Things to Do in Big Island in 2025 – Tours & Activities

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Great experience

Reviewed by: RH

Loved this tour - our tour guide was very accommodating and knowledgeable and we saw some beautiful spots of the island. Definitely recommend this trip as you get to see a lot in one day. My favourite places were the black sand beach with the sea turtles and the Volcanoes National Park (but to be honest, I loved all the sites).

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Solo Travelers
Weather:	Sunny
Posted on:	2025/11/25
Activity Date:	2025/11/23

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Fun!!!

Reviewed by: Kara

Loved this tour! We saw so much of the Big Island in a single day. And the guide shared really interesting facts along the way.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Friends
Posted on:	2025/11/22
Activity Date:	2025/07/15

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Great Island Experience

Reviewed by: Kara

A fantastic way to see the islands highlights in one day like the Volcanoes National Park, Waipio Valley (our favorite), black sand beaches, and gorgeous waterfalls.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Friends
Posted on:	2025/11/22
Activity Date:	2025/07/15

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Full day!

Reviewed by: Kara

The tour guide was super knowledgeable and kept a smooth pace, making it easy to enjoy every stop. Highly recommend for a comprehensive island experience.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families with Young Children
Posted on:	2025/11/22
Activity Date:	2025/07/10

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Jam packed!

Reviewed by: Kara

Such a great day - from the black sand beach to the Waipio Valley lookout and multiple waterfalls, of course with visiting Volcanoes National Park as the standout!!

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Friends
Posted on:	2025/11/22
Activity Date:	2025/07/06

Kilauea Volcano, Rainbow Falls & Black Sand Beach Guided Tour with Lunch Included from Hilo

Great excursion

Reviewed by: Rick

This was the highlight of our cruise. We were lucky to see the Volcano erupt, which was well worth the trip. The restaurant we stopped at for lunch was also very good. Desmond and Anthony were great guides.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Volcano erupting
Lava Tube
Black Sand Beach
Rainbow Falls

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Package
Attended as:	Others
Weather:	Sunny
Posted on:	2025/09/09
Activity Date:	2025/09/02

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Love the BI

Reviewed by: Kara

So many gorgeous stops along this tour, and the guides are so funny and make a long day seem like a breeze.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Posted on:	2025/08/20
Activity Date:	2025/06/30

Kilauea Volcano, Rainbow Falls & Black Sand Beach Guided Tour with Lunch Included from Hilo

Fun and Informative with BEST Tour Guides

Reviewed by: Julie

Anthony and Desmond were spectacular tour guides! Desmond is an expert at taking the amazing photos of your group, and Anthony is so knowledgeable and taught us so much with words, pictures, and artifacts while driving. But most of all, they were friendly and caring. I've never been more impressed with two tour guides! The tour showed us many interesting sites and we had a blast. It was the highlight of our trip to the big island!

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Package
Attended as:	Couples
Weather:	Sunny
Posted on:	2025/08/20
Activity Date:	2025/08/08

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

A fun filled day!

Reviewed by: Kara

Highlights included walking through Volcanoes National Park, seeing steam vents and lava fields up close, the stunning black sand beach at Punaluʻu, and panoramic views over Waipiʻo Valley.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Posted on:	2025/06/30
Activity Date:	2025/05/31

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Fabulous!

Reviewed by: Kara

It’s a long day, but absolutely packed with jaw-dropping sights and well-paced stops.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Posted on:	2025/06/30
Activity Date:	2025/05/31

Big Island Backroad Adventures - Water & Fire Private Volcano Tour with Meals

Fantastic custom experience

Reviewed by: The relaxing and exciting way to see Big Island

Shawn is super polite and well educated in many topics regarding the lava, plant life, history and sites on the islands. He was particularly helpful in suggesting to us to change the itinerary so we could see the active eruption and we are so happy he made the suggestion. 100% well worth the private tour. We changed things up and kinda called audibles throughout the day and Shawn was all about it. We had a great dinner and the day was a total success. Thank you.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Tips and suggestions

If you don’t want to be herded in a tour bus and would like the ability to customize, book this!!

