Big Island
Best tour on the island Marcus was extremely knowledgeable and knew every question we had about the island. Would highly recommend!!
While I understand there is no guarantee to see and experience manta rays feeding on plankton, I was extremely disappointed with this experience, the crew did not provide a good experience for all. There were a lot of people on this adventure (more than what I felt should be) and as result, the crew had to use three different boards to accommodate everyone. As a result the board with most of the lights, it attracted the manta rays, leaving the others without. The other two did not attract any. I feel the crew should have maneuvered the other two boards or people on those boards to the larger board area so that they could experience the Mantra Ray feeding. I was also very disappointed that there were no lights at the bottom pointing upward. On other manta ray snorkels I joined, when there are lights from the top and from the bottom many more manta rays appear and feed.
The crew also did not provide insights and interesting facts on the Mantra Rays, at least I didn’t hear anything.
The one nice thing I enjoyed about this trip was that the experience allowed me to enjoy nighttime boating.
Aloha Sandles,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We extend our deepest apologies for the experience you had on our tour. We would like to hear more details about it. Could you email us at info@hawaiidolphin.com and elaborate further? We would like to rectify this situation. Thank you.
Best,
Iruka Hawai‘i ‘Ohana
We had a blast riding around in a dune buggy last Sunday! It was delivered and picked up at our hotel, great communication with Aaron, great tips on where to go - all of it was easy and a ton of fun!
We are so happy you all enjoyed the buggy! It was really nice meeting you all. Thank you for the wonderful review. We hope to see you back on th Big Island!
Aloha and Mahalo,
Aaron
An incredible adventure for the family and I! I knew I wanted to see the Captain Cook memorial but I never anticipated such an immersive aquatic experience.
Mahalo Nui Loa for the wonderful review. We hope to see you on your next visit to the Big Island!
Beyond our expectations! Food likes for adults and kids, as well as drinks! The entertainment and energy was out of this world! I even spoke to the hotel about it being both of my daughters birthdays that week, and the entertainers did a birthday shout-out and sang them happy birthday!
We had a great time. Seth and Colleen were wonderful. Kay was extremely helpful. The Manta's were beautiful and amazing.
This trip was a wonderful introduction to the great snorkeling in two of the bays on the west coast of Hawaii. Our guide provided all the gear we needed for the water. Our guide was friendly, patient, and knowledgeable about local sea life and the culture and history of the coast we explored. As a family, we were novices at snorkeling but our guide stepped us through getting into and out of the water and directed us to the best areas of the bays to explore. Right out of dock, a pod of spinner dolphins crossed in front of the boat! Flying fish appeared along our route and there were many species of fish and many black sea urchins in both bays. The snacks hit the spot and the cultural history of the bays and coastline were very interesting. After the excursion, we felt we were ready to set off on our own snorkling adventure!
The tour was great. The sunset was amazing. The boat ride out was super fun with water and sodas. The guides worked hard to get us positioned for the rays. We got to see several rays with one completely in the center of our group doing several flips while eating. Afterwards we got hot chocolate.
Aloha Hilari,
We're so glad to hear all the positive things you had to say about your trip with us, and thank you for sharing your pictures! All returning customer's receive a 20% repeater discount if you folks plan on returning!
Mahalo,
Iruka Hawaii Team!
What a fun, informative, and relaxing 3 hours. Great history guide and fantastic music! Helen the bartender was great as well. We are a group of six with two elderly parents who were comfortable the whole time and loved it. We will do this again!
Thanks a million for joining us! We are so happy to read that you had a great time!
The overall experience was amazing. With the long trip to volcanoes national park, they did a great job of breaking up the trek with stops for food, coffee, snacks, and dinner. The driver was great and had lots of interesting facts to share as we traveled, and gave us his unique perspective on the island and points of interest. The night portion was amazing and it was a perfect end to the trip to see the lava glow at night. Highly recommend the guided tour over DIY!
Aloha Richard,
Thank you so much for commenting on your tour experience, we're glad you felt the experience was worthwhile! Having a guide is a real added value on a tour to the volcano. It's a long trip, but we appreciate you touring with us, and hope your stay on the island was amazing!
