Discover Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and other attractions on the Big Island on a full-day tour from Waikoloa, Hapuna, Kailua-Kona, or Keauhou. Your guide shares highlights including Rainbow Falls, Saddle Road, and Punaluu Black Sand Beach. You'll get great views of the two active volcanoes: Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, and experience the natural beauty of Akatsuka Orchid Gardens. It'll be a stress-free trip as it includes a guide, transportation, and hotel pickup and drop-off from select hotels.

Full-day Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Big Island highlights tour
View the Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, two of the world's most active
Try macadamia nuts and other products at Mauna Loa Macademia Nut Factory
Includes transportation, guide, and hotel pickup and drop-off

What's Included

Driver/guide
Snacks
Bottled water
Please DO NOT BOOK if you have flight after the tour.

Food and drinks, unless specified

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:00 am

Pickup details

If not listed, please put it into additional info section or special request. We will be able to pickup from most hotels

What To Expect

Rainbow Falls

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Big Island Candies

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Richardson Beach Park

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

King Kamehameha Statue

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Volcano

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Most travellers can participate

State of Hawaii Approved : PUC License # 4918 C
US DOT Approved # : 3897236
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travellers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

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

Featured review

Jim_P

Cindy was the best tour guide that I have been with. She was very knowledgeable, experienced and funny with her stories!! Her knowledge of the plants, wildlife and the island was a great history lesson.

Reviews

4.0

26 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 26 reviews

Great Tour

Saffron_B, Dec 2021

The whole tour was a very pleasant experience. Aunty Karen made sure of that. She is incredibly knowledgeable about all the aspects of the tour. She kept it interesting. I wish all the tours would take a lesson from Aunty Karen. Amazing experience

Great tour guide, Not so great company

Ellon_R, Sept 2021

A highlight of this excursion was the tour guide. She was great and really tried to make the absolute best of our trip. The low point of this excursion was that the company doesn't seem to maintain their vehicles well. Our van broke down and we had to wait 2 hours for another van to come. Then the second van had a battery light on the dashboard illuminated for most of the journey. My husband and I kept waiting for it to break down as well. The tour guide tried to make up for the break down by buying some pastries for everyone at the bakery. She also had her mother stop at the cookie shop for us since we were arrive too late to go ourselves. I contacted the company after asking for a partial refund since we didn't get to do all the places on the itinerary due to the breakdown and they never responded. So as long as your vehicle doesn't break down, this is a great tour!

Around the Hawaii island tour

Joe_H, Aug 2021

It was a good trip but the name volcano adventure is a little bit misleading. Trip is long and spending too much time in the car. Tour guide was good and gave a lot of her own stories.

Do this adventure tour guide!!

Jim_P, Aug 2021

Best tour guide in Hawaii!!

Armando_N, Aug 2021

Our tour guide (Auntie Karen) was fantastic!! Took us to all the great spots and a few of her personal favorites. She told us a lot about the history and culture of the island and gave us plenty of time to explore the locations. Definitely recommend this tour to start your trip.

A trip worth taking!

Ryan_T, July 2021

Wonderful day trip! Our guide Karen taught us so much as we traveled to the Volcano Park. It was a fantastic day! Highly recommend.

Definitely do!

Paula_H, July 2021

Great trip. We saw a lot. Auntie Karen was a wonderful guide. So munch packed into a long day! Go hungry the lunch stop was early in the trip.

Good day-long tour

Randy_M, July 2021

Very informative tour guide, chatty and well-versed, especially about plants and island history. Volcanic eruption inactive but great tour. Sorry that orchid farm was closed but length of tour appropriate, especially for tired children. Recommended, comfortable.

Making the best of the unexpected !

