Hannibal was our guide and he was fantastic! He narrated non-stop with info and personal stories…read moreand we loved it! We thought the time at the visitor's center was way too short and we didn't get to see everything (not Hannibal's fault). The description about the excursion for the sandwiches at lunch, along with Hannibal's telling us about them, told us that they were the best sandwiches on the island and big enough to share. In actuality, it was $20 for a sandwich, chips and water and it was one of the worst sandwiches I've eaten! White bread, with cheap ham and slathered with mustard and mayo. It was all there was to eat and very disappointing. Aside from lunch, it was a wonderful excursion and Hannibal was wonderful!

Thank you to Rusty, who gave a wonderful tour of the Kilauea Volcano. She was very knowledgeable…read moreand informative about Hilo, National Volcano Park, and the life and culture of the Hawaiians in the area. As a solo traveller, I knew I was in good hands.

This was such an awesome experience! My daughter participated in the 4-day summer camp. It runs…read morefrom 9 to 2 every day and the kids experience snorkeling, kayaking, and paddle boarding, as well as a slew of educational elements such as fish identification, limu harvesting, and learning about traditional native Hawaiian practices. My daughter absolutely loved the camp. She learned a ton and really enjoyed the people. 100% would recommend!

Feb 2026 - Based on my experience, I urge you to consider not doing business with this company…read more They appear to value revenue over the safety and comfort of their customers. Due to hazardous weather conditions, the tour we were on should never have left the harbor. Not only were the ocean wave conditions reported by the coast guard to be clearly dangerous, the driving hard rain made the conditions completely unacceptable not only for safety reasons but for customer comfort. Despite my several attempts to point this out to the staff answering the phone one day prior to the tour as well as the captain of the boat prior to departure, they blocked my attempts to reschedule or refund the trip in spite of coast guard and national weather service small craft warnings, beach closures and other tour operators canceling their tours under the same conditions. After waves broke over the bow of this small craft, the captain aborted the tour and turned around. After an unusually leisurely return to the dock, I called and asked for a refund. Later we were told based on our return time, we had received the full tour and a refund would not be issued. After escalating our concern, a senior member of the company emailed us and said we would be issued a full refund. Over six weeks later they have still not issued us a refund. We had to file a dispute with our credit card company.

A very smooth experience! We booked online, it gave meeting area instructions, times, etc. The…read moreteam was punctual, friendly, and knowledgeable about the boat! The views were amazing! Only thing that would make this 5 star is if the music would have been more prominent.

Such a gorgeous, relaxed day on the water. The crew were friendly (did I mention relaxed?) and…read moreknowledgeable about the marine life around us. Captain Damian used the light winds to carry us a few miles offshore, then apparently switched to electric power when the wind ebbed. It was blissfully quiet and peaceful. When we spotted whales surfacing nearby, mate Shaun dropped a microphone over the side and we were treated to the chorus of multiple humpbacks singing all around us - unbelievable! The crew kept us supplied with healthy snacks and hydration and good information about the baby, mother and male escort whales we were seeing. All and all, it was an epic morning experience off the West shore. Love to come back!

Trip of many firsts! My wife and I always go on an annual Pre-Valentine's Day trip. This year, we…read morechose to go to Hilo. This would be my wife's first time to Hilo and also first time on a helicopter tour. I previously worked in the helicopter tour Industry on Kauai, so I was already familiar with the top-notch operation at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by Christian and Eric and led through a Safety briefing. After the safety briefing, we were introduced to our pilot, Ryan, And he took a moment to talk about his pilot experience and spoke about what we would experience on our tour. (This added personal touch helped calm my wife's nerves for her first flight.) we were then escorted to the helicopter for pre-flight photos and to board. The 50 minute "Discover Hilo" tour was smooth, scenic, educational and entertaining. Our pilot had a good selection of music that perfectly fit the different areas that we were flying over. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and would recommend it!

Kīlauea is currently erupting for its 28th cycle and we were fortunate enough to witness this with…read moreour fantastic pilot Chewy. Blue Hawaiian provided an excellent experience with the flight, music and info for our big island adventure. This is something we will always remember. Mahalo!

