All Reviews for Dole Pineapple Plantation

Reserved this tour online a day before the event and was pleasantly impressed by the prompt response by the staff confirming my reservations. The driver, Lola, arrived on time & full of positive energy! The bus was so comfortable and clean with excellent accommodations & great temperature! Lola was such a great & fun host, very informative & had a lot of historical knowledge about each destination. She really made it so fun & enjoyable for all of us! I also felt safe on her bus. She brought us all a Hawaiian poi "donut" - which was absolutely delicious, and water! Lola is very personable & likable. She is very proud of her heritage & studied cultural history at the University which explains her great speaking skills & knowledge. I felt very entertained & a bit more informed of Hawaiian culture. The tour itself drove us by many beautiful beaches on the North Shore, rich & famous neighborhoods, gorgeous landscapes, saw many rock formations such as the Chinaman hat, alligator, rabbit popping out & the lion rock. Did some coffee & a variety of macadamia nuts tasting, visited the Dole Plantation, the Byodo-In Temple, saw a black goose, 2 huge turtles and a seal relaxing on the beach! Enjoyed the quaint beachside town of Haleiwa & the various food trucks! We ate coconut shrimp from one of many good trucks in the area, which I highly recommend and then stopped by a new Mexican restaurant for a drink. I highly recommend this tour, you will gain so much knowledge, there's shopping at each stop, food & drinks! Be sure to try an ice cream cone at the Dole plantation too! Again, Lola was an excellent host and she kept us on schedule!

On July 14th, 2023 I went on the Grand Circle Island Tour. It was more than a grand experience! We stopped at places I've never been before like the Pali lookout and Byodo-in Temple. Our tour guide Lola was so funny, and extremely knowledgeable of the island. She even gave us a Poi Donut that was so yummy. Her enthusiastic energy, and experience on island made me feel safe and comfortable riding on her bus all day.

Each stop we had plenty of time to take picture, and learn all about these special places. The tour was extremely diverse making it an experience I'll never forget. The bus was so comfortable with amazing air conditioning, and even had a foot rest. The bus being so high up gave an advantage of seeing sights that you couldn't see in a regular car.

We were given plenty of time in Haleiwa to eat lunch and shop. Lola had many great recommendations for lunch there was so many options it was hard to choose! Stopping at the Dole Plantation was the perfect way to end the tour getting a well deserved sweet treat.

I would recommend this tour to everyone visiting the island whether it's your 1st or 50th time on island. Something for everyone!

Overall really loved the Circle Island Tour. This day exceeded my expectations and provided a wonderful layout of the island of Oahu!

Our family of 4 loved the variety of this tour! We have 2 older teenage boys (17 and 19) and our family loves to travel! The hike was a great way to start the trip! It was so beautiful going up and WOW, the view at the top is spectacular! The next stop was a food truck that had malasadas….don’t miss this! Yumm, my boys LOVED them! The rest of the tour was fantastic and the guide offered so much history detail and information! All the stops were great and we especially loved the north shore!

We had a great tour and greatly recommend John as the tour guide. He was patient and knowledgeable and made for a great day!

Loved the dole plantation and the gorgeous beaches away from Waikiki fun to see the island

We had the best time. Loved everything about it. Our tour guy Jonah was amazing and very knowledgeable. Took our time since we were a smaller group. The diamond head hike was a bit harder than we thought with the baby but we took our time and made it up there. What a beautiful view!! It was worth it!!! Do not regret anything about this tour! It was amazing!!! The dole whip ice cream was amazing. The Lenard’s malasada was amazing too. Saw a few turtles and the food trucks was so delicious. We really enjoyed our time on this tour and we totally recommend to do this tour if you’re ever in Oahu Hawaii!!!

This tour was so much fun! Stephanie was our guide and she was very knowledgeable, funny, and entertaining. The hike in the morning was amazing and having a tour reduced the hassle of reservations, parking, etc. I would recommend this trip to anyone wanting a well-rounded and interesting tour of the island.

I have a call from there office they told me there tour guy was no show and they canceled don’t make the same mistake I did go a different way

We really enjoyed the tour. Our driver Joe was very informative, kind, and welcoming. The food that came with the package was delicious. It was an amazing experience. We’ll definitely be coming back in the future.

Totally enjoyed our tour with Squid. He was so informative, giving us great information about each place we visited (as well as places we passed along the way). Loved the high energy music he played on the bus, which energized the group. Loved the shrimp lunch, which was included. Kudos to Squid. I highly recommend this tour to others. You will not be disappointed.

Our tour guide is Deno. He is very knowledgeable and funny. He takes well care of us. We are happy to book any other tour with him.

I have waited a while to write this review. I am not usually negative about many things, but I honestly did not enjoy this tour, primarily due to our tour guide.

I booked this tour for my hubby & myself as it was his first time to the island, so I wanted him to experience the entire island & see each of the highlights which this tour had every stop I was looking for. The itinerary as indicated on the website was perfect ... however our tour guide, Chief Rob as he called himself, had his own itinerary. I think he was grumpy when he picked us up, and almost came across as a strict school teacher pretty much immediately, so not really a fun guy or a fun day. We did not have the early breakfast stop at Leonards, he instead decided that he wanted to stop at a different location further into the tour. So we had to walk around the temple eating this donut, only to be immediately taken for lunch afterwards - poor planning. And the north shore visit, was a super quick drive-by. Meanwhile we talked to others who did island tours, and they stopped at Turtle Beach, etc, so we were kind of bummed about that. I feel we could have spent more time with a stop along North Shore and less time at the Dole plantation ... as the amount of time that we were given at the Dole plantation didn't really allow for us to do anything, yet long enough that we were bored.