This was a pretty fun show to attend. One thing I like a a luau is some of the history of the Hawaiian Islands and Polynesia and this show had some good dances going over the history and region. The house band was excellent and the host, while being kind of Vegas lounge singer-esque, hit a tone that was welcoming and fun. There was some audience participation and the event was generally a good time. The food and drinks we're a little less impressive and while they were as advertised and a typical luau fair, the quality was more of a banquet at a hotel style and the main reason for the 4 star over the 5 star. Fun luau, worth the purchase.
We were greeted by sign on the way to the baggage claim. The greeter had beautiful flower leis for us waiting and helped up put them on and also helped with directions to the baggage claim and rental car facility. It was my dad's and son's first time to Hawaii, so we wanted to do something special and it didn't disappoint.
This luau at Royal Kona was a truly wonderful experience! I would recommend it to anyone staying in the Kona area when coming to Big Island.
This experience is 100% worth it and is a must do if you are visiting the Big Island. The Manta Rays are magical and come so close to you that they sometimes even touch you. It is a once in a lifetime memory that you will never forget. Sometimes the image of them doing their barrel roll pops into my head during work and I am taken back to a moment that didn't even seem real. It was so special. While I would recommend this tour to someone who has snorkeled before, we had a member in our group who was a first timer and they did great and had a wonderful experience. Don't let anything hold you back and just book it. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and all about keeping you safe and comfortable. You will not regret it!!
The night manta ray snorkel was sooooo cool!! We saw many manta rays and the guides were very helpful with information.
This was one of the highlights of our trip to Kona!
The show was great, everyone was welcoming. Plenty of food and drinks and the staff was great!
A 7-hour tour from 3 PM to 10 PM.
3:00 PM Pickup at the Target parking lot
Visitor Center
(Get your dinner sandwich at your own timing)
Telescopes from various countries
Sunset
Explanation of the night sky and constellations
10:00 PM End at the Target parking lot
A tour that allows you to fully enjoy your travel day to the Big Island.
Due to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, Japanese tourists stopped coming, and they switched to English tours in 2019. However, the guide was Japanese, so if you have any questions during the several breaks, you can ask in Japanese and they will kindly explain. The guide engages with you. I was able to properly learn about the constellations for the first time. It was fun.
15時から22時までの7時間のツアー。
15:00 ターゲットの駐車場でピックアップ
ビジターセンター
(夕食のサンドイッチを自分の
タイミングでもらう)
各国の望遠鏡
サンセット
星空と星座の説明
22:00ターゲットの駐車場で終了
ハワイ島への移動日をフルに楽しめるツアー
武漢コロナパンデミックで日本人が来なくなって、2019年に英語ツアーに変えたそうです。ただしガイドは日本人だったので、わからなかったところは途中休憩が数回あるので、その際に日本語で聞けば丁寧に教えてもらえます。ガイドが話しかけてくれる。星座の説明はじめてちゃんと教えてもらえた。楽しかった。
The location of the airport was a short drive from the hotel. The airport waiting lobby was crowded, and if you’re not careful, you might miss the announcement for your helicopter. During the flight, there were only Japanese passengers, and the explanations were not bilingual in English and Japanese, which made the information plentiful and fulfilling. It was very lucky that there were no explanations in both languages, as that can be tiring. The course and flight time were excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed the erupting Hawaii Island. However, I was a bit anxious because there was little time until the taxi back, and the USB with the flight video wasn't ready.
ホテルから飛行場の場所は少し車で走りました。飛行場の待合ロビーは混雑しており、注意していないと乗るべきヘリ案内を聞き逃しそうです。
フライト中は、日本人だけで英語と日本語のバイリンガルの説明ではなかったので、情報量も十分で充実したものとなりました。英語と日本語の説明だと疲れるので、とてもラッキーでした。コース、フライト時間も申し分なく、噴火しているハワイ島を堪能しました。帰りのタクシーまでの時間が少なく、フライト映像のUSBが書き上がらず、ハラハラしましたが。
Loved the excursions, especially the evening lava glow. The tour guide was amazing, friendly, and experienced, and made sure we had a really great time
We enjoyed the luau, the food and the program. This is our second luau and by far, it was the more enjoyable one. The food was good and the entertainment was captivating. The program was surprisingly interactive which made it even more enjoyable. My 12 yr olds appreciated that there were foods they could identify (mac n cheese, chicken nuggets) after trying the poi, lomi and poke.
Length of trip perfect for first time snorkelers (12 yr old children). Crew knowledgeable, attentive and fun.
