We loved our visit to Lavaloha! It was great for kids--interesting, and not too long or too short…read more Plus, there's the chocolate tasting, and you get to support a small business, which is wonderful. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone visiting the Big Island

The guide was very informative, friendly and did a good job explaining how chocolate is brought to…read moreits finished form. We saw the trees and the areas where they dry the beans. The chocolate samples were pitifully small. No one in my party of 3 felt this was a good value. For the price of tour, they should give out one small bar (valued at $8). Prices in store are very high ($8 for a thin 3" square and $15 for a bar the size of a full graham cracker sheet).

This review is strictly for Cameron, our tour guide. He has set the bar for everyone else. I was…read moreamazed by his legitimate Aloha spirit (harder to come by than professed around the islands). He has the type of personality that I could see as a successful tv host on a discovery or nature channel type show. He offered a wealth of knowledge about the land, flora, fauna, history, and beliefs of Hawai'i. At every point he kept us safe, entertained, and informed. He has made Hawai'i my favorite of the islands. My only complaint about the tour has nothing to do with him, but with scheduling. I really didn't want to go to a hotel gift shop and would have preferred more time to swim or snorkel.

What an amazing experience. We booked a tour to see the lava fields and enjoy a snorkeling…read moreadventure and it was a full day of adventure. Keep in mind there is no snorkeling on this excursion and the area around the Hilton is not safe or appropriate for snorkeling. I am writing the review solely on the lava field excursion part. My wife was very dissapointed that there was no snorkeling as we purchased new snorkeling equipment. Roxy was our tour guide and was probably the most knowledgeable and professional tour guide we have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Roxy was knowledgeable in the history of volcanoes on Hilo and elsewhere, horticulture, bird species, animals, Hawaiian culture, tourist attractions, history of the Hawaiian Islands, tribes and Capt. Cook, beaches, teachings, burial practices and so much more. Roxy told stories of the early days in Hawaii and how it evolved. Also as a noted her driving and safety practices were impeccable. If you are planning to come to Hilo you must make it a point to reach out to Roxy. We spent approximately 8 hours on the tour and it was so enriching although the lack of snorkeling was a dissapointment . Highly recommended Mahalo

Do experience the tasting. The chocolate is dark with flavours enhanced with coconut milk, almond,…read moreand more. Very unique blend of chocolate. Locally grown and processed. We loved the cocoa, sent some home!

Experienced the VIP cacao tasting tour and enjoyed every last second of it! Mike was an amazing…read moretour guide. He built his cacao farm from the bottom up and it was amazing to witness his progress ever since 2017. He walked us through the seed germination process, the growing process, the fermentation process and everything before, in between and after that.. from seed all the way to chocolate bar. This tour is meant to expand your knowledge and change your perspective on how you think about, taste, and experience chocolate. At the end of the farm tour, you drive down to the gift shop (about a 3 min drive from the farm) to make any potential purchases as well as taste even more chocolate! What an amazing and unique experience in Honaka'a and 100% recommend adding this tour to your Big Island itinerary. P.S. my favorite chocolate bar is the barrel aged bourbon bar!! Notes of dark cherry with a bourbon finish :)

Ryan, Jordan, (forgetting the lady drivers name,) were awesome guides…read more They were great for our elderly mother and kids alike (youngest being 7 year old.) It's worth the price people - it really is memorable and bucket list worthy. (Will upload pics once we receive them.)

Set in the heart of a beautiful rainforest, Botanical World Adventures' Zipline tour is truly one…read moreof the most scenic excursions! Nick, Kavahi, Lish, and Heno are the dream team who helped guide us through the adventure, offering fun insights on the local flora and fauna along the way, as well as some some stellar "dad" jokes and banter! You truly can't go wrong with the ziplines at Botanical World--the team is communicative, enthusiastic, and safety conscious, while the location is unmatched!

