Volcano Unveiled Tour: Volcanoes National Park, Waterfall & Lava Tube [Open Now] tours, activities, fun things to do in Big Island(Hawaii)｜VELTRA

The good- our guide Garry was incredibly knowledgeable about the rocks, plants, birds, very accommodating regarding bathroom breaks and stops along the way, and incredibly kind and thoughtful. We have nothing but raves f...or him. The company on the other hand was a bit of a pain in the butt. We first booked this tour as a party of 6, and we were told that these tours booked in groups of 9, so they would be adding in 3 additional fares to the tour group. Later they informed me that my son was too young for the group tour, but the private tour had no age restrictions. For an extra ~$400-500 we booked the private tour, since we wanted a tour that would let us see the lava glow at night, and this was literally the only tour that did that. However, even though we were paying so much extra for a private tour, they said that they couldn't accommodate us by going to any stops different from the usual tour, they couldn't start/end earlier, and they were unable to provide pick up/drop off from our hotel 15min away. Then, a few days before the tour, they called to tell us that because the lava flows stopped, they were changing the tour from 10a-10p, to 7a-7p, and adding a stop at Rainbow falls to make up for the loss of the lava flow at night. No dinner meal. Still unable to pick up/drop off from the hotel. And unwilling to make any time changes. I would have appreciated some compromise for our requests considering the extra costs of the private tour or some discount since they were both unable to accommodate our requests and had changed the original nature of the tour significantly.

Pick up was right on time!
Our guide Matt was very knowledgeable and passionate about Hawaii island from legends to Hawaii original plants and animals. He kept entertaining us until his voice got hoarse! My favorite par...t of the tour was definitely the lava tube. it's really amazing!! The way to and from the lava tube is super bumpy and rough. If you get motion sickness, you should take medication for it. I brought kids (12 and 10) with us and they enjoyed themselves as well. Hiking was very mild so anyone can enjoy this tour, I think.

This was purchased as a birthday gift for my sister. She has always been fascinated by volcanoes and it's been her lifelong dream to come to the island and see the volcano for herself. She was incredibly excited to hav...e this tour. However, the day before it was scheduled, she received a call and was told that there had been a mistake when recording her reservation and they no longer had room for her on her scheduled date. They offered to move her reservation to a different day or to schedule her for the same day as her initial reservation for instead for the Epic Circle Island Volcano Journey. She chose to keep her originally scheduled day and do the Epic Circle Island Volcano Journey.

The woman who called was very apologetic and kind, let's face it, humans make mistakes sometimes, we've all done it. They did their very best to make it right. In the end, my sister said her experience was incredible and she was glad there had been a little bit of a mix up, because she thought the tour she went on was better (granted, that is based purely on the description of the originally scheduled tour).

Her guide was knowledgeable and told all kinds of stories about Pele and the island and recounted the history of the volcano. The lava tube they visited was unique and interesting and fascinated her.

Overall, it was a huge win and even in spite of the little problem I would definitely book again!