We were looking for things to do while we were on the island, and remembered that Big Island Bees is well, on the big island! We booked a last minute tour for the next day and it was such a fun experience. Our tour guide, Greg, (I think!?) was super knowledgable about bees and the bee keeping process. It was really cool to see up close. Unfortunately, I got stung by one, which is not their fault. I didn't realize there was a bee on my arm and startled it. The tasting was the next best part. The honey is so good! Too bad it's so heavy, otherwise I definitely would've bought the giant jar to bring home! read more

Great little tour if you ever are interested in how honey is made... Joe is a animated instructor answered all my questions about queen bees... nice stop on way to City if Refuge or Two-Step beach... great honey too read more

We had a beeeautful afternoon at Big Island Bees, and you will too!! We were met with the warmest welcome and the hospitality continued on for an informative and super enjoyable afternoon. Joe was immensely knowledgeable, his delivery clever and fun! There was no shortage of some good belly laughs! The gift shop , although small, has plenty to choose from, we walked out with a bag full. Not to be missed while visiting Kona read more

Stopped by the Big Island Bees on a whim. The shop has a really authentic and unpretentious vibe. A sweet Japanese lady gave us samples of their different honeys to try. My favorite was their Ohi'a Blossom Honey. We hadn't signed up for a tour, but Joe enthusiastically showed us the demo hives near the shop. He told us so many interesting facts not only about Big Island Bees but about the state of bees everywhere (Save the Bees!) I loved seeing the passion everyone had for bees and honey. Joe helped us take family photos ("Say Beeees!"), and we ended up buying an assortment of their honeys to be shipped back home. Side note, at the time Big Island Bees had a roadshow sale at the Kona Costco. I don't believe they offered the flavored honeys there (such as the cinnamon one) though. I was also debating whether to get one of their Hawaiian Honey t shirts (I didn't, but now I regret it!). I had a 5 star experience here and I will be back next time I'm on the Big Island. Don't forget your free honey sticks with Yelp check in! read more

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I had an excellent time at Big Island Bees. My friends and I visited despite not having a reservation for a tour. On the site, it says they have a free museum - which was basically a museum/store combo. For the museum half, they had a lot of interesting sculptures made of beeswax made by (I think?) the owner. Their walls were also decorated with other bee-related things, like art, poetry, and some descriptive cards that go through the lifecycle of a bee. Fun stuff! The people working there were super friendly and answered questions we had about bees even though we didn't go on the tour. (Shoutout to Joe and his amazing rants and facts). I learned so much. We ended up buying their honey ice cream and other various honey products. read more

This place was great! Fun tasting, impressive learning about bees and honey, and good for the kids as they learned to not be afraid of bees, and how to handle it if they get stung! Our poor "guide" got stung in his nose during our presentation, and the way he continued talking despite his eyes watering and nose running was impressive! May I have such composure when I get hurt. Haha. I definitely recommend for a nice family outing. read more

Omg I can't recommend a tour with Joe enough! The honey and food were wonderful. We bought one of each flavor

Cheers to this amazing slice of heaven! Joe and the team are wonderful people. Period. They are passionate about their professions and make it so fun and interactive. My boyfriend and I are still in awe. The tasting so fun and it's a bit of a heart squeeze to learn more and more about bees and all they do. Mahalo for making this one of the highlights of our trip! Take care!!! read more

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Super fun place to take the kids also the honey is amazing . When you're done drive to the bottom of the road and check out the beach it's amazing read more

This was such an interesting visit at the Bee Farm. We learned a lot about how important the bees are and how hard they have to work to make the honey and keep the eco system healthy. Joe was such a great educator for this, it's so great when you experience knowledgeable people with a huge passion for their work. read more

Wonderful tour, the local expert shared history, science and humor with us. The tastings were delicious and offer free shipping if you purchase a large amount. I'd really recommend this experience to anyone. And there was a YELP check in offer! read more

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This place is awesome!! I bought so much honey it's all delicious! My husband and I had the best iced cream we have every had here. You must try it! We did not do the tour but we just might still!! The staff was so friendly and accommodating. read more

Such a wonderful tour. Informative, educational and creating awareness on all things bees and honey. Joe was an incredible and fun teacher! Lots of great products in the gift shop. The mud mask is amazing! read more

