Oahu's Ultimate Grand Circle Island Tour with Snorkeling and More
Description
The "Most" Comprehensive Island Tour... Period! Top Sites: Byodo In Temple / Dole Plantation / North Shore Mac Nut Farm / China Man's Hat / Snorkeling / and Much More... Truly a day that you will never forget! Believe it or not, out of the hundreds of tours on Oahu, this is the Most Sold Tour, period. Now there are many different variations, however, we have solidified the most requested locations to be visited or seen from the comfort of a luxury, state-of-the-art, fully air-conditioned minibus. Our local tour guides will give you their best as you will feel the passion and aloha that they share with all of you. Welcome to the VIP Ohana.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Diamond Head Lookout Overlooking the Pacific Ocean *Not the Diamond Head Crater Hike*
The Beverly Hills of Hawaii
Best Snorkeling Destination in all of Hawaii
Lava Tube formed 1000's of years ago that shoots water up as high as 30 feet
AKA Broke Neck Beach known for Huge Shore Breaks during the Spring and Summer Months
Another Local Favorite Beach on the Eastern-most point of Oahu
Also known to the locals as God's Country
Mokolii, also known among locals as Chinaman Hat because of its shape
($5 Admission per Person not included) Byodo-In Temple is a picturesque and serene temple located in the Valley of the Temples on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The temple is a replica of a 950-year-old Japanese temple and features a stunning golden Buddha statue, lush gardens, and a tranquil pond filled with Japanese koi fish. Visitors can light incense sticks, offer prayers, and meditate in the peaceful environment. The temple is a perfect spot for photography and a unique cultural experience.
Fruit Stands - Fresh, Local Fruit
Famous surf spot and known for its barreling waves
Famous North Shore Beach, a Surfing Mecca
Famous Turtle Beach
Famous Historic North Shore Town
Snorkel or Swim at Puena Pt
The North Shore Macadamia Nut Company is a must-visit destination for any food lover or nature enthusiast visiting the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Located on the picturesque North Shore, the company is known for producing high-quality macadamia nuts that are sustainably grown and harvested. During a tour of the facility, visitors can witness the nut processing and packaging in action, learn about the history of macadamia nuts in Hawaii, and sample a variety of delicious macadamia-based treats. The company's commitment to preserving the natural beauty of the surrounding area and supporting local communities makes it a perfect addition to any eco-tourism itinerary.
The One and Only Pineapple King
Oahu’s first Coffee Visitor Farm. They roast Hawaiian coffees daily on-site
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Detailed Pick Up Location Options with Pick Up Times 1. (6:45am) Ilikai Hotel 1777 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96815 2. (6:50am) Army Museum 2131 Kālia Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815 3. (7:00am) Royal Garden 440 Olohana St, Honolulu, HI 96815 4. (7:00am) Ross Dress for Less Department Store 333 Seaside Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815 5. (7:10am) Duke Kahanamoku Statue Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815 6. (7:10am) Twin Fin Hotel AKA Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel *Pick up on Paoakalani Avenue Entrance
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(125)
Tour guide was very knowledgeable about the island, the people, and important facts. The different activities was very inclusive for young and old.
Aloha Deborah, Mahalo nui loa for the 10/10! 🌺 We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed the tour and that your guide was able to share so much about Hawaiʻi, our people, and the history of the island. We also love hearing that you felt the tour was enjoyable for both the young and the young at heart. That’s exactly what we hope for — a fun day where everyone in the family can experience a little bit of what makes Oʻahu so special. Thank you for choosing VIP Tours & Activities and for taking the time to share your experience. We truly appreciate it! Hope to see you back in Hawaiʻi again someday. With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
Aka was amazing! He knew everything we wanted to know about Hawaii and more. Amazing experience for adults and kids
Aloha Dana, Mahalo nui loa for the awesome review! We’re so happy to hear that Aka made the day such a great experience for both the adults and the kids. He has a lot of knowledge and loves sharing the history and stories of Hawaiʻi, so we’ll definitely pass your kind words along to him. It means a lot to know that your whole family had a great time. That’s what we hope for — for everyone to enjoy the island, learn something along the way, and leave with some good memories. Mahalo for spending the day with us and for choosing VIP Tours & Activities. We hope to see you and the family back in Hawaiʻi again someday! With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
Kathleen & King were very informative tour guides as well as being entertaining. I would recommend visitors take this tour when they first arrive.
