MALAMA KA 'AINA = "to care for the land" How do you care…read morefor the land? Plant a tree! After I read Brandon's review, I knew I had to bring my kids to see this place. We've planted trees at our house, but we've never planted a Koa tree on the slopes of Mauna Kea, Hawaii's tallest volcano. The tour was scenic, taking us up to high altitudes on a 4x4 vehicle so we could see the entire forest in various stages of growth. Our guides were fantastic and really knew the land, pointing out various trees and special wildlife. My kids got to see an 'Io, a Hawaiian hawk, which is protected as an endangered species and only found on the Big Island. I had never seen one before so that was pretty cool to see it out in the wild. GRAND TOUR (3.5hr): This is a unique experience you will find nowhere else in Hawaii. I am going to tell you about our experience (2 adults, 2 kids) on the Grand Tour which included a Koa legacy tree planting 'session'. We have been to the Big Island many many times before, but this is definitely one of my favorite things we've ever done. LOCATION: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hawaiian-legacy-tours-honolulu?select=1V96336NehN9GNpR3D1WHQ This is on the BIG ISLAND, HAWAII on the slopes of Mauna Kea. They have an office in Honolulu (Yelp has it listed in Honolulu), but that is not the location of the Koa tree forest, or where the tour is. You can't really put this one in your GPS. We came from Kona side (took about 90 min from Waikoloa), but you can come from either Hilo or Kona. If you go to their website to get directions, the directions will say "turn right after at Donna's cookies at the Kukaiau Ranch sign...drive 3.3mi through a winding road in the Eucalyptus forest...through the guard shack, pass the Kukauia Estates sign, watch for cows and horses, up 1.2mi to Umikoa Village, keep going until you see 3 houses". The scenery as we drove up the volcano looked like something straight out of a movie. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hawaiian-legacy-tours-honolulu?select=W0asouZ0IBNyY2ebCUwY1Q GRAND TOUR PRICE (3.5hrs): $180 per adult (includes one Koa tree for planting) $90 per child (ages 5-18, does not include a tree) PLANTERS TOUR PRICE (2hrs): **you get to plant your tree but don't get to see all of the forest** $110 per adult (includestree for planting) $55 per child (ages 5-18, no tree) VEHICLE USED: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hawaiian-legacy-tours-honolulu?select=KEF6e5VBy39RdKtCOrEgLw We rode on the Kawasaki T-Rex, which was a yellow off road vehicle. If you are the type to get car sick, you will get car sick on this. There is a roof but no windows. The sun/rain up on the volcano can be unpredictable and the weather can change quickly. We went during the summer but it was cold and rainy for parts of our tour. Bring sunscreen and rain jackets, you never know what it's going to look like until you get there. THE FOREST Because of the unique climate on Mauna Kea, the type of Koa tree that grows here is not grown anywhere else in the world. We have lots of Koa trees on Oahu, but they aren't valued like the ones grown on the Big Island. They started to clear the forest over a century ago to make room for farming and ranching, which wiped out almost all the Koa trees. Now they are trying to save the forest, so they have put up fences and gates to keep out the pigs, cattle, and hunters to allow the trees to grow once again. PLANTING THE KOA TREE We found our spot up in the middle of a field and my kids got to plant their baby trees. We got the certificate which has the GPS coordinates of each tree so we can go back and visit the tree later when it's part of a large forest once again. You can put a name on the certificate to dedicate the tree to someone you love. Or not. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hawaiian-legacy-tours-honolulu?select=gCS2he__69NonE-OPB7cLA http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hawaiian-legacy-tours-honolulu?select=_Jvwca3lb2GFQOtznWOl4g THE TOUR Besides planting the tree, which was pretty neat, the tour took us up and down the entire forest. Our tour was bumpy, rainy, fresh, and definitely educational. We saw the lone koa tree, which was left behind from over a hundred years ago, and saw different forests at various stages of growth. We learned about different flora/fauna and wildlife only seen on the slopes of Mauna Kea. I don't remember any toilets during our 3.5hr tour, but I think they were going to put one up at the top of the vista soon. So while it seemed like $540 was a ridiculous amount of money to plant 2 trees, I hope someday my kids will see their GPS certificate for their koa tree and take their kids back to the big island to show them the koa forest and teach them about MALAMA KA 'AINA.

