It was nice and cold at the summit, but the provided clothes helped a lot. Guide was informative although not nice. The bus to the top is very old and has a poor seating arrangement of mostly rows of three, so couples will be separated. Additionally, if you are separated on the way up, the guide will specifically force you to be separated on the way down in order to preserve your initial seats.
I have an egg allergy and specifically requested egg free food, yet the sandwich I was provided had mayonnaise and I was left with no other options.
The summit was a nice tour but I would recommend a different company. The other buses we saw were much nicer.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/11/21 |
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Gorgeous stars holy goodness!!!! It is cold but they have some bundling clothes
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Attended as: | Friends |
Activity Date: | 2022/11/10 |
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Awesome evening all guided, pick up and drop off back near the hotel, very awesome tour
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/11/12 |
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This tour was AMAZING from start to end. Yes this is a pricer tour to book; however, you truly get a ton for your money. This is a long event; we got picked up at 2pm and back around 10pm. The pickup location was very convenient right in Kona Town. You are provided a solid dinner, dessert, and hot beverages while stargazing. You get to sit back and relax during the drive and enjoy the wealth of knowledge from the tour guide. Speaking of, our tour guide Art was absolutely outstanding! He was knowledgeable, approachable, and entertaining. Also the star-gazing area is private to tours and had a high level telescope for easy viewing. We were fortunate enough to see a really big shooting star during our viewing. We were also provided super warm parkas which was great because it is quite chilly at the summit. I could go on and on about this tour but I would 100% book this again and personally recommend this specific tour to family and friends.
P.S. Did we say how amazing Art was?!
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/11/12 |
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The tour was everything we hoped for. Fernando was a fantastic guide, knowledgeable about Hawaiian history, religious significance of Mauna Kea and stargazing.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/10/30 |
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Well worth the money since getting up to the site is nearly impossible logistically for a rental car. More importantly, our guide, Gage, was so exceptionally knowledgeable on everything from astronomy to Hawaii geography.
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Attended as: | Friends |
Activity Date: | 2022/11/13 |
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Stefan waited after others had left, and got us the most amazing photos and memories. Thank you to Stefan for caring for the guests.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/10/31 |
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It was a fantastic tour! From the ease of meeting the guide at a local pick up point, the his knowledge of the islands, the geography, and of course the telescopes and sky, to the use of parkas, pants and gloves... it was a wonderful experience! We went on an almost full moon night so only the brightest of stars were visible, but we were still able to see Saturn and Jupiter through their telescopes. Dress warm... and have a great time!
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/11/06 |
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Stefan was a great guide and we loved how he made a concerted effort to make sure that we got some amazing photos with the sunset and stars.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/10/31 |
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Have done this tour 5 years ago with a different vendor. Was much better with other tour group but did not recall who it was when I booked this trip. Things I did not like about this tour:
1. Was not notified I could have been picked up in Kona. So we drove over an hour when we did not have to. Another couple drove all the way to the visitor center for the same reason 2. Dinner was marginal at best. 3. Star viewing from the visitor center parking lot?? Are you kidding me? Why? Light pollution, less clear skies..what a joke. I lay that blame on the tour guide, Maka. 4. Guide is not passionate about astronomy but he can be a good guide at times. Sadly, as the night wore on so did his personality. 5. Gloves were only proffered when a man complained. Hand them out with the coats.
Bottom line: do the tour but with a different group.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/11/01 |
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Had a wonderful experience at the top of Mauna Kea watching the sunset, followed by star gazing at a private location.
Very accommodating, lots of pics taken for us and very informative about the dormant volcano as well as Hawaii and the observatories. Coats and mitts were available when the temp dropped with the sunset.
The choice was ours to make as to pics we wanted taken, where and when to have our dinner snack and what we wanted to see in the night sky.
