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.

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!

My parents recently went on a Hawaii cruise and one of the ports of call was Hilo, HI. My parents…read morewere excited to see the Volcano National Park but I know that cruise lines cost a little more for book excursions compared to booking directly. I stared doing research and found Vavoom Volcano Tours. This was my best find to date! Lori was very responsive in the booking phases of the tour. I told her that my parents, in their 60s, were coming in from a cruise ship and that they wanted to explore the Volcanoes. After some discussion, she understood what my parents were looking for in a tour and gave out one of her packages as the recommended package in which my parents would do. We both agreed and my parents went on their cruise. On the day of the tour, I called my parents to see how the tour was going and I can tell you that they had a blast! Lori had originally suggested that they go down to a part of the volcano where they can roast marshmallows but it turns out that my parents were not comfortable hiking a steep incline/decline to get there. I was happy though, not because they couldn't do the hike, but because they had the option to do it and declining was my parent's choice (instead of just being restricted). The best part of this is that, I found out later that the only people that we on Lori's tour that day were my parents. This was good news from our perspective since my parents got a personalized tour but not so good news for Lori since she took a loss. She could have easily have cancelled the tour but did not simply because she knew that my parents were really looking forward to this trip and did not want to cancel at the 11th hour and disappoint them. My parents came back from the cruise and it turns out that the Hilo tour was the highlight of their vacation. THANK YOU LORI!! Thanks for NOT cancelling the tour, thanks for taking my parents to places they requested, even if it wasn't in the itinerary, thanks for awesome customer service, and THANK YOU for showing my parents a wonderful time in Hilo! We'll definitely be seeing you soon!!

Lori Alana is a great tour guide, and willing to accommodate special requests…read more My girlfriend & I wanted to spend some time at the Volcano Winery after the tour without holding up everyone else, so we decided it would be best if we drove up separately in our own car, right behind Lori's van. To ensure we didn't miss out on her explanatory narrative during the drive up, Lori allowed us to initiate a cell phone call to her and listen in on her in-van presentation. Lori is very proud of her Hawaiian heritage and it shows, as she is very eager to share her deep knowledge of Hawaii with you. After experiencing her half-day tour of the volcano, we completely understood why she's so popular in Hilo on TripAdvisor.

I'm so grateful to Yvette for being our private tour guide. If you're going to spend the whole…read moreweekend with someone, you'd want them to be fun, friendly, and have amazing ideas for places to go. We laughed the whole time and Yvette is really funny and quirky. I included pictures of where we went bc I forgot the names to everything lol. We didn't have to worry about a thing, Yvette took care of everything for us. She brings life, fun, magic, and adventure into everything she does! She's so sweet and caring as well. You'll be well taken care of and laugh your butt off with Yvette! She's so nice and flexible, I never felt uncomfortable with her. Next time we go to Hawaii, we will for sure reach out and try the other things we never got to try with Yvette!

My review is for my tour in Florida, but I really wanted to leave a review on how awesome Yvette…read moreis!It was my first time coming to Florida and I absolutely loved it, thanks to Yvette! The private tour guide, took me everywhere I wanted and showed me many historical places, like the southernmost point in Keywest! Also, of course we went to Miami & visited the Versace Mansion, and walked around Ocean Drive. I had never tried Cuban food, and Yvette ( the private tour guide) took my mom and I to the best Cuban restaurants, like Versailles on Calle Ocho, and La Carreta! She also took us to a very beautiful mall called Aventura Mall. Thank you Yvette for making my first time in Florida a memorable experience.

Take a scenic drive to an amazing working cacao farm where you can learn all about the art of…read moregrowing cacao. Chocolate lovers of all kinds will appreciate this event. Serene setting, knowledgeable hostess (host) We were greeted by the "security "dog named Darwin and knew this was the adventure for us. Travel with curiosity, be ready to have a Chocolate experience.

