Big Island in a Day: Volcanoes Waterfalls Sightseeing and History
Description
This 12 hour nature tour offers an in-depth look at Hawaii’s youngest and largest island. Explore the diverse landscape and natural wonders, including a visit of the Volcanoes National Park, walk through rainforests to soaring waterfalls and stroll black-sand beaches as you scan the horizon for green sea turtles. This family-friendly tour requires easy walking and introduces people of all ages to the island, and includes lunch, snacks, refreshments, and park entrance fees.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Pick up guests from resorts along the Kohala Coast while enjoying a narrated tour with unique landscape and scenic view.
Drive through the historic Downtown Kona, home to the summer palace of Hawaiian royalty and oldest church in Hawaii.
Take a tour of this Kona Coffee Farm to learn about the harvesting and milling process while sampling Kona Coffee and Tea.
Dip your toes in the sand at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach and scan the horizon for green sea turtles on the shore
Explore the wonders of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, including steam vents, the Halema’uma’u and Kilauea Iki crater lookouts, past lava flow sites, and take a short hike along crater rim trail and lava tube.
Walk along a bridge that gives you a literal inside look at Hawaii, as you follow it to the eerie Thurston Lava Tube, a 600-foot-long (183-meter) cave formed hundreds of years ago by an underground river of magma.
Drive through historical Downtown Hilo, the largest city on the island.
This 80-foot falls plunges over a natural lava cave and into the Wailuku River below. On a sunny day, rainbows appear in the mist of the falls, making for a magical view.
This towering 442-foot (135-meter) waterfall plummets into a lush ravine at the center of a state park. You’ll enjoy a short walk through the vegetation for an up close view and plenty of photo ops.
The views stop you in your tracks at the Waipio Valley lookout, where a dramatic backdrop of lush cliffs drops into the sparkling blue ocean
Driver through the scenic green pasture of Parker Ranch, home of the Hawaiian cowboys and one of the largest ranches in the US.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
IMPORTANT: If you are on the Island of Oahu and want to book a day trip, please arrive at Kona Airport by 7:20 am and depart after 8:30 pm on Hawaiian or Southwest Airlines. We can pick up and drop you off at Kona Airport. We pick up and drop off at major hotels and resorts in Kona and the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii between 6:40 am and 8 am. We DON'T pick up from vacation rentals; you will be directed to the closest hotel pickup point. We DON'T pick up from Hilo or the east side of the island; you will be directed to Queens' Marketplace in Waikoloa for your pickup. We also pick up at the following locations: the back parking lot by the two yellow umbrellas at Queens' Marketplace in Waikoloa. Foodland Farms at The Shops at Mauna Lani (1330 Mauna Lani Dr, Waimea, HI 96743) The supplier will send you a confirmation email with the exact pickup location and time. Please call the supplier if you don't receive an email.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Operates in all weather conditions; please dress appropriately.
- Children under 5 years old are not allowed to participate
- This tour only departs from Kailua Kona and Waikoloa on the Big Island of Hawaii
- Itineraries may change, and refunds will not be given for closures and itinerary changes out of our control. Tours run rain or shine.
- Vegetarian or gluten free meals are available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Not possible for travelers require walkers/wheelchairs
Reviews(6,997)
Had a great time! Mia was our guide and she knew so much about the island and gave us a lot of good history :)
Kona Chris was great. Our adventure was fantastic. He was very personable, polite, and funny. We learned a lot on our tour and the sights were gorgeous.
Long day so get some sleep night before, but well worth it! Our tour guide Chris was amazing! Not only extremely knowledgeable of Hawaii history and specifically the big island but also added a great personality and little humour made the experience that much better!
Thanks to Mia for a great day! We took the Circle Tour the day before Hurricane Lala hit. Mia did a fantastic job of making the necessary adjustments based on the conditions to be sure we got what we paid for. Since Mia has lived on the Big Island most of her life, she provided a unique perspective on the culture and history of the island. Also thoroughly enjoyed the myths and legends she shared during the day. Highly recommend this tour and Mia for a great overview of the Big Island!
Kawika was a fantastic tour guide. He was very informative about the island, the culture and history. We would highly recommend this tour.
Great tour, we saw alot of great sites and learned a lot about the culture
We had such a fantastic tour of the island with our tour guide, Henry. His sense of humor and knowledge regarding the history of not just the sites, but of the Hawaiian islands were impeccable. I would recommend this to all ages!
We had such a nice day. Our guide, Chris Kona was fabulous. He we a wealth of knowledge. He was funny and kept us entertained all day long. Visiting the Volcano national park will be a highlight for us. We also walked through a lava tube! We enjoyed meeting our fellow participants and we could not have asked for a better tour of the” the Big Island!!”
The big island of Hawaii is so large that one person couldn't see everything or know all the details about each place. This trip was incredible. We started with a coffee tour that overlooked Captain Cook’s Bay. Next, we went to a black sand beach, which was a really unique experience. We saw several sea turtles and enjoyed lunch right there on the beach. After that, we visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where we saw a volcano erupting smoke. We also explored the heat vents and lava tubes. The tour was so convenient because our guide dropped us off directly at each spot, which saved us time and avoided crowded parking areas. It allowed us to see a lot in just one day. We also visited two waterfalls and finished up at a scenic lookout. It was an amazing day tour that let us see a lot of the big island in a single day. Our guide, Ian, was fantastic. He shared interesting stories about the history and wildlife of the island, and he was always ready to help us with umbrellas and rain jackets in case of rain.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about everything on the tour. He was able to answer all of our questions and gave us a ton of recommendations to check out. It was very enjoyable!
