All Reviews for Top Big Island Sights & Attractions

I get anxious snorkeling and this was a fantastic alternative. The guide was super knowledgeable and funny. My 5 year old son loved it too and we could chat about what we were seeing in real time, which I loved.

Check in was pretty simple and easy. Trainers were super friendly. Great adventure for families.

I was able to learn a lot about lava from the very detailed explanation. Although we couldn't see the starry sky, we can't go against nature.

非常に丁寧な説明で、溶岩について、多くを学ぶことができました。
星空が見えなかったですが、自然には逆らえないですね。

James was awesome! Our family had a summit tour booked with another company that canceled stated that road was closed, not sure that was true, as I’m scrambling to find an alternative other company said they were still going. Anyway, God‘s got a plan and I came upon epic tours. Even though this wasn’t a “summit” tour my son has a AAS in astronomy and was focused on star gazing and James delivered! James provided chairs to jackets if needed. And gave us a tour of the night sky! And we have a great picture to remember it!

If you do one thing on the west side of the big island this is it. Words and pictures don't do the experience justice. The crew of the boat was safety conscious and the captain ran a tight ship. As a passenger we felt in good hands. Do your homework about what this tour involves. If you cannot swim and/or are afraid of the water this is NOT FOR YOU!!!. This tour had 1/2 a dozen non-swimmers on the tour. They were miserable and the crew had to spend an inordinate time catering to them.

Awesome day on the Big Island. A full day with a coffee farm, tour of the Volcanoes National Park, then stargazing on a clear night. Our Tour guide Aaron was the best. His knowledge of Hawaiian culture, the volcano, and then the night sky was awesome. He was so helpful and kind. This was a once in a lifetime experience. The volcano stopped erupting a few days after our tour. So, we felt so lucky to get to see an active volcano. Be sure to take a sweatshirt or jacket. It got cold in the evening. It is a full day, but so worth it.

We really enjoyed our experience on this tour. Our tour guide, Aaron was very informative! I mean who better to have for a tour guide than a history teacher!! The only part that could use some improvement are the meals. We expected a meal with more substance.

Overall great experience. There was construction traveling to the location and they waited for the people that were stuck in traffic. The staff was very friendly and answered and questions we had. They helped take pictures at the end by the waterfall for everyone. I felt very comfortable with the safety equipment. Especially going over the waterfall and the other really far drop. I would definitely recommend this company.

Not only does it cover so many aspects of the island, you have an excellent guide the full time that makes you understand each area you are stopping at and the history!!

Amazing views! Great staff! So nice and helpful. Loved the waterfall spot!! Very refreshing!

Great Capitan + crew! Beautiful views! Very clean and organized! Loved the history given by crew members! Would definitely recommend!!

Our guide, Stephan, was wonderful. Out of the 10 tour participants, 8 were Americans, but he provided a lot of explanations and support in Japanese. Stephan is also a photographer, and he took beautiful photos that looked like wedding pictures under a perfect starry sky! Thank you very much!

ガイドのステファンさんが素晴らしかったです。ツアー客10人中、8人はアメリカ人の方でしたが、日本語でたくさん説明&フォローしていただけました。ステファンさんは、さらに写真家で、
満点の星空のもとウェディングフォトのような素敵な写真を撮っていただきました！
ありがとうございました！

The crew was amazing and qued a mother and baby, possibly 2 to the surface for play time!

We participated in a two-person kayak with six people in total. At first, it was very refreshing to paddle through the beautiful sea, but as we got out into the open water, there were some waves, and my two sons got seasick. We managed to reach the cave, but we decided to turn back halfway. One of the two instructors helped us by pulling back the kayak that had one of my sons who got sick and couldn't paddle anymore. Although we felt like we were causing trouble, they helped us with smiles and no complaints, which was really appreciated. Everyone, don't forget to take motion sickness medication when sea kayaking. I feel like we could have enjoyed it even more if there had been snorkeling, but it was fun even up to that point, and it left a good memory. Also, the activity I participated in was conducted entirely in English.

二人乗りのカヤック3つに6人が乗る形で参加しました。
最初は綺麗な海の中をカヤックで進んでいくのは非常に爽快でしたが、外海に出るに連れて少し波もあったため
息子２人が海で酔ってしまいました。
洞窟の前までは行けたんですが、途中で帰ることに。インストラクターの2人のうち1人が、1人が酔ったため疲れて進まなくなったカヤックを1つずつ引っ張って連れて帰ってくれました。
迷惑をかけてしまいましたが嫌な顔せず、笑顔で助けてくれて本当に助かりました。皆さん、シーカヤックでは酔い止めは忘れずに。
本当であればシュノーケリングもあってもっと楽しめたと気もしますが、途中まででも楽しかったし、十分記憶には残ったので良かったです。
あと、私が参加したアクティビティは完全英語でした。

Lovely crew, delicious Mai Tai, amazing wildlife viewing. I have never seen a humpback whale do a complete breach, and this was just supposed to be a sunset sight cruise! We laughed and truly enjoyed the time. Our plans changed from going to see the stars to this, and I couldn't have been more pleased. Wish I had understood I would be barefoot the whole time (I likely didn't read the memo). Would have changed which shoes I wore to board.

