Mauna Kea is home to the world's premier stargazing location. On this tour with an Analog-Astronaut and professional photographer guide, see the night sky like never before. Leave with stunning photos of your group with galaxies, stars, and constellations in the background. After your trip, your guide will send you a link to the photos.

Stargazing on the slopes of Mauna Kea
Analog-Astronaut to Professional photographer guide
See the night sky like never before
Receive your photos after the trip

What's Included

All activities
Professional photographer guide
Parka Jackets
Complimentary Medium Resolution Photos

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Optional Photo Upgrades Available

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Pu'u Huluhulu Cinder cone parking lot
Island of, HI, USA
Text us 6 hours prior to your tour with an updated meeting location.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Mauna Kea

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Dress code: Wear pants and closed-toed shoes
Service animals allowed
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level

Weather can reach 30F. We have parka jackets that have pockets and a hood, although that may not be enough for some
Not recommended for travelers with any mobility/ambulatory restrictions, back, heart and hearing problems or other serious medical conditions
Pregnant Travelers should discuss with their doctor before hand.
Not suitable for some senior citizens
Not recommended for chronic complainers ;)
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

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 canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Audrey_C

Truly spectacular. After a long drive up the mountain we were rewarded with a beautiful array of stars, constellations and planets. Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable while telling us what we were looking at. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

Reviews

5.0

184 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 184 reviews

Must do

Alicia_I, Sep 2023

What an incredible experience this was! We did not want to do an 8 hour stargazing tour and then I found James! James is knowledgeable and passionate about stars and it was wonderful to have a personal guide to point every thing out. He had a great camera and took the most beautiful photos I've ever seen. Very thankful for this experience, highly recommend if you want a brief stargazing tour!

Five stars are not enough!

Mark_T, Sep 2023

Five stars are not enough, by far my favorite tour of our trip to the Big Island. Awe-inspiring views of more stars, galaxies, nebulae, planets, constellation than you can imagine James is awesome! He has found an intersection of passions with the stars and photography. Highly knowledgeable, incredibly friendly, and very responsive to questions both before, during, and after the tour! The photographs taken during the trip are amazing! Highly recommend making this tour part of your big island visit! PS the parkas and blankets are essential, thanks for providing those!

Don’t Screw Up - Book NOW

Edward_Z, Sep 2023

Stop. Do NOT make the mistake of booking a six hour free crappy dinner trip to see the universe in its grandeur. James is a frigging analog astronaut and charming to boot. His knowledge level and sensitivity to the desires and curiosity of tourists makes this, by far, the best investment of time and money you can make in your astronomical aesthetic experience.

Life changing event of a stellar nature.

Brian_G, Aug 2023

James is a wealth of knowledge and as good of a listener as he is a speaker of all things in our visible universe. Yes, James chilled out way of imparting his knowledge leaves a memory that will stay with you. His ability to utilize the ability of his simple digital camera and extraordinary tracking tripod to take us millions of light-years away from earth along with providing the name of these distant neighbors. He explained what we were looking at while pointing it out with his laser beam of the stars. I learned more last night than I have learned in over 50 years of nerdhood. Only do this tour if you can drive back to your home with a blown mind. Bravo James!

Great tour and views of...

Jonathan_M, Jul 2023

Great tour and views of the night sky. Make sure you know the up to date meeting place as this changes depending on weather etc

Worth every penny! Beautiful skies and photography.

Dianne_J, Jul 2023

Dude! I can’t say enough to explain how great this tour was. Shane was extremely knowledgeable about the night sky, knows a few great and isolated places to go (ie…no crowds) and his photography skills were on point. My teenage boys love star gazing and we have gone out on several tours elsewhere but nothing compares to this. Worth every penny. But..bring gloves and hats…because he isn’t kidding when he tells you it’s cold. 😆

Amazing stargazing!

Kevin_N, Jun 2023

The amount of stars you see with this experience is overwhelming. You will not see more stars anywhere else. James was knowledgeable, friendly and provided a great experience. And the photos are once in a lifetime amazing. Remember to check the lunar calendar and go when the moon is new.

Spectacular

Audrey_C, Jun 2023

Not worth it!

Margo_C, Jun 2023

Too expensive for what’s provided. Tourguide was boring and you can see same sky without a guide. We would not recommend to anyone.

Gob-smacking views and great guide

Allen_W, Jun 2023

James is an amazing guide with a true passion for what he does. He selected the perfect spot and time for us to view the night sky. He was entertaining and knowledgeable and made a breathtaking view so much more meaningful. Upon arrival our whole group was in awe of the night sky. Highly recommend this tour with James.

Awe inspiring

Jamie_P, Jun 2023

James was a great tour guide. He had awesome information, pointed out, stars, and took awesome pictures. The stars in the sky up there were breathtaking. I’ve never seen so many stars. And James brought everything to life. I do think the cost is a little high, but it is worth it for once in a lifetime experience

Magnificent views and learning

Alana_G, Mar 2023

James was great at communicating the delay in start time due to weather and finding a better location not covered by clouds for optimal viewing. It was super informative, interesting, and spectacular to hear his stories and see pictures of stars up close.

Very unique

Kate_S, Mar 2023

Finding out all the new names of stars was interesting. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and engaging. They also provided use with jackets but do dress, warm. Meets expectations and looking forward to the photos :)

Super Nova!

Trey_D, Jan 2023

We started early morning. Very cool spot up Saddle Road on the slopes of Mauna Kea. It was a full moon. There were plenty of stars to gaze but we waited till the moon set and the sky exploded with red stars, nebulae, meteor showers, galaxies