing in the ocean - extraordinary!! Thank you for this opportunity.

The tour is very complete. Like the guides very much. The bus guide had very detailed knowledge of the volcanoes. Had an excellent time with family.

There were good and bad points about this tour. The continental breakfast turned out to be a cup of coffee and a piece of stale cake. The plane was great and there was plenty of room to move about and see out of both sides of the aircraft. The bus journey was OK the visit to Hilo and the Farmer's market was acceptable; the stop for coffee in Banyan drive was unnecessary and a waste of time. The buffet lunch was disgusting and barely edible and NOT good value for money. The viewing points around the crater were fine and the walk through the Lava Tube was a highlight. The stop at the old lava flow was a bit lame and we would have preferred to got to the end of the Chain of Craters road and see where the lava meets the sea. A bit disappointed that we didn't go anywhere different to where you would go if you had hired a car and done it yourself. The stops on the way back at the Orchid farm, the Macadamia nut factory and the Candy factory were irritating when we had really come to see the Volcano. The flight back was great though and circling back over the volcano meant that both sides of the aircraft got a great view and the chance to see red hot lava running down the mountain. This was something that you wouldn't get to see on a commercial flight and the only truly unique part of the trip, but this probably made it worthwhile.

My husband and I had a wonderful experience with this tour. I have to personally thank 'I' for she is an outstanding tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and personable. She took the time out to make sure we got the proper photos and explained all of the facts pertaining to the various islands. Our 'Big Island' tour guide was also excellent. He really wanted to be sure that we learned all about the island. We were lucky to have had a pretty clear day to view the beauty..

A great trip to see the big island. I do miss the old all day tour that flew over Maui, Lanai and Molokai to Hawaii for a bus tour and then flew to Maui for lunch and on to Kauai for the Fern Grotto and then back to Honolulu. That was a great day and trip!

GREAT

We had outstanding weather for Feb 2008 - some clouds on the way home, but no rain even thought the island had over 50 inches of rain already in the past 2 months! This allowed us to the only lava flow of the day on our flight, and take in all the available sites on the volcano - note most of the drive around the crater is closed due to toxic gases, but we still saw more than we expected.
We can not say enough good words about the guide staff and driver - they kept us on track and answered every question anyone could ask.
You may consider it a pricey tour, but it was worth every cent, and highly recommended!

It was awesome! I can't wait to visit here again!

We had a good time on this tour.