Big Island: Mauna Kea Summit and Stars Small-Group Adventure Tour

We were especially excited for stargazing with so little light pollution, but the entire experience exceeded expectations. Pick-up was easy; Eugene's history of the island on the drive was interesting; dinner was (almost surprisingly?) really tasty; then watching sunset at the top of the mountain and stargazing with the telescope were obvious highlights. Throughout, we were well taken care of, from clear communication to cozy blankets to lay on while looking up at the stars. We really enjoyed this experience, and special thanks to Eugene for everything! A lovely, memorable night that we could not have done on our own!

I’m so impressed with the all-encompassing nature of this activity. Every detail is well thought out and at each stage I thought: wow, there’s still more to come! But the highlight was truly our very knowledgeable guides, Jason and Aaron. They shared so much of their knowledge, as well as local culture and history. If you’re on the fence, just book it! Well worth the price to have these memories!

Second time doing this tour and there will be a third, fourth and fifth. Seeing the galaxies and constellations from Mauna Kea will never get old. You literally drive through clouds ro get there. Once acclimated at 9,000 feet the guide takes you all the way to the top (over 14,000 feet) to watch the sunset. It's otherworldly to be above the clouds, watching the suns set. Then, the guide takes you back to 9,000 feet and breaks the telescopes out so you can see the constellations. This is an experience that will never get old, ans you will always learn something new.

The star gazing was out of this world fantastic. Our guide Eugene was great!! He was very knowledgeable and an excellent driver

Wonderful experience stargazing at the Mauankea summit area with Hawaii Forest & Trail yesterday. Our guide, Jeff, was fantastic--kind, funny, and deeply knowledgeable about the island and the skies. Reaching the summit to watch the sunset was incredible, but the best part of the experience was stargazing with Jeff. It was magical! I was really impressed with his knowledge and passion. Tour was a highlight of our trip to the Big Island. Given the length of the trip and the quality of the experience (comfortable van, parkas, gloves, and blankets provided, as well as delicious dinner and the most delectable cookies, I would say the trip is priced quite reasonably. My husband doesn't love tours and I was nervous how he would feel about it, but he was effusive about our guide and the opportunity to stargaze in such a remote location--high praise! I am eager to return to Hawaii to try another of their tours! Mahalo to Jeff for making the visit memorable.

Our experience was incredible. Jeff, our guide, and as incredibly knowledgeable on anything volcano related, Hawaiian culture, understanding island ecology and had a vast understanding of our universe! He was funny too. He really was the highlight of the trip, alongside the sunset and stargazing. Would highly recommend, and ask for Jeff!

This was a awesome experience for me and my family. We wanted to take this tour in 2019 but our kids were too young so we would not have beel allowed to go beyond the visitor's center. In total, we paid $1320 for the 4 of us. Our meeting place for pick up was at 3:45pm at Queen's Marketplace (we were staying at Fairmont Orchid) and I believe we got back to our car at around 1030pm or so (7+ hrs in total). It was a small group of 12 that fit comfortably in the tour van. The van was roomy and had plenty of windows to look out of. Jeff, our tour guide, was welcoming, knowledgeable and polite. You can tell that he loved what he did and that he cared for our safety! As a heads up to those who are shy, we had a little ice-breaker before the tour started where we gave a little intro about ourselves. It was a great way to get to know a little about everyone on the tour. It was nice that the tour included a hot meal, snacks and hot chocolate while at the visitors center while we acclimated to the altitude. This is where I noticed a bit of dizzyness as an effect of the 9000+ ft altitude. It didnt last long though and I was good to go soon after. The ride beyond the visitor's center lasted an additional 30-40 minutes and it was a bumpy one! It will all be worth it once you reach the top and experience the views, the air and the openness as we watched the sun setting. It was awesome! It does get cold but the tour provides parkas, thankfully. Afterwards, we drove down a bit to stargaze. This is where Jeff set up telescopes and we had hot chocolate and snacks. It was AMAZING to be able to see stars, galaxies, moving satellites, etc. in such a clear sky. We loved the tour and my daughter remarked it was the highlight of her time on the Big Island! We were wondering about the tip amount to give to Jeff. But, considering the amount of time he spent with us, ensuring our safety and keeping us entertained, we felt it was more than appropriate to tip $100 for our family of 4.

AMAZING SUNSET AND STARGAZING! Jason was a FANTASTIC tour guide. Keeps you entertained on the drive up, full of excellent information, and conscientious of his passengers. The tour is wonderful- gorgeous sunset views, the dinner is actually quite delicious, and excellent star gazing. Highly recommend! A once in a lifetime experience!

There is nothing that can describe this amazing tour! Eugene, our tour guide, took our family to the top of Maunea Kea and provided us with so much interested facts about the area! We had a nice warm meal and finished with stargazing. He was so knowledgeable about everything we saw! This was an amazing experience, highly recommended!

So well run from pick up to drop off! Food was excellent! Stargazing was magical! Wilson (our guide) was simply the BEST——so knowledgeable! Experience of a lifetime for sure!