This trip was awesome. I have done several before with other companies and this is the best. Within minutes, four or five mantas started feeding. Others soon joined. Then flips and near surface swimming by the mantas continued the whole time. Excellent and I highly recommend. The crew were incredible.
Mr Jim was a very knowledgeable and friendly tour guide! The tour was very organized at each stop and Mr. Jim was very accommodating to ensure we didn’t have to wait in long lines as well!! Mr Jim loves what he does and provided myself and everyone on the tour with an Amazing experience!!! I would definitely recommend this tour to all my family and friends. 5 Star Tour!!!
Aloha, and thank you for posting this review! We're thrilled you had a good time on tour, and yes, Jim is extremely knowledgable and friendly, just a wonderful guide! Again, glad you had a great time, and we hope you enjoyed the island.
We really enjoyed our 21st Anniversary and Big Island Convertible Car Rental was a huge part of it. Aaron and his wife was so accommodating and showed us where to go on the big island. The buggy was nice and comfy for me because I am a plus size beauty. I was able to get in and out with ease and we really enjoyed the ride around the big island.
David and Takashi Labon
You two are the Cutest!! Thank you so much for the 5 Stars!! We really enjoy meeting you both and being part of your experience on the Big Island!! Happy Anniversary!!
Aloha and Mahalo,
Aaron and Debi
Big Island Buggy
We really enjoyed our adventure with Mauna Kea Stargazing Tour. Our guide, Maka, was excellent: entertaining, polite, knowledgeable, etc. He was extremely quick and calm when responding to a high altitude emergency when we reached our high altitudes. I was impressed with the Veltra company with their constant updates, emails reminders, and phone call reminder. I gave "Good" review because it was very cloudy and the star gazing was limited. I would book through this company again and I would do this tour again too.
This was our first trip to the Big Island, so of course we wanted to see the summit at Mauna Kea. Our tour guide was Justin- and he was tremendous. He met at pickup location a couple minutes early. He provided a clear outline of what the day would include- and he held to it very closely. On the way to our first stop, He provided a great narration of the volcanic and mythological history of the island. After dinner (and acclimating to elevation for a while) we headed further up the mountain- the safety discussion was very calming, but helpful. The view from the summit was SPECTACULAR. About 10-15 minutes before the actual sunset, sneak to the back side of the area up there, and the SHADOW of Mauna Kea on the clouds looks like another mountain. I am fairly well-travelled, and this was a first for me! After that, we went down to the Start gazing station, and got to see some really cool stuff. Justin's knowledge was superb, enough to engage with a couple college students in our group that studied Astronomy at school. Very impressive. Truly, a great way to see a unique and beautiful piece of the Big Island! Many thanks!
I cannot recommend this trip with this company enough. The guides were fantastic and the experience was amazing.
Aloha Brenda,
We're glad to hear that you were satisfied overall during your time with us! Repeating customers are offered a 20% discount when booking directly with our company, so we hope to see you in the future.
Mahalo,
Team Iruka Hawaii
We had a wonderful time! We had 5 of us from 5 to 28 years of age and everyone had a great time. The views were magnificent and they were great with our 10 year old and telling her how to row. The guides were fun and knew their stuff. 10/10 recommend.
The staff on board were so welcoming and friendly! They took the time to get to know everyone and made sure we had enough to eat and drink! The sunset was beautiful and we were able to take many pictures. Would definitely recommend!
Aloha,
Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback about your Sunset Cruise. We're so happy to read that you enjoyed the trip and your interactions with our crew.
We know there are a lot of activity providers on the island and we're honored your chose to spend part of your day with us. We really appreciate your recommendation!
Mahalo and a hui hou,
Your Ocean Sports 'Ohana
Stefan is a cool guide and got us safely up and down Mauna Kea. It was very cold so I appreciated the ski pants as I came with my own gear and it wasn't enough. The night we ascended was very cloudy so unfortunately no stargazing for us but I mainly wanted to see the telescopes and that was otherworldly. Stefan gave some interesting facts about the telescopes that was appreciated and we got lucky to speak with one of the NASA scientists while up there. There was no rush and we were allotted plenty of time to take pictures and take breaks as the altitude will creep up on you. We were told we'd be refunded $100 for the cloudy skies and I received the refund a couple days later. The sandwich wasn't the best but it was appreciated while up there.