A few improvements would be to have a more comfortable van. This van was not comfortable to ride in for the trip to the top and back. Additionally, the photography equipment and additional telescope equipment should be added and improved.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/10/14 |
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The guide is friendly and informative. He can speak fluent English and Japanese. He provided the needed equipment for the trip and took nice photos for us. We’ve had unique and amazing lifetime experience by standing on the top of the world (count elevation from the seabed) and watching the stunning sunset and moonrise. Unfortunately, the full moon was so bright and we couldn’t clearly see the Milky Way. Overall a must have one and I will recommend do it with a guide as first time as some unexpected situations could happen if you are not fully prepared.
Warning: some people might feel faint and uncomfortable or fall asleep due to elevation
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/09/09 |
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Awesome tour! Stephan was amazing. Very knowledgeable about the island, Mauna Kea and the stars. We would definitely recommend. Everything was as advertised and even more!
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/09/20 |
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Absolutely amazing, a once in a lifetime experience made easy through this tour group. Easy to accommodate our special pickup needs, kind and knowledgeable guide. It was a guided tour, but plenty of time to wander and explore on our own. The stars and cocoa were amazing and the photos were first class that we received!! Highly recommend!!!! This was my sister's favorite activity during our week long Hawaii stay!!
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Attended as: | Families |
Activity Date: | 2022/08/26 |
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My wife and I did this tour on our honeymoon. We come from the Midwest US and have not ever really been able to see many stars hence our booking this trip. The pickup location was convenient, the tour guide friendly and informative, and the experience overall was enjoyable. Would recommend to anyone going to try and book this tour as it was fun and definitely worth it.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/08/05 |
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Super condition. Great guide very helpful to get thé good pictures spot and take also excellent pictures with vis dedicated caméra.
Tour well organized with amazing star gazzing.
Flexibility for thé pick up localisation
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Attended as: | Families |
Activity Date: | 2022/08/17 |
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We have been extremely lucky with the weather and our guide Stephan. He made a fantastic job and created a memorable event for us. THANK YOU!!!!
The stargazing was unbelievable. We have never seen so many stars in the sky and Stephan explained all of them - ok, most of them .
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Attended as: | Families |
Activity Date: | 2022/07/21 |
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What an evening!
The whole experience from booking to drop off at was seamless. The guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic to share his knowledge. He also gave an idea of the Big Island’s topography.
The main attraction is worth the money and the time you will spend. We went in a clear day and the sunset was spectacular. The guide gave a fantastic guided tour of the telescopes, the sky, the stars and the constellations.
He patiently took pictures of all the tourists and I’m immediately airdropped them.
In all a must do trip. Big shout out to the guide.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/07/19 |
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This was a great trip, seeing the views from 13,000 feet, watching the sunset above the clouds, and the star gazing with a knowledgeable guide, all made for an awesome trip.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/08/09 |
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My husband and I absolutely LOVED this excursion. Our tour guide was so incredibly kind and knowledgable. We loved learning about the history and culture surrounding the mountain during our ascent. The dinner provided was delicious. The sunset on the summit and the stargazing was other worldly. We will never forget it!
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/07/07 |
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Wes and his partner did an awesome job. Wes was very professional and gave alot of information about the tour and the history of Hawaii. His partner is an amazing photographer. I would highly recommend this tour company
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Attended as: | Families |
Activity Date: | 2022/07/24 |
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Great knowledgeable guide, Fernando made the long drive up to the summit with a bunch of volcano facts and stories about the Hawaiian history. Absolutely breathtaking views at sunset in the summit. Followed by stargazing, we were told about and shown all the constellations, saw some shooting stars, the Milky Way and Saturn
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/07/22 |
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We really enjoyed our adventure with Mauna Kea Stargazing Tour. Our guide, Maka, was excellent: entertaining, polite, knowledgeable, etc. He was extremely quick and calm when responding to a high altitude emergency when we reached our high altitudes. I was impressed with the Veltra company with their constant updates, emails reminders, and phone call reminder. I gave "Good" review because it was very cloudy and the star gazing was limited. I would book through this company again and I would do this tour again too.
