Private Island Volcano Tour in Hawaii with Pickup Included

Great tour of the big island!

Rebecca was a wonderful tour guide. She contacted us a week ahead of the tour to make sure we were in synch on schedule, pick-up location, expected places to visit, and when we needed to be back to the ship. She was friendly, very informative on Hawaiian history and culture, and extremely flexible to ensure we saw the things we wanted to see. She is the best Viator tour guide we've ever had. We highly recommend her.

via Viator

Fantastic day spent in Hilo with Rebecca

Rebecca picked us up from Port of Hilo. Rebeccas communication prior to our tour was fantastic, she picked us up on time. We started the day at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - home to Mauna Loa and Kilauea where the goddess Pele lives. After a quick coffee stop, we went to the Thurston Lava Tube, which is surrounded by stunning rainforest. The path takes you right through the tube, and out the other side, in a loop. We then headed to the district of Ku'a, which was severely affected by hurricane Lala last month, we had lunch at a lovely restaurant. Our tour guide Rebecca was keeping an eye on the live Kilauea feed, while we had lunch, as Kilauea was building up for an imminent eruption and the smoke was showing signs of an orange glow! So back to Kilauea we headed. We waited and watched for nearly an hour - the smoke was getting thicker and was coming from lots more vents, we could have stayed there for hours just watching but we had to leave to get back to the ship. Rebecca was very professional and knowledgeable, we had a fantastic day, thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and felt like we were touring with a friend, that is how relaxed we felt. Thank you Rebecca for making our day wonderful.

via Tripadvisor

Best tour for a family who needs flexibility!

Rebecca was amazing! Kind, flexible, and accommodating to any group or limitations you have! She called within minutes of me booking just to go over every detail and reassure me of the itinerary and that she was able to pick me up from our hotel even though the website said it was out of policy. She accommodated a family or two elderly grandparents and a 2 yr old toddler. We were changing our pickup time and whether we wanted to do a day or night tour all the way up until the night before and she was so accomodating and doing research to give us minute by minute suggestions. I will totally book with her again the next time I come back!

via Viator

Not for adventurous people!

I want to start by saying Rebecca was very nice, friendly, and knowledgeable when it came to the history and stories of Hawaii. We appreciated her willingness to share that background with us and her pleasant attitude throughout the day. That said, the overall experience did not quite meet our expectations, especially considering the nearly $1,000 price tag. At the beginning of the tour, Rebecca frequently asked us where we wanted to go, which initially felt nice and flexible. However, as the day went on, it started to feel like there wasn’t really a solid plan or itinerary for the tour and she was less knowledgeable about places to see on the island. One example was a trail that was part of the volcano national park. Rebecca was hesitant about letting us do it and almost discouraged us from going because she wasn’t familiar with it, despite it being an official national park trail recommended to us by a park ranger there. For a tour at this price point, we expected the guide to have a stronger understanding of the popular attractions and activities in the area. She did not join us for any of the activities and stayed in the car while we explored, which was fine, but when combined with the other aspects of the experience, it ultimately left us feeling like we had paid for what amounted to a glorified driving service. We also specifically told her that we did not want to visit an area that was recovering from a hurricane. We felt uncomfortable with the idea of visiting a community recovering from such a devastating event as though it were a ‘tourist attraction’. Unfortunately, we were still taken through that area, which was disappointing given that we had clearly expressed our wishes. We felt that she lacked the depth of local knowledge we were hoping for. Since she is not originally from Hawaii, we would recommend choosing a guide who is a longtime local if you’re looking for a tour focused on authentic local knowledge, hidden gems, and a well-planned experience.

Response from the operator: Thankyou for pointing out in your 1st paragraph how Friendly and knowledgeable I am regarding the History and Stories of Hawaii after living here for over 20 years I love telling the stories and Legends of our beautiful Island !! However in your last paragraph it’s very confusing as you contradict yourself. With that being said I hope you enjoyed your 11 1/2 hour tour which included Stopping at Mauna kea Park , Our two beautiful waterfalls Akaka and Rainbow Falls the Farmers Market and the Volcano National park where we spent an xtra two hours . Unfortunately as you know there was a Fatal accident which occurred on Daniel K Hwy which closed down the Hwy for 6 hours . I remember showing you the Post on my phone which is why we drove through Naalehu (the town affected by the hurricane) The road was open to the public and because my Grandchildren were born there pretty sure I know about Respect of the Town or we would have not driven through I’m just confused why you would leave a Review like that and ask for a Refund especially because at the End of the Tour you were both Falling Asleep Due to the Time Difference and Anxious to Get to Your Hostel because you said they would charge you more if you were Late ..I’m sorry you’re Mad because you didn’t get Refunded or Ran out of Money but no need to Make things up . Have a Blessed Day

via Viator

Amazing!

The entire experience was awesome. Uncle Jim truly makes the tour. His knowledge fueled by his passion and love for what he does is quite apparent. We cannot thank him enough. Our family could not stop speaking of how awesome the tour was and everything we were able to do in 11 hours. Thank you so much!!

via Tripadvisor