This was such an amazing tour. Forrest was very knowledgeable of the Hawaiian history and legends of the valley. He knew each local resident by name. It felt very special to get to see such a remote, sacred part of the Big Island.

The Hawaiian show with the sunset over the ocean was wonderful. Since it was outdoors, I was worried about the rain, but it was fine.

海をバックに夕陽が落ちてのハワイアンショーは素敵でした。
屋外なので雨も心配しましたが大丈夫でした。

We arrived slightly late and the crew kindly waited a bit for us. There was only 4 of us which made the experience felt a lot more enjoyable - it was not crowded or noisy! No jostling of people.

Once out there, we got in the water smoothly and saw 2 rays, 3 times. Unfortunately, the ray sightings have reduced in recent years so we considered ourselves lucky! Highly recommend it all round!

This was one the best experiences ever! The guide was fantastic! (Gauge/Gage? My apologies if misspelling your name - he was super knowledgeable about the island and easy to talk to, he was also well organized and thought of everything. The entire journey was super easy to follow and we all got to see some amazing things. Hot chocolate and biscotti? Snow? Wild turkeys and sheep? Binary star system anyone? Gage will make it happen. We also had a great GREAT experience just chatting with you about the Big Island. Thank you Thank you!

Just want to say that my husband and I really enjoyed our tour with Zachary he was very knowledgeable and attentive with everyone in our group! Thank you!

Three generations trip and this was a last minute addition.
The staff was amazing, the boat was easy to board and comfortable, and we saw turtles!!
Completely enjoyable and would readily recommend!!

Eka snorkeling with manta rays was amazing. The small, personalized tour is a great way to see the rays. Loved the classic canoe. This was perfect for ray family and I can recommend this tour group highly enough. Kai was great - he is so knowledgeable about the rays and he calmed my 9 y.o.’s fears -he on spectrum and they were very flexible in how we got him into the water and to the board. My son can’t stop talking about how great this experience was-he can’t wait to go again. Book this tour - you won’t regret it. The entire group was accommodating and friendly and made this the best adventure of our Hawaiian trip. Thank you Eka.

This activity focuses on the characteristics of plankton that gather around light, allowing you to observe manta rays that come to feed after sunset by setting up lights on the water.

During my visit, I was fortunate enough to encounter more than ten manta rays. Thanks to the lights, the mantas came close enough that I felt I could reach out and touch them, which was truly impressive. Additionally, the graceful swimming of the mantas reminded me of angels gliding through the ocean, making it a mystical and valuable experience.

The staff were all friendly, and I was able to enjoy a fulfilling time. On the return boat, we were even treated to hot chocolate, which showed their thoughtful attention to detail.

I believe this is a unique activity that you won't find elsewhere, so I highly recommend participating if you're interested!

光に集まるプランクトンの特性に着目し、夕暮れ以降に海上に浮かぶライトをセッティングすることで、プランクトンの捕食を目的に集まったマンタを鑑賞できるアクティビティです。

自分が参加した回は、運良く10匹を超えるマンタ達と会うことができました。
ライトのおかげで、手を伸ばせば届きそうな距離までマンタが近付いてくれるので、とても迫力がありました。
また、優雅に泳ぐマンタ達はまるで海中を泳ぐ天使を彷彿とさせ、神秘的で貴重な経験となりました。

スタッフの皆さんはフレンドリーな方ばかりで、充実した時間を過ごすことができました。
帰りの船の中では、ホットチョコレートが振る舞われるなど、気遣いもバッチリです。

他では味わえない貴重なアクティビティかと思いますので、ご興味がある方はご参加をおすすめします！

Kayaking was my first experience, but with careful guidance, I happily arrived at the cave. Despite the rough weather, the sea was calm, making it enjoyable for beginners. I didn't encounter any whales or dolphins, but I would like to try again.

カヤックは初めての体験でしたが、丁寧に指導していただいて、洞窟まで楽しく到着しました。荒れた天候の合間でしたが海も穏やかで初心者も楽しめます。
鯨やイルカは会えませでしたが、またチャレンジしたいです。

We had an amazing time as the crew was incredibly prepared and accommodating. They were able to fit all of us on board and bring us out without a problem. The guides were very knowledgeable and were helpful in getting in and out of the water. They work together with the other tours in the same space to attract as many rays as possible. We ended up seeing 10 or more rays with a near constant show. We had my 65-year-old mom and dad, my 40-year old self and wife, and our eight and 10-year-old with us, and it was never a problem. A great activity if your kids can stay up a little later and recover the next day.