Ding! Ding! Ding! This is the main event for touristy waterfalls that you can visit on the Hilo…read moreside of the island. I'll start by stating the obvious. Yes, this place is well known, and it gets busy regardless of the weather. We went a few days before Lala hit in a steady rain and the parking lot was fairly packed. Unlike Rainbow Falls where you can sneak in the "side door" under the Banyan trees and not pay, there is only one way in/out here and it is well staffed. In some form or other (be it the QR code - text link - kiosk on site) you're paying for this one. $5 p/p and $10 to park. We did get a space in the main lot, but plenty of people were parking up the entrance road. As Chuck S. perfectly points out, this isn't a hike so much as a paved loop walk. It's a big four tenths of a mile around and yes, there are some steeper steps going up/down at the beginning/end, but it's nothing too crazy. The below Google map gives a nice overview of the grounds and parking situation. www.google.com/maps/place/%CA%BBAkaka+Falls+State+Park/@19.8544917,-155.1527417,376m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x7953ada4f8d1be01:0x728c3dc44022e05c!8m2!3d19.8532104!4d-155.1549738!16zL20vMDNxYnRf?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDkwMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D Yep, the main falls are indeed majestic. We had to wait a few minutes for any pictures as when we got there, the falls were fogged in. You could hear it, but there was nothing to see. Eventually it cleared up a little bit, and we got some decent shots with a small rainbow thrown in. True there is a secondary falls (Kahuna) on the grounds you can see at the far end of the loop but it's fairly irrelevant. The other thing which is amazing in its own right is the flora and the fauna here. Lots of the amazing colors/types/species of birds, plants and trees. Seeing this is almost worth the visit in its own right, let alone the main falls. I think the key here is to take your time. During our visit I saw several people ripping through the walkway/grounds as if it were a timed event either due to their own impatience or because there were talking about cramming a ton of different falls in the same day. You can certainly do that...but why? To me, anything less than 30 minutes and you didn't experience what this place has to offer and it's definitely worth a visit here to see it all in person.

Well worth the trip all the way from the Kona side. Sure, lots of tourists show up here and it kind…read moreof gets crowded, but there's a 400-plus foot waterfall in this park! Go see it! There's a trail that leads you down to the panoramic view of the waterfall. The trailhead is right next to the parking lot and it costs 10 bucks for parking and 5 bucks per person to get in. Bathrooms are on the premises. So this really isn't a "trail," so to speak. I mean, you're not roughing it out in some canopied jungle out there. It's more like a nice, half-mile botanical stroll on a paved, fenced-in pathway. Takes about 45 minutes, most of which is spent just stopping and appreciating the beautiful flora and fauna of the park. No need to rush. It really is impressive. So the trail is one oblong, closed loop. At the beginning, you can head straight to the fall if you turn left - about a 5-minute walk. Or, if you go right, you can take the scenic route that ends up at the fall eventually. There is some uphill, so seniors and out of shapers take your time. Super worth it, brah.

We found Ricky's Tours while we were cruising on Holland America to Hawaii. We found Ricky to be a…read morevery knowledgeable guide. Though not a native, he grew up in Hilo and has so much information about the Hilo and Kona areas. As he drives along on the tour is a wealth of knowledge. We took two tours with Ricky. He has a brand new Ford van that seats up to 14. It is comfortable and the A/C works great. He has a sometime partner, Mel, that will add his van for large groups. I highly recommend that you contact him if you are interested in touring either Hilo or Kona.

Ricky was awesome, he was referred to us by Richard from Hawaii Eyes Tours in Maui. Ricky was…read morefriendly and very knowledgeable and taught us as he drove us. It was a five hour tour and well worth every minute of it.

