All Reviews for Mauna Kea Summit, Big Island

It’s funny to say, but a tour to the summit of a snowy mountain was the highlight of our Hawaii trip! Hiro was the best guide anyone can ask for. He also does the Lava walk tour which I’ll be sure to book with him next time we’re back to the islands.

This tour was Amazing! We have traveled to many fabulous places around the globe with lots of adventure & this tour was right up there with the best! Our guide, Gage, was fun, informative, patient, and an all-round delightful young man! Having to reschedule due to the Kona Low & Mauna Kea blizzard was easy & ultimately a better tour due to lots of beautiful snow at the summit! Our guide prepared us well for the seriously high altitude and checked on everyone frequently! Be sure to pack hats & gloves and the tour provided parkas were plenty warm. A couple e of things to keep in mind before going: bring a refillable water bottle, remember to nose in & slow pursed lip breathing out, bring your camera or cell phone for pictures, visit the restroom at the visitor center so you won’t have to go at very high elevation, and eat before the tour begins (the provided dinner is pretty simple). Just pack a smile and enjoy the “high”! The stargazing with the telescope was extra special! Who knows, we saw a Jedi, a snowman, & a crazy snowboarder so maybe you will too! Thanks for a great memory!

Shoyi and Hiro were wonderful! Very knowledgable and patient with many questions that were asked. We learned so much! Shoyi's photography was a bonus! This was a fantastic tour and an experience we will never forget. Thank you!

Very unique. Views of a lifetime!
The host was amazing. Very informative and helpful. Really enjoyed my time on this tour. Will definitely recommend!

Shawn was an excellent tour guide. He answered all of our questions, and was very knowledgeable about a range of subjects. We were confident in his driving ability, especially in the dark downhill with the goats :-)
Overall, best part of our trip so far!

Our tour leader Stephan was exceptional in that he does great photography and is an excellent tour guide and leader. He shared interesting info about the area as we traveled and then took great sunset photos our our group of 3 and airdropped them to us. The parkas provided were an essential and welcome addition since it was quite cold at the mountain top. Wonderful trip!

This was such an amazing experience and our favorite activity that we did on the Big Island! Hiro was a wonderful tour guide, shared lots of great information and was super funny and personable. They have everything covered from making sure you're acclimated to the altitude, stopping for spectacular views, warm winter gear, food, water/hot chocolate/tea, the most amazing star-gazing I've ever seen, etc. Dress warm and don't forget your cash tip money because they will go above and beyond and you'll want to show your gratitude for the incredible experience. Do not miss this activity!

This activity was great. Our tour guide gave us informative details on our stops we visited. Getting to view the stars, the moon and the planets were stellar! My 7 year old had a blast. We would do it again. The area we stopped at had a restrooms and nice little playground. The sandwiches were good and the hot coco was yum!

Ok, this is honestly one of the best tours I have ever taken. The van was super comfy, and our guide Arthur was informative, friendly, and honestly just plain fun! Obvious he LOVES this tour.

Words just cannot describe the beauty of this tour. From the drive up, to the spectacular sunset, to the jaw dropping star gazing......endless beauty. Plus, Arthur made sure we stayed safe, and kept us informed about what we should do and what to expect. I felt comfortable and at ease.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this amazing experience. If you do one thing on the Big Island......do this.

This was such an awesome experience! The sunset was beautiful being that high up and the stargazing was amazing. It was our favorite experience on the island. Our guide Gage was so great! He was so knowledgeable on the island, the history there and the stargazing. He also helped us feel comfortable and safe on the drive up and back down. We highly recommend this experience!

Tour Guide was an enthusiast, patient, native who shared culture, history, science, jokes and Hawaiian myths and songs. You can't ask for more from a guide. Try to book for a moonless night for best view of stars. They use an automated 11 inch telescope. The food was surprisingly very good (vegetable lasagna), the brownie decadent and the hot chocolate and biscotti at the end a nice touch. Had an issue finding the pick up spot, but a phone call resolved this since we were close. If you miss the sign for the international market (if that's your pick up spot), look for the 76 gas station, enter there and drive to the back. Dress warmly and bring a refillable drink. Cold (but not terribly) even with the given parka and gloves. A very enjoyable 8 hour afternoon & evening l

Pickup by the crew was timely, and the vans comfortable, in good condition and clean. The sandwich was delicious, and the two hosts super friendly, accommodating and knowledgeable. Thank-you, Stephan.

Sean did a wonderful job at making this tour be a terrific experience !!! He was always making sure everyone had an enjoyable and comfortable time !!
This experience was above my expectations . I appreciate his help capturing many pictures of this experience!!

Our tour guide Krystal was amazing. She had background in Astronomy and physics with lots of stories from Big Island. We observed entire milky way galaxy with powerful telescope and it was out of the world experience. Our best part was watching all planets and moon with craters. Thank you Krystal for wonderful explanation and experience.

This experience was unreal! Dominic was our guide and he was fabulous throughout. We got to go to the top of the worlds tallest mountain, Mauna Kea, to watch the sunset. When we got up there we had some time to walk around and look at the landscape/telescopes. After that, we watched the sunset and Dominic took photos of us. Once the sun set, we went down the mountain a bit for stargazing. Dominic and the other guide, Hiro, set up and telescope so we could see Saturn and then Hiro gave a great talk on all of the stars. It was absolutely breathtaking! You could see so many stars, planets and the Milky Way! It’s also freezing up there but the tour provides gloves, winter coats and ski pants. This is an absolute must do!

