Maunakea Stellar Explorer da Kona

This is a SCAM and I am very disappointed with Viator selling this tour. You will never see the Milky Way the way it was advertised. you will see constellations and stars, that’s about it. Marcus is the only highlight who is trying to make it interesting far more than it is. This tour is nothing but him driving up the mountain and showing us constellations through his telescope. Don’t be fooled by the pictures on Viator and Viator should be ashamed to promote a scam like this. Dinner is to pass time and it was horrible for the $750 we paid for three people. I will now think twice before I buy tours from Viator. I come to believe that TripAdvisor or Expedia might be better options to buy tours than Viator. PLEASE DO NOT BUY THIS TOUR.

Our tour guide Marcus made every effort to find a spot without clouds to see the sky and he was successful after 30 minutes of driving to different spots. Super knowledgeable of the constellations and stars. Great experience!

This was a really nice experience. I believe my guide's name was Sam, and he was very professional and knowledgeable. After all the guests were picked up, we went for dinner at the Harbor House Restaurant. Before we went in, Sam pulled out the telescope, which had a sun filter, and we were able to have a look at the sun in the parking lot. I've never looked at the sun before, and it was pretty cool. You could even see the solar flares. After that we had dinner. I had the fish and chips. The fish was delicious (note that the portions are huge). Then we went down to the pier entrance of Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, the part where the beach is. We got to see several sea turtles coming in to eat, which was awesome. Then we went up to Mauna Kea. Our viewing spot was 7000 feet up. We stopped at an overlook and watched the sun set. It was beautiful. We had some time before the sky got dark enough to see stars, so we drove up the road for a bathroom break. After we returned, Sam set up the telescope. Keep in mind that while this is a really good telescope, it's not the Hubble. It will let you get a closer look at celestial objects, but you're not going to be able to see the clouds on Jupiter or anything like that. We had a look at the moon, several types of stars, Venus, Jupiter, and a distant galaxy. Sam provided tons of information about the stars and also about wayfinding and indigenous navigation techniques. He also showed us all the constellations visible using a laser. Hawaii is the only place in the US where the Southern Cross is visible, so seeing that was pretty cool. I also liked being up on the mountain. It was dark, the air was fresh, and it was absolutely quiet. Halfway through the stargazing, we had a break for hot drinks. We were each also given a small Milky Way bar, right on par with the theme of the evening, which was a nice touch. It was a pleasant and relaxing evening, and a way to see Hawaii from a different perspective.

Marcus was an excellent guy who really kept us entertained throughout the entire tour. Very knowledgeable about stargazing and what you could see. The set up was nice and we had a good view all session long so overall thumbs up very good job done. Parkers and hot coco was added bonus as it got chilly. Definitely would recommend this tour! Thank you!

This trip isn't worth the money--it included 1.5 hours of picking up travelers, 1 hour of a dinner not worth eating and 2.5 hours trying to find stars to gaze on the Saddle Road--could do without! Driver was the only highlight.

We had a terrific time. Sam is so eloquent and informative that we felt we had taken a college astronomy course. Highly recommend!!

In short, this is a scam. Because of the rain, we couldn't even go up the mountain, so we gathered at 3:30 PM for a hamburger, which was all we had for this activity. The tour guide also asked the company to refund our money, but they refused. We paid a total of $1,033 for our family of four, but received nothing back. We even disputed the $750 refund with our credit card company, but they said it couldn't be refunded because we received the service. If you're willing to endure all this and still choose this activity, then that's your decision.

DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM!!!! THEY WILL SCAM YOU BE CAREFUL! !!!AVOID THEM!!! I booked this excursion with them and it was supposed to start at 15:00 and they told me that they will pick me up from the hotel at 16:20 and they literally sent me an email canceling my booking at 15:45 , so just 35min before they were supposed to pick me up. I tried calling them from my number when I saw their email and they didn’t answer, but after I called them from my mom’s phone they answered immediately and when I asked what happened they took like a few seconds to think of an answer and after that they told me that the car broke down, probably a total lie. They ruined my whole day since I stayed at the hotel the whole time in order to be ready to go on this tour and not to mention the fact that any other excursion to Mauna Kea was sold out everywhere for the period I was staying in Big Island so I ended not going. I also want to mention that I booked the excursion with them about 2/3 weeks in advance. I would advise you to avoid them and do not book anything with them, they ARE TOTAL SCAMMERS!!!! Hopefully I will get my money back.

It is a beautiful experience with a very knowledgeable guide. Sam was great. A really great experience.

The Mauna Kea Star Tour was an absolutely amazing and beautiful experience! Our guide, Marcus, was extremely helpful and very knowledgeable on all things space related as well as Hawaiian history and culture! He made sure that all of the participants had a great experience and answered everyone's questions while providing tons of valuable knowledge. This is absolutely an unforgettable experience for my wife and I!