It was such a cute and fun experience. Bryce was our tour guide. He was so friendly and…read moreknowledgeable. He took us around the farm and gave us plenty of information to take home with us. The coffee sampling was at your own leisure which was nice. We also got a sample of some delicious tea at the end of the tour. It is a nice location with a beautiful view. Would recommend.

I booked this tour for my husband birthday and he loved it…read more First of all, the location is amazing with incredible view of the ocean! The whole property is just stunning! It was a wonderful experience where they showed you the whole process of making coffee from picking the coffee bean and ready for sale. Also got to try all different kinds of coffee, which was the best part! There is also a gift shop where of course had to buy coffee. The tour guide Ben was very knowledgeable and friendly and just awesome!

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).

The OK Farm tour is a great way to learn about post sugarcane agriculture in Hawaii. Cassie was…read moreour tour guide and was very informative of the OK Farm history teaching us about all the crops growing on the farm. The in season fruit and macnuts were a nice treat as we overlooked the best view of Rainbow Falls!

The best family!!! OK Farm Tour is more than it sounds…read more We started at the farm store with coffee tasting, a bathroom stop, and signing waivers. Then we jumped in a big van and not only learned about the farm but had two waterfall stops that were the highlight of the trip. It could really have been called a waterfall farm tour. There were two pavilions overlooking two different waterfalls (Rainbow Falls and I think Waiau Stream) both from the private property side so you normally wouldn't get this view. They had bug spray but plan for mosquitoes by the waterfall lookout, cause you know...lots of water = a few mosquitoes haha. We got to taste the best Starfruit, Longan (my favorite and the perfect depth of flavor that I grew up with on the Big Island...no other longan can beat it), raw Mac nuts and 70% chocolate nibs!! We had the best snacks. Also tasted oranges, got to sniff a curry leaf, and see the fresh cloves and mace on spice row. Our tour guide Kent was awesome, maximized our time at the waterfalls, and took some cool group photos. I only thing that would have made it better would have been to pick fruit to take home. I need to come back when the other fruits like lychee are in season but honestly longan is my fav. I've been buying OK Farms fruit from Safeway and love it but nothing like eating fresh at the farm. Also picked up those chocolate nibs at the store, longan to go, Ola moisturizer, shortbread cookies, starfruit, and a few more fabulous things.

When I'm in Hilo, I always love visiting Big Island candies. It's always fun seeing the factory…read moreprocess and seeing the cookies dipped, but what I enjoy most is the complimentary samples. This place is a piece of heaven. Those cookies, brownies and rocky road are things I dream of. I do prefer dark chocolate over milk, but milk chocolate stuff is really yummy too. Who am I kidding if only milk chocolate dipped cookies in front of me I'd totally take them. The packaging is also beautiful, but if you just want cookies for you or to make goodie bags save a little money and get the bagged cookies vs boxed ones. And if you have any product questions, make sure to ask the friendly staff.

Bigger of an operation now compared to back when I was growing up in Hilo. But they have always…read morekept the fact that you can walk in and see the workers hand dipping cookies and whatnot. They've not changed much besides having newer items here and there. They've classic chocolate dipped shortbread cookies are always a winner. Best part about visiting is that you get samples of their products if you just ask kindly! The staff are always so friendly and helpful. I wish they would bring back the Peanut Butter Crunch Bars!

Very friendly, video they showed us was so informative explaining the entire growth harvest and…read morefinal delicious products Staff greeting us couldn't have been sweeter, just like their chocolates

We had a great tour with Bob, the owner. It was interesting to hear the process from pod to…read morefinished product. The tour is less than an hour which I imagine is to give you time to purchase.

This was one of my favorite moments from our recent visit to Hawaii. I swear that we were…read moreliterally treated like ohana. Leslie and her small staff were so kind and welcoming. There is something to be said about the view and the fantastic coffee!!!! Wow was it top tier! It feels like a custom tropical treehouse. We sat around her concrete table as we sipped sample after sample of award winning Kona coffee. On the TV we watched a live feed of the volcano. It was such a genuine experience all the way through. She took the time to walk us around the farm and explain the entire process. So much effort goes into making such a delicious cup of coffee. This place is highly recommended. It has extremely limited hours so be sure to be mindful of that .

A fantastic and personal tasting and tour that was so gratifying and wonderful. Leslie and Etsi…read morewere wonderful and really made us feel like old friends! We were served several tastings of the coffee (7 or 8 small cups) and every cup was delicious! My favorite was the SL34 and I purchased a purchased a pound and half of it. After the tastings, we were taken on a tour around the farm and processing areas and it was so great to see Leslie treat the workers with love and respect. It was genuinely the best coffee farm we had been to...and we've been to several! The view is beautiful as well. The hours are extremely limited so make sure to make plan to come.