Let me start with the obvious. I really don't like coffee at all or in any of its forms. Sure,…read morethe beans smell nice when getting roasted but to me, the end product is just bitter dirt water. Then why come to a place like this? I like to see how things are made and where they come from and I wanted to do it in a way that wasn't commercial or corporate. Coming to Hog Heaven checked all of those boxes. The setup here is very simple. Head to the below link, choose a date and time and book it. The tour size is capped at 6 so no matter how you slice it, things are going to be small and personal which is great. hogheavencoffee.com/products/farm-tour?srsltid=AfmBOor7YvEx-5d38r-5C5bNYBZv_vVPD08X-M9aXZH41zk5aAP__8Xh Every step from front to back is covered. You start outside at the trees, and Mike breaks down every facet of the process from water (drought years versus normal years versus exceptionally rainy years), trimming/pruning, picking, what each color means, the plant/fruit/seeds, dry method versus the wet method, everything. You have questions? Mike has answers. Then it's inside to see what the drying racks look like, what the correct percentage of moisture needs to be, drying machine and then upstairs to the roaster. If you're not there when these processes are taking place, Mike's wife has all of the different steps on an iPad where you can see it all being done which gives a lot of context to what you're learning about. Of course, at the end, you are given some of the coffee. I'm the wrong person to ask about that but both of my adult daughters enjoyed it and we got some beans to give as gifts and everyone who we gave them to has loved them. Overall, the experience was exactly what I was looking for. Fantastic hosts and up close and personal from the tree to the cup. Why go anywhere else?

Great coffee tour by down to earth owners. Avoid Google Maps though takes you to the backside of…read moretheir property. Look for the hog sign! Great coffee!

Fissure 8 is really called Fissure 8 Tours. Melissa is the tour guide and does an amazing job! Very…read moreslow, easy pace and so informative. She does the tour and only takes donations but the time and energy involved would require at least $50 per person. I would not even come to volcano national park without including this tour. You get a front row seat look at all the devastation a lava eruption and flow can do to a community. You will not get this type of experience at the national park. A must see and do!

This is by far the perfect adventure for those people who are volcano nuts or those who are crazy…read moreabout rocks and or just history. This landscape is living and will be different for every visitor who comes out to look. It's eerly sad as well knowing that this area was once a flat piece of land with homes and people's lively hoods on it. If you went to Volcano National Park or are planning on going you should go here to complete that adventure or start it. The lava flows in 2018 started at Kilauea crater in VNP and spewed out here. You can see steam rising in vents atop the fissure going back the direction of Kilauea. Things to know - Cost = free, but realize this area is closed off to everyone except those who are residents and or property owners. This means your touring with a resident. The Tour is with the resident and has super good vibes and lots of knowledge on this area. You do occupy her time so I would do a donation for that time. I spent about an hour with her. She accepts venmo, cash etc. What to wear - wear some shoes if you can. The area is filled with fibrous rocks that wouldn't be to comfortable in sandles. Call ahead. This is just to make sure she is available and not occupied with other chores etc and helps her plan for bigger groups. I will not forget this experience.

Huaka'i guide services showed me a part of Hawaii I normally wouldn't see. Going hiking is out of…read moremy element but you only live once right? I gave Kehau a call and worked out a hike with a group of friends that wouldn't be too rigorous but still challenging. With steady encouragement and the message "it will be worth it at the top" and on the way he filled me in with awesome history and an authentic hawaiian perspective which was informative. Once at the top of the ridge I was at a loss for words we were mesmerized, it was completely worth it. We ended up scheduling another hike before the trip was over. Highly recommend Huaka'i guide services for an awesome authentic Hawaiian adventure.

From the owner: We are a group of seasoned local guides, dedicated to perpetuating pono and aloha by sharing with…read moreour visitors a cultural and historical understanding on the people of Hawai'i and the place we call home. Experience the amazing and beautiful island of Hawai'i through Hawaiian culture and folklore. We provide a wide range of services guaranteed to show you the most iconic locations in the most authentic way. Whether you are looking for a easy breezy shuttle or an elaborate full day tour, our team at Huaka'i Guide Services has you covered.