Reply from activity provider

Aloha Monika,

Mahalo for taking the time to share your experience with us! One of my favorite parts of just doing private tours is the ability to call those audibles and customize our itinerary based on our guests desires, or in this case the Volcano. Happy that we were able to get to the Volcanoes NP, see the eruption before it stopped, still be able to take you to the other locations we had planned, and enjoy a great dinner! Thanks again!!

Mahalo,
Shawn

We got to see the eruption and Shawn got us there
Really nice nature walk and falls
The beautiful falls

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	12-Hour Private Tour with Lunch & Dinner
Attended as:	Families
Weather:	Rainy
Posted on:	2025/05/18
Activity Date:	2025/05/16

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Wonderful day

Reviewed by: Kara

Kilauea was just amazing, I could go every day if it was possible!

Local customer service: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Posted on:	2025/05/07
Activity Date:	2025/04/11

Volcano Highlights Tour, Rainbow Falls, Black Sand Beach, Coffee Farm with Meals

Big Island Tour

Reviewed by: Paule965

The tour guide was great. We really enjoyed ourselves

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Families
Weather:	Cloudy
Posted on:	2025/04/25
Activity Date:	2025/04/22

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Tour & Tropical Waterfalls Sightseeing from Hilo

I recommend visiting all the places included in this tour

Reviewed by: Laura J

In general, my family and I had a good experience. Dexter was a fantastic driver and tour guide.
The only thing we did not like is that we had to drop and pick-up people at the airport 3 times, I'd rather spend more time in the rainbow falls than going over and over to the airport.

Local customer service: 4

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 4

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Tips and suggestions

Be prepare for cook weather, rain, slippery trails, etc.

Reply from activity provider

Aloha and mahalo for your review!

We’re so glad to hear that you and your family had a good experience and that Dexter made a great impression as your driver and guide—he’ll be happy to hear your kind words!

We also appreciate your feedback about the multiple airport stops. We understand how this can affect the flow of the tour, and we’ll be sure to share your comments with our operations team as we continuously look for ways to improve our guest experience.

Thank you for choosing Polynesian Adventure, and we hope to welcome you back again for another island adventure!

Warmest aloha,
The Polynesian Adventure ʻOhana

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Volcano Adventure Tour
Attended as:	Families
Weather:	Sunny
Posted on:	2025/02/26
Activity Date:	2025/02/19

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Excellent day tour!!!!!!!!!!!

Reviewed by: DJW

Brett was an excellent tour guide. Funny engaging and informative. It is a long day as the island is rather large. Greenwell Farms (coffee farm) was our first stop. Excellent coffee! Brett explained the growing and harvesting process, followed by tasting and souvenir purchases. Then on to the Punalu'u sweetbread bakery for treats. I lived the Lilikoi flavored pastry. Nice gift shop also. Next stop was Punalu'u black sand beach with a bonus sleeping turtle. Quick provided tasty lunch at a shady state park. Next into Volcano National Park. Brett has fantastic volcano pics. Kilauea was steeming and erupted hours later. Traveled down a large lava tube, very cool. Huge old lava fields. Next on to Rainbow falls and majestic Akaka falls on the East side of the island. On the North end, we visited Waipi'o lookout for sunset. It was along day, but excellent. Strongly recommend. Brett made the trip very enjoyable.

