Big Island in a Day: Explore Volcanoes, Waterfalls and History on Hawaii’s Largest Island

Embark on a thrilling 12-hour adventure on Hawaii’s Big Island, exploring volcanoes, waterfalls, and rich history. Discover the wonders of Volcanoes National Park, hike through lush rainforests to breathtaking waterfalls, and relax on black-sand beaches. Perfect for all ages, this family-friendly tour includes lunch, snacks, and park entrance fees.

Duration: 11 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Kohala Coast - Pick up guests from resorts along the Kohala Coast while enjoying a narrated tour with unique landscape and scenic view.

  • Kailua Pier - Drive through the historic Downtown Kona, home to the summer palace of Hawaiian royalty and oldest church in Hawaii.

  • Bay View Farm - Take a tour of this Kona Coffee Farm to learn about the harvesting and milling process while sampling Kona Coffee and Tea.

  • Punalu’u Black Sand beach - Dip your toes in the sand at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach and scan the horizon for green sea turtles on the shore

  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - 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.

  • Nahuku - Thurston 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.

  • Hilo - Drive through historical Downtown Hilo, the largest city on the island.

  • Rainbow Falls - 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.

  • Akaka Falls State Park - 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.

  • Waipi’o Valley - 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

  • Parker Ranch - Driver through the scenic green pasture of Parker Ranch, home of the Hawaiian cowboys and one of the largest ranches in the US.

What's Included
  • Bottled Water
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Small Group Tour lead by Professional Guide
  • Luxury Mercedes Sprinter Van Transportation
  • Lunch included
  • All fees and taxes covered
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Embark on a 12-hour nature excursion that provides a detailed exploration of Hawaii’s largest and most recent island. Discover the assorted terrains and natural phenomena, including a tour of the Volcanoes National Park. Traverse through lush rainforests to towering waterfalls and wander along black-sand beaches looking out for green sea turtles. This tour, suited for families, demands minimal walking and involves people of all age groups. It also covers lunch, snacks, drinks, and the cost of admission to the park.

  • Operates in all weather conditions; please dress appropriately.
  • Children under 4 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
Location
Kohala Coast
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(5286 Ratings)
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Sarah_g
Sep 27, 2024
Great way to see the Big... - Great way to see the Big Island, the highlights and learn about the history and culture of this area. Kona Chris was awesome !! Lunch was good too !!
Review provided by Viator
Monimoy_b
Sep 15, 2024
Amazing Big Island Trip - Amazing trip. Jason was incredibly helpful throughout. The trip is probably the best you could do when it comes to covering the essential spots of the island.
Review provided by Viator
Mphillips27
Sep 14, 2024
Fantastic way to see the island! - The Big Island Grand Circle Island Tour was a fantastic way to introduce us to the Big Island on our first visit here. Not only were we blown away by the beauty of the island, but our tour guide, Dreu, made it an unforgettable experience by providing valuable information and historical context to all that we saw. His expertise and enthusiasm added such an enjoyable element to the tour. It is a long day, but you get to see, taste, and experience so much! This tour truly provides a perfect sample of all the Big Island has to offer. I highly recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tour07215884745
Sep 6, 2024
THE BEST TOUR GUIDE - We take the tour Sep 6 we have a great exprience and learn about Hawii history our tourist guide Miexia Ahloy the best very profesional knowledgeable and responsable during the tour thank you,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alean_l
Sep 3, 2024
Amazing! - Very complete tour of the big island, our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable of the Hawaiian history and geography. 100% would recommend, you get to experience the different types of weather throughout the island, you can see turtles at the black sand beach and lunch was really good. Overall, absolutely worth it.
Review provided by Viator
Choong_l
Sep 1, 2024
Perfect way to see the Big Island - My wife and I absolutely enjoyed the day cruising around the island. We had hoped that it would be the best way to see the island and learn about it. Our driver/guide, "Kona Chris", made sure that the experience exceeded our expectations. I thought 11 hours might be too much but I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the day went. Kudos to Kona Chris!!!
Review provided by Viator
Leticiac
Aug 31, 2024
Breathtaking! - Derek was such an awesome tour guide he was very knowledgeable about the history of the big island his personality was so heart warming we really enjoyed this tour he made it fun the whole experience was amazing we can’t pinpoint one thing .. we enjoyed it all !! We will definitely recommend this to friends and family and will definitely recommend they do the tour with Derek .. Aloha♥️
Review provided by Viator
Brad
Aug 8, 2024
You definitely won’t see any kangaroos. LOL - Visiting from Australia this tour was absolutely fantastic. We saw so much of the island in one day. Derek our tour guide is such a great funny light hearted bloke but really made the tour with his island knowledge of the island. As we all know the tour guide is the secret to a great time. Anyone coming to the big island has to experience this. Well done Derek you are a legend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kenneth_b
Sep 7, 2024
Great tour. We saw the water falls and volcanoes. The weather even cooperated. - Our tour guide, Drew, was very knowledgeable and friendly. If this was only about Drew I would give it five stars. The reason for the four stars is because the van is very tight and we could not sit next to each other. I think another couple had this happen to them too.
Review provided by Viator
Paulette_r
Aug 21, 2024
Tour of the Island - The experience started out with a bad taste. The tour Van would not pick us up at our resort and made us walk 10 minutes up the road to another resort. No one was taking the tour from that resort just my husband and I. The day before I called to tell them that they needed to pick us up at our resort but received nothing but aggravation. To the point that I wanted to cancel the tour but was told I couldnt because I was 1 hour past my cancellation period. That said we met the 12 passenger bus with 2 other people already on it . Chris the driver, was amazing. He was kind, fun, considerate, extremely informative. He made our day. We seen so much of the island and tasted so many island foods. I give Chris 5 Stars but not the company. Be sure to have everything finalized 24 1/2 hours before your trip and correct anything that is not correct. Again, I cant speak highly enough about Chris but the company just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They should promote Chris to run their customer service.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 14 guests
1 Adult
October 2024
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