Maui
My family absolutely loved this activity. Great service, fantastic food and drinks. Great performance sharing the tradition of Aloha and the history. Luau was also in a great location overlooking the beach. Very close to where we were staying.
What to expect? A warm shell Lei greeting, photo for purchase, friendly staff, great service, great performance, great Mai Tai's, and a meal that will make you want to stay in Maui. This activity is recommended for anyone of any age. Great time!
It is hard not to recommend whale watching. Had a great time with the family. Seen a few whales up close but most activity was from a distance. A few awesome whale tails. The crew was great. If you never went whale watching this should be on the bucket list.
What to expect? A great view from either side of the boat and a relaxing day with sun. Crew members explaining whale behaviors and pointing them out so you can follow and hopefully get some great photos.
By far the best snorkel excursion we ever took. Safety was the Captain's first priority and it was greatly appreciated.
The Four Winds offers just about everything possible from small boats for children, life jackets, other floating devices, and under water camera rentals. The crew was awesome.
What to expect? A crew that knows how to have a great time. Don't worry if you forget something because honestly they have everything including wet suits and eco friendly sun screen. On the way to Molokini, we seen a double whale breech which is the best I have seen yet. The captain was very knowledgeable about whales and turtles and was quite funny as he cracked a few jokes along the way. Upon boarding breakfast was served. Later lunch and on the way back a few beers. Great way to end a fabulous day.
I would highly recommend this activity for couples or families. Can't wait to do it again next year.
This cruise is highly recommended (Maui Princess). The crew was awesome. The musician was awesome. Played great songs all night. The captain even turned the lights out to gaze at the sky full of stars.
Service, food, and drinks were outstanding. Enjoyed a beautiful Maui sunset, quite a few whales all while feeling completely relaxed and truly enjoying the moment. My family has raved about this cruise ever since.
I would recommend this for couples or families. What to expect? A great time with a crew that goes out of their way to ensure you love every minute. Everyone of all ages had a smile on their face during the cruise.
As forecasted, it was cloudy and very windy. Since light rain was also expected, I requested a schedule change if possible, but I received no response as the tour was confirmed to proceed on the day.
We headed towards the mountain while gradually acclimatizing to the high altitude, and we received some great souvenir information along the way. However, when we reached the gate, it was past 5 PM, and since there were no staff present, each driver had to process the entrance fee (toll) with a credit card, which caused a traffic jam.
In the end, we couldn't see the sunset, and the viewpoint of the crater was dark, so we missed the scenery of Haleakalā, which was disappointing. If we had known about this traffic situation in advance, we might have planned to pass through the gate before 5 PM. Especially since it was clear even to amateurs that the starry sky wouldn't be visible that day, seeing the crater while it was still light would have provided a different kind of excitement.
The guide's personality was impeccable, and their stories were captivating. However, despite the implication that we would be able to see the sunset, there was no mention of it at all...??
天気予報どおり、くもり、風強しでした。
小雨も予想されたので、できることなら日程変更をお願いしたのですが、
当日は催行とのことでお返事はありませんでした。
ゆっくり高地にならしながらいきますとのことで、お得なお土産情報もいただきながら、山に向かいました。
ゲートのところで、5時を過ぎていたので、係員不在の時は、各車のドライバーが、クレカで入山料(通行料)の手続きをしなければならず、渋滞となっていました。
結局、日没も見れず、火口の展望台も暗くなって見れず、でハレアカラの風景は見れずじまいだったのが残念でした。
もしこの渋滞事情が事前にわかっているのなら、五時までにゲートを通過する計画もあったのでは、と思います。
特に、その日は星空も期待できないのは素人でもわかっておりましたので、明るいうちに火口でも見れたら、また違った感動があったと思います。
ガイドさんのお人柄は申し分ありませんし、お話も魅力的でした。
ただ、日没は見れるような口ぶりだったのに、そのことについては何も触れられず・・??でした。
Thank you very much for participating in our tour. We sincerely apologize for not being able to provide you with a satisfactory experience on the day of the tour.
Upon checking with the local operating company, we did not receive any reports of stars being obscured. However, if you were unable to see any stars at all, they mentioned that they would provide guidance for your next participation. We deeply regret that you could not enjoy the scenery you were looking forward to, and we share your disappointment.
Additionally, due to stricter entry regulations that have been in place since last year, the popularity of the tour has increased, making it difficult to reschedule to another date on short notice. We also apologize for not being able to respond to your email in a timely manner.
