All Reviews for Top Places to Visit in Hawaii

They arrived on time to pick us up. All the tour participants were Japanese, and they provided guidance in Japanese. The explanations were very easy to understand.

After acclimatizing at the Onizuka Center, we headed to the summit of Mauna Kea. It was quite cold at the summit, and although we brought our own cold weather gear, we borrowed some as well. There were a few clouds, but we were able to see a beautiful sunset. After watching the sunset, we did some stargazing at an altitude of about 3,500 meters. It was a bit cloudy, which made it hard to see, and that was a bit disappointing.

時間通りお迎えにきてくれました。ツアー参加者全員が日本人であり、日本語でのガイドをしてくれました。非常にわかりやすい説明でした。
オニズカセンターで、高地順応をした後、マウナケア山頂に向かいました。山頂はかなり寒く、防寒具を持っていってましたが、防寒具をおかりしました。少し雲がありましたが、きれいな夕日を見ることができました。夕日をみたあと、標高3500mくらいのところで、星空観測を行いました。若干、雲があり、見にくかったのが、残念でした。

My mother wanted to participate, and I hoped we could see at least a manta ray... but we were able to enjoy it to the fullest. Thank you to all the staff who were attentive to my elderly mother. Special thanks to Captain Trevor, Diego, Scott, and Tamae!

母が希望し、参加しました。少しでもマンタが見られたらいいな‥と思っていましたが、存分に楽しむことができました。高齢の母に細やかな気配りをしてくださった、スタッフの皆さん。Trevor船長はじめ、Diegoさん、Scottさん、Tamae さん、本当にありがとうございました！

Cousin Dave from Roberts Hawaii our tour guide was great, has an awesome sense of humour.
Visiting a Kona Coffee house, trying the different types of Kona coffee was educational. Also the macadamia fruit cake samples yummy .
The sacred refuge of Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park so peaceful. Standing on the black sand beachfront beautiful.
Next stop was St Benedict’s Painted Church dating back to 1899, still standing and used for mass. Stunning.

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.

The trip into Waipio Valley was among the highlights of our trip to Big Island. Easy check in process with sweet and friendly receptionist.
Our driver and guide was informative, kind and truthfully, really fun to hang out with!
The cultural experience was terrific and the scenery was incredibly beautiful!
Thank you so much! I will recommend this adventure to anyone heading to the Big Island!
Mahalo nui loa!

Thanks to the Japanese guide, I was able to enjoy the experience without any difficulties! Although it was an 80% moon, the starry sky was beautiful, and at the summit, I witnessed the sunrise rising above the sea of clouds, which was a precious experience!

日本語ガイドのおかげで終始不自由なく過ごせました！80%の月でしたが、星空も綺麗に見え、頂上では雲海に登る太陽と朝焼けが見え、貴重な経験でした！

Our guide, who was born & raised in the valley and still lives there, was amazing. We learned a lot about the day-to-day lives and history of the people in the valley. He was so friendly, welcoming & willing to answer any and all questions. He pointed out local birds & stopped to grab & show us a chameleon from a tree & paused again when a group of wild horses joined on the road. Also, the parking & check-in process were super easy plus the shop had bathrooms, several cute gift options and snacks/coffee available for purchase.

It was nice. The staff enjoyed educating on your surroundings The staff were very friendly and attentive. If you're looking for a fun time.... I wouldn't call it fun... nice and relaxing is what it was. We realized on this trip that this was geared more for kids and elderly.

beautiful colorful hawaiian fish, and awesome sea cave day!

Great little trip into the ocean to view coral reef and fish! Beautiful clear blue water. Staff very knowledgeable. Loved it!

Great show, standing in a buffet line. A little tiring, food was great

My wife and I were treated to a magnificent drive down the unusually steep road into Waipio Valley in the early afternoon of Thursday, 4/18/24. Our tour guide Kaleo is a great young man who has lived in this unique place for most of his life; he grew up here. Kaleo was friendly, very knowledgeable, and very hospitable. He led us to several spectacular sites including waterfalls, lush foliage, and flowing streams. One could readily sense the tremendous power and majesty of this valley. We will treasure the opportunity we had to visit here. Our tour was for 1.75 hours. We HIGHLY recommend taking time to experience this great tour!

Fire performance was as the cool kids say these days....fire!

The buffet food was better than average. I go to Hawaii every year and we always do luau. This was the more memorable ones. Dessert buffet table was really good too.

It was my husband's birthday and we wanted to do something special for him!
This celebration and event was perfect and one we will never forget. The staff, atmosphere, entertainment and food were all spectacular! We loved it and recommend everyone goes for an unforgettable, lovely evening!
Thank you so much!

Brian, Colleen and Joel Ruggiero

I highly recommend this company and their tours for their service and convenience. Each member of the crew was attentive and full of advice, facts about the area, and all clearly loved their jobs. The dock was easy to get to, no walking for miles to find an out-of-the-way pickup location. Finally, the food was delicious and it was nice not to have to bring my own. Same with the snorkeling masks and the sunscreen.

[Reviewed by HawaiiActivities.com Staff]

My husband and I were looking for a romantic way to cap off our week in Hawaii, and this was the perfect cruise for us. We were looking for something “quintessentially” Hawaiian and what is more iconic than a sunset dinner cruise? We are also both big history buffs, so we booked this tour based on the descriptions about the knowledgeable captain and crew, and they did not disappoint! They were full of commentary and stories about their island, and very patient answering all of our stupid questions. Mahalo and aloha, wish we could stay there!