Local customer service: 5

Location & environment: 5

Schedule & duration: 5

Equipment & facilities: 5

Comfort & well-being: 5

Tips and suggestions

It is a long day, lots to see.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Weather:	Sunny
Posted on:	2025/01/11
Activity Date:	2024/12/22

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

It's a great way the experience the island in one day

Reviewed by: Sand under foot

The Grand Circle Island tour is a great way to have a compact adventure all in one day. It was full of beautiful scenic views of cliffsides, beaches, cooled lava formations, waterfalls, volanic crater, and so much more. You experience a hike through a rainforest with some inclines at times, volcanic steam vents that feel like you're in a sauna, turtle viewing at Black Sand beach, cliffsides overlooking crashing waves, a coffee harvesting & processing walkthrough, a lava tube cave, and much more. Some hikes can be a bit challenging if you have mobility problems but our tour guide Brent is so accommodating and on the HNP Kilauea hike, you can ride along with him to the top of the viewing area if you're not able to do the short walk. Additionally, Brent is not just a tour guide, he will transport you to another time. He wove an amazing storytelling of Native Hawaiin history into the scenic mountains, beaches, historical battleground sites, trees, buildings, fantastical stories, and rich cultural backdrop. I walked away with a deep appreciation for how the Hawaiian island and culture came to be. This was an amazing way to experience the island!

Drained lava dome atop Kilauea

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2024/10/06
Activity Date:	2024/10/04

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Fabulously Done

Reviewed by: Kara

Really easy way to get to see so many fabulous spots around the Big Island without needing to drive and look at directions all day!!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Friends
Posted on:	2024/09/16
Activity Date:	2024/07/21

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Tour & Tropical Waterfalls Sightseeing from Hilo

Papa Henry the best

Reviewed by: Catbear

Wonderful small tour with great guide Henry ✨️ lots of fantastic information and lovely attractions. Lunch was awesome too by Millies! Yum great value and excellent tour guide Henry

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Volcano Adventure Tour
Attended as:	Solo Travelers
Posted on:	2024/08/04
Activity Date:	2024/07/30

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Amazing experience!

Reviewed by: Sharda

We thoroughly enjoyed the Grand Circle Island Tour. We had the opportunity to visit so many different parts of the island and experience the true beauty of the Big Island. The tour was well planned and Neil was an amazing host!
I definitely recommend that all visitors try this tour at least once!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Posted on:	2024/06/29
Activity Date:	2024/06/05

Volcano Highlights Tour, Rainbow Falls, Black Sand Beach, Coffee Farm with Meals

Excellent Tour and wonderful tour guide

Reviewed by: Sarah & Scott

Great experience. Our tour guide Grant is top notch. His knowledge on the everything the big island and particularly the volcanoes was impressive and he makes it so much fun. Highly recommend if never have explored the big island before.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2024/05/26
Activity Date:	2024/05/24

Volcanoes National Park & Rainbow Falls Group Shore Excursion - Discover Hilo’s Natural Wonders

Impressive Hilo Volcano

Reviewed by: CMJ

Our guide for the tour was Grover. What a wonderful, knowledgeable kind man.
Volcano National Park is beautiful and lush with an abundance of plant life. Stunning scenery of the volcano and caldera.
Learnt so much about volcanoes, how they have formed, how they behave with earth tremors/quakes, eruptions and the that island continues to grow because of them.
Grover spoiled us by taking us to a couple unplanned locations such as the Lava Tubes, Rainbow Falls and Steam Vents
Highly recommend this tour and especially if you’re lucky enough to have Grover as your tour guide.

Volcano/Caldera
Lava Tube
Rainbow Falls
Steam Vents

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Package - Pride of America Cruise Ship
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2024/05/05
Activity Date:	2024/04/30

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Excellent!

Reviewed by: Kara

I felt like I got to see all the best spots of Big Island on this 1 day tour!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Friends
Posted on:	2024/01/28
Activity Date:	2023/10/24

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Second tour and still amazing

Reviewed by: Leah

Took this tour 6 years ago and had the most amazing experience. So I had to do it again. This tour offers the best of Big Island because you get to see Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls. We saw lots of turtles at black sand beach and an actual rainbow at Rainbow Falls! Our guide Brent was very informative and helpful.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Solo Travelers
Posted on:	2023/12/24
Activity Date:	2023/12/23

Volcano Highlights Tour, Rainbow Falls, Black Sand Beach, Coffee Farm with Meals

Great tour!

