This facility was a great place to play tourist! The staff was very friendly and our bee-wrangler (didn't catch his name) was very well versed and presented a fantastic overview as to the life of their honey bees. It was fascinating to see the queen walking around her hive, so cavalier and walking on the heads and bodies of all of her worker bees. The sample honey tastings were yummy and the small shop where we could purchase their honey was quaint. An unusual tour that you wouldn't expect to be visiting, but I'm so glad we did! read more

Fantastic tour. So much information and so knowledgeable. Wonderful and caring people. The aloha spirit.

What a total gem of a spot. I didn't take a tour, but I'm sure the tours are wonderful. The gift shop has some lovely items and a great selection of honey, in both edible form and in salves, lip balms, etc. It also has a lot of cool educational info about bees and some cool honeycomb sculptures. Staff was SO chill and nice, really a treat. Highly recommend this shop for unique and quality island treats for yourself and your friends! read more

On our last day on the Big Island, my husband and I were determined to find something to do with our two sons. Doing a little research, we found the Big Island Bees :) Purchasing our tickets online was easy. It was such a informational and educational tour for all of us. We enjoyed every moment of the tour and everyone in our family learned something new about bees. Hot tea and muffins were provided to all the guest, which was a real treat. We also had a chance to sample some delicious honey. Our family was so thrilled we found this hidden gem on the Big Island! Mahalo to the Big Island Bee team! Also, Mahalo for the delicious honey sticks! The Hughes family read more

I absolutely Fell in love with this place! Small and cute but the real date of the show is the tour. Very informative and super entertaining. My husband I and I loved every minute of it! read more

Big Island Bees - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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Honestly, we weren't expecting much. We were headed to Papakolea Beach for the day and heard from a few folks that this was a cool spot to check out on the way We did the tour and we LOVED it. Our tour guide, Joe, was extremely knowledgeable, charming and passionate about the business of bee keeping. Our perspective on bees completely changed after our visit. After the tour, Joe and his co-worker gave us a ton of recommendations for spots to check out on the island, and of course we left with a bag filled with honey goods. One of our favorite experiences on the island! read more

Big Island Bees - Bee keeping - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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Definitely worth a visit if you're in town on vacation and one of the highlights of our visit. That and the fact they shipped all of our purchases directly to our house since we met the minimum spend, which was a huge service (and everything arrived safely). We arrived before closing and got to taste test all of their honey varieties, which was great. Even better, the two employees stuck around after to tell us about spots to check out for hiking, eating, touring, etc. - and they were genuinely happy to have the conversation with us, which my wife and I truly appreciated! read more

Surprised that this is no longer an educational complimentary tour. Would send all friends and visitors here as well as gift shop but Costco sells their honey as well at a fraction of the price. If your into bees and locally produced honey it's worth a visit to this place. If you only want the honey then visit the gift shop only or visit Costco in town. read more

This was SO cute and the honey tasting is amazing! I forget his name, but the man who gave us our tour was so funny and so fun to be around. He really made the tour! He answered any question we had, wasn't in a hurry, and seemed to genuinely enjoy his job. It was hot as hell out there, but this was one of the highlights of my trip. The vanilla bean honey is my absolute favorite, I'll be back to get more before I head back to California. Thank you! read more

I cannot say enough good things about the honey at Big Island Bees, it is fantastic. We took the bee tour, the guide was great, knowledgeable and friendly. I left with a great appreciation for what honey bees do! read more

We learned all about the practice of bee keeping and what "saving the bees" really means. Spoiler alert... it's not about making sure the honey industry survives, they are doing just fine. I am so pleased that I took the tour, it inspired me to do everything that I can to facilitate the health and well-being of these beautiful creatures in my own little garden ecosystem. read more

The bee farm and all the staff far exceeded our expectations. Joe was our beekeeper and guide. Not only was he extremely knowledgable, but also hilarious. He made the experience fun and informative. It was incredible watching the way he handled the bees. The honey tasting was incredible! A perfect way to start our trip to The Big Island. read more