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/05/10 |
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This was our first trip to the Big Island, so of course we wanted to see the summit at Mauna Kea. Our tour guide was Justin- and he was tremendous. He met at pickup location a couple minutes early. He provided a clear outline of what the day would include- and he held to it very closely. On the way to our first stop, He provided a great narration of the volcanic and mythological history of the island. After dinner (and acclimating to elevation for a while) we headed further up the mountain- the safety discussion was very calming, but helpful. The view from the summit was SPECTACULAR. About 10-15 minutes before the actual sunset, sneak to the back side of the area up there, and the SHADOW of Mauna Kea on the clouds looks like another mountain. I am fairly well-travelled, and this was a first for me! After that, we went down to the Start gazing station, and got to see some really cool stuff. Justin's knowledge was superb, enough to engage with a couple college students in our group that studied Astronomy at school. Very impressive. Truly, a great way to see a unique and beautiful piece of the Big Island! Many thanks!
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/06/02 |
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Stefan is a cool guide and got us safely up and down Mauna Kea. It was very cold so I appreciated the ski pants as I came with my own gear and it wasn't enough. The night we ascended was very cloudy so unfortunately no stargazing for us but I mainly wanted to see the telescopes and that was otherworldly. Stefan gave some interesting facts about the telescopes that was appreciated and we got lucky to speak with one of the NASA scientists while up there. There was no rush and we were allotted plenty of time to take pictures and take breaks as the altitude will creep up on you. We were told we'd be refunded $100 for the cloudy skies and I received the refund a couple days later. The sandwich wasn't the best but it was appreciated while up there.
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Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Activity Date: | 2022/05/18 |
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This was a fantastic tour to the Summit. Stephan, tour guide, was very knowledgeable and accommodating. He even took pics for us on his own camera to share with us. This is not to be missed when you are on the Big Island. Highly recommend!
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Attended as: | Couples |
Activity Date: | 2022/04/28 |
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I had an incredible time discovering the beauty of Mauna Kea! Mr.Aoki and Wes were very nice and knowledgable. They made us feel so comfortable with the very warm jackets and their kind hospitality. I enjoyed seeing the stars ⭐️ and learning about the constellations and sipping on hot coco;) the best coco I’ve had♥️ Thank you!!!
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Attended as: | Friends |
Activity Date: | 2022/04/11 |
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This tour was magical. We highly recommend using Mauna Kea stargazing Tour and Sunset Adventure. The entire experience was incredible from start to finish. Our tour guide, Gage, was excellent, very knowledgable and had great energy. We learned all about Hawaii's history, landscape, and culture, this was much more than just watching an amazing sunset at the summit of Mauna Kea and stargazing. This tour should definitely make your list of things to do while visiting the Big Island!
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Attended as: | Families |
Activity Date: | 2022/04/25 |
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I’ll start off by saying our guide, Hiro, was excellent. From start to finish he showed that he was very knowledgeable about the subject at hand and proved to be very courteous towards everyone in the group. The veggie sandwiches that he brought along for us were surprisingly delicious.
The trip itself was amazing and truly a once in a lifetime experience. Naturally I was a little anxious at first considering the high altitude but our tour guide was sure to explain everything in detail and was very considerate. That helped ease my tension a bit.
The day that we left the weather proved to be in our favor and we managed to encapsulate all that this trip had set out to be from the start. The view from the summit was amazing and when we went down to s t a r g a z e once the sun fell the energy from the group was electric.
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Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Activity Date: | 2022/03/20 |
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This activity is a must do!
The day seemed like it might not be good. Rainy and windy. But once we were i. The tour bus, our guide Gauge, was informative about the island and the areas we were driving through. He assured us it would be a great night for a sunset and stargazing. Like the mountain heard him, she did not disappoint! The sunset was spectacular, with every picture trumped by the next. Is 40 pictures of a sunset too many? Haha.
And when we got to our stargazing spot, the diamonds in the sky sparkled and gave us a show.
Dress warmly so you can enjoy. They provide gloves, but maybe invest a little bit in some good ones.
A++
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Attended as: | Families |
Activity Date: | 2022/03/21 |
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