Oahu
Had an absolutely wonderful time was a little apprehensive about whether or not to do this tour. It is a long tour all day however I wouldn’t change a thing. It absolutely was awesome didn’t even feel like it was 13 hours and it was learned more about the island and the history of the big island that I could possibly have learned anywhere else in a day.
Our driver, Felix was extremely informed patient and of course, a very good driver. To be honest, the driver makes the trip extremely value added. Our driver, Felix takes personal pride and knowing an enormous amount of history and details to be able to not only deliver a good tour guide informational delivery while you’re driving, but is able to answer most questions and yes, even when some of the other clients did some fact checking Felix was spot on on everything that he told us.
This tour is long, but I don’t know of another way that you can actually see so much and learn so much. We went to a coffee farm pastry shop several waterfalls Lookout point a black sand beach so sea turtles saw multiple other wildlife goats, hogs, chickens, ferrets, and the recommendations on things to do places to eat trails to hike. We very much so appreciated.
I would highly recommend this to her to anyone the greatest part about it if you’re writing and not driving, you actually get to see all the beauty that you’re passing up as you drive when you drive you missing an awful lot so let Felix do the driving
umbrella or rain coat. Bring a phone charger or cable to charge phone it won't stay charged
The tour was super well organized, with a guide who shared interesting insights along the way!
Loved this tour - our tour guide was very accommodating and knowledgeable and we saw some beautiful spots of the island. Definitely recommend this trip as you get to see a lot in one day. My favourite places were the black sand beach with the sea turtles and the Volcanoes National Park (but to be honest, I loved all the sites).
Loved this tour! We saw so much of the Big Island in a single day. And the guide shared really interesting facts along the way.
A fantastic way to see the islands highlights in one day like the Volcanoes National Park, Waipio Valley (our favorite), black sand beaches, and gorgeous waterfalls.
The tour guide was super knowledgeable and kept a smooth pace, making it easy to enjoy every stop. Highly recommend for a comprehensive island experience.
Such a great day - from the black sand beach to the Waipio Valley lookout and multiple waterfalls, of course with visiting Volcanoes National Park as the standout!!
Our guide Grover made the experience for us, he was extremely knowledgeable and very thorough. To see the precursor to an eruption was a once in a lifetime experience that will be hard to beat. This is a tour that we would highly recommend.
The tour was well organized from start to finish, and the guides shared great history and culture along the way. An easy way to see BI in a day!
So many gorgeous stops along this tour, and the guides are so funny and make a long day seem like a breeze.
A Japanese-speaking guide accompanied us throughout the entire tour and provided very attentive support, which made the experience extremely comfortable and reassuring.
Because there were only a few participants on that day, we were able to take our time at each location and enjoy a relaxed pace.
From the volcano to the waterfall and black sand beach, the tour was packed with highlights, and I was thoroughly satisfied with the entire day.
We were really lucky with our tour because Kilauea started erupting in the morning of our tour day and we had a helicopter tour at 9:00 AM. We were able to see unbelievable sights from the helicopter as we were flying over the caldera.
The downside of it was that everyone else also knew about the eruption and wanted to get to the volcano park so we were stuck in the traffic for hours with others queuing to get into the park. This affected slightly the schedule of our tour, but we still managed to see the main things, and as I had visited the park before, it didn't matter so much to me. The thing I hoped and expected from the tour most was seeing lava spouting up in the air, and that came true!
Just as a reminder, you don't always get to see lava flowing, but the sights overall are still amazing and definitely worth the trip.
Highlights included walking through Volcanoes National Park, seeing steam vents and lava fields up close, the stunning black sand beach at Punaluʻu, and panoramic views over Waipiʻo Valley.
It’s a long day, but absolutely packed with jaw-dropping sights and well-paced stops.
Kilauea was just amazing, I could go every day if it was possible!
One important thing to note when you arrive at Hilo Airport is to head to the Bus Loading Zone pickup area at the end of the Baggage Claim Terminal. Walk outside of the Baggage Claim area on the first floor, turn right, and proceed toward the restrooms at the west end of the terminal, where a Polynesian Adventure vehicle will pick you up.
Our tour guide, Dexter, was incredibly knowledgeable, as he was born and raised on the Big Island. He was a wonderful gentleman, showing great respect, kindness, and compassion for everyone. A lunch was provided, which included a turkey wrap, kettle-cooked chips, a chocolate chip cookie, and a refillable metal water container. We also made a stop at Big Island Candies for some sweet treats. While we didn't need to wear pants or jackets, wearing hiking boots for ankle support is highly recommended due to the rough and slippery terrain.
Our Blue Hawaiian Helicopters pilot, David (nicknamed "Chewy"), was also very knowledgeable. He videotaped our entire flight upon request, and we even had our photo taken, which was uploaded onto the USB thumb drive. Remember to bring your photo ID. You will also need to view a safety video.
Overall, it was an excellent experience and well worth the money.
Aloha Marjie,
Mahalo for your wonderful review!
We’re so glad you had an excellent experience from start to finish, and we appreciate you sharing those helpful arrival details for future guests. It’s fantastic to hear that both Dexter and David (aka “Chewy”) made such a lasting impression with their knowledge, kindness, and genuine aloha spirit. We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words to them—they’ll be thrilled!