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This was such a cool experience. Greg gave us our tour and he was so excited about the bees that it really came through in his talk. I was so amazed to learn about the bees and how critical they are to us and how communal they are. They really are extraordinary. We got to see a queen bee who just laid her eggs. Of course the store is cute and the honey samples were great. I really liked the macadamia nut one. They make great souvenirs and gifts for family who didn't get to join us. With the prices of excursions/tours, etc. so expensive, this one is a bargain! read more

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This was one of my favorite and most memorable experiences. It's amazing how little we know (or even stop to think about) how honey is harvested. Tricia, the beekeeper, is an enthusiastic wealth knowledge. She inspired us to start our own bee farm after watching the process end to end. We will be going back again and again - at least to buy more honey. The location is paradise and the tour includes a delicious bee and tea tasting, with their delicious honey sold in the gift shop. This is important because the honey we buy from the supermarket is mostly "clover", which means that the bees roam everywhere and pollinate everything and the result is a generic tasting blend of honey. But Big Island Bees keeps each bee farm in a specific flower region so that only one species is pollinated for a distinct honey flavor. The result? A whole spectrum of different honey flavors, colors and textures. You can taste the difference. read more

Staff was very friendly, store was clean, variety of items and flavors, tours available but must register in advance. read more

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They are friendly. We saw a bee hive, walked around the garden, and bought some honey. Lovely view!

This was such a fun visit. The location provides an educational component with a presentation on honey production, then there is a tour of the grounds. There were a number of varieties of honey for tasting. Best part is the selection of easy to pack gift sets. The Hawaiian Honey Sampler was such a great stocking stuffer, and they also had tea and cooking blends. We spend an hour here and it was worth the stop. read more

Big Island Bees - Sample of honey - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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Our December visit to Big Island Bees was the highlight of that day on the Big Island. We had scheduled a tour two days prior, and when the day arrived we set off to a tropical country drive. Big Island Bees was easy to locate and parking was plentiful. Perhaps because because we were loitering by our vehicle chatting, B.I.B.'s hostess came out to our vehicle to warmly greet us, and invite us to look around the museum/store for few minutes until the tour started. The museum/store is filled with honey treasures, art, historical tools, oddities, and... an clear indoor beehive! The hostess led our group into a room with benches, and offered us fresh, warm, honey-sweetened muffins and tea. Joe the Bee Expert arrived with his easy warm smile, and started a visually gorgeous 6 minute film about Big Island Bees. After the film we filed outside where Joe introduced himself, and asked us to please wait a few more minutes to see if others who had scheduled the tour would arrive. Joe invited us to eat the bananas growing beside us, but not to eat or touch them until after the tour. When you visit Big Island Bees, you can discover the very good reason for this request! read more

Great honey and great tour! Very knowledgeable about bees and we felt very safe. My bf is allergic to bees so he was a little nervous but our guide made sure that we were safe. They greeted us with great tea and a little tart to then we watched a movie, had a tour with the bees, and then had a great honey tasting! We ended up buying so much honey because it was all so delicious. I'm glad that we made reservations to stop here. read more

Had a great time visiting Big Island Bees. After tasting some of the amazing flavors around the tropical flowers on the island ended up shipping quite a few jars home. Also tried out a few things during the visit such as the ice cream which was really good . A fun place to visit read more

So glad we came here and attended the tour. The staff are very personable and friendly. The beekeeper who gave us the tour was very engaging and knowledgeable. He had a lot of interesting facts about bees. The bee farm was in a beautiful setting. One of the unique highlights of my trip to Hawaii. read more

