All Reviews for Black Sand Beach, Waianapanapa Park

I had the best time ever with my tour guide Sammy. She was so much fun to be with. I felt like I was out with a friend for the day. She was more than happy to share her knowledge and appreciation of Hawaiian culture, heritage and history.

I learned so much that day. She made Maui come alive for me, the flora and the fauna and some stories that have been passed down through the ages.

Mahalo

Marian

Highly recommend this tour! You really see the diversity of the island. The waterfalls are beautiful, the banana bread was delicious and seeing both sides of the island made you get a real feel for Maui.

Larry was great! Very informative and entertaining. Long day but worth it for the beautiful views. Bus was full so a little crowded but everyone on trip was very accommodating.

It was a rainy day but that wad so amazing. Due to the rain we didn't go to the sacred ponds. We recommand that activity to every body.

Our excursion went extremely well. We were met at the pier at the designated time with no issues. We met our driver/guide and were on our way. Our driver was Bobbie who gave us a very comprehensive verbal overview of the entire trip. She would pull over at various times to let us get photos of the scenery. We liked the fact that we could stay at any stop for extended time if needed.
Because Bobbie was Hawaiian raised, she could give us a perspective of Hawaiian life on the island.
The van was very comfortable and the driving was very good. No speeding. She gave us plenty of bathroom stops.
All in all we very much enjoyed the trip and would recommend this tour.

This tour is probably one of the best tours you can do if you're staying in Maui. I went with my boyfriend on a Friday and our tour guide Trevor was amazing and took great care of us. It was an all-day event starting at around 8am with the bus coming to our hotel to pick us up, and ended around 6pm with us being dropped back off as well. Trevor, a local of Hawaii for many years, was very informative of the lifestyle, culture, and geography of a lot of the sightseeing we encountered on the road and made multiple stops throughout the trip to allow passengers to explore, shop, and take pictures. We pretty much made an entire loop around the right side of the island which was amazing because we definitely got to see the different terrains as well. The highlight of the trip for my boyfriend and I was making stops at one of the waterfall pools and Black Sand Beach at Waianapanapa State Park. Our tickets included a light, continental breakfast and a nice lunch. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

Our driver Scottie from Temptation Tours was the best I've ever seen. Kept us engaged the whole ride. Knew everything about the island, people, history. Knew all of the best places to stop, where all of the good and bad bathrooms were down to the minute. Told us when the drive by pic was coming up so that we knew to get our phones/camera ready. Stopped multiple times and took the best video and pics of not only us but something cool on the stop. The wraps at lunch were superb. The captain's chairs in the van were perfect. Flying back with Troy from Maui Air was just as incredible. He played cool music and the ride was smooth. Saw a bunch of the falls and even played a little "chase and ride along" a friend he spotted in an ultralight. Highly recommend this combo. We were back at the hotel by early afternoon! Veltra Tours made it so easy and kept us up to date via email during our trip.

Although it was raining the entire day, we had a blast!

The helicopter ride is exciting and fun. We saw the shoreline and lots of waterfalls. The Road to Hana can be long so going half-way is better. Our guide was terrific. He showed us all the important things along the way that we never would have seen if we did it on our own.

Nice hospitable crew both on ground and in air.

Our helicopter pilot Michael was so nice that he turned around to get a nice snap which we could be in the first flyby. We took our tour during March ( US mainland spring time ).

Great and memorable 1st experience of chopper ride. Since it rained that day we saw so many waterfalls.

Our tour was to fly to the other side of the island and then ride a tour mini van through the mountains/rainforests back to the helipad. Nice Tour guide Scott as he knew the whole island bit by bit of it which gave us many memorable nature spots along the ride. He was very helpful in clicking pics and explaining us about island, people and vegetation

Awesome tour, great value and the only one that does the full trip not just out and back. Good to have a guide that lived in the area and knew just about everything about everything.

What a wonderful tour!! This was the highlight of our 10 days in Hawaii. Our guide, Gary was great, and the lunch was wonderful on the black sand beach at Hana! Our pilot, Glenda was great! I've never seen such a beautiful place. We will return and do this tour again!

