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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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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

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

All the Best Parts of BI

Reviewed by: Kara

From local coffee to black sand beaches to wineries to lava flows to lava tunnels to a charming sunset, this tour is a entire day filled with memories. The guides were knowledgeable and so kind and accommodating, which we appreciate :)

Reply from activity provider

Aloha Kara,

Thank you so much for the kind review! Thanks for acknowledging the guide, they are your captain for the day and we are so proud of the ones we have. We hope you enjoyed your time on the Big Island!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2023/04/08
Activity Date:	2023/03/13

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

Worth Every Penny

Reviewed by: Kara

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!!

Reply from activity provider

Aloha Kara, and thanks for your kind words. We're glad you enjoyed the tour, and we thank you for choosing Kailani Tours!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Friends
Posted on:	2023/03/22
Activity Date:	2023/03/22

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

Zachary

Reviewed by: Flora

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!

Reply from activity provider

Aloha Flora,

Thank you for your review! We appreciate you picked Kailani to tour you around the island. Zachary is amazing, a very humble and knowledgable guide. Thanks again for posting, and we hope you enjoyed your time on the Big Island!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2023/03/09
Activity Date:	2023/03/07

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

The best tour you will ever take on the Big Island

Reviewed by: Dan&Renee

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.

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Grand Circle Island & Volcanoes National Park
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2023/02/24
Activity Date:	2023/02/22

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

Amazing Event

Reviewed by: Kara

You see everything on this tour!!! Delicious coffee!!

Reply from activity provider

Thank you Kara! We hope you had a wonderful experience and that your time on the island was amazing!

Helpful

Rating:
Packages:	Standard Tour
Attended as:	Couples
Posted on:	2022/11/21
Activity Date:	2022/11/13

Ultimate Hawaii Circle Island Sightseeing, Kilauea Volcano & Waterfall Tour

Wish we did it when we arrived

Reviewed by: Gila

It was such a great experience! Our tour guide was AMAZING! So personable and knowledgeable. He knew sooo much history. I don’t think there was a question asked he couldn’t answer at all. My favorite stops were the lava tube and volcano summit visits. Incredible views. My wife and I were saying we should’ve done this when we first arrived instead of at the end of our trip. Sooo much great information. Learning about how coffee was made was also great! Keep it up!