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Garnett King Bee and Whendi Puett, Queen Bee, like many couples, met in college. Their career path, unlike many couples. did not lead them to the chaotic corporate world that most take. Instead, it was the road not many travel. The wholesome, country life of the very small town (population 3,500) of Captain Cook, on the Big Island of Hawaii near Kealakekua Bay. The place of peace, harmony and few human neighbors, mostly bees. This is where, his dad decided to come to start his family's multigenerational bee farm. Back in the 70's. He took a gamble and moved from the Mainland US to The Big Island. Hawaii he felt was the perfect environment for honey production, with its 4,000 acres and lush landscapes. I'm always interested in a good love story, and I think this one surely put a buzz throughout their college campus. Who would have thought back then that their story would be an epic honey adventure! No couple ever knows what the future holds for them but I'm sure that the thought of one day becoming owners of Hawaii's largest honey producing company-The Big Island Bee Company hadn't cross their young minds. It must have hit them like a winter storm as it became a reality. It's success today is a tribute to the generation who's hard work ethic put small businesses like this on the map. Operating as a honey producer, who retails in big markets like Costco, you should know that the cost of this product is based on its artisanal value. Sticking to the traditional methods of generations of honey makers, the honey made here is as pure as it gets. Keeping it real, raw and organic since 2004, this honey is unlike any other. Similar to wine making, honey is all about the terroir. In comparison to the other Hawaiian Islands, The Big Island is the most diverse in landscape, historic, native culture and it's multitude of possible climates. Environmental factors affect a products unique taste. Each of the original honey varietals has a unique flavor that may taste like something was added but it really is the taste of the florals , trees or bushes in the environment that the bee hives are released into that creates its flavor. Along with their bee museum memorabilia and bee art, there's a tour, tasting room and shop (offering a nice kama'aina savings) where you can buy beeswax candles, art work, clothing, bags, caps, aprons, honey soaps, cosmetics and specialty honey. Big Island Bees honey has been used in other local products as well, including Volcano Wines' honey wine and Big Island Brewhaus' Golden Sabbath beer. I wish it were served here, I wanted to taste it! I hope one day a cafe is in the horizons. As someone who spends a lot of time discovering the Big Island I find true value in these products. The single floral honeys that their bees produce are highly prized by residents driven by food exploration and local chefs, for their amazing flavor profiles. A reason to take a vacation to the Big Island is to visit this magical place. A former wood shop/garage transformed. I loved it the minute I stepped in. Scattered with treasures from the family's many years of bee keeping and honey production. During my many visits here, I'm often surprised by how few people know so little about honey production. Don't all parents educate their children about the birds and the bees? Honey is a sweet, thick liquid made by honeybees. The bees swarm their environment and collect the nectar of flowers. The various locations to which the hives are taken create each unique honey. Honey is nectar from flowers mixed with bee enzymes and pollen. If you buy pasteurized honey, the enzymes are killed. When the pollen is removed through filtering, this is not honey, but a sweet syrup resembling honey. You get what you pay for. The best time to purchase this product in larger quantities, the 47 ounce size is during Costco Hawaii's six stores, Black Friday holiday sale. Pallet purchasing power translates into huge consumer savings. I have tremendous respect for families that keep generational traditions alive and well. If only college graduates of the world we live in today could recognize this value, our world would surely be a better place. read more

We enjoyed this little farm SO much! Joe's delivery of all his knowledge of bees kept us laughing and learning the entire time. Thanks for sharing your working girls with us. The honey sampling was the highlight of the tour. It's all so yummy, but I liked vanilla the best! read more

We booked a tour here, but unfortunately could not make the time. We still decided to do a pit stop. We arrived 10 mins prior to closing. I was blown away by Joe's hospitality. They were so kind and he sill took the time to give us a demo and spent a bunch of time with our family. We ate some the yummy tamarind off the tree. The shop is super cute and the views are incredible!!! read more

Big Island Bees - Joe showing us the new hive. - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

Love this place Will order Christmas gifts to be shipped home. Little sad we couldn't see the bees because of COVID but that's understandable. The nice gal gave us honey samples and a run down on everything! Super sweet people working there. read more

Awesome tour, Joe the guide was extremely knowledgeable, educated and affable. Recommended a few books to help the average tourist like me better understand what we could do for critically endangered bee species indigenous to our applicable geographies and threats to such bee populations. I went ahead and order the Beekeeper's Lament and Honeybee Democracy per his suggestions and can't want to dive into them. read more

We stopped by just to take a look, and left with a wonderful experience. Folks there were incredibly friendly and we had a great chat. They gave us a sampler of the 3 different kinds of honey that they're known for, and they were all delicious. They also have honey ice cream that was divine. Purchases over $100 get free shipping :) read more

Note to self. If you're not going to check in your bags at the airport, don't buy a jar of honey!!! I was not thinking when I bought a jar of their delicious honey forgetting that I need to fly back to Oahu in two days. Here I am at the airport, I see TSA getting my jar of honey and throwing it into the trash. Even though the honey is thick and very vicious, it is still considered a liquid. So besides whining and complaining about my stupidity..... This little honey store is so amazing. You can learn everything you need to know about honey harvesting. The employees are so knowledgeable that they gave me a greater appreciation of enjoying honey. So now whenever I see a bee, I just leave it alone and let it do it's magical thing for all of us to enjoy. read more