All in all, the tour itinerary seemed decent but the day we had was not fun. Actually, this tour was the least fun part of my entire trip so I don't think I would recommend it to others

Kimo our tour guide was just wonderful!
Highly recommend this tour. Kimo is very knowledgeable about Hawaii, we all learned so much from him! He made the tour so much fun!
Kimo is a great fun loving guy!

This is MUST Tour especially if you dont have a rental car! This tour literally stops at ALL the sites and gives you a treat of the island Malasadas and local Shrimp truck at North Shore! The driver was very informative and had the impossible task to keep us on schedule. Very small group of intetesting people and SO Thankful for this option and got dropped off right at our hotel door!! Best Island Tour on Oahu!! Thank you!!

We love the Oahu circle island tour! It was a great activity, I would definitely consider booking if it is your first time visiting the island.

It was a fun experience, our tour guide Stephanie was informative, kind, funny and patient. The sights she took us to see were breathtaking. The sunrise at Diamond head was amazing!

John was a nice man and a good driver. We tried to encourage conversation with information about our tour but it didn’t help. A gentleman on the bus gave more information because he had taken a similar tour in June. John did not put his headset on only lifted it occasionally to talk. Like I said a nice man but the tour was long, quiet and boring. Thankfully the other passengers were friendly. Thank you

Thanks Joe!!!
Joe very friendly and informative as he took us all around the island to many of the landmark spots. Joe shared stories of growing up on the island throughout many of the areas. Joe took care of us by making several stops for personal needs and to visit highlighted areas. Aloha and Mahalo !!!

Our tour guide was very accomodating and had lots of helpful hints.

Have breakfast before starting, because the Diamond Head hike isn't a leisurely stroll in the park... you're going uphill a long way and it'll make you sweat!
Bringing a flashlight would be a good idea, because the majority of the hike is on an unpaved and and sometimes uneven path. Which can be a problem for a pre-dawn hike.
We didn't exactly get to see the sun rise per se. We arrived at the top in plenty of time, there were some clouds on the horizon.
Go inside the bunker, all the way to the back, to access the spiral interior staircase to complete the pathway loop. Seems like a lot of people aren't aware that they need to go into the bunker to do that.

I'd recommend having at least $30 per person in cold hard cash on hand, to pay for lunch etc.

If you don't wear sneakers, you could have a little trouble walking over seaside areas with sharp lava rock...

Rob was a very informative tour guide who provided a history lesson and some current events of the islands. He even pointed out places to stand for some of the stop points and what to look for. There were beautiful views and delicious food.

It was a wonderful day that we felt sorry when we were back to our hotels. Our guide was amazing. He was wonderful storyteller. We enjoyed every moment. We saw breathtaking views, ate the tastiest shrimps ever. We also enjoyed the best Dole Whip from plantation center.

The list of places to visit is nicely curated and I think we had enough time to walk around each site, take photos, and even buy souvenirs. Our guide, Jojo, was fantastic. He had too many stories to tell to keep us entertained and was very knowledgeable about Hawaii's culture, history, and ecology.
The only downside of this tour was that you are on a large bus so, if you are picked up last and have a seat at the back of the bus, you're going to spend a lot of time going on and off. However, Jojo knew that this might be frustrating and started counting time right after the last person was out.
The bus was clean and the lunch was ok.

Greg is the best tour guide we have ever had on a tour. He was so knowledgeable and funny. He went out of his way to make our tour so great. He also ensured that my daughter had a shrimp plate that responded to her food allergies.

The tour was great. Our tour guy Big Tony made it exceptionally great. He was fun and very informative. He made us feel welcomed and was very enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge of the island. He made sure we were comfortable and went out of his way to even take pictures for us. I would definitely recommend this tour and hopefully you get Big Tony.

Kalani was an awesome tour guide. He kept us informed and entertained while showing us the sites. I would do it again if I had time. I learned so much about the Hawaiian culture.

You have to get up to the NS if you are on Oahu, and this was an easy way to do it! You get time to explore Haleiwa, while seeing all the beautiful NS beaches!

Well, we didn't start off on time due to an unavoidable traffic issue. Once Juicy showed up the trip began and he kept us rolling in the aisles with funny stories and excellent information about the sights. Did I mention that Juicy made up for arriving late? Each stop was awesome and he went out of his way to make it just that much more special. The lunch was some yet delicious. I feel bad because I actually forgot his real name. The only name we got familiar with was Juicy. What a sweet and funny man. I really connected with him. Glad we took this tour.

The tour guide also driver did a very goog job of explainingn the sights during the day. He kept on schedule and went out of his way to make it a pleasant experience. We did encounter rain up in the mounains and at the falls and Dole Plantation, otherwise all was good. Would recommend it to others.

We did a whole island, 8 hr tour of Oahu with Ciso! We was the best! He made the day so wonderful. He is well informed and each stop was great! I’d take any tour he does again! He made the entire bus laugh! Thank you Ciso for a great day! Mahalo!