Billie_L, June 2021

I could focus on all the negative but our tour guide, Chang, keep the positive energy going and was very knowledgeable. He rolled with the punches and made the trip very memorable. Without him the tour would have been a disaster. Kudos to Chang! First off, the small van was a little late and there was still a couple to be picked up 45 minutes away. So the 8am tour didn't officially start until around 9, but Chand informed and entertained us with stories and information along the way, so it actually started as soon as we got in the van. The brakes were squealing and got progressily worse as the day went on and the squealing turned to loud metal on metal grinding, but did not go out and Chang was a very cautious driver. Hope he made it home ok. We were to stop for lunch at a bakery but the road was closed due to a downed power line and pole. There would be a two hour delay (that in island time would probably be longer). He asked if we wanted to wait or go another route that was 3 hrs. We all opted for the alternate route which meant we grabbed lunch at a 7-11. :-/ not the best option, but we were on our way. It started raining before we got to the waterfall which was the first stop and continued off and on throughout the tour until our last stop at black sand beach. We had to eat our 7-11 sandwiches in the cramped van. There was a lady who the tour that must have studied what questions to ask because she never stopped asking! No one on the tour could ask a question, but we all learned so much. Chang answered every question she had. So knowledgeable about every aspect of the island, plants, history, etc. We made all of stops and at the end of the tour so a glorious rainbow! Thanks again to Chang for making the best of the day! You are appreciated!

Covid anyone?

Kim_K, June 2021

Don’t waste your money or risk your health! Let me start with the positive: We got to see the inside of the crater and walk through the lava tube which were very cool. Now for the issues: 1) our tour guide spent the ENTIRE 11 hour tour having a personal conversation with a passenger that we all had to listen to, literally 11 hours minus a few “oh see that mountain to your right, that’s a volcano”. 2) in case anyone is not aware, we have been in the midst of a global pandemic for over a year now. While the tour states masks are required, it is not enforced. We were stuck on the bus for 11 hours with a party that was visibly and audibly sick (coughing, sneezing, blowing noses for the duration) who did not wear masks. This was brought up to our guide multiple times. The only thing he said was “ok, are we ready, masks on, let’s go” and would not ask them to wear their masks, they were the only ones on the tour who refused to wear them. We begged other tour operators to take us with them and offered to pay to get off of our tour but they were full and there are NO taxis that could come get us, we were stuck breathing in their germs for 11 hours! There was no other way back. 3) the tour guide did not accompany us on any of the excursions to explain what we were seeing. The other tour guides went with their groups and explained what they were looking at, we were dropped off and told to be back in 15-20 minutes. 4) the bus was dirty, the hand rests on my seat were broken and we weren’t sure it would make it up the windy roads. As a bonus, the AC which was circulating the recycled germs was cranked all the way up. This was our experience, maybe it was just an off day, but I am now concerned for my health as well as my family, hopefully it was only a waste of money and an entire day.

Long trip with short stops but great views

Donald, June 2021

Enjoyed the lava tubes and driver was extremely knowledgeable about history of the area. Rainbow falls was gorgeous. Weather was perfect with great visibility. Bus was comfortable and had adequate stops for restrooms

Covid Anyone?

MSK, June 2021

Please don’t waste your money. The positives: we were picked up on time. We did get to see inside the crater. The negatives: the tour guide, although I’m sure he was a nice human being, spent the ENTIRE 11 hour tour having a personal conversation with another passenger that we all were forced to listen to, the ENTIRE, trip. Number two, we are in a pandemic, in case anyone didn’t know, we had a family on board with some members that were clearly, visibly and audibly very sick (coughing, sneezing and blowing noses) who did not have masks on. This was brought to the attention of the guide multiple times and the only way he addressed it was to quickly say, “are we ready? Ok, masks on let’s go”. Mind you, he was told several times. We tried to get off the tour at the first stop and begged several other tour guides to take us but they were full and we could not get a taxi back. So now, we are left fearful for our own health. Number three, the guide did not go and explain any of the attractions, but we saw other guides with their tours explaining what their tours were looking at. Number four, we weren’t sure if the filthy unkempt bus was going to actually make it up some of the winding hills. All in all, NOT recommended. It was a disgustingly expensive, unpleasant 11 hour day. Now we wait two weeks to make sure that our health is not jeopardized.

Tour Guide Makes the Tour

Georgina_E, June 2021

The tour guide (Karen) was most helpful and interesting. She imparted so much info about the island and her family. We learned so much history of the island. She did a great job. Thanks so much.

Excellent tour guide

K_S, Apr 2021

Seemed very disorganized at the backend (e.g., wrong guest pickup address and missing NPS permits) but the tour guide made up for it by going above and beyond what was expected. He spent an extra 3 hours on the tour and we got a chance to see the lava glow at night.