We went to the Legacy Tours again in 'Umikoa. Again it was fabulous! I am beyond thrilled with…read moreour tour guides Richard L. and Emi. We had a bit of a hard time finding the house because it was different from before. But it is actually easier now since it is on the bottom of the hill and Emi was waiting outside for us. Then same yummy scones and cinnamon tea! Yum!! The day was gorgeous...blue skies, perfect weather. Emi remarked it was the most gorgeous day she had ever seen to date. Richard even drove our ATV to the lookout so we had a different view from our first planter's tour. We got a peek and use of the state of the art hidden outhouse and were able to plant our kitty and two koa seedlings without any Big Lebowski moments...all with a gorgeous view of Mauna Kea's snow top and a partial view of Hale'akala. I remember a few years ago when no one was allowed to pick lehua blossoms for Merrie Monarch Festival because of some mold or fungi epidemic on the Big Island. Luckily they have a huge forest of ohi'a lehua trees of all three colors here that are healthy due to the elevation of the mountains. The ride was the perfect blend of informational, seriousness, and fun (with a few safe moments of catching air before returning to our seats and only because I expressed a love of thrill). We totally love this tour and are sure to do this again. They also have cool investment opportunities of purchasing 100 koa seedlings with payouts to the investor and corporate opportunities for carbon credits. Great great company and staff. Thank you so very much Richard and Emi. Also thank you for the amazing photos of us sent to our email and the certificate with our special RFID number. Really appreciate you all. Will be back soon. Highly highly recommend as a cool way to give back to the islands when visiting here or even if you're a local. p.s. Emi thanks for the great photos! They looked professional with the way you capture light beautifully. So thrilled. A deep thank you.

The UFO tour was fun and meaningful Lisa is a superb guide…read moreand very knowledgeable anout the night sky. I appreciated her presentation, the comfortable chairs and the night vision goggles. I don't know what I saw that night and my friends and I enjoyed our time on the tour and had lots to chat about afterward.

Lisa is amazing!!! 10/10. Incredible knowledge, pictures/videos, stories. This was tons of fun and…read moresuper interesting. 100% worth it! FYI try to go on a clear night

The ranch is open from 10am to 2pm with their hours clearly listed by the parking lot…read more It's a quaint little museum that records how the Parker family contributed, and continues to give back, to the Big Island community. The gift shop has a range of clothing, books and other information pertaining to the cowboys. It was fun to learn about how Hawaii came to grow to what it is today. Apparently they have fun events with plenty of vendors frequenting the ranch on weekends and holidays.

Parker Ranch is such a nice gem in Waimea (Kamuela) and full of history; in fact, they have been…read morefeaturing on Scenic Hawaii Channel (now Experience Hawaii). As of Summer 2024, they only offer self-guided tours at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 1:00 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. But if you are able to make it out to Parker Ranch, it is so worth it. There are a couple houses that you can go into (including the main one which you check-in with the staff), and then select parts of the grounds, and you might even see the cattle and horses along the way.

This tour is a must do!!! Paul is awesome tour guide!! He took us to amazing places before the…read morepark and in the volcanic park!!!! So nice to not have to drive. We are so glad we booked this tour!!!

My parents and I went on a tour with Marcus and thoroughly enjoyed it. We did the PM volcano tour…read more Marcus is super knowledgeable about Hawaiian culture, plants, and volcanos. Because of the time of year we went there was a bit of rain so he was constantly checking apps for updates on the weather to ensure we were able to get great views. Despite some fog I got some awesome pictures. I absolutely recommend this tour!