My family planned a trip to Hawaii a bit of of nowhere. Honestly, I was happy to just tag along and…read moredo whatever except I insisted I MUST visit a cacao farm. As the area where cacao can grow is incredibly small, I knew this might be my only chance, and I am nothing if not a dedicated chocolate fanatic. I also love gardening and growing my own food, so suffice to say this was right up my alley. I had previously tried (and adored) Manoa Chocolate, so I had to check if they offer a farm tour and happily, they do! I roped my mom and two sisters into the adventure, and we booked the Farm Tour and Hawaiian Craft Chocolate Tasting. There is also a shorter experience with just the tasting, but I was so glad we did the full tour. From the first moment we arrived I knew it would be magical. We got there a bit early in a huge van as some of my family was dropping us off to go on their own adventures. Wrenn was so welcoming to everyone and suggested those not staying take a little walk and explore the farm, even suggesting they take some star fruit to go! And then the tasting area! It is a large open space with a bar and tables around the edges, thankfully covered for shade, but the view of the farm and then out to the ocean was absolutely swoon worthy. We each had our own spot set up with plates, glasses, napkin, notepad and pen for notes, and tasting information. You can tell they know what they are doing as they've thought of anything you could possibly need. We started out with a tasting of about half the bars. Wrenn and Jude were kind and patient and really helped us learn how to find the different notes in the different varieties. It was such fun conversing with my family and the other guests, comparing the flavors we each discovered. We then did a little mini tour of the farm and learned how cacao trees grow, seeing them from sapling to full grown, and leaning of many different varieties, even some that are grown more for their fresh pulp than for the actual cacao beans. Speaking of which, we got to try some of that pulp! Ah! It was a true dream come true as this is not something you can just grab at the grocery store, and it was very yummy and tropical. Not only that, but once we got back to the tasting area for the second round, we got to try cacao juice (also tropical and delicious!). We also learned how cacao is processed and met loads of cacao-crazy geckos. We then tried the remainder of the chocolate as well as two different (and wonderful) teas. At the end we were welcome to ask for a second tasting of any chocolate bars we particularly loved and shop the goodies they have available. Besides the chocolate bars and tea, there was vanilla, honey, soap, jam, and maybe a couple other goodies. Truly, this was an experience like no other and one of the highlights of my trip to Hawaii. If you are even remotely a fan of chocolate or interested in farming, it is not to be missed.

Before you read this- go book your tour! Steve and Monica were wonderful! We had a bit of a…read morescheduling issue in coming out to see them and they were more than accommodating so that we could explore the caverns! Also, they have hard hats for you which, even if you try really hard, you will need! Monica took us into the tubes and was an excellent guide, she showed us all the different kinds of lavas and was so patient when we wanted pictures and even snapped a few of us herself! This was such a cool experience, so happy we got to do this!

We found this tour on our last day in Kona. When we called there were no more appointments…read moreavailable but Monica was nice enough to accommodate us. The tour was great and Monica explained how the lava tube formed over time, and she let us take our time inside with no rush. We really enjoyed it and recommend to friends and family!

We felt safe during the ride. It was amazing to see through the big island by helicopter. It was…read moreamazing to see into the volcano. The staff are amazing. The pilot was open for questions during the flight. I learned a lot. Highly recommended!

we stayed in Maui and booked the volcano helicopter tour. The clouds were…read morelow so we could not go to the caldera but we didn't even get to see a volcano or go over the national volcano park. they took us to a lava field and waterfalls. very very disappointing to lose a full day of vacation for this. we could have paid the same price to see some more amazing waterfalls in Maui for half the price. would recommend a hiking or driving tour.

It was extremely hard to find decent reviews for this place. So, I am going to write a review that…read moreI would've liked to see: This tour was provided by Polynesian Adventure Tours (land tour) and Paradise Helicopter. My boyfriend and I bought the Oahu to Hilo Volcano w/airfare and land tour and helicopter ride. The guy who picked us up was 20 min late. They called us two days before to confirm our attendance and asked us to wait in front of hotel between 4:45-5AM. Pickup after arrival was smooth. Our tour guide was Captain Rob. Great guide! The itinerary says "breakfast buffet". The menu was terrible so make sure you eat before boarding. The Hawaii Volcano National Park was awesome. After touring around ourselves, the driver drove us around to see everything. The hikes were fun. However, we went on a rainy day and it was extremely slippery. The trail to the steam vents were nice! However, if you enjoy hiking, go head and hike down to Halema'uma'u Crater. I wished I knew this beforehand but the driver did take us the crater with a better view. Lunch was at the macadamia farm. The options were Burgers and hotdogs. PACK YOUR OWN LUNCH. The helicopter tour was beyond amazing, so I won't spoil it for you here. They do a safety briefing and you hop on. It's breathtaking! Bring a raincoat, good walking shoes, and sandals (black sand beach). Had there been better communication about the food options, I would've given it 5 stars. No one likes to be hungry.

Let me start by saying the booking process was painless and easy, even when we had to change the…read moredate within the month prior. We had a party of six and booked two flights. The helicopter will only hold three passengers. Luka, the owner and pilot was both professional and friendly. He was engaging before, during and after the flight. You have an option for a doors on or doors off tour, one of only two companies that offers this. Flying with the doors off is the best way to experience the feel of the lava flows and the best for photography. Additionally, I chartered the flight for an hour, which provided additional flexibility to fly at lower altitudes and allowed for better photos. Luka did great maneuvering the helicopter so both sides had a great view. We saw the volcanoes/lava flows and the waterfalls. I HIGHLY recommend HVHT and Luka as a MUST DO on your visit to the Big Island. Thank you Luka for helping to make this a memorable vacation!

Amazing!!! My family and I did the chocolate tour and they were so knowledgeable and caring about…read morewhat they do. I'd recommend anyone to take the time and go out. I'm not a big chocolate person, but I've learned so much from them and appreciate the work that goes into making tasty chocolate!

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