Don’t go with Green Tours

Duncan_B, Apr 2021

We went with Green Tours. We were supposed to be picked up at 8:00: We got a message that they would pick us up at 9:30. That should have been our first indication something was wrong. We were booked as a Kona origin tour. However they picked up people on the north shore which was 1.5 hours away. Which meant our return from the Volcano took 3 hours instead of 1.5. We didn’t get back until 11:30 pm and we were supposed to be back at 8pm. They did not make the loop, so we missed seeing the coastline and the black sand beach at Punalu. The worst was when we got to the Volcano, the driver didn’t have the authorization to get into the park. We made 3 different attempts to enter before he had the right code. This set us back another hour. We had lunch at a local drive in. He didn’t explain anything beforehand about the place. He old us to order and get back on the bus and we could eat at the waterfall. We decided to eat while the others were still ordering. He did not give any historical anecdotes about the sites. The only good thing about getting to the Volcano so late is we did see it glow at night. I felt bad for the driver as everyone was so mad, only two of us tipped him. I explained to him that people were upset he didn’t follow the itinerary. He told us he did what his boss told him to do. Maybe they could hand out a printed itinerary in the future. They were supposed to have water and snacks. There were none and the last meal was at noon. Fortunately, we brought our own water but there were kids who could have used water and snacks.

A waste of money and time

Jonah_S, Apr 2021

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. Miserable, absolutely miserable. No orchid gardens, or samples due to covid. False advertising. LASTED 15 HRS instead of 10 purely due to the incompentence of the company not clearing things up with the park. The driver took us to lunch only to pick quite possibly the cheapest food ive ever ate. Zero seasoning, flattest cuts of beef. Took us to a candy place for free samples I asked for one but the clerk said they dont offer any at the moment. This Tour is HORRIBLY MISINFORMED. After we got rejected from the park 2 times he made us wait by a desert trail and check it out. He failed to tell us that it goes on for SEVEN miles so he had to scramble to get some tourists back to the bus. After driving us home after 15 hours of the WORST tourist experience ive had he was asking for tips at the stops. None of the prior tours ive taken here has done that. Ive submitted a partial refund request for not only the orchid gardens and free samples I was promised. But the 4 to 5 hours of my wasted vacation time.

Great tour of the island!

Robert_V, Jan 2020

Fabulous tour - Mike was terrific (with an amusing “Uncle Ernest” leading the tour thru Volcano Natl Park. Full of local knowledge, good overview of the island and enough time to explore each stop (and plenty of bathroom breaks). Good idea to start the morning with Kona coffee samples. The island is beautiful in its diversity. Mike is a great guide.

Not as advertised

Katherine_G, Oct 2019

The reason I am rating this tour so low is because it was not the tour advertised on the website. Before my trip to Hawaii I had researched on Viator several different options for seeing multiple parts of the island on a single trip. I picked this tour over other tours for several reasons, but I will only mention two in this review: 1. According to the advertised itinerary on Viator the tour stopped at Akatsuka Orchid Gardens; and 2. According to the advertised itinerary it would not be going to any of the places I had already been to on a previous trip to the Big Island. The day before the tour I was called with information about my "Grand Circle Island" tour. I was very confused because I had booked the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Full-Day Tour from Kona, not a Grand Circle Island tour. I spent over an hour on the phone with the 2 tour companies (the Grand Circle Island tour was being given by a different tour company than the Volcanoes National Park tour) trying to clarify why I was on a different tour. I was told repeatedly that it was the same tour I had purchased, but just a different name. However, it was not the same tour. For example, the tour did not stop at the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens, which was very disappointing for me as that was one of the stops I was most looking forward to. Instead the tour went to the Royal Kona Coffee Mill and the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park. While these tour sites are nice, I had already previously visited these places. As previously mentioned the reason I picked the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Full-Day Tour from Kona is because I wanted to see the Orchid Gardens and also not repeat places I had already visited. If I had known that this tour did not follow the overview and itinerary listed on Viator I probably would have booked a different tour.

Volcano Island Tour

Christine_M, July 2019

Our tour guide was amazing!! Extremely knowledgeable, especially with Hawaii island history and tailored the tour when asked!!

Hawaii Volcano Tour

GrandmaJillOhio, Mar 2019

Thor was very pleasant and extremely knowledgeable. It was a long trip but he made it enjoyable and was so flexible when we want to see other things.