Overall, this was a fun adventure. When we arrived, we were served tea and a macadamia nut maple pie sample, both sweetened with the company's honey. We were a little early and waited for our tour to start. The tour guide was very knowledgeable. There were I think 4 families for a total of about a dozen people. We were led to the hives that and essentially had a screen between us the whole time - there were 4 sections so some people had to share with the large group. I was a little bummed I couldn't get closer and my phone couldn't focus pictures through the screen, but I understand the liability. The viewing was about 20 minutes followed by a video about bees. After the video, we all received samples of 8 of their honeys. Their honey was lovely. I purchased some chapsticks and three of the honeys, along with a few random items. There is a sign in the store that states honey isn't TSA cleared for flying so we paid the $14 to have it shipped to us in California. I later looked and the TSA website (to check about other items I planned on purchasing during my trip) it does say honey is okay for checked bags. I'd do it again. I'd buy more honey (but not ship it). Bug spray is a must for this tour. My husband and I both got eaten alive by mosquitoes while viewing the bees. read more

Big Island Bees - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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My wife and I had a great time doing the Big Island Bees tour on our honeymoon! I'll be honest, next to snorkeling, kayaking, and ATV'ing, I wasn't sure how exciting a tour of BiB would be, but it was definitely a highlight of our trip. It's hard to say who stole the show more, our knowledgeable and funny bee keeping guide, Joe, or the ladies in black and yellow themselves. We learned a lot of fascinating information about the bees, and Joe's talent interacting with, and handling the bees, provided lots of great visuals (the queen, bees hatching, the hive anatomy, etc). And the honey tasting at the end was delicious, we got a few jars to go! read more

Joe was our guide, so much energy and entertained every question from our kids. This is not a basic intro to honey making, they go pretty deep into the science. A special experience in a beautiful setting. read more

Joe the Beekeeper gave an entertaining and extremely informative presentation. Ask lots of questions to get lots of answers. "Bee" sure to stick around for the honey tasting at the end--it's the best we've ever tasted! read more

Had an awesome time visiting this location. Got to sample some different types of honey and had trouble trying to decide what I wanted to buy because I wanted everything! The honey is made locally and it's organic. They were very informative and I ended up purchasing 2 giant 47oz jars of the deliciously fragrant Wilelaiki Blossom honey. They also shipped it for free to my house in Houston! (I was worried about them exploding in my luggage). The package arrived to my house within a week in safe condition. I drink it with my tea and love it. read more

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Such an amazing experience Not only did we enjoy a wonderful tour of the bees and learn all about them (fascinating), but we got to taste several varieties of honey made on site. SO delicious. We definitely showed our appreciation at the gift shop and purchased as much as we could. Looking forward to stopping here again anytime we're on the island read more

What a cool experience. I have never tried different types of honey like they have concocted. They have chili pepper honey, cinnamon honey and macadamia honey. And their honey coded macadamia nuts were to die for. I got 3 bags!!! We bought so many special gifts for our friends back home. It was a perfect little place to learn about bees. And we treated ourselves to some of their famous ice cream. read more

What a wonderful learning opportunity for kids and adults alike! The "tour guide" (who is actually a beekeeper) was so informative and friendly. He made the presentation quite enjoyable. And the HONEY TASTING was the best! Who knew that different flowers made different flavors of honey. This is a must see while driving through Kona. And it only takes less than an hour! read more

This place was great! Came from Colorado to visit and found this place on google. Great experience. Joe was funny and informative. Worth the drive! read more

Big Island Bees - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

Fantastic place to visit! We are currently in Hawaii for our honeymoon and this was the first place we went to. Our tour guide was extremely friendly and very knowledgeable! We tried about six different honeys - even got to try it straight from the hive! Our tour guide really made sure we got the most out of the time we were there. This is definitely a must for anyone in the area! read more

Big Island Bees - Sampling honey straight from the hive - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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We did not know what to expect when we pulled into the parking lot for for the tour that we had scheduled. What a pleasant experience! We learned so much about bees and beekeeping in general and specifically about beekeeping on the Big Island. The person who gave the tour was incredibly informative, passionate about his job and gracious to the extreme. He took extra time to point out the queen bees and baby bees and it was fascinating! We were able to taste honey produced from various flowers which were yummy and each really truly tasted different. They had traditional honey as well as unique flavors such as macadamia blossom and chili honey which were both delicious! We didn't expect the honey to taste so good but were pleasantly shocked and ended up buying honey taking advantage of their offer to ship it home to us for free so we didn't have to check our luggage. This is a very unique and worthwhile stop during your visit to the Big Island. read more

