Waimea

The Mauna Kea volcano tour is a great balance of nature, science, and culture.

Our guide was from Hawaii, born on Maui, and has been living on the Big Island for two years. He was handsome, had a great voice, and was genuinely kind. The weather wasn’t ideal — it was cloudy, though we did see the se... morea of clouds and a bit of sunlight breaking through. It still felt magical watching the sunset above the clouds, even without a clear sky. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see any stars that night, probably due to the season (I went in late October). But the next day, on another tour, I did see a sky full of stars — so it’s still possible! Be prepared for altitude sickness; I felt lightheaded at the summit and was glad we descended soon after sunset. Overall, it was a good experience despite the bumpy mountain road — and it felt great to have “checked off” the highest mountain in the world (from base to peak).

Our guide Wes was incredible! We learned so much and enjoyed the sunset and stargazing on Mauna Kea so much! Wes was knowledgeable, friendly, and patient. Thank you for an unforgettable experience!

It was absolutely amazing. Our tour guide was so informative and polite it made the trip that much better.

James, our guide, was very knowledgeable, funny and the added stories he told us were add treat. James made sure we got to see all the views on our way up the volcano. Seeing the views from the summit were amazing. And t... morehe star gazing after crazy. Again James showed us all the constellations that were in the sky. The tour also has a telescope were we got top see the moon up close. We even got to see Saturn

This was our first time doing this excursion. It did not disappoint. Wes, our guide was so knowledgeable and very impressive with explaining things in English and Japanese. The views were breathtaking.