Sightseeing / Guided Tours

After researching several options, we chose the Ultimate Hawaii Circle Island Sightseeing tour from Veltra for our mid-April 2026 trip, and it did not disappoint. Our guide, Marcus, was total pro, wWith 15 years of exper... moreience, his knowledge and storytelling made the 10-hour journey fly by.

The Highlights:

1) Coffee Farm: Stunning views and a great tasting session in the gift shop.

2) Punaluu Black Sand Beach: We were lucky enough to see sea turtles basking on the sand!

3) Volcanoes National Park: Seeing the steam vents and the scale of the active volcano was easily the highlight of the day.

4) Rainbow Falls: The best panoramic view is actually from the side of the park; the hike to the top isn't strictly necessary for the best photos.

5) Waipio Valley Lookout: Absolutely breathtaking photo opportunities.

The logistics were seamless with a prompt pickup at 7:20 am from the Fairmont Orchid. While it is a long day covering 2/3 of the island, Marcus kept us entertained throughout. Lunch, dinner, snacks, and water were all provided, making for a stress-free experience. Highly recommended!

I went to Pearl Harbor and it was a really interesting place to visit, but there were some parts I liked more than others.

My favorite part was the airplane area. We went to the Top of the Tower (paid extra $10.00 ) an... mored saw 360 degree view of Pearl Harbor. There was one section in the back (kind of like a shed) which I found the coolest planes. I also really liked the submarine. It wasn’t very big, but it was cool because you could see how people actually lived inside. The beds were super small, and it made me imagine how hard life must have been there.

The USS Missouri wasn’t that exciting to me because I didn’t really find anything very interesting there. Also, the bus rides to go back and forth was a little boring and it felt like a waste of time.

We enjoyed our trip to the Dole plantation and on to Haleiwa. Our driver Chris was very knowledgeable and pointed out many of the local points of interest on the way to and from our destination. The train ride at Dole ... morewas worth taking and the Dole whip was very tasty. We did a little shopping there to which did not really leave us much time to tour the garden area. It would be a great idea to add 30 minutes more to the time here giving longer to do at least two of the three activities here (train, garden, and maze). The cost of the train & garden combo ticket was $19.99. After that it was on to Haleiwa. Chris gave multiple recommendations on where to eat and we chose the 7 Brothers hamburgers from his list. The hamburgers here did not disappoint. Both my wife and enjoyed our burgers and we split an order of fries. Despite having had breakfast and a Dole whip already that morning the burgers were just so good we had to finish them :-). After some shopping it was time to go back to our hotel. On the way back Chris had some suggestions on things to do and places to see before our time in Hawaii is done.

The only negative comments we had were that the bus seemed a little dated, it had a small problem with its “kneeling” feature and there were no cup holders for our drinks. Would definitely recommend Chris and this trip.

We had such a great time on the Full-Day Hawaii Food Tour. Chris was our guide and he absolutely made the experience. He knew so much about the island and the food, and he kept the whole day running smoothly. Every stop ... morewas ready for us, no waiting around, just great food and great stories. Couldn’t have asked for a better guide.

The area were we rode was still wet and muddy. I got a horse who refused to move so was led the entire ride. The Dole plantation party of the tour was too short and the place wasn't even open yet when we arrived, cuttin... moreg into our time there. The town we visited on the way back was just a time sick, although we found a great burger place to eat lunch. I would not recommend.

Loved the experience! Once in a lifetime so far. Hope to have a repeat someday!!