There isn't anything more to say that Dave G. hasn't covered. So I will break my learnings down in…read morebullet points: *Fascinating history of Hawaii and why Waipio Valley went from the Valley of the Kings with a population of 3,000 to the sparsely populated land where only 50-75 Hawaiians reside today. *If you have back problems or are prone to back problems and pinched nerves, you may want to skip this tour. It's bumpy, the road down the valley is steep enough to make an atheist start getting religious. *Spray lots of OFF on your exposed body parts. There are many, many critters all too eager to feast on fresh blood, haole and otherwise. So either wear long pants or douse yourself in OFF. *It's windy at the lookout so dress in layers, light jacket or windbreaker will do. *Bathroom outside the Neptune Garden/Last Chance store is clean but bring your own toilet seat cover. *Minor detail but the website lists the meeting point address as 48-5300 Kuikuihaele Road, Honokaa, HI. We entered it in our GPS and couldn't find it because it's actually 48-5300 Kukuihaele Road, Honokaa, HI. Bonus points if you can spot the error. *Mules are smarter than horses and can pull heavier loads. Being called an ass, not so bad. *Taro is hard to grow and harvest. Appreciate your poi and taro chips for they are lovingly grown by earnest Hawaiians, one of whom is our tour guide Li'a. *Tip Bob and Li'a. These two guides are doing their part to keep the old Hawaiian spirit and culture alive so help these brah's out. *The tour lasts about 1 1/2 hours and the drive from either side of the island can take 1-2 hours one way. Grab some malasadas from Tex Drive-In on your way into the valley and stop by Jolene's for local food and Hamakua Fudge for dessert to end your day. *Lastly, show respect and pay reverence to the old Hawaii that you won't see in these Disneyfied resorts or urbanized enclaves of Hilo Hatties and ABC stores.

The other one-star reviews are spot-on…read more We spent more time in the dirty, stinky van, and waiting for the dirty stinky band, than we did in the wagon. The van's transmission warning light was on, my seat belt wouldn't latch, and three of the four tires were beat up and bald. For your own safety, please pick a different company. I'm sad to have to give a negative review and try to give people the benefit of the doubt when at all possible, but putting guest safety at risk like this is never acceptable.

Our best Hawaii experience to date! My husband and I have been visiting the Big Island of Hawaii…read moreseveral times a year for the past few years. Recently we brought a few friends with us and wanted to do some touristy things that we had never tried before. We found the Giving Tour, and hands-down - this is the best trip we have had to date on this island ever! Sam and Dev live on the Island and are just absolutely wonderful human beings, extremely warm, reliable, knowledgeable at the about the island and the area and passionate about helping people and giving back to their beautiful island. Dev is a riot, there are no dull moments when she is around! Sam is a Jack of all trades who always has a fresh coconut on hand to crack open and share. We booked the farm lunch and tour and it was amazing! The farm is on a beautiful 20 acre property that will blow your mind. It filled with so many different kinds of fruits and vegetables and even animals! The spread we had for lunch was out of this world... We ate until we could barely move. The farm tour was awesome, Travis, the garden manager showed us the garden with all of his awesome medicinal plants and tasty veggies then we got the grand tour with so many exotic fruit trees to sample from and plants from around the world to marvel at. This is not a tour that you can pick out of any random guidebook. We became closer as friends, and made some awesome friends at the farm. This is an insiders look into life on the island, and I cannot recommend it enough! If you want a run-of-the-mill tour with long lines and manufactured entertainment, this is not the tour for you. This is a behind the scenes look at this beautiful island and culture. You will have tons of fun, meet amazing people, eat incredible food and have memories that will last a lifetime. We also did another tour the same week and it also surpassed my expectations. It's a great value for the money and Sam and Dev are the most amazing tour guides I've ever experienced anywhere in the world. Thank you Giving Tour for giving us this beautiful memory.

All I can say is that Devin's tour was the highlight of our entire time on The Big Island. She's…read moresuper loving and fun, the farm itself is amazing and awash with hundreds of years of history--and then there is the VIEW! Wow...I hate to break the suspense...but to finish the tour with the view they have....well...like I said that's worth the trip. I'm always hunting for that insider's angle on the place I'm visiting. That spot where I can feel connected to how the locals are living and a sense of connection beyond what I can find at the next resort or airbnb. The Giving Tour was just that--and then some. I can't more highly recommend.

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!

This is our go to taxi service everytime we fly into Kona. They are very friendly, helpful and…read morealways on time. We call ahead of time and they literally wait for your flight to come in for you. EXCELLENT!!!

Best taxi service ever! They were on time, courteous and kind! They picked us up to and from the…read moreAirport to Hilton Waikoloa! They gave us great tips and insights about the Big Island, places to go, spots to eat, etc. We will definitely call them again the next time we visit! Mahalo! Salamat!