We’re also glad you enjoyed the lunch and special stop at Big Island Candies, and we agree—good footwear is a must for Big Island’s diverse terrain. Thank you for choosing Polynesian Adventure; we’re honored to have been part of your Hawaiian journey and hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable adventure soon!
Warmest aloha,
The Polynesian Adventure ʻOhana
Paseo impresionante, muy recomendable, extraordinaria comunicación, organización y responsabilidad
Brett was an excellent tour guide. Funny engaging and informative. It is a long day as the island is rather large. Greenwell Farms (coffee farm) was our first stop. Excellent coffee! Brett explained the growing and harvesting process, followed by tasting and souvenir purchases. Then on to the Punalu'u sweetbread bakery for treats. I lived the Lilikoi flavored pastry. Nice gift shop also. Next stop was Punalu'u black sand beach with a bonus sleeping turtle. Quick provided tasty lunch at a shady state park. Next into Volcano National Park. Brett has fantastic volcano pics. Kilauea was steeming and erupted hours later. Traveled down a large lava tube, very cool. Huge old lava fields. Next on to Rainbow falls and majestic Akaka falls on the East side of the island. On the North end, we visited Waipi'o lookout for sunset. It was along day, but excellent. Strongly recommend. Brett made the trip very enjoyable.
It is a long day, lots to see.
Tour bus was easy to find at Hilo airport, driver friendly and very knowledgeable but hard to understand over the speakers. Lunch and water was provided along with a fruit snack. Tour bus on time from site to site and dropped us off at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters for an excellent ride with David. We had plenty of time to walk over to the airport terminal for our flight back to Honolulu.
Be sure to have a light jacket and closed, soled shoes. It is a very long day so rest up for it
We flew from Honolulu to Hilo where we were greeted by our tour guide Dexter who was already waiting at the airport. He was born and lived on the Big Island for his entire life so his knowledge of history on the island was phenomenal. We highly recommend this tour and especially if you're lucky enough to have Dexter as your guide!!! Thank you Dexter for making our experience the best!
The Grand Circle Island tour is a great way to have a compact adventure all in one day. It was full of beautiful scenic views of cliffsides, beaches, cooled lava formations, waterfalls, volanic crater, and so much more. You experience a hike through a rainforest with some inclines at times, volcanic steam vents that feel like you're in a sauna, turtle viewing at Black Sand beach, cliffsides overlooking crashing waves, a coffee harvesting & processing walkthrough, a lava tube cave, and much more. Some hikes can be a bit challenging if you have mobility problems but our tour guide Brent is so accommodating and on the HNP Kilauea hike, you can ride along with him to the top of the viewing area if you're not able to do the short walk. Additionally, Brent is not just a tour guide, he will transport you to another time. He wove an amazing storytelling of Native Hawaiin history into the scenic mountains, beaches, historical battleground sites, trees, buildings, fantastical stories, and rich cultural backdrop. I walked away with a deep appreciation for how the Hawaiian island and culture came to be. This was an amazing way to experience the island!
Really easy way to get to see so many fabulous spots around the Big Island without needing to drive and look at directions all day!!
Flying one hour to a volcano that isn't active isn't worth the effort, time or money. We also saw 2 waterfalls, a lava tunnel, a lava field and Hilo, the town with the airport and closest to the volcano park. But again all not worth the time, effort and money to go. Our guide, Dexter was good but he can't make up for the missing attractions.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Grand Circle Island Tour. We had the opportunity to visit so many different parts of the island and experience the true beauty of the Big Island. The tour was well planned and Neil was an amazing host!
I definitely recommend that all visitors try this tour at least once!
We went to a black sand beach, bakery ( try the malasadas they're amazing), craters, lava field, lava tube, and steam vents. We didn't get to try their lunch because someone in the group was car sick(hard to eat when someone is vomiting right in front of you)
For the helicopter ride we went down the coastline instead of over the volcanoes due to weather around there. The pilot was amazing! He was very knowledgeable, funny, and friendly.
This tour would have been a lot better if it wasn't raining (rains there a lot so bring a raincoat just incase) and we didn't have someone who got carsick. That wasn't the tours fault and I definitely would do this tour again.
This experience was amazing our tour guide Dexter was great explaining everything very well accomodating everyone’s needs would highly recommend this tour.
I felt like I got to see all the best spots of Big Island on this 1 day tour!
Our quide, Dexter was excellent. He was very thoughtful and professional. He made an otherwise rainy, gloomy day a fun day. The tour gave us a great overview.
Glad we were able to put some sunshine in your day! Mahalo for joining us!
Perfectly organised day, from communication prior to the day to everyone involved in sny part of the tour.
The guide was great, hugely knowledgeable and interesting.
The helicopter trip was perhaps the most incredible thing I have ever done. The ground crew were superb and the pilot made it the best trip ever. After waiting 30 years to do this tour it didn't disappoint.
Could not recommend it highly enough.
This is a very special Adventure and glad we were able to show you the beauty of Kauai. Now you know why they call it the Garden Isle
Took this tour 6 years ago and had the most amazing experience. So I had to do it again. This tour offers the best of Big Island because you get to see Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls. We saw lots of turtles at black sand beach and an actual rainbow at Rainbow Falls! Our guide Brent was very informative and helpful.