Ever been to a Kona coffee plantation in a cloud forest? Well, here's your chance. This is a…read moresurreal experience as you're literally in the clouds up here at around 3,000-plus feet above the Pacific. It's misty, full of foliage, and just ethereal it seems. Makes you wonder aloud: they really do make coffee up here? Yes, and it's damn good! There is no official designated parking area for this tucked away coffee plantation that sits right off the windy mountain road. So we just parked on the side of the road where everyone else did. Everything is so organized here, and when you walk in, the staff greets you with a smile. It really feels like you're about to enter an amusement park. There's a nice little merch shop right at the entrance. Out in front, they offer free coffee tastings of their light, medium, and dark roasts. Took a swig of their light stuff and wow...super smooth, with very low acidity. Right off the bat you can tell this is high-quality coffee. They offer a free 15-minute tour of their small coffee processing area. Yes, you should do it. Ann was our tour guide for the afternoon and she gave us a brief, but thorough presentation of the history of the coffee plant on the island - where it came from, how it got here up in the clouds, and how they process it, step by step. I learned through her presentation that they handpick their beans here, most of which are as few as 100 yards away from the road. This really isn't a big plantation, so they yield and process small batches. And all those batches end up right in the merch shop. The prices are expensive, but worth it. There is also a self-guided tour that costs $10 per group. You fill out a waiver first, and then head down the path out back that leads you in this really cool, but short, trail that winds down to this large patio overlooking the coffee trees. Also on the trail over to the side, you can see these large lava tubes. A real treat. So yeah, I'd recommend coming to this spot FIRST if you plan on visiting a coffee plantation here on the Big Island. Have fun!

We enjoyed the tour at Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation. It was a nice, short, and informative…read moreexperience where we learned about the coffee-growing and roasting process. The coffee samples were a great bonus, and we ended up purchasing two bags of coffee beans to take home. The staff was friendly, and the tour was easy to follow without feeling too long. A worthwhile stop for coffee lovers visiting the Big Island.

Food truck is temporary closed and only tour group is still open. However, you can purchase and…read morecook by yourself.

Big Island Abalone has been on our list of to-do's for a while and we finally booked the farm tour…read morewhen we knew we would run errands in Kona. This place is close to the airport and very easy to find. Our guide Carlos was awesome - very knowledgeable and funny. We learned a lot in the one hour tour. We also got to sample seaweed, sea grapes and abalone at the end of the tour. We went to the food truck afterwards. Service was quick and the staff were really nice. We ordered 1/4 lb of the garlic butter abalone and 1/4 lb of the chilli garlic abalone. Both were great. Sounds expensive but I will say that we had abalone in a similar proportion in Monterey and paid more than double what we did at Big Island Abalone. We already have plans to stop at the food truck again on our way through Kona later this well. Well worth visiting. A must if you love abalone.

Had an absolutely amazing time on the farm tour! The guide was very knowledgeable and took her time…read moreanswering everyone's questions about all the different plants. The produce we sampled was all absolutely delicious, especially the blimbi (which tasted like a crunchy lime and is related to star fruit). It was so cool to see so many different kinds of fruits and edible flowers and herbs I'd never heard of before. Make sure you check out the gift shop! The t-shirts are super breathable and perfect for summer weather, and the hat is very comfy too. I still can't believe what a great deal everything was. Easily one of my favorite stops on my trip to Hawaii, and that's saying something!

My husband and I thought this would be a nice relaxing stroll through a garden munching on new…read morefoods-but it was so much more! Our guide Daisy is very knowledgeable and taught us about plants we have never seen before and pointed out different varieties of things that we have at home. Big Island Farms does an excellent job at conservation of their land. We will definitely be back.

On our recent visit to the Big Island, coffee was at the top of our list. We looked through tourist…read moreguides and travel blogs to find 1 or 2 since our time was limited on Kona. My friend found Monarch and off we went. It's located in an area with quite a few other coffee plantations. It was quite a trek to find it. But when we did, it was worth the trip. Upon entering the plantation you drive through coffee trees and emerge into a clearing with a circular driveway and a main building. As soon as we parked, we were greeted by Abby. She asked where we were from and we told her Northern California. She asked where in NorCal and we told her Sacramento. It turns out they're also from the area (specifically Woodland.) What a small world! Abby showed us around their tasting room and retail area. It was very small, but very cozy. She told us a bit about the plantation and how they came to be on the Big Island. She told us about the coffees available for tasting and the beans in their retail shop. Another gentleman, Greg, stopped by to tell us more about the plantation and it's operations. Since we didn't have the time to do the complete tour, he gave us an explanation of coffee from tree to cup. I'm not very knowledgeable about coffee, but my friend is and he was a fountain of information. The farm was so homey and cozy. It was like I was invited to a friend's home and enjoyed a leisurely chat on their patio. I highly recommend a tour of Monarch coffee plantation. You will get award winning coffee and an unforgettable experience.

THEY DONT DO RETAIL OR TOURS ANYMORE…read more I love monarch. But their coffee online, support them however you want but don't drive, text or call them. They are closed to the public Again, love them but don't go here thinking you're going to be able to buy coffee or do a tour. Their website goes into more detail.