[Reviewed by HawaiiActivities.com Staff]

This tour is wonderful. Waipio Valley is an incredible place, and the tour guide (who grew up in the Valley and lives there still) was phenomenal.

Pickup at the parking lot behind IGM.
The tour was conducted with just seven Japanese participants. We then met up with a couple at the Onizuka Center. The lively conversation led by Stephan, who grew up at Yokota Air Base in Japan and is known as "Suu-san," included fun chats, preparations for the tour, and important points to note, and before we knew it, we arrived at Onizuka S. We took a break to acclimatize to the altitude. Although the weather forecast looked questionable, we were hopeful since it was reported that the sunset at the summit of Mauna Kea was visible yesterday despite the clouds.
As sunset approached, the weather turned ominous, and we waited in the car, but a snowstorm hit, leading to a recommendation from the ranger to descend. Along the way, we saw several broken-down vehicles, but with Stephan's never-give-up spirit (laughs), we stopped at a stargazing point to wait for a break in the clouds.
We observed Saturn and M87 through a telephoto lens, and with a DSLR, we captured images of Orion while enjoying sandwiches and cocoa.
We took photos of couples in the dark, and there was so much to enjoy. We headed back, hoping to see the sunset next time.
I felt lucky to enjoy the tour without language barriers since it was exclusively for Japanese participants.
I've already seen the sunrise, so next time I want to complete the sunset experience.
Thank you, Stephan!

IGMの裏手駐車場にてピックアップ。
日本人のみの7人で催行。さらにオニヅカセンターでカップル2人と合流。スーさんこと日本の横田基地育ちのステファンの軽快な日本語によるたのしいおしゃべり、ツアーに向けての心構え、注意点なども含めてのトークでオニヅカSまではアッという間に到着。高度順応も兼ねての休憩。天気予報は怪しかったが山頂に雲がかかっていた昨日もマウナケア山頂でのサンセットは見られたということで、期待して山頂へと向かう。
日没が近づくにつれ、雲行きが怪しくなり車内で待機したものの吹雪となり、レンジャーによる下山勧告。途中、何台かの故障車を観ながら移動、ステファンのネバギブ精神(笑）で途中の星空観測ポイントで晴れ間を待つ。
晴れ間からの土星、M87を望遠レンズで、オリオン座など目視、一眼レフでの撮影をしながらのサンドイッチとココアでの食事。
暗闇の中のカップルの撮影、、、いろいろ盛りだくさんあって、とてもたのしめました。今度は是非、夕日を見られたらと思いつつ帰路につきました。
日本人のみの催行で言葉に気兼ねなく楽しめてラッキーでした。
サンライズはクリア済なので次回はサンセットをコンプリートしたいです。
ステファン　ありがとう！

I saw manta rays swimming at the bottom about 3-4 times, but they didn't come as close as I had hoped. Since there was no shuttle service, I used Uber for the round trip, but I was worried if they would come to the dark port after the tour. The public restrooms are also unavailable at night, so I struggled to change. It's expected, but once the tour is over, the staff are indifferent. For those participating, make sure to prepare in advance!

底の方を泳ぐマンタを３－４回見ましたが、期待したほど近くには来ませんでした。送迎なしだったのでUberタクシーで往復しましたが、ツアー後の暗い港に来てもらえるか不安でした。公共トイレも夜は使えないので、着替えにも苦労しました。当たり前ですか、ツアー終わればスタッフは無関心。参加される方は事前準備を怠りなく！

What a great excursion. Yes, we saw whales!! Very friendly, accommodating, and organized crew. Captain Mike a true professional with a sense of humor-thank you. Very convenient beach boarding in A-Bay (Waikoloa Resort), which for us was so nice not having to drive down the coast. Cheers

Stay at King Kam so this evening was an easy evening on grounds. Show was really great, food was good too

great evening swimming with these giant gorgeous creatures, we got lucky with the abundance who came around to play!

We had the most AMAZING time ziplining!! It was a little rainy/misty but that didn't take away from the experience at all! The crew was informative, funny and put our safety as their number one priority.

Our guide lived here and shared some stories and was extremely knowledgeable. We encountered wild horses. Before entering, pray and be respectful. Thank you for showing us this beautiful sacred land

Good food, good show. They kept things moving with no waiting. Still expensive though.

The boat was comfortable, the captain was friendly and knowledgeable. We got a text in the morning saying that visibility was poor... and it was. We didn't see much. I don't feel like it was worth the price. Maybe a beverage, a snack or a little souvenir could have been included for the $50 we paid.

After a week in Hawaii, this one has proved to be the highlight of our trip. The boat ride was smooth and comfortable under the shade, especially later in the day. The captain and crew were so kind and helpful, one of the other passengers got seasick and they offered plenty of remedies (ginger candies‚ who knew). Shoutout to Jennifer and Bob who were great with the snorkeling and super knowledgeable about the fish and the area. If you are considering this tour do it!

[Reviewed by HawaiiActivities.com Staff]

We had a wonderful time! We were super lucky to see a lot of dolphins and whales. It was for sure a once in a lifetime adventure. The entire crew was awesome! Thank you so much!

It was much colder than I expected, and I couldn't stay in for even 30 minutes. But I was glad to see a lot of fish. I was also happy to see a whale.

思っていたよりとても寒くて３０分も入っていられませんでした。でもたくさん魚がみれて良かったです。クジラもみれて良かったです

We had done a tour of Waipio decades ago when it was a horse drawn wagon tour. The van tour we did this year was many times better than that one, and our guide was actually a resident of Waipio and gave a lot of insight into the area.