There’s much more to the Big Island of Hawaii than volcanoes, waterfalls and luaus, and on this informative tour of the South Kona region, you’ll learn the sacred history of this shoreline and sample the local honey and famous Kona coffee. With the help of a knowledgeable guide, you’ll visit petroglyphs, look for green sea turtles and visit sacred Hawaiian temples. Even better: you'll hear the legends, mythology and lore of ancient Hawaii through today. This tour is capped at 15 people, so you’re ensured a personalized experience.

Small-group tour of Kona and the Kealakekua Bay region
Look for Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles at Honokohau Beach
Taste honey at a bee farm and sip Kona coffee on a tour of a coffee plantation
Includes lunch and round-trip hotel transport by minivan

What's Included

All taxes, fees and handling charges
Bottled water
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Lunch
Honey and coffee tastings
Professional and Certified Guide

Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

1/1/2023 - 12/31/2023
Monday - Friday : 07:00 am - 08:00 am

Pickup details

We pick up from Kona Pier for this tour. This tour is suitable for cruise ship guests. The supplier will send you a confirmation email with the exact pickup location and time. Please call the supplier if you didn't receive an email.

What To Expect

Start with a hotel pickup, either from your Kona or Waikoloa hotel before you travel south down the coast. You’ll first head to the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, where your guide will point out petroglyph sites that are hidden amongst the black rocks. Passing by sacred Hawaiian temples, and hearing tales of the past, you’ll stroll to the shoreline and make a stop at the white sand Honokohau Beach, where you’ll look for sea turtles surfacing for air, and maybe even spot a Hawaiian monk seal.

Traveling by comfortable minivan, you’ll next arrive in Kona, where you’ll see historic landmarks such as Mokuaikaua Church: the oldest Christian church in Hawaii and an important historical sight. Continuing south along the west facing coast, you’ll stop and look at Kealakekua Bay where Captain Cook met his end, and learn about the ancient village that was here when Captain Cook first arrived.

Next, make a stop at Big Island Bees, a local farm that has produced organic honey since 1972. You’ll meet with the beekeeper to tour the property, and from the safety of a protected viewing area, see a thriving, open beehive where thousands of bees buzz inside. While sampling the raw, organic honey, learn how vital bees are to keeping a healthy, functioning ecosystem, and learn the tricks and tools of the trade of harvesting jars full of honey.

Even farther south, in Honaunau, enjoy a guided walking tour of Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park, and learn how this site was a city of refuge for those who broke the law. To end the day, drive up the mountain towards the 'coffee belt' to the home of Kona coffee, and explore the orchards of a coffee plantation in the refreshing mountain mists. While here, learn everything there is to know about harvesting Kona coffee, from the growing, harvesting, processing and roasting the beans into famous, world-class coffee. The tour finishes with lunch on the farm — and, of course, some Kona coffee — before you’re transported back to your Kona hotel in the middle of the afternoon.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Bay View Farm

1 hour 20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Kealakekua Bay

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Big Island Bees

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Operates in all weather conditions
Not recommended for pregnant travellers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Wear closed toes shoes and summer attires
Children under 5 years old are not allowed to participate
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Not recommended for travelers require walkers/wheelchairs
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 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

Reviews

4.5

68 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 68 reviews

Had great time on this...

dawn_L, Apr 2022

Had great time on this tour. Derek and other guides on van friendly and gave great education. Loved the bee stop

Highlights of our Trip

Merry_H, Apr 2022

The time spent with the bee keeper was terrific. We thoroughly enjoyed his knowledge and humor. Also, our guide Oni Oni was delightful. We enjoyed all the stories and information he shared with us. He is a real gem.

Historical Tour of Kona

Kathleen_M, Sept 2021

Great trip. Dreu was very great! He has a lot of good information on all the places he took us. Dreu. This was a very fun turn. Kathy

Tree best words for Drue Tour

Erik_P, Sept 2021

We had Dreu and he has gone to great lengths to educate himself about the entire tour, so he can share a fountain of details that made this tour the best I’ve had anywhere! He thought about taking care of us with knowledge that would take years to acquire, but his “Tree” best qualities were patience, passion and drive for making his version of the tour the most memorable and rewarding to us!

Do not miss this tour!

MaryAnne_C, Sept 2021

Dreu was the beat tour guide we have ever had. He was super accommodating and made sure everyone was having maximum fun. His knowledge of the Big Island was beyond amazing. What a great tour! Highly recommend this one!

Excellent details

Sue_O, Feb 2020

Dreu was an outstanding guide. He provided an enormous amount of interesting detail about the geology and history of this island.

Nice Tour

JayPrakash_S, June 2019

Everything was great, Tour guide was nice and this was like a something new to us, me and my family enjoy,

Kona Tour Review

Yuan_Z, July 2018

I booked the Kona Tour on June 13th, 2018 for my family of four. On the morning of the tour day, I got a bad cold (headache, sore throat, and fever), so I had to stay in the hotel room while the rest of my family went on the tour. My husband communicated the situation with the tour guide, and he was told to talk to the owner about a partial refund. When we called and emailed the owner, we were told to submit a doctor’s note. We explained to her that we could only access emergency care while on vacation in Hawaii, and a cold was not a severe enough reason to visit the ER. She never returned our email.

Our tour experience was spectacular...

John W, June 2017

Our tour experience was spectacular, especially because of our tour guide Kai. He provided so much extra information about the Big Island and historical events that it made the tour come alive. We enjoyed the places we visited, but the tour commentary is what made the trip complete. It was also really great that we almost had a personal tour because there were only four of us in the van. By the way, did I happen to mention that Kai was great!

Kind of mixed on this one, some...

David J, Mar 2017

Kind of mixed on this one, some stops were good some were just ok. Kaloka-Honokohau park and Puuhonua o Honaunau were educational and interesting. The bee farm was more there for tourists than an actual bee farm. The part we saw was little more than a gift shop and a few hives setup for demonstration. Presumably there was a much larger real operation somewhere else. The coffee farm was a good mix of actual groves and production. The tour was run by one of the employees there and good. Our tour guide was excellent at presenting content both on the van and with us at each stop. This wasn't great, but just ok. It's a bit pricy for what you see.

Very good tour - a lot depends on...

John D, Jan 2017

Very good tour - a lot depends on the weather- since part of the tour gets close to Hilo where it almost always rains everyday.

Our guide for the day, Kala, was...

Susan P, Aug 2016

Our guide for the day, Kala, was very informative. The tour is long, with lots of stops. Wear good walking shoes! We did the tour on the next to last day of our visit and we were worn out due to the length. Maybe best to do this tour early in your trip.

Nick was our guide/driver who was...

Charles F, Jan 2016

Nick was our guide/driver who was very personable and knowledgeable. Enjoyed the National Park - Royal Grounds most of all - lot of history and Nick was certainly able to explain it. Saw turtles sunning on the beach as well. Thanks Nick for a great day and the lunch!

Guide was very knowledgeable, nice...

Mary Beth M, Nov 2015

Guide was very knowledgeable, nice, caring, polite. Enjoyed it a lot.

Trip was excellent--docent was very...

Glenn W J, Nov 2015

Trip was excellent--docent was very knowledgeable about all we saw. Went out of his way to provide for wants/wishes of those on trip.