It's a short boat ride out, but the darkness set off a little of my motion sickness, So if you're prone to that be sure to take some medication ahead of time. I also had a little issue being in the waves and going up and down in the darkness. One of the other participants got fully sick away from the boat but the crew handled it very professionally.

I would absolutely recommend them!

The van that arrived at the meeting place was labeled Hawaiian Eyes Tour, with no mention of the operating company, Masashi Nature School, which was confusing. There was no such information provided by VELTRA, but upon checking the Masashi Nature School's website, it clearly stated that the operating company is Hawaiian Eyes Tour. (I wish this had been communicated through VELTRA as well.)

On the day of the tour, there were ten guests, six of whom were Japanese. According to the guide, the number of Japanese customers has decreased due to the pandemic, so there are no longer Japanese language tours. The guide could speak some Japanese, but not enough to provide a full tour in that language, so the entire ride was in English.

That said, the sunset from the mountain top and stargazing were great experiences, and the guide made an effort to explain things in Japanese, which I personally appreciated. Additionally, I was grateful to receive the photos the guide took via AirDrop.

We were staying at a hotel in Waikoloa, so it was helpful that we were dropped off there on the way back. However, there were two Japanese guests from a hotel outside the Kona area who mistakenly thought they would be dropped off at their hotel and ended up getting off at the pickup location, Queens Marketplace. Considering that it's difficult to catch a taxi in that area and the return time was before 10 PM, I think it would be beneficial to offer a paid option for hotel drop-off.

　集合場所に来たバンが、催行社のマサシネイチャースクールとはどこにも書いてなくHawaiian Eyes Tourとなっていて戸惑った。
　VELTRAではそのような案内は全くなかったが、マサシネイチャースクールのHPを確認すると、しっかり催行会社がHawaiian Eyes Tourであると記載されていた。（VELTA経由でもしっかりそこは案内して欲しかった。）
　当日は、１０人の客で、うち日本人は６人いたが、ガイドさんによると、コロナ禍で日本人客が減ったから日本語ツアーは無くなったとのこと。
　ガイドさんも日本語はできるが案内するほどの語学力がない、ということで、行き帰りの車中はずっと英語だった。
　とはいえ、山頂の夕陽や星空観測等、ガイドさんが、日本語でも頑張って案内してくれて、個人的には非常に良かった。
　また、ガイドさんが撮ってくれた写真もAirDropでもらえたのもありがたかった。
　私たちは、ワイコロアのホテルに泊まっていたので帰りはホテルまで送ってもらって助かった。
　ただ、コナ地区外のホテルから参加していた日本人の親子２人組が、帰りホテルまで送ってもらえると勘違いしていて、結局ピックアップ場所のクイーンズマーケットプレイスで降りることになった。
　タクシーもなかなか捕まらない土地柄で、帰着時間が22時前になるということを考えると、有償でのホテルまでの送ってくれるオプションがあると良いのではないかと思った。

We could not see any and also the ride was so bumpy

My 10 yo daughter and I did this excursion during a recent trip to the Big Island. It was an incredible and highly memorable evening and I feel privileged to have been able to do this.

We saw humpback whales and dolphins en route to the Manta Ray swim spot, and that made the excursion worthwhile, even before we'd seen the rays.

The crew were knowledgeable and fun and although the activity requires you to jump into the ocean at night without any light, I always felt safe and confident that the crew was looking after us. Having my daughter with me made that essential.

We floated for about 15 mins before we saw the rays, but when we did it was really breathtaking. We had around 30 mins or so floating before we got back on the boat for the ride back to port.

The crew took videos and photos and shared them with us which was a really lovely touch.

Wetsuits were a must as it does get cold. For those with younger children, there was a larger float that they could sit on safely, but older children were able to float in the water alongside adults.

I really couldn't recommend this highly enough. Maybe leave an extra 15 mins to find the dock as we struggled a little as there are quite a few trips leaving from the same marina at similar times.

We really enjoyed the glass bottom boat cruise. We had a frustrating experience earlier with snorkeling and we were happy to have an opportunity to see the reefs and the fish from the comfort of a boat. We even got to see some sea turtles under the boat! We also thought that the price for the cruise was more reasonable than many of the attractions in Hawaii. After the cruise we went hiking on the beautiful Ala Kahakai Trail which extends north from A-Bay. The glass bottom boat cruise is a can't miss experience on the Big Island!

This tour was worth every penny. The sites and culture we experienced were beyond our expectations. The tour guide was so friendly and her knowledge of each and every site visited and of the Hawaiian culture and history was beyond outstanding. This tour has to be the highlight of our visit to the Big Island. If you want an exciting, exhilarating, beautiful, and culturally immersive experience this tour will meet your every expectation.