The guides Sean and Patricia were great! The horses were so well behaved! So many cool things to…read moresee, and the views!!! We even got to try fruit from the farm

We had the most amazing two hour ride with our guide Micah. This is a lush, green and diverse…read morelandscape with a stunning ocean view. The ride was easy and the horses were gentle. Views from the ranch cannot be beat. Highly recommend!

So fortunate that I get to attend this year's Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival. Luckily I…read moreplanned ahead and booked flights and rental car as soon as I found out date of event. I saved me some money vs the first year it was last minute. This makes it tge 32nd year for festival which was held early this year, Saturday February 1, 2025 from 9:00 am- 3:00 pm. I hope the event stays open 2 hours longer next year, I felt that 3 pm is too early, as it got closer I was trying to rush at the event to try to squeeze in as much as possible. This festival commemorates the blossoming Cherry Blossom ( Sakura) of the original 20 Japanese cherry blossom trees planted in 1972 by the Waimea Lions Club at Church Row Park and observes the Japanese tradition of Hanami viewing. This is my 3rd year attending the festival, I loved and enjoyed every moment. We arrived early , first flight to Hilo but also made a stop for breakfast and farmers market. Driving in to Waimea took a little longer due to traffic along the way, I noticed the festival was more crowded this year which is a good thing. There was traffic along the main road and looking for parking at Parker Ranch was a struggle. Happily we found a spot, after waiting a bit but yay. Stopped at the food court at Parker Ranch for bathroom break and off to enjoy the festivities, we had a nice picnic lunch while enjoying the entertainment. Did a little shopping, checked out some booth. I missed quite a few line up on the agenda but def. next year, I get here sharp at 9 am. & The question, was there blooms on the Cherry Blossom trees?!- YES. not all trees but there were enough blooms for all to enjoy. I love Cherry Blossom!! The littlest things in life brings me joy. Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival is such a great event for the Kamuela community, I can see this was enjoyed by all family, residents & visitors of all ages. I can't wait for next year! Check out the Festival, this is such an awesome event, see ya all next year!

Very pricey but a trip isn't complete unless you've consider a luau. I booked it since the luau…read morewas held on the premises of our resort where we stayed. The big draw was the fire show which originated in Samoa. The first three rows are premium seating. We sat in row 2 by the stage. The venue is very small so all seats would have sufficed. There was a woman blocking my view of the stage. So much for premier seating. Although premier seating included a fresh orchid lei and a box of shortbread cookies from Big Island Candies of Hilo. And first in line to the buffet dinner. There's an open bar. I had a red wine which I didn't care for as the wine sat out in the Hawaiian heat. There's spirits, mixed drinks, sodas, and mocktails available. The luau - the Kalua pig is cooked in an imu onsite. You can watch the pig being unearthed at the luau. If you've never seen it done, it's a very authentic experience. There was a live band followed by the hula show. The show represented the Polynesian islands. It concluded with the fire show which was the highlight. Next time we'll sit in the general seating area since it's a small venue located at the Marriott.

I'm torn between a 3 and a 4 but ultimately settled on a 3 as they apparently stopped doing the…read moretraditionally imu cooking last month. My kids were stoked on getting up Wednesday morning to see them prep for that (as it still states they do on their website!) but an employee let us know that management just stopped that. *I* can slow cook pork y'all, I thought I was paying $200 for tradition and cultural experience? The food was mostly average, the bartenders were on cruise control but pours were strong and good, and the performers were a 10/10. Definitely a positive experience and the kids will never forget it, but I won't go again when we come back.

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.

Very informative and fun tour. Worth your time. Included Kona Water information, time with the…read moreoctopus tanks and tour of Kona Abalone. Yes seeing grapes growing in Hawaii was one of the amazing high lights. This foundation gives alot of local programs and companies a chance to grow their business and research. Support local. Many other companies are on the grounds such as Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm, BioAstin vitamins, the lobster place to grab lunch and more.

If you are in to renewable energy and ocean science and technology, this is the place. It is the…read moreonly place in the world you can find out out OTEC or ocean thermal energy conversion. There is a presentation in the morning from 10AM then you get to take a tour of a working abalone farm that grows all of its own food using cold deep seawater pumped from 3000 ft. They have this cool display that is growing Chardonnay grapes using the cold seawater and they even get 3 crops per year! Fun if you are interested in cool things and science. Little kids might get bored, although the volunteer lady who checked me in brought coloring books and crayons to some kids that started looking bored.

I'm sure there are many professional luaus that visitors can attend when visiting the Hawaiian…read moreislands, but the Legends of Hawaii Luau was one of the best that my wife and I have ever attended. We paid a few dollars more for the premium seating and I feel it was well worth the money. Sitting closer to the stage and also having the additional amenities that come with that premium entrance really made the experience more meaningful. Everything about this spectacular luau was just that, spectacular! The entertainment was superb! The four piece band which played beautiful Hawaiian music during dinner were very talented and sounded wonderful. The gentleman who served as master of ceremonies, Hoku, brought a level of insight and history to the music and dances. All of the dancers, both men and women were extraordinarily talented and you really felt like you were catching a glimpse into the historic Hawaiian experience. The highlight of the evening was the world class fire dancer at the end of the performance. It seemed to be, that the money I spent on this evening was well worth it if just to see him perform. It is something I will never forget! I highly endorse this outing and there is nothing negative that I can say about it.

Completely overpriced for what you get. At $260 per person, I expected an actual luau experience…read more Instead, it felt more like a mediocre cruise-ship dinner show. The sound system was awful--the band constantly washed out the singers and even the guy trying to tell the stories. The food was okay at best, and there isn't even a traditional whole-pig roast. Seating is just rows of long tables with very little atmosphere or decoration. The staff was nice enough, but most of the attention seemed focused on the premium section. For $260, this just isn't worth it. You could practically take a cheap Carnival cruise and get the same quality of food and entertainment for your money.

Excellent ! I needed loose flowers for a memorial service on a boat, and they made it super easy…read more 500 loose plumeria at 8 cents per blossom came to $40. They left in a garage fridge and I paid via Venmo when I picked up. Communication was great as well. Highly recommend ! The blossoms were a beautiful assortment of yellow and pink plumeria.

Beautiful plumeria lei.Easy to find beautiful lei. This will be my new go to place for learning…read morepurposes. Mahalo nui

Came here to see the new Project Hail Mary movie, but I wasn't too impressed with the theatre…read moreitself. First of all, is was a little over $20 for a ticket. I know it's Hawai'i, but that seems expensive to me. Also, the seats weren't too comfortable. I don't know if it was just my seat, but the headrest was very big and stuck out very far past the seat, putting my head and neck at an awkward forward position for the full 156 minutes. Lots of people review food here, but I didn't get any food.

The Waikoloa Cinema is located at the Queens Marketplace in Waikoloa Beach Resort. The Bistro…read morerestaurant located in the theater can bring drinks and food to your seat. You have to go through the restaurant and outside patio to get to your theater. They definitely want you to buy something. The theater was small but the sound and screen were fine. They have comfortable seating with swing out tray tables but the seats do not recline. There are no restrooms near the theater. You have to again go through the patio and inside restaurant to get to the only restroom located near the entrance. The not so subtle message seems to be, buy something please! Argh. We saw the latest Prada 2 movie. It was a great way to get out of the sun and enjoy an early matinee.