Honolulu to Hilo One Day Fly Away Tour - Volcanoes National Park & Waterfalls
Overall Rating
4.34
Oahu to Big Island in a day
Reviewed by: Michael Speight, 2023/04/01Glad we did it but it's expensive and a very long day. Up at 3:45 to get a taxi to the airport for a 6:00am flight. The tour said lunch included, neither we nor anyone else on the tour thought it would be a packet of chips and a turkey wrap in a box on board the bus. It was. The tour locations were excellent, the volcano, lava tube, waterfalls were all spectacular. The guide was good.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2023/03/08 |
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Volcano National Park from Oahu
Reviewed by: Mike Drinkwater, 2022/01/18It's not hard to complain about things, but honestly, the trip was spot on in most aspects, communication for the most part, although the email said terminal B in Honolulu, and it was actually Terminal 1, but it also put check in at 5:30am, and the flight was actually 7:30am, so plenty of time to adjust. Pick up directions spot on, lunch was provided and ok, I wouldn't write home about it, but there was a lot of walking, so maybe a lite lunch was better.
From a personal stand point, we were only allowed a certain amount of time at each location, I would have spent longer at other locations and less at others, that said, I don't feel like I missed anything, and had I gone on my own, I might have.
So overall, I think it was worth it, I didn't have to worry about booking flights, or getting transportation, lunch, and mapping out where to go, so a lot of headache was saved. I don't think when you book something like this you should expect the greatest trip, they need to balance what works for everyone who will be on that, and in return, we save ourselves a lot of work.
Overall, I would book another tour with Polynesian, it was worth the money.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2022/01/12 |
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Special birthday
Reviewed by: C franco, 2018/07/17Driver was very knowledgeable and our transport outstanding. Unfortunately while the National Park is closed you won’t be able to see the volcano unless you go on a helicopter
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| Attended as: | Friends |
| Activity Date: | 2018/07/14 |
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great information but was a bit of a touristy bus ride
Reviewed by: dodger, 2014/08/02Was very informative but spent most of the morning at touristy places and then the volcano park in the afternoon. Was bit disappointed we didn't see lava or get to go up the observatory on Mona Lua. The information the guide provided was worth it though.
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
| Activity Date: | 2014/07/12 |
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Big island trip
Reviewed by: Kulvinder , 2013/09/07Good. Well recommended Good guide. Slightly d is appointed with some commercial stops
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
| Activity Date: | 2013/08/19 |
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Big Island Volcanoes Tour
Reviewed by: FPDoc, 2013/08/08We very much enjoyed this tour, our tour guide Captain Ron was informative and entertaining and also attentive to our needs (appropriate bathroom breaks, breakfast needs, etc). The volcanoes are amazing! We have 3 kids (Ages 14, 11 and 8) and traveled with friends who have teenage/young adult children and a good time was had by all. My kids loved climbing on the lava rocks and it kept them entertained. The sites in Hilo that we went to were beautiful. Since there was 10 of us, we decided to save a little money and use Go! Airlines instead of Hawaiian Air. Big mistake. They were 2.5 hours late on the flight back from Hilo to Honolulu, which was a big deal with 10 very tired people who were already jetlagged. After reading the reviews for Go! Airlines, it seems like this is a very common occurrence. The ticket agent sent us to the wrong gate, and there was very little communication as the why the flight was late or when we were leaving. Spend the extra cash and fly Hawaiian.
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| Attended as: | Families |
| Activity Date: | 2013/07/27 |
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Enjoyed the trip, room for improvement
Reviewed by: Robert, 2013/05/12Positives: our flights were on time and without incident with greeters ready for us at the terminal.
Our tour guide was fun and enthusiastic.
We made it to all places on itinerary without being rushed.
Negatives: I found it unusual compared to other tours that the guide stayed with the bus which meant we didn't get any feedback while visiting sites, only in between.
The coordination of three different groups of customers on different incoming and outgoing flights a) took a lot of time b) distracted the tour guide
If I had to do it all over again I would look for a tour where all customers are on the same flight or leave if customers haven't arrived at designated time / spot within 30 minutes of start time.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2013/05/07 |
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A jam-packed day
Reviewed by: Cathy, 2013/05/02We took the Big Island Volcano tour from Oahu last week - it was a long but enjoyable day.
Leroy was our guide/driver, and he was everything you could want from a tour guide - friendly, knowledgeable and patient. All of the places visited were interesting. There was no lava to be seen, just steam rising from Kilauea, but we knew to expect this when we booked. Leroy allowed just the right amount of time at each stop, and told us a lovely story about Pele, the goddess of fire, on the trip back down the mountain.
The only slight downside was that the GO Airlines flight back to Oahu was delayed by 2hrs, so it made for a very long day.
Make sure you wear sturdy shoes and take a jacket as the temperature drops significantly when up on the mountain. We were blessed with good weather, but I am told that it does rain quite a bit on the Big Island, so perhaps also take a foldup umbrella.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful island with us !
