Hawaii Tours — Attraction in Oʻahu

We did the WAIMEA CANYON AND KŌKEʻE STATE PARK TOUR. This tour was absolutely amazing. It had spectacular views and stops. The beginning of the tour got off to a slow start... we were looking for people to arrive... It seems like communication about meeting spots needs to be clarified/explained better maybe. The tour bus was a half size, nice, perfectly air-conditioned bus. There was no bathroom on the bus, but 99% of the stops had a bathroom. The lunch stop was delicious and perfectly placed. The line for lunch was a little long and went slow from our full (20) group of people, so I'd probably make lunch 60 minutes instead of 40-45 minutes. I also would have changed or taken out the stop at Waimea/Red Dirt Shirts at the end. It was nice to have a shopping opportunity at the end. The store for Red Dirt Shirts had an okay bathroom (no soap), was huge, and the staff was very nice, but everything was SO overpriced. At the register, the prices were negotiated (nothing was marked with a price - I got nice sterling silver necklaces). Sahana, our tour guide, was VERY informative. She kept going with interesting facts and stories. Sahana was probably the main reason why this tour was so enjoyable. I was so impressed by her depth of knowledge and was entertained the entire time. When we drove down the mountain towards the end of the tour (up until we reached the bottom), a movie was played so people could sleep/nap for awhile... which many did. But then, Sahana kept going with tons of facts. The last 30 minutes or so, the tour changed over to a movie tour! We tried to do the movie tour but couldn't, so this was perfect. We saw some clips of movies, which related to what we were passing by. You could watch the movie clips or just see the great views. I loved it all. I thought everything was so well planned and thought out by Sahana. She was always present/available and helpful. I would definitely do this tour again and would hope that Sahana would be our tour guide. She worked so hard all day! The only thing I would have changed, would be to take out the last stop at Red Dirt Shirts/Waimea and put in one waterfall photo stop. Or maybe at the Waimea stop, do something like enjoy pineapple dole whip or coconut water together. We got picked up at about 7:30am (we were 2nd to last to be picked up) and got dropped off at about 5:30pm (we were the last stop). It was a long tour, but I enjoyed every...

I booked the Big Island Volcano tour from Oahu. I am a female and was traveling by myself from Oahu to the Big Island of Hawaii. I booked the tour for 02/27/25 and received my email confirmation from Hawaii Tours on 01/31/25. In that confirmation email, it stated that I would be picked up from my hotel where I was staying in Waikiki and following the tour, that I'd be picked up in a specific spot at the Honolulu airport and then also dropped off at my hotel in Waikiki from the airport. The night before the tour on 02/27/25 around 9pm, I was texted stating that my pick-up location for the morning was in a different spot. This spot was a short walk from my hotel, but the pick up time for the all day tour was just after 4am - not safe for a female to be walking at night alone. And, fortunately I was still awake to read the text and know that I needed to work in extra time in the morning to walk to the pick up spot. (I had to get up around 3am, so it's very possible that one would already be in bed at 9pm the night before. I "turned in" that night around 9:30pm.) Following the tour and after arriving back at the Honolulu airport, I followed my emailed confirmation instructions that gave explicit instructions to meet the driver at "the 'GREEN CURB, "Pre Arranged - 1" waiting area. In my confirmation instructions there was even a photo included pointing out the spot where the driver would be. I walked to that location only to find the driver not there. I then got a text informing me that the driver was at "Pre Arranged - 3 with the rest of the party." I then walked to that location. Thankful for the text, but it was a bit late - I had already walked "all over the place" looking for the driver in the communicated location from my confirmation. Then, the driver dropped us off at a hotel that was a 20 minute walk from where I was staying. Fortunately, it was still daylight, so I just walked to my hotel. So, basically, the pick up and drop off communication/service as part of this tour was a HUGE disapointment for me. Having said all that, the tour itself on the Big Island was very enjoyable. Our guide, Justin, was fun and informative. I saw and learned a lot. It was my 1st trip to the Big Island of Hawaii and being able to see some volcanoes and a black sand beach was awesome. I feel like we saw a lot in a short amount of time. The van transport was nice - comfortable...

While I enjoyed visiting the Big Island and seeing Volcanoes National Park, this tour didn't live up to my expectations. The day we visited it was unfortunately raining and foggy, but that's not something that can be controlled! Still a neat experience and the visit worthwhile. Our guide was very open on political views. I don't have a problem with some opinion sharing but a tour guide representing a company shouldn't go on rants about their feelings of the government and social issues. It's more professional to remain neutral. We also deviated from the schedule posted online. One hour at VNP and 1.5 hours for lunch. I'd rather be told to buy a snack at the (unplanned) convenience store stop and spend an extra hour at the park. I also asked about a plant I had been seeing, and the guide had previously pointed out other local plants, but when I asked a question (which apparently interrupted one of the rants) he told me to take a picture and Google it. We were in a moving vehicle so that wasn't possible. Another guest let me know what it was. If I'm supposed to Google my questions then why am I paying a guide? Our guide also did not tell us how long we had at our first couple stops and I feel that everyone went back to the vehicle quickly thinking we didn't have much time. I ended up asking at future stops so I would know what I had time to do. Every other tour I've ever been on the guide has told me how long we have or what time to be back. Though we were glad the guide showed pictures of a previous eruption, I would prefer he not use his phone while driving. He also ate while driving. (What did he do on the 1.5 hours we were on lunch? Go home?) Overall, I would recommend considering other tour companies or I guess setting your...