Aloha Theresa, Mahalo nui loa for the kind words! We’re so happy to hear that Kathleen and King made the day both informative and entertaining. We’ll definitely pass that along to them. And we couldn’t agree more about doing the Circle Island Tour early in your trip. It’s a great way to get out and see different parts of Oʻahu, learn a little about the island, and get a feel for some of the places you may want to come back and explore. Thank you for choosing VIP Tours & Activities and for recommending us to other visitors. We really appreciate it! With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
Lots of delicious food! Better get in line quick for the shave ice. If you want to feed the coy, ring the bell and pray/givr thanks at Byodo Temple, please do it asap and dont dilly dally. Time flies at that one.. we wish we had more time there.
Aloha Ali, Mahalo for the great review! We’re glad you enjoyed the tour and, of course, all the delicious food along the way. 😋 And that’s some good advice about Byodo-In Temple! There’s a lot to see and experience there, and the time can definitely go by quickly. We’ll take your tip about getting to the shave ice line early too! 😂 We really appreciate you sharing those little tips for future guests. Mahalo for spending the day with us and for choosing VIP Tours & Activities. Hope to see you back on Oʻahu again someday! With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
Hands down, one of the BEST tours we have ever done! Kathleen and Uncle Joe (I believe that was our wonderful driver’s name—so sorry if I got it wrong!) were truly the perfect duo. Kathleen put so much heart into every single detail of the experience. She was incredibly knowledgeable, smart, witty, funny, and genuinely made the entire day so much fun. You could tell how much she truly cares about Hawaii, its history, culture, and making sure everyone on the tour has an unforgettable experience. She went above and beyond in every possible way. The two of them worked so perfectly together and made us feel welcomed and taken care of from beginning to end. We saw so much, learned so much, laughed constantly, and honestly did not want the day to end. We were genuinely heartbroken when the tour was over! This was easily the best tour we have ever taken, and a huge part of that was because of Kathleen and Uncle Joe. We will 100000% be visiting Hawaii again, and this experience will always be one of our favorite memories from the trip. If you’re considering the Grand Circle Island Tour, BOOK IT—and if you’re lucky enough to get Kathleen and Uncle Joe, you’re in for an incredible day! 🌺🤙🏼
Aloha Jasmine, Wow, mahalo nui loa for this amazing review! 🌺 It sounds like Kathleen and Uncle Joe really made your day special, and we’ll absolutely make sure they see this. I’m sure Kathleen will appreciate all the kind words, and I’m pretty sure Uncle Joe will get a kick out of being called the perfect duo! It means a lot to hear that you felt welcomed, learned about Hawaiʻi, laughed, and had such a great time from beginning to end. That’s exactly what we hope our guests take away from the experience—not just seeing the island, but getting to know a little bit of the history, culture, and aloha that make Hawaiʻi so special. And hearing that you were actually sad when the tour was over… that’s about the best compliment we could ask for. ❤️ Thank you for trusting us with such a big part of your vacation. We’ll be looking forward to having you back on Oʻahu someday. Hopefully Kathleen and Uncle Joe will be there to welcome you back! With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙🏼
This tour could and should have been so much better. However, it started badly and just went downhill from there. Despite getting an email confirmation, and me sending an email and calling two days before they still managed to get my pickup address wrong. Once the tour started there was no introduction from the driver, and no handout explaining what to expect from the tour. Despite having a large screen TV at the front of the bus, which could have been used to highlight where we would be going, it reminded off. The driver’s explanation of each stop was a cross between someone who had done this many times before, and let me tell you some jokes. This made the tour and the experience difficult to follow, as well as being a missed opportunity to give some real insights about the different destinations and their significance. Sadly for me and my wife this will go down as the worst tour we’ve ever experienced. The promise was of an exciting island tour, but what we got was complacency, and missed opportunity to showcase what the island had to offer. The driver should appreciate he is an ambassador for the island while we are with him, and to ensure he makes every opportunity to educate and inform us. One last thing, the transportation was an old bus that must be over 20 years old, and certainly not the air conditioning coach I was expecting. Overall, a very poor experience.
