Big Island in a Day: Explore Volcanoes, Waterfalls and History on Hawaii’s Largest Island
4.9
4,873 Ratings
Kohala Coast
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: 1 day learn more
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
(4873 Ratings)
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Ticia0232
May 22, 2024
Great customized tour! - We had a fantastic private tour with our family! David was a great tour guide! We loved listening to the stories and information about Hawaii’s history! We saw many beautiful sites. We appreciate Wasabi tours for customizing a tour that would work with our schedule!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vickisj57ck
May 16, 2024
Big Island in a day - This is an incredible tour with LOTS of information. It was our first trip to the big island and I wanted a tour that would give me sites to see, history, opinions for restaurants, beaches and other things to do. Our guide, Drew, did all that and more. It's a fully narrated tour and Drew kept it going! He was engaging with all of us in the van, answered questions, used dad jokes lol! Keep in mind when they say full day tour, that's exactly what you are getting. I wouldn't do this particular tour with small children. Definitely a long tour but worth it in my opinion. Thanks Drew for a great day
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tinaweena6
May 11, 2024
Great experience! - David was excellent guide, with a wide range of knowledge about the island. His focus on giving us the best possible experience was appreciated.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Passport658550
May 10, 2024
A great experience on the Big Island in a day tour. - What a great experience! At first I was hesitant as this is a 12 hour tour. Our guide was knowledgeable, explained the islands history, culture, the people, climate and more. David did a good job. We stopped at a coffee plantation which was very interesting. We liked the black sand beach, we saw 5 sea turtles there. We enjoyed a very nice lunch there in the picnic area. My grandson and I really liked the lava tube in Volcano National Park. Rainbow Falls was pretty cool, but the best was Alaska Falls. It was quite a hike to get to the actual falls, but worth it. Just walking through the rain forest was beautiful, and then you come upon the falls, a truly spectacular water fall. I was so tired when we got back to the van, but we had a nice pick me up snack. Thank you David and Wasabi Tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
611marianem
May 9, 2024
Amazing - Absolutely amazing. Brent was so prepared, had amazing fun facts, and history knowledge of everything Big Island. We had an amazing time sight seeing, and learning so much about the history of Hawaii. 10/10 would recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jasim52
May 6, 2024
So much information in one day. - Highly recommend this all day tour around the island..we would not have been able to experience or understand everything we saw if we did this ourselves. Grant was an excellent guide..very knowledgeable and respectful of his home. Loved the walk through the lava tube and extra time we had at the local market. If we would have stayed longer, I would have spent way more money. We covered a lot of island highlights and learned a lot of history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jet64813374573
May 3, 2024
Great Tour - Informational, well run tour with outstanding tour guide, Dreu. Many interesting sites with lots of background information provided.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patricalsaumui_l
May 3, 2024
BIG ISLAND TOUR IN A DAY - great experience. Most highlights of Big Island covered in a day. The guide Felix was very knowledgeable and told many stories and showed us fun stuff
Review provided by Viator
974susiei
May 6, 2024
Great way to cover the Island in a day, without driving yourself - Loved the various stops, starting with the coffee plantation. Lots of interesting plants and information about the nuances of Kona coffee. Of course, we had to purchase some whole coffee beans and ship them home. The bakery stop, after the coffee, was perfect for the breakfast we were not able to eat before our early morning pick-up. Very pleased that the tour picked us up first and right at our hotel. Our guide, David, was excellent and tried to advise us about what to expect on the trip, including bathroom ratings. David of course could not control the weather, so there was nothing to be done about the heavy downpours that hit our group during the waterfall portion of the day. These two stops were the longest and most arduous walks on the trip, and being totally soaked by the time we returned to the van did not help. The lava tube was interesting, and the flashlights David made available were very much appreciated, and helpful for avoiding the many puddles in the cave-like lava formation. Lunch at the black sand beach was good and we saw several sea turtles out in the water. We were very satisfied that we did get a good glimpse of the whole Island with the Circle Island Tour. Long day, but worth not trying to drive it on your own.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hajer_t
May 23, 2024
Good way to tour full island, with caveats - This is the perfect trio to see the whole island in a day, but as a young adult traveller I wish we could have done more at the stops and spent more time at the volcanoes and falls. The majority of the trip was spent in the van transporting between stops. There should also be a snacks provided on the trip, it’s a long day for just 1 lunch meal. I was surprised to see all of my fellow tourists on the van were 65+. Maybe it’s best to ask for the ages of the booking trip and allocate groups accordingly. I’m 28 for reference
Review provided by Viator
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up to 14 guests
1 Adult
June 2024
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