Furthermore, the summit of Haleakalā is at an elevation of 3,000 meters, which is almost the same as Mount Fuji. The weather can change rapidly due to strong winds, and sudden rain can occur. Even experienced guides with nearly 20 years of experience find it challenging to predict the weather on the day. However, we sincerely apologize for the unexpected traffic congestion that occurred that day, which prevented us from providing a satisfactory experience.
Moving forward, we will work closely with the operating company and clearly outline important points on our page to ensure that there is no discrepancy between expectations and the actual content of the tour. Thank you very much for your valuable feedback.
VELTRA Customer Support Team
この度は、ツアーにご参加いただき誠にありがとうございます。
当日はご満足いただけるご案内ができませんでしたこと、心よりお詫び申し上げます。
現地催行会社に当日の状況を確認しましたところ、星が見えないという報告は受けなかったそうですが、
星が全く見れなかった場合には、次回のご参加のためのご案内を差し上げているとのことです。
ご期待されていた景色をお楽しみいただけませんでしたこと、弊社としても心苦しく、大変残念に感じております。
また、昨年より入場規制が厳しくなったことで人気がさらに高まり直近での別日振替が困難なツアーでありますこと、
メールのご返信が間に合いませんでしたこと、重ねてお詫びいたします。
なお、ハレアカラ山山頂は標高3000mと、富士山とほぼ変わらぬ高山となり、強風による天候の変化が激しく
急な雨はもちろん、曇りが一瞬にして快晴に変わったりと、20年近いベテランガイドでも当日の天候を予測することは残念ながら困難とのことです。
しかしながら重ねて、通常は発生しない急な渋滞が当日は起きてしまい、ご満足な内容を提供することができず、誠に申し訳ございませんでした。
今後はさらに催行会社と密に連携をとり、ページ上でもご注意点などを明記し、ご期待と実際の内容に差異が生じないよう改善に取り組んで参ります。
貴重なご投稿を賜りまして、誠にありがとうございました。
VELTRAカスタマーサポートチーム
Heads up: both parking and the stand for the whale watch tour was difficult to find. Luckily we were able to get ourselves on the next tour after missing the originally scheduled one due to the variables above. Tour guide was professional, but for a whale watching tour, and given our expections for the season, it was not up to par. Maybe next time.
It was an English tour, but even if you can't speak English, you'll manage just fine. The bus driver and guide was a veteran, and he was kind enough to take pictures at the summit. The dinner was included and it was delicious! The only disappointment was that we couldn't see the starry sky. I really hope they include stargazing in the tour. Also, for those who get motion sickness, I think it's a good idea to take some motion sickness medication.
英語のツアーでしたが、英語が出来なくても何とかなります。バスの運転手件ガイドさんは、ベテランで、山頂では写真を撮ってくれたりして、親切な人でした。夕食付きでおいしかったですよ!唯一残念なのは、星空をみることが出来なかった事です。是非星空鑑賞もツアーに入れて欲しいです。あと、乗り物酔いする人は酔い止めを飲まれた方がいいと思います。
When my family was listing the highlights of our amazing vacation in Hawaii, we all agreed the snorkeling trip was the best of the best. Thank you.
The ride up is pretty quick with a nice hike to a beautiful small waterfall. A prefect amount of time to take in the scenery before heading to our next stop. There again the prefect amount of time at the waterfall and an easy hike to and from.
We encountered a pod just a few minutes after setting sail, and they even showed us some jumping. We encountered pods several more times, and we were able to see whales that came very close to us. The Japanese guide was also excellent, thank you very much.
出航後数分で群れに遭遇、ジャンピングまで披露してくれました。その後も数回群れに遭遇し、間近まで近づいてきてくれたクジラまで観れました。日本語ガイドの方も最高で、ありがとうございました。
Well worth the money. Delicious food, a huge variety of drinks and very entertaining show.
Friendly and knowledgeable crew, really well organized expedition. We were told we were particularly lucky as we saw many whales and at least 6 breaching. Beautiful animals. We learned a lot and left the boat excited and happy.