Aloha Anthony, Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed review. I’m sorry to hear that you and your wife came away feeling this way. There are several things you mentioned that we should take seriously. The pickup issue is especially frustrating, particularly since you had already confirmed the address with us ahead of time. We apologize for that. I’m also sorry that the tour itself did not give you the experience you were expecting. Our guides and drivers are representing Hawaiʻi while they have guests with them, and we agree that sharing the history, culture, and significance of the places you visit should be an important part of the day—not just getting everyone from stop to stop. Your comments about the lack of an introduction, the unused screen, the presentation of the information, and the transportation are all fair feedback. We will share this review with the operator so these concerns can be addressed with the team. We know that when someone spends an entire day of their vacation on a tour, they are trusting us to make that time worthwhile. We’re genuinely sorry that we missed the mark for you and your wife. Mahalo for being honest with us. Even though this was not the review we wanted to receive, feedback like this gives us an opportunity to look closely at what happened and where we can do better. With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
Aka was a great tour guide! Shared tons of info about the culture and provided ample time for us to explore each stop.
Aloha Sarah, Mahalo nui loa for the wonderful review! We’re so glad you enjoyed the day and had a great experience with Aka. He really loves sharing the history and culture of Hawaiʻi, so we’ll definitely pass along your kind words to him. We’re also happy to hear you enjoyed having enough time to get out and explore the different stops. There’s so much to see around Oʻahu, and we want our guests to have a chance to actually take it all in. Mahalo again for spending the day with us and for choosing VIP Tours & Activities. We hope to see you back on the island again someday! With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
This tour is full of breathtaking views around the island. It also included a full of history of the islands key contributors while we enjoyed delicious food along the way!
Aloha Mariam, Mahalo nui loa for the kind words! We’re so happy you enjoyed the views, the history, and of course, the food along the way. Oʻahu has so much to see, and one of the things we love about this tour is being able to share more than just the beautiful scenery — there’s a lot of history and stories behind these places. We really appreciate you choosing to spend the day with us and taking the time to share your experience. Hope to see you back in Hawaiʻi again someday! With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
I did not like the service provided by one of the crew member lucy. Other crew was amazing specially daze. Lucy gave my family least priority ( may be i had kids who don't know much swimming or because of ethinic background) . She also changed for free drinks . Overall experience of first time snorkeling was owesome.
Aloha 155harinderb, Mahalo for taking the time to share your experience. We’re really glad to hear that you and your family enjoyed your first snorkeling experience, and especially that Daze and the rest of the crew made a positive impression. We are sorry to hear that you felt your family was treated differently during the snorkeling portion of the tour. No guest should ever feel that way, especially when they are experiencing snorkeling for the first time and traveling with their children. We take that concern seriously. We also want to better understand what happened with Lucy and the drinks you mentioned. We don't want to make assumptions about what happened from a review alone, so we'd really appreciate the opportunity to look into the details with our crew and the operator. As a company serving visitors from all over the world, our goal is for everyone who comes aboard to feel welcomed, respected, and treated with the same aloha. If we fell short of that with your family, we want to know about it and do better. Mahalo again for the honest feedback, and we're happy to hear that overall you had a great first snorkeling experience. With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
Our tour guide, Aka, is 100% Hawaiian; he spoke and translated traditional Hawaiian sayings and songs (great voice)! Very entertaining and knowledgeable. Driver did great and drove very safely and comfortably. From a constructive criticism standpoint prices given by tour guide and/or shown on the Viator website are largely inaccurate (ex: Temple was $10 not $7)- suggest a link. Also, the snorkeling in January on the North Shore was not enjoyable due to winter turbulence.
Aloha Michael, Mahalo for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful review. We're really glad to hear you enjoyed your day with Aka and the driver. Aka has a lot of knowledge and love for Hawaiʻi, so we'll definitely share your kind words with him. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. And thank you for the honest feedback about the admission prices. Those prices can change, and we agree that having the most current information available would make things easier for our guests. We'll take a look at that on our end. As for the snorkeling, January on the North Shore can definitely be a different animal. The winter swells can make the ocean rough, and unfortunately that's one thing Mother Nature controls, not us. Safety always comes first, but we completely understand that it can take away from the snorkeling experience. We really appreciate the fact that you took the time to give us both the good and the constructive feedback. That's how we get better. Mahalo nui loa for choosing us and for recommending our tour. We hope to see you back on Oʻahu someday so we can share a little more of our island with you. With Aloha, VIP Tours & Activities ʻOhana 🌺🤙