Big Island Bees - Different honey flavors-so good! - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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We did the tour this morning and it was amazing. Our guide, (Joe?) was not only very entertaining, but extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the bees. The honey tasting was delicious and you won't leave without having some to take home. plus it is a beautiful location with breathtaking views. read more

I enjoyed t he e tour and tasting. The human workers were friendly and knowledgeable. The honey is yummy

This store is a gem for honey lovers, but due to the tropical climate, be prepared for bug bites outside. They have this ohi'a lehia honey that is unique to Big Island, but honey is not TSA friendly, so make sure you have checking luggage or shop it home if you plan to bring the honey home. They have a very good selection of delicious honey. read more

Our ohana decided to have a staycation and explore different parts of the island. Big Island Bees is a fantastic stop!! The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and very friendly! We really enjoyed the honey tasting. Our favorite was the Hawaiian Chili pepper honey! I also really loved the honey mustard. We stocked up in the gift shop before leaving. Again the staff was incredible! Worth the drive!! read more

My experience at Big Island Bees was amazing! A wonderful guide who explained the intricacies of bees so well and in such great detail, and was able to answer all of my questions. Plus the honey tasting was DELICIOUS! Lots of neat artifacts and goodies in their gift shop. The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable - and the views are gorgeous! Highly recommend, especially for folks interested in deepening their understanding of these magical BEEings! read more

Big Island Bees was so amazing! My mom LOVES this honey and we've been waiting TWO years to come back and eat some because we don't get this honey on the mainland. The tour was very informative and it was a little scary when the bees came on our side of the fence, but all in all, AMAZING! After, we got to taste some honey and trisha showed us a year in honey. it was wonderful! We were also able to send some honey and other products back home right from the farm. 100% recommend! read more

While at Greenwell Farms, we learned about a local apiary & I'm a total sucker for honey so we made sure to head over to Big Island Bees & join in 1 of their tours - given at 10am & 1pm, we learned where they take their bees to pollinate various flowers that turn into their 3 varieties of honey & maintain a pure single-sourced origin. We tasted Macadamia Flower, Lehua Flower & Wilelaiki Flower. The mac was the sweetest while the Lehua was the mildest. Both are great in coffee & on toast. The Wilelaiki we found to be a stronger honey & wasn't the best in coffee but is delightful on toast - might also need to give it the cheese test as I imagine it wold be a wonderful pairing there They showed us a couple of hives they had on site, we got to see the queen, lots of workerbees & drones. We also got to see an invasive beetle that has wreaked havoc in the bee world Lots of info in their gift shop / history center & their grounds are lovely. Best part is that is you purchase over a certain dollar amount, they will ship it to you for free - tell me we didn't take them up on THAT offer!! Lotions, lip balms, soaps, & pure, delightful honey - we stocked up! read more

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We had a fantastic time at Big Island Bees. The beekeeper was very knowledgeable and fun to listen to. He obviously had passion and a tremendous amount of understanding. We LOVED the honey samples and because of the samples we actually bought more honey than we would have otherwise. We fell in love with some of the flavors and needed to bring them back home with us to share. We left with fond memories of the farm, more acurate information about the honeybee, and a plan to plant more native flowers to help our local native bees. Mahalo! read more

I regretted that I did not buy more honey when I was there. Their honey was so good, we devoured it in no time. Now I have none left. I should try to buy some more online, I hope I won't end up consuming the sad honey from grocery store for too long. read more

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Kevin was awesome. All you ever wanted to know about bees. Awesome honey. Kevin was surprised when greeted by name but that didn't slow him down. He managed to both enlighten everyone in our group about anything and everything we wanted to know about bees AND wait on other customers. Wait for Kevin to walk you through the samples so you get the stores behind each. Then, like us, you can have him ship some home for you. I was a great little side stop, educational but not boring. We are very glad to support local small businesses like this! read more

