Sample a cross-section of outdoor sights on the Big Island during this shore excursion exploring Volcanoes National Park, waterfall, black sand beach and more. Discover the postcard-perfect Rainbow Falls before visiting the amazing volcanic steam vents and unique geology around Kilauea Volcano. Before your day is done, check out an ornamental Japanese garden, snack on treats at a local candy shop, and visit a gorgeous black sand beach. A guide, park entrance fees, and round-trip port transport are included.

Explore the Big Island's top scenic sites and volcanoes on a shore excursion
Volcanic steam vents, lava tubes, smoking calderas and unique geology of Volcanoes National Park
Visit the ornamental Japanese garden, Liliuokalani Gardens
Scout for sea turtles on the gorgeous Richardson Black Sand Beach
Covered by Viator’s worry-free policy: guaranteed on-time return to your ship

What's Included

Port / Hilo Hotel pickup and drop-off
National Park fees
Bottled water
Professional guide

What to bring/wear: Walking shoes, light sweater, camera, hat, sunglasses
Souvenirs
Gratuities
Stop is made to purchase food

Meeting And Pickup

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What To Expect

Spend the day enjoying an adventure in paradise during this shore excursion exploring the giant volcanoes, beautiful waterfalls, rare plants and tasty treats of the Big Island. If you’re looking for a great way to sample all the amazing scenery Hawaii has to offer, this is a great way to do it.

Start your trip from the Hilo Port in the morning, heading to Hilo for a glimpse of this historic town before moving on to Rainbow Falls, a picturesque waterfall that looks straight out of a movie. After Rainbow Falls, your adventure really kicks into high gear as you journey into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and up to the summit of its massive Kilauea Volcano.

Continue your day by stopping to view some of the Big Island’s most beautiful rare orchids at the Akatsuka Orchid Garden, where more than 500 of these gorgeous plants (some worth more than $20,000!) are on display. If you’re feeling hungry, have no fear because your next stop is at a local candy shop where you will get to snack on tasty locally made high quality chocolate and treats

Cap off your epic Hawaiian adventure by stopping at Richardson Black Sand Beach. This unique dark-colored seashore is produced by the slow erosion of the local volcanic rock. Keep your eyes peeled on the beach for the resident sea turtles that like to hang out on shore. You are returned back to the Hilo Port in the afternoon.

Banyan Drive (Pass By)

Liliuokalani Gardens

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hilo Downtown Improvement (Pass By)

Rainbow Falls

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Big Island Candies

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Nahuku - Thurston Lava Tube

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Richardson Beach Park

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Manono Street Marketplace

35 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Vehicle: 11-14 passenger van or mini bus max 16-25 pass mini bus
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HOTEL : You can meet us at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel to join this tour.
CRUISE PASSENGERS : We have special permits to pick up directly from Hilo port
We will ensure your timely return back to the ship in Hilo Pier for this activity. If your ship is delayed and you are unable attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details
DEPARTURE TIMES: Because we are a shore excursion company we schedule our departure times around a ships arrival and departure.

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Easy tour - Involves walking over relatively level terrain, possible gravel or uneven ground in some areas. Lava tube is .4 of mile long with descending and ascending steps. Comfortable walking shoes & light jacket recommended
Not wheelchair accessible
Infants must sit on laps
Most travellers can participate
WALKER / WHEEL CHAIR: We must be informed before you arrive if you are bringing a walker or foldable wheelchair in order allow space.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Traveller Tips

There is ample time to see everything without feeling rushed.

excursion started on time, stoped to early for lunch (11.30)no coffee option available, rainbow falls nothing to get excited about.excellent guide

If you can avoid a cruise ship day I would highly recommend.

Reviews

4.5

430 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 430 reviews

Great for NCL Pride of America guests.

Jacki_S, May 2023

Hannibal is a great guide. Perfect amount of time at each stop. Lava tube was impressive. Falls was stunning. Crater was eerie but a once in a lifetime site. Perfect trip for Pride of America guests. Back to ship with plenty of time. Bring a rain poncho. Less expensive than ship excursion. Group size of 25 people

Volcano National Park is amazing

Susan_L, May 2023

Our tour guide was great, she guided us where to go at each stop and joined us on some too. The black sand beach was amazing, the sand had sparkle and did not stick to your hand. Rainbow falls was beautiful. Volcanoes National Park was my favorite, seeing the huge craters with people hiking through them. and then the Volcanic steam vents were so impressive. Walking through the Nahuku - Thurston Lava Tube was an extraordinary experience. The whole experience at the Volcanoes National Park from the visitor center to walking through the lava tube; makes this tour awesome.