Reviewed by: Mpy14

The tour was very well organized and very well planned. I felt I saw so much and learned a lot about the culture and history of the island. Jim was full of interesting information and made the trip memorable Fun group.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Solo Travelers
Posted on:	2023/11/21
Activity Date:	2023/11/19

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Tour & Tropical Waterfalls Sightseeing from Hilo

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Tour and Tropical Waterfalls Sightseeing from Hilo/ Volcano Adventure Tour.

Reviewed by: Grace and Reggie

The tour guide ( Dexter) from Polynesian Adventure Tour picked us up from the hotel on time. Very knowledgeable and very informative . He knows all the places and history of the Big Islands (Hilo). Patiently waiting for us to finish the tour. We really had a great time. We will use the Polynesian Adventure Group again.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Volcano Adventure Tour
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2023/11/10
Activity Date:	2023/11/08

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Best way to experience BI

Reviewed by: Kara

You hit it all and you do not need to drive and miss views along the way!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Posted on:	2023/09/18
Activity Date:	2023/08/02

Volcano Highlights Tour, Rainbow Falls, Black Sand Beach, Coffee Farm with Meals

Great Great Great tour even better guide and hospitality.

Reviewed by: Mob_cali_breaks (IG)

Incredible tour but our Tour guide, Anson really brought the island and the tour to life. Honestly enjoyed the tour to the max but we would pay to just hang out with Anson again. Lol. I'm sure all the guides are great and extremely courteous.

All the jokes we made he would rebuttal and be involved all while still maintaining his poise and professionalism. It's the little things guys and this tour has it all. Thank you From the bottom of our hearts.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2023/09/09
Activity Date:	2023/09/08

Volcano Highlights Tour, Rainbow Falls, Black Sand Beach, Coffee Farm with Meals

Wonderful Tour

Reviewed by: Barbara

We had a lot of fun on the tour Ridge was amazing and gave us a lot of good local history and knowledge. If he didn't know the answer to a question he found it out for us. We'd highly recommend this tour to anybody looking for a great day on the island.

Reply from activity provider

Aloha, Barbara!
Thank you for sharing your positive experience! Ridge is indeed a fantastic guide, always eager to provide local history and insights. We're thrilled to hear you had a lot of fun and enjoyed the tour. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we hope to welcome you back for another great day on the island in the future! Mahalo again!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2023/09/07
Activity Date:	2023/09/05

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Hit all the events!

Reviewed by: Kara

So much goodies in 1 day- we loved the Kona coffe and cannot stop thinking about it!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2023/08/13
Activity Date:	2023/06/19

Grand Circle Island Tour - Volcano, Black Sand Beach, Waipio Valley & Waterfalls

Loved this day

Reviewed by: Kara

Amazing experience! Lots of the island wrapped up in a day you can't go wrong.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Families
Posted on:	2023/07/31
Activity Date:	2023/06/09

Things to Do in Big Island in 2025 – Tours & Activities | HawaiiActivities.com

All Reviews for Rainbow Falls in Big Island

Overall Rating

Reviews

Great experience

Fun!!!

Great Island Experience

Full day!

Jam packed!

Great excursion

Love the BI

Fun and Informative with BEST Tour Guides

A fun filled day!

Fabulous!

Fantastic custom experience

Wonderful day

Big Island Tour

I recommend visiting all the places included in this tour

Excellent day tour!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a great way the experience the island in one day

Fabulously Done

Papa Henry the best

Amazing experience!

Excellent Tour and wonderful tour guide

Impressive Hilo Volcano

Excellent!

Second tour and still amazing

Great tour!

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Tour and Tropical Waterfalls Sightseeing from Hilo/ Volcano Adventure Tour.

Best way to experience BI

Great Great Great tour even better guide and hospitality.

Wonderful Tour

Hit all the events!

Loved this day

Hawaiian Islands

Big Island Categories