Our ohana absolutely loves big island bees, their wonderful tour and especially their incredibly divine honey!!! We have been on the tour with our two little girls at least 5 times and love it each and every one!!! read more

So I LOVE factory tours. LOVE THEM. What's not to enjoy? Maybe it's my inner teacher talking, but I dig experiences where I can learn something new, plus it's always fun to see behind-the-scenes of a place, particularly when it's outside my knowledge base. Enter Big Island Bees. I'm a big fan of honey, but not so much on the bees. I got stung on the face in elementary school, and well, I've been a little skittish ever since. Can you blame me? Well, when I found out that Big Island Bees (whose honey I frequently buy at Costco) gives tours, I was ready to face The Bees. You reserve your spot online - super easy - and then show up at the proper time. The place is easy to find south of Kona, nestled among coffee growers/roasters and residences. You'll sign waivers (it should probably go without saying that if you're allergic to bee stings, you should stay away), then the tour starts with a short discussion of beekeeping in the shop, then head outside to some demonstration bee boxes (most of the honey-production hives are located elsewhere on the island). The staff (we had two for our tour) are exceptionally knowledgeable and explained more than I EVER would have thought to ask about beekeeping and honey production. And yet, it wasn't boring! Actually, it was super fascinating. The hive dynamics with the queen is remarkable. It was interesting to watch our tour guide just reach in with bare hands to handle the bees - she has more guts than I do, for sure. (she's also had her share of stings!) The bees tended to keep to themselves on or near the screens in the boxes - there are some screens between visitors and the bees, but it's still open-air - a very small number buzzed around us, but were not menacing at all. The shop has all the honey products you may be able to find at Foodland or Costco, but they also have some exclusive products like soaps, honey sticks, and a honey-coffee-caramel sauce that is super-ono. Everything makes for great gifts, especially for mainland friends. Foreign visitors (especially New Zealand, but certainly others) should check with agricultural control ahead of time, because you wouldn't want your precious honey to be confiscated! Restroom is a port-a-potty, but it is agri-tourism after all. Handwashing station on the side of the building. read more

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This was one of our favorite experiences on the Big island. There are tours at 10am and 1PM. Even if you don't make it to the tour, the shop itself is really cool with it's artwork and informative wall and honey themed items. If you fill a whole box, then they will ship you the honey for free. We just bought two 1oz jars of honey and honey sticks which went through TSA fine. My favorite were the ohi lehua blossom (made from flowers only found near volcanoes!) and the cinnamon honey (which doesn't come in the 1oz jar boo). It's amazing what the bees can do. One of the workers is an artist so he sculpted these heads out of bee wax and these metal frames and the bees create honeycomb waves along the structures to create art. It's amazing. We also learned a lot from the tour. The staff is very engaging and helpful. Tip: Check into yelp for free honey sticks! read more

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I've never been on a bee tour before and knew pretty much nothing about beekeeping and honey production. My family and kids loved it and learned a lot. Also, I never thought of myself as a honey connoisseur, but their different flavors and textures are quite good. Definitely recommend it to anyone who has never been on a bee tour before and just like to learn about random stuff. The presenter (unfortunately forgot his name) was knowledgeable and amusing, which is always the best combination for presentations/tours. read more

Worth the few $ to learn about our great friends the bees. This place is special because of the quality in their products. Big island bees honey is loved by many local people on Oahu, it was truly a pleasure to see it's production on this tour. The staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. Come with questions! read more

Big Island Bees - Demonstrations of the process of bee keeping at big island bees. - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

Super neat place tucked in a small community near Captain Cook. We checked out the 'museum' of sorts in their shop and were given tastes of all the types of honey's they sell. No pressure to buy anything and they were happy to answer all the questions one of our boys threw at them. Walked out having made several purchases they will be shipping me next week. Highly recommend this shop if you love the taste of honey from containers not shaped like bears. read more

Big Island Bees - They are making good stuff here! - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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Incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and inviting. We learned a ton on the tour and their shipping service is super convenient. The unique experience was the pinnacle of our trip. A honey tasting at the end, especially after understanding the complexities of the honey and the infusions was really interesting. The ability to get some of the otherwise unavailable honey in store was a special treat. Lisa and Joe get 5 out of 5 stars, highly recommended! read more