Great Views, both sunset and star gazing. Food was OK but we weren't going for the Food. The telescopes were OK but they could invest in some better telescopes. They could also work on the routing to save gas.

Rich was the best guide. He was incredibly knowledgeable about everything we saw, and even when it was cloudy on Mauna Kea, he told us ancient Hawaiian stories until the clouds cleared and we could see everything we came out to see. A++++ would go again in a heartbeat. Thanks Rich!!!

Marcus our tour guide was Amazing! Really knowledgeable about the stars and facts regarding them. He was very friendly and patient with the kids! The only reason this doesn’t have a 5 star rating is because the food was blah.

This experience was unforgettable! Being on top of Mauna Kea above the clouds was the best sunset I’ve ever seen. The photos the crew took were very professional and the star gazing was great!

From the time we were picked up to when we were dropped off at our resort, we had a fantastic time on our tour with a awesome tour guide Shoyo. He was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot, and not just about Mauna Kea, the Observatories and stargazing but also about the Big Island and the area we drove through. This was a bucket list item for me and it did not disappoint in any way.
We went up to the visitors center for a half hour to acclimatize, then up summit (13,800 feet) and got our first taste of elevation. It is definitely a different experience! And it was surprisingly cold but they have cozy warm jackets to keep you comfy. The sunset is amazing as you are above the cloud line, which also makes for awesome photos!
Speaking of photos, our guide took some great ones of us, both on the summit during the sunset and of the stars, as well as amazing photos of the stars themselves. We were super lucky and got perfect weather and viewing conditions, not even any moon light to deal with.
The only thing that might surprise some is the amount of time you spend in the van driving back and forth and especially up to the summit. Totally worth it of course, and there was great commentary to make the time fly.

We had a great time viewing the sunset with our amazing guides Kekoa and Travis. There are a lot of companies that run these tours, but our guides made this one the best of them all. They were both very knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. Most of all, however, Kekoa and Travis have big smiles and even bigger hearts. They brought the spirit of Mauna Kea and o'hana into this experience. The sunset from the summit was miraculous, the lasagna and brownie absolutely delicious and the star gazing was out of this world!

An awe inspiring experience, even for my amateur astrophotographer husband. Beautiful photos worthy of placing on our walls.

The Japanese guide was friendly and kind, making for a great tour. It was a cloudy day, but they did their best to help us take photos with the best views possible. I highly recommend it!

日本人ガイドさんが気さくで親切で良いツアーでした。雲が厚い日でしたが、なるべく良い景色で写真が撮れるように頑張ってくださいました。
おすすめです！

Originally the reason for us to book a tour instead of driving ourselves to Mauna Kea was because we didn't rent a 4WD car, but now I'm sooooo glad we made such a decision.
The view of sunset and milky way was breathtaking without saying. What I really want to mention is that our tour guide/driver/photographer Shoyo was amazing. He knew EVERYTHING about Hawaii, during the tour we learned a lot about Hawaiian history, the plants and animals, good restaurants to go, etc.. He also took great photos of us.

My husband and I, our 4 adult children, and their significant others had a wonderful time on the Mauna Kea Stargazing and Summit Tour. Everyone even liked the dinner.
Maka was a great guide. He picked us up promptly and was very friendly on the ride to Mauna Kea. We learned a lot about the surrounding area and volcanoes.
The best part was the sunset. It was like being on another planet and the colors were vivid and amazing.
Unfortunately, the amazing sunset was due to the clouds and it made for poor stargazing.
We were able to see the craters of the moon through the telescope and hear about the local names for some of the stars, in spite of the clouds. And I was glad we did not have to drive that windy road ourselves.
I would suggest checking on the cycle of the moon before booking and do not go during a full moon.
We still had a wonderful time and will never forget the Sunset on the summit.

Steph and Gin picked us up and they were even a little early!! They were great host and very friendly. Beyond that it was a little disappointing. We were suppose to get "dinner", we got a BLT, no chips, no cookie, only water and later a "hot beverage". The pictures our hosts took were great and they sent to us at no charge. We have taken this trip before with another company and we had a very nice sit down dinner, no fancy, but you felt like you had something to eat when you were done. After going to the summit, they set up a telescope and we look at many, many stars and it was explained to us all about that star. The guide was very knowledgeable and we spent close to an hour doing just that, it was fantastic. With this tour we only saw one star and I right now could not tell you what it was. The other tour showed us the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter, etc. But this trip was so not that. I am sorry to say if we do this again it won't be with this tour. We really enjoyed our hosts, but that was not the purpose of the trip

This was by far one of the best things I’ve ever done. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I was given the chance.

This was the perfect ending to our Hawaii trip. It was awesome and the trip exceeded all our expectations. New even got to see Saturn and the entire thing was on time and perfect.

Stephen and Jin did a great job in explaining things, showing places and clicking pictures.

And the sandwich was amazing

Our tour guide West is a really knowledgable fellow. He is very considerate and thoughtful. I highly recommend this tour to everyone.