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| Attended as: | Families |
| Activity Date: | 2013/04/26 |
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Fun trip, glad we went
Reviewed by: Jillian, 2011/09/01My husband, daughter, son-in-law, and myself went on this trip, and we had a great day. We flew over from Oahu, as we wanted to see another island, and "volcanoes" was on our bucket lists. The staff was friendly, professional, and always looking out for us. Dennis was our tour guide, and he was full of knowledge, and we especially enjoyed his coaching us on our usage of the Hawaiian language. The trip consists of a visit to Rainbow Falls, a waterfall park on the island(okay, but not awe inspiring), a stop at Mauna Loa nut factory (yum), a visit to a volcano field and a black sand beach(breathtaking), a stop at a orchid farm(they smelled divine), and finally the Volcano National Park. Don't go on this tour if you expect to see lava...all you will see is steam from vents in the park, and gasses far off in the distance. We knew this ahead of time and were not disappointed. We had a late flight, so Dennis dropped us off for a bit at a local shopping center, and then came back and to
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
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Trip to the Big Island
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2011/08/16Captain Rob was very informative with great stories. His knowledge of the island, flora & volcano is amazing. He had a lot of patience with the stragglers.
Only recommendation for improvement would be to advise people not to buy any thing that is spreadable in addition to the liquids.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
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Nice day
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2011/07/07Nice and enjoyable day on the Big Island. We got to see quite a few different and beautiful places. The pick-up at the hotel in the morning was a little later than planned and there was some free time at the end of the day waiting for the plane back, but otherwise it was pretty well organized. Volcanoes national park is beautiful and probably unlike anything you've seen before. More time could be spent there and maybe less or skip the Macadamia nut factory, but we got to see the main spots of the park. Guide/driver was fun. Recommend this especially to first timers who don't have the chance to stay on the Big Island.
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| Attended as: | Friends |
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Good trip.
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2010/10/25Bus driver (Dennis) was knowledgeable and friendly.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
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Great Tour
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2010/10/11We went on this tour for our honeymoon. The group was a mix of families, couples and friends. Great tour guide. Very informative. Does require good walking shoes. We were able to walk on a lava field, see steam vents, walk in the rainforest and through the Thurston Lava tubes. It was a great way to enjoy the Volcanoes National Park. The morning was mostly spent in the bus, with the afternoon being more active.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
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tour to the big island
Reviewed by: ignasi, 2010/08/02The tour was excellent and we enjoyed it very much. The organization was perfect.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
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first hand volcano experience
Reviewed by: subendu, 2008/12/06The trip is fun as you get to see the only live volcano on earth..when we visited, we could see the fumes coming out of 2 volcanoes, but couldnot make near the second one because of excess smoke..the black sand beach is also fun and unique.
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
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Amazing Day!
Reviewed by: timothy brock, 2008/10/09Note: this is a long day adventure and requires moderate/difficult walking atop the Lava Rocks and paths so be well rested and hydrated for this Adventure. I was amazed and chilled by coming so close to the lava flows and the crater with live lava and steam rising from it..it looks so close you could touch it. This is a great adventure that anyone into the miracle of this great planets processes would love. I still get chills and the big Island is beautiful.
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
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Great time!
Reviewed by: Fun Gyrl, 2008/04/12I took this took by myself, and I had such a GREAT time. Saw so much lava everywhere, and our guide the driver was very informative. I would recommend to go with some friends or with family, it is just an awesome experience to share with them. It was a great experience, and I will definitely go again, but with some friends or family members.
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| Attended as: | Friends |
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wonderful trip
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2007/10/11The nature trip is very enjoyable and educational. You get to see stuff that you would not see on the average. It is trip worth taking. However, I did not like the long wait at the airport in the morning and the evening. By the end of the day you are exhuasted. So, you should sleep well night before to enjoy the trip. It is trip that one should take once in their lifetime.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
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Was the Greatest trip!!
Reviewed by: PATTI BARKS, 2007/07/04We had the best time of our lives! The only trouble we had was the airport.The company didn't issue some tickets and so at the ticket counter it took about 35 mins for us to get boarding passes.I would have thought maybe it was an oversight but it happened to all of the people in our tour group.It was also a little unnerving not to have some one from the tour company waiting for us at the Hilo airport,but all turned out well.I would recommend the trip to anyone.Our tour guide i believe was Harry...He should get a raise!!! He is very good and never found him to be boring! We tipped him graciously for his awesome day!!!!! I would like to have had maybe some later trip because it was hot for the children and i would like to have seen the hot lava but i could always come back for another trip...lol.So all in all it was a beautiful day and i would do it all over again!!!!
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
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Day Trip to Big Island
Reviewed by: Chris, 2007/06/24Be prepared for a FULL day! I was very satisfied with the hotel pickup/drop-off and air travel. Everything went according to the advertisement. Our tour guide ("Harry") on the Big Island was VERY good ... entertaining, knowledgeable, keeping us on-time, even beating the crowd from the other tour buses to the lunch line (buffet was over-priced at $17 each). The National Park Service had the road closed to the lava activity due to the recent earthquakes (tremors). But the black sand beach, crater visitors center and museum, lava tube, orchid nursery, and macadamia nut factory were well worth the visit. Don't know if I would go again, but you should include this activity at least one time!
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
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Volcano Tour-Hawaii
Reviewed by: Kevin, 2007/05/10Fantastic tour with a great tour guide.
Only one problem.
We were told that we had to check in at 5:30 AM
at the Honolulu Airport.
We got there at that time and there was no one at their
counter.
The flight does not leave until 7:20 AM
so it was ridiculous to be told this.
Be advised and let your people know
because all you will do is sit and wait...and wait...and wait.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
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Lava
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2007/04/28Wish we had more time to see actual lava, not just lava fields. One hour is not enough time to hike to the flows and back. Other than that, however -- great time!!! LOVED Cousin Aaron!! :-)
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| Attended as: | Friends |
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Aloha Michael - Mahalo for allowing us to show you the Big Island! Mahalo for sharing your review. I will pass on you comments about lunch to the team and see if we can do better. Take care. Poly Ad 'Ohana