Ohana Circle Island Tour — Local services in Honolulu

The Island tour on the bus was great! Dr Darrin Akua a pacific rim anthropologist provided the group, my family of seven and 5 others, a comprehensive tour of Oahu. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and attentive. The tour started in Waikiki and took us basically almost completely around the Island. Darrin’s driving skills were always about safety first. I loved the stories that accompanied each area we stopped at.

He told the story about how Diamond head got its name( you will have to ask Darrin when you take tour). The blow hole on the eastern side before Sandy beach performed on cue with the waves coming in. We went a local farm and tasted the best goat cheese and some star fruit.

I loved going to Chinaman’s Hat and looking towards Kualoa Ranch where Jurassic Park was filmed. It was awesome looking up at the ridges and remembering the movie. We had lunch with great garlic shrimp( Mm good) and then continued on. We went turtle hunting on one of the North Shore beaches and were fortunate enough to see several close to shore. The waves were rocking and rolling that day. We had surprise wave come on shore and wet our feet and made us scramble but it was fun and we stayed safe.

We were having so much fun touring we missed the Dole Pineapple tour and train ride , however the store was open and the pineapple soft serve made it absolutely worth going there . We also saw a rainbow eucalyptus tree in front of the Dole plant and store( don’t miss it). After a full day, Darrin dropped us all off in Waikiki tired and very content. Darrin is a great story teller, it’s clear he loves his home and wants everyone else to love it too. It was a great start to a great week on Oahu !!

We also did their Catamaran tour.During the three hour tour, we were fortunate to see whales breaching the water’s surface, went to Turtle Cove where we saw gigantic turtles and then we were surrounded by dolphins!! We got to a place where all of us on the tour( seven family members) were able to go out front on the catamaran , dance to our favorite music and take great pictures of the dolphins , the turtles, and the Honolulu skyline.

It was an unforgettable trip. Thank you Island Tours for making my family’s visit to Hawaii...

For starters, very friendly driver, Ken. He normed the people on the bus by having them introduce themselves. We all felt more comfortable. Right off the bat we saw a full rainbow over waikiki. Nice big shopping centre was 1st stop, gold, silver, lots of selection, clothing, tourist items. Shop was very clean. Off to a couple beaches where we did see a turtle in its natural environment. The temple was a venue of solice, peace surrounded by beautiful hawaiian nature. The gong was a healing tool. Made of solid copper very intricate inlay. The good lunch was at a farm with small animals. More water views for picture taking. Dole pineapple had a huge gift shop full of happy pineapple items. We got to tast several varities of coated nuts in a farm setting with roosters. Lots of time between venues made for a non rushed tour. Driver was a local, full of helpful, useful information, shortcuts, bewares (for our safety) etc.. Happy driver that loves his job. Price was worth it. Not overpriced. Trip back thru honolulu and drop off and pick up right at the hotel. Great value. We appreciated the hospitality....

Decided to do the Ohana Circle island Tour. The basics: 25 people on our tour. Weather was overcast to start, heavy rain towards the end. Got a call the night before that the turtle snorkeling would be cancelled due to the forecast. They indicated that we would be given more time at the Byodu In Temple. We got to the temple and it was closed. If I had known in advance I probably would have cancelled because those were the two things I wanted to see most. The day wasn’t a total bust. Seeing the island away from waikiki was good. It is a really pretty island outside of the city. By far the best part of the trip was Jay the guide that drove the shuttle. He was fantastic. Super funny and he shared a lot of interesting facts about the island. I would recommend the trip just for people to spend a day with Jay, he was that good. Tour ended about 90 minutes early due to cancellation of several stops. Dole Plantation was cool and I liked it more than I...