My wife, myself and my sister with her husband were able to get this trip. We were told that normally they like to do this trip with 6 people. We had only four in our group but they still ran the trip. We took the early morning van ride to Hana and the helicopter ride back. You can do this trip either way. We had a brand new GMC custom van, it was great. Greg our driver said that this company only has newer vans. The only thing better than a new van was a very experienced driver. Greg was great, he knew all the places to slow down and where you could get the best pictures. My wife and sister are very much into flowers, Greg was very knowledgeable on the subject. Many years ago I drove this road and I missed so much, having a driver/guide is the best way to to this. I have a commercial driving licence so I can recognize and appreciate a professional driver. Lunch was very good and light, you want that for the helicopter flight back. The pilot, Glenda was very smooth and safety was always a big concern. The helicopter company was Blue Hawaiian, top notch outfit. I could not think of one negative comment or even a constructive criticism. Is it cheap no, is it value for your money yes.
The whale watching experience was the best. The crew was patient answering questions from our granddaughters. We learned great information about why the whales come to Hawaii and the times best to see interaction between males and females.
The crew was amazing. They went out of their way to answer any questions we had. They made the experience interactive and tried their best to make sure all sides of the boats had equal viewing time for the whales.
私はこのフェリーでラナイに行きました。フェリー港への行き方は簡単です。座席は快適です。
I took this ferry to lanai.
Direction to ferry port is simple. Seat is comfortable.
The crew was a blast. Very fun outing. They worked very hard to insure everyone had a great time.
The crew made sure everyone's needs/wants were tended to. I felt nauseated when snorkeling and swam back to shore and someone was in the ocean to help, then someone on shore removed my goggles and such, another staff member gave me ideas to "recover", and on the trip back, a different staff member found the best place for me to sit and sip some ginger ale. They engaged our young adult children and were fun loving - entertaining - and educational (about the sharks that were sighted) - plenty of food and drink.
All ages will enjoy this outing.
There aren't many places to walk, so you can bring elderly people along. On the way up the mountain, we enjoyed a fun car ride where we were introduced to inexpensive souvenirs at a local supermarket and heard local stories about Maui. The sunset from the summit was a breathtaking view from another world. It was wonderful. The stargazing included easy-to-understand explanations using a telescope and a laser pointer. Unfortunately, we were affected by the moonlight, but it seems that if it were a new moon, the starry sky would be amazing. I'm really glad I brought my mother and children along.
歩く所はあまり無いので、年寄りを連れて行けます。山に登る途中に、地元のスーパーマーケットで安いお土産を紹介してもらったり、マウイの地元の話が聞けて楽しい車中でした。山頂からの日没は、別世界の風景でした。素晴らしいです。星空観察は、望遠鏡やレーザーポインターを使った分かりやすい説明でした。生憎月明かりの影響を受けましたが、新月だったら、すごい星空だそうです。母と子供を連れてきて、本当に良かった。
When I boarded the boat, I got completely soaked up to my knees. I was able to see whales quite close. I even saw them jump high enough to see their bellies. I'm happy to have achieved one of my main goals for going to Maui. The snacks were just small sandwiches.
船に乗り込むとき、膝の上までバッチリ濡れました。鯨はかなり近い所で見れました。おなかが見えるくらいのジャンプも見れました。マウイに行った大きな目的の一つが達成できて嬉しい。軽食というのは、小さなサンドイッチ程度。
Had a really good time on the trip. The customer service was top notch; every employee was ready to jump to serve the customer. It was a very smooth ride to Lanai accompanied with juice, coffee, cinnamon buns, and breakfast sandwiches. You end on a pretty secluded beach, and while snorkeling the crew was great about being available if you needed help, but otherwise leaving you alone to see the sights. Lunch was grilled chicken and Asian noodles. On the ride back they serve ice cream and then open the bar. We saw whales on both the outgoing trip and the return, and the captain would stop to view them. The only part I thought that was less than stellar was the food quality. While certainly not bad, it just wasn't anything great. Also, the description makes it seem like they serve booze the whole time, but they don't open the bar until about the last hour of the trip. All in all a very fun experience and a great trip for families.
Perfect half day - lots of drive time but able to see many different terrains and vistas - all stops perfectly chosen to show off different terrain and history. Drier guide was excellent.
We were totally impressed with the professionalism of the research staff on the whale watch of Dec 8. The pilot was extremely experienced and could pick up the behavior of the whales from afar to make an educated guess as to if they might come up more often than not. The attendants were knowledgeable as well providing much information as to the life cycles of the hump back whales. Many questions were answered to our satisfaction. They put a sort of a microphone to attempt to detect whale sounds although not successful they were willing to try all the technology to help us have the best experience ever. I really think luck played a big part in our amazing morning of whale watching but that being said it's worth taking a chance and we most appreciated the staffs attention to safety and providing all the education they did. The juvenile whales came right up to our boat and we're curious and playing around the boat so long the pilot had to call a sailboat over to distract them away so we could start our engine and return to shore. It was just amazing.
Die Tour war gut arrangiert. Wir wurden überpünktlich abgeholt und unsere Busfahrerin / Tourguide war super freundlich. Sie hat während der ganzen Tour sehr viel über die Gegend erklärt, auf Pflanzen hingewiesen und uns einige alte Legenden näher gebracht. Es gab viele Stopps zwischendurch. Die geschätzte Gruppengröße war 15 Personen.
Der Sonnenaufgang war spektakulär! Den muss man gesehen haben! Eine dicke Jacke bzw. Zwiebellook und geschlossenen Schuhe sind mehr als angebracht.
Das folgende Frühstück im Golfclub war solide. Hätte man aber, da die Tour mit einem frühen Aufstehen verbunden ist, auch gut auslassen können und dafür ein früheres Ende vorsehen können.
Insgesamt hat mir die Tour gut gefallen und ich empfehle sie weiter.
I participated during the waxing crescent moon in December. The starry sky was beautiful, and the explanations were interesting. There were high-performance telescopes that allowed us to see things that are hard to see with the naked eye, making it a great experience. I wish I could have seen the starry sky during the new moon. The sunset was viewed from halfway up the summit of Haleakalā. The scenery was breathtaking. During my visit, there was no option for Grigori Ice, only Krispy Kreme donuts.
12月の上弦の月の時期に参加しました。星空は綺麗で解説も面白かったです。望遠鏡も高性能のものがあって中々肉眼では見れないものが見れ、いい経験でした。願わくば、新月の時の星空を見たかったです。サンセットはハレアカラの山頂途中から眺める感じでした。景色は絶景です。私の時はグリグリアイスのオプションはなく、クリスピークリームのドーナッツでした。
Our driver was not only hilarious, but very knowledgeable. It was a great group on our bus, and was a blast. Good day spent, with some amazing photo opportunities.
A few things to be aware of before you book this excursion:
1) The road is very windy: consider ginger candy or Dramamine if you're prone to motion sickness.
2) Cell phone reception will be terrible.
3) It's very cold at an elevation of 10,000 feet. It was 40degrees for us. Dress warmly.
4) The air is also very thin at 10,000 feet: look out for shortness of breath and dizziness.
3) You may not see a picture perfect sunrise. No one can control the weather or even perfectly predict it. There will also be tons of other people there enjoying the view with you.
With all that in mind, we had a great time. At 3am, our driver picked us up and drop us off right in front of our condo in Kihei (pick up may not be available for your particular location - verify with PolyAd/GrayLine first if this is a dealbreaker for you). Stopped at a Kahului convenience store: buy snacks here if you don't like the pastries/coffee onboard.
Uneventful drive up. The 25-ish seater van/bus is heated, but once we arrived in the parking lot, our driver obviously had to turn off the engine/heat to conserve gas. We arrived 1 hour prior to sunrise, and in that 1 hour, the weather went from so clear and being able to see thousands of stars to sprinkling rain to so foggy I could barely see a few feet in front of me and back and forth. There is a tiny visitors center with giftshop, and restrooms (with ice cold water toilet seats), but not much else to explore. So we hung out on the bus until just a few minutes before sunrise.
The sunrise was partially obstructed by clouds, but the sky and landscape was still so beautiful. 30 minutes after sunrise, our driver drove us up a wee bit higher to the next parking lot for more photos, and then down to a golf course for breakfast. Breakfast was ok - I would have much rather saved my appetite for something else. We were dropped off at our condo at 11am.
We had a great driver and saw a beautiful sunrise from the top of a volcano. It was AWESOME.
The staff was courteous, on time, knowledgeable, and fun. We had a blast and were closer to whales than ever before. A fantastic value.
I didnt really know what to expect...
What we got was a large, clean, well equipped vessel. A very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great weather and phenomenal views of several different pods of humpback whales.
We could not have asked for a better experience!
The cruise started off at the harbor where we checked-in, waiting to board. Once we were seated, the boat undocked and we were on our way to watch some whales. The narration was the best part of the trip. The narrators were very informative and would tell us stories. They were always on the lookout for whales and try their best to take the boat as close them as possible but it was our mis-fortune that around that time we could only spot a few whales that too for just a couple of seconds. On the other hand, the views were surreal from the middle of the ocean. They guarantee a sighting and that's exactly what we got but I wish it was for longer.