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This was a wonderful and education excursion on our trip to the Big Island. Joe was an energetic and entertaining guide who clearly knows his stuff. Highly recommend this experience on your next trip to the big island! read more

What an amazing staff, our bee keeper he was amazing, so educated about bees around the world, I have a bad allergic reaction to bees s d he made me feel so safe, and recommended a ton of good things to do in Hawaii, I would definitely book a visit here during your stay in big island. read more

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We had just the best bee tour with Joe today. It was so fun, informative, hilarious and enjoyable. We highly recommend. My husband kindly went with me but was so surprised to thoroughly enjoy every bit of it! It's a beautiful drive to the farm and beautiful at the farm. read more

Very interesting about bees and how important they are for fertilizing fruits and other agricultural products such as almonds. Also very impressed with the demonstration of the bee hives covered with bees. Our guide showed us honey and the queen bee. Favorite part was sampling the honey and a macadamia honey tart. read more

So I'm from Oahu and my friend recommended it. So I did the little tour. Joe was our guid. Very passionate for bees and made me very interested in them. So much info. And very cool to learn. Made me love bees even more and now not afraid of them. Lolz. Very cool to learn more about the the Ohia Lehua. Recommend it very much. Get the Ohia lehua vanilla been honey. So yummy. Great with coffee!! read more

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

My husband and I stopped in for some local honey to bring home as a souvenir as we knew how amazing the local honey would be here on the big island. Although we didn't reserve a tour, we browsed the gift shop right away. The storekeeper wasn't that friendly from the get go and was a bit condescending. As we were at the register to pay for our merchandise (and by the way we spent over $100) -- I was curious and wanted to ask a couple questions about the grounds and business. Instead of a friendly response back, I was met with defensiveness. It was really off putting considering how nice the other staff were. I also saw this same middle aged lady (I believe her name was Sharona or Sharon or Rhonda, something like that and she appears to be a Middle Eastern lady)--bossing the other nicer workers around. This business is extremely lucky their product is so strong and stands for itself. Usually poor service will make my husband and I walk out! I highly hope that the owners look into this storekeeper's attitude. She only seems to care about pushing product and it felt very transactional rather than the warmth we experienced at several other working family farms on the island. read more

I am one happy camper living in the mountains of SoCal!! I ordered my 47oz glass jar of Macadamia Honey. As Ambrosia is the food of the "GODs", this is the golden nectar of GOD... a higher seat in the realm. My "friends" have 2 condos in Kona and when they go to get away they always ask if there is something I would like. Well, instead of a macadamia liqueur or something exotic, they opt for a box of Mauna Loa or Happy Host Macadamia Chocolates which I can get at a local WalMart or CostCo CHEAPER!! Now I have a standing order for Big Island Bees Honey!!! Where I was surprised is my shipping took less time to come from Hawaii than for Amazon to deliver from the local distribution center 65 miles away. Tomorrow, Monday morn'n, I go pickup my Honey at my local PO Box!! I am excited. One may balk a bit at the price, however, I am so tired of the tasteless honeys available in the stores, I am willing to admit that one pays for what you get. My alter ego, Dalai Goat (born on the isle of Maui in 1989), states it best in my attached post. Do your friends a favor back home when you visit Hawaii, b adventurous, don't bring them flip-flops, melted shave ice, or a can of SPAM... bring them jars of Big Island Bees Honey. They will appreciate you evermore. Mahalo & Aloha BIBH!!!! You have made me happy in my recent period of isolation. I await my Honey with anticipation and appreciation for all you do! Busy as a bee you be, for me to enjoy my spot of tea... w/honey! read more

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Jessica and Kathryn were awesome and full of information. We happened upon this farm and it was a very pleasant surprise. Lots of great honey samples and beautiful scenery. I highly recommend the chili pepper infusion. read more

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This is the only bee hive tour you can get in Hawaii and it was great! Our tour guide Lisa was very knowledgeable and passionate about the hives and bee farm. You can tell she has worked in this industry for a long period of time. The farm is a very beautiful area and the little store has a great variety of products for purchase. My friend and I would recommend this tour if you'd like to learn more about the process of farming honey. read more

Big Island Bees - Lisa teaching us about the various bees and the importance of each! As well as the importance of the tool used. - Honey Near Me - Captain Cook, Hawaii

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

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