Our Waikoloa Scouts Troop and families went on our annual whale watch on March 8 aboard Sea Smoke…read morewith Ocean Sports, and after doing this outing for more than 9 years, I can honestly say this was one of the best trips yet. We had about 30 Scouts and family members join us, and the whales absolutely showed up! We saw pods everywhere, tail slaps, and even a full breach. The highlight was when a humpback surfaced about 10 yards from the boat, giving the kids a once-in-a-lifetime moment. The crew also dropped the hydrophone, allowing everyone to hear the whales singing underwater, which was an incredible learning experience for the Scouts. Moments like that truly connect our youth with the ocean and the amazing wildlife here in Hawaiʻi. Ocean Sports continues to impress us every year. Booking was easy, waivers were handled electronically, check-in was smooth, parking simple, and the hospitality from the crew was outstanding. They were knowledgeable, welcoming, and fantastic with the kids. Mahalo to the entire Sea Smoke crew for sharing the ocean with us and helping create such an unforgettable adventure for our Scouts and families. Your aloha spirit and professionalism make this trip something we look forward to every year. Highly recommend Ocean Sports whale watch tours!

we took a glass bottom boat. We actually ended up getting a private tour. The guy spent more time…read morewith us than we were scheduled for to show us everything. It was very pleasant. I would do it again.

Our 4:30am lava hike was one of the highlights of our trip to the Big Island. We met up at their…read moreoffice close to the Kalapana Gardens at 4am, checked in, signed some papers and got snacks and coffee (included in the tour). It is recommended that you wear long pants (but some did it in shorts) and requires that you have shoes that cover your toes (no water shoes or sandals). I did it in work out legging and sneakers and my boyfriend did it in jeans and hiking boots. We were both fine and neither of our shoes melted though at one point, his feet got really hot bc I made him stand by the lava for so long for a picture. Bring a good amount of water or your camelback and a hoodie bc it was cold in the morning. They provide you with good headlamps and flashlights since you are hiking in the dark. We were in a group of 12 or so and we loaded up in their nice van and drove out to start our hike. They take you as far as you can go on the road (where people would be otherwise renting bikes or walking) so it saves you some walking. From there, it's just up the lava you go. It was nice that the tour guide told us to take a look at the lava rocks and the texture which was glass like. Basically a warning to tell you don't slip and fall bc this stuff might hurt you. As we walked, it sounded like glass shards breaking under us and we walked towards orange glows up the mountain. Eventually we made it while it was still dark and it was crazy you could feel the heat as you got close to the lava. We spent an hour or so taking pictures of and with the lava and relocating to a few other areas with lava as it eventually got light. We hiked back down the same way and ended around 8:30am. Highly recommend this company as they do a good job making everyone feel safe and we completed the hike at a nice pace. They do not allow kids under 12 and it's probably not recommended for anyone over 50. There are parts where you might have to hop down or take a big step up or down and keep your balance. Our group did a good job and most were in their 20's and 30's and maybe one brave solo hiker in her 40's. Super worth it to wake up early and experience this in Hawaii!

The best thing I've done in Hawaii! We went out on their second day with the new (bigger) boat,…read morewhich provides a pretty smooth ride. We did the sunrise tour, which I would highly recommend. You get to the flow while it's still dark and can watch the sunrise out of the ocean which is another awesome aspect. Parts of the flow were breaking away while we were out there causing new patterns of flowing lava, it's just ever changing the entire time you're watching. A bonus was while on the way back, we came upon a pod of bottle nose dolphins and they swam along with us for awhile. No sooner we left those to continue to the dock, we came up on a pod of spinner dolphins. We absolutely recommend this and it is worth every single penny. Looking forward to doing this again next time we're on the island

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!

So much fun!! I did the 8-line zipline tour on 6/13 and it was an absolute blast with the best…read moreweather and best tour guides. I've ziplined before, but this was a whole different experience. The last couple lines were so long and went SO FAST! And the views were just incredible. We got to see the lush gardens under us every time we zipped, with the creek flowing through each area. The last view of the waterfall to the right and the ocean straight ahead was absolutely stunning. I highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting the big island!!