Response from Host, May 2023

The Black Sand Beach is one of my favorites, so happy you had a great time thank you for sharing your feedback. 🌋

Great tour and all the sites were amazing

Dawn_R, May 2023

We had a great tour. The island is beautiful and so many different things to see. Our guide was great. Very knowledgeable. Loved the Volcanos and tropical rain forest. We had lots of time at each site to explore and enjoy the scenery. I would definitely recommend this tour.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks to much Dawn, for the review 😃

Fun in Hilo

John_E, May 2023

Great day with Donna as our guide. Volcano & lava tubes were our highlights! Great insights for the culture and sites we visited from Donna.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you John for the awesome review and compliments for volcano guide Donna!

Great Experience

Candace_H, May 2023

What a great all-around look at the Hilo side of the big island. Touched the high points in a few hours. Loved having a smaller group than most of the excursions booked through the cruise ship. Just 25 people with our tour guide Hannibal. He was great! Kept things light and interesting, but he also knew his stuff. Even if something went a bit askew he handled it smoothly and gracefully. The whole tour from pre-tour contact, instructions on arrival and departure, and the tour itself was extremely well organized and efficient. Would definitely take another tour with this company and would recommend highly!

Response from Host, May 2023

Wow you are making me blush!! 😊 THank you for the uplifting review

I had an excellent time...

josephine_c, May 2023

I had an excellent time going through lava tube love between family enjoyed it recommended to other family members to come and do this

Response from Host, May 2023

Wonderful! Sounds like a great family experience 😎

Volcano experience was great!

Robert_B, May 2023

Great experience. Views were fantastic and the volcano tube was too cool! Our visit was unfortunately impacted by poor weather.

Response from Host, May 2023

Sorry about the weather but really appreciate the 5 stars despite that ❤😊

Volcano worth seeing

Jim_M, May 2023

The overall tour was good. It felt a little rushed and the weather was not the best. Our guide was good and provided good information. The volcano was great although I would have liked to see the effects of the recent eruption up close.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you Jim I know the weather can really put a damper on things. You would need to join our Volcano Safari tour to see the effects of the most recent eruption which operated on the eastern rift zone of Kilauea Volcano

Wonderful experience!

Molly_W, May 2023

We loved our guide, Donna. She was so knowledgeable and generous with her time. The black sand beach was unforgettable and the volcano and steam vents were amazing.

Response from Host, May 2023

hanks Molly for the review. so happy you guys had a great experience with Volcano guide Donna!

Our guide made this tour an adventure!

Lisa_A, May 2023

Our guide, Kamake, was terrific! He provided perfect local commentary and told great tales between taking us to wonderful sites. Excellent tour.

Response from Host, May 2023

Wow what a compliment! Thank you ❤

Great scenery..no traffic

Nola_B, May 2023

Great guide Grace, small vehicle so went to lots of areas. Unreal scenery of volcanoes, waterfall and local scenes

Response from Host, May 2023

Awesome review! thank you ❤

Sorry, But Wouldn’t Recommend

LEONARD_G, May 2023

Being dropped off at a busy supermarket and being told we had 30 minutes to buy and eat our lunch (on outside picnic tables), was something we never expected. While the driver seemed to be knowledgeable and was a safe driver, some of his jokes were just in what I believed were poor taste. But others may have been fine with it. Just my opinion. We don’t know if perhaps it was a port issue, but only one Bic C van could load at a time, which resulted in a half hour in line waiting for the van.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thank you for sharing your experience. We get lunch to go and customers can either eat in the vehicle or when we get to volcano nat. park. Sorry we must follow all port regulations.

Our tour guide/driver was...

Kathleen_C, May 2023

Our tour guide/driver was Grace. She was excellent, giving us much information as she drove professionally.

Response from Host, May 2023

Happy to hear you had a great time🌴

Glad to revisit volcano

Phyllis_M, May 2023

Seeing the old visitor center. I remember visiting the center in 1907. I enjoyed visiting steam vent and lava tube. Guide was very knowledgeable of volcano history. Pickup from cruise port prompt and efficient.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks Phylis, for the feedback 🌋

Beautiful sites

Barbara_F, May 2023

Grace was a wonderful guide. She was very knowledgeable about the volcanoes and Hawaiian history. Bring some rain gear!

Response from Host, May 2023

lol yes the rain likes to peek in once in a while, 😂🌨glad to hear you had a great trip.

Great tour!

Steven_S, May 2023

Our guide was excellent giving facts and explanation on the island and all the sites seen. The transportation was comfortable and as described.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks so much for the great! REVIEW 😄