The bus was pretty nice with USB chargers and what not and we made a lot of the stops on the road to Hana

Worth taking , well organized & excelently executed

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.

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.

It's taken me several trips to Maui to make it to Hana. Why? The idea of spending all day driving my car on a dangerous road with 54 one-lane bridges and 600+ turns (meaning I couldn't even enjoy the scenery) just didn't appeal. But then someone recommended this tour...Instead of driving yourself on this treacherous road (and trust me, with all the amateurs out there it is treacherous), you ride in a comfortable passenger van with an incredibly knowledgeable and enjoyable guide. Instead of driving 3 hours to Hana and 3 hours back along the same route, you take a helicopter for one of the legs and see breathtaking aerial views of this gorgeous island. The tour is well planned, the meals yummy (even the vegetarian and gluten free options were fantastic), and the people were top notch. My only complaint was waiting almost an hour after check in at the heliport to get going. Otherwise, it was a perfect activity.

The area is so beautiful it would be hard to mess up! Lots of stops at lovely places.

Our tour guide Travis totally made this day and excursion memorable. It was a long day but was filled with history, phenomenal sites and entertainment provided by our guide. One of the best excursions on the island by far!

We had a wonderful time on our Taste of Hana Tour with Hailey! She was a very safe expert driver with lots of fun information to give. We saw some amazing things and my family couldn't have done it without her. We really had an awesome time!! Thank you, Hailey, for your courtesy and knowledge!

Best way to do the road to Hana.
Steve is a great driver/guide.

Pickup time came and went. We had to call to remind that we had made a booking. And the pickup only came at 750 am which was 50 minutes after pickup time.

We loved our combo (Helicopter/Van) tour of Hana. It is the best way to do it. It is a rather long but beautiful drive to/from Hana so taking a helicopter one way and seeing the sights including Haleakala is best of both worlds. Our guide Scott Ferguson (Scotty) was terrific. He was fun, informative and engaging. The Hana area is so beautiful. Hint: if you plan to swim I suggest you bring reef shoes. This was one of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommended!

Great way to see Hana. Lots of fun. Very beautiful. Our guide Scotty was fantastic. Highly recommend.

We had a great time - our tour guide "Hailey" was awesome. She showed us the inside of Hana jungle - the best waterfalls and some history of the trees and beaches. Thank you so much!

There are so many stops along the way and some you don't stay at very long. So go on your own with a rental car so you can see what you want to see. The tour guide was pretty awful and so were the other passengers.

We took a group of seven people on this tour and some of our group had done this trip previously. The driver had a tough time managing the people on the tour and other guests were up to 30 minutes late getting back to the bus on several occasions. The lunch situation was not good either. We waited in line for 30 minutes out doors in the heat at the one little stand available for lunch. Then sat out doors to eat with no AC and were dripping. On previous tours there were much better lunch set ups. We were never given enough time to get into the water at the black sands or the seven pools. Mostly because other people were late and the driver didn't manage the group well. But what really took the cake was our departure. My 71 year old father and his new wife were leaving and the driver asked if he could "kiss" the bride. She thought he was going to give her a peck on the cheek, but instead gave her a full on mouth kiss. So inappropriate. Too bad we had already tipped him. Not my favorite day on Maui.

The helicopter ride was fantastic, the Hana road trip was rushed, not really any swimming time and stuck with a family that had a kid throwing up all the time. Very unpleasant. Driver Gary was not the most amiable person.

The trip was well worth the money. Would definitely recommend it to anyone.

This was a very nice trip to take if you've never driven the road to Hana. There are some 600 turns and 57 one lane bridges, which seemed crazy in a rental car. Downside being If you want to stay and explore - you can't. Beyond that our tour guide, Bill, was very knowledgeable and told us lots of interesting facts. In addition to the Lava Tube Cave (which was very cool!) we also saw the black sand beach and a few waterfalls. Also the swim is cold but refreshing! They feed you so besides snacks you really don't need anymore than what they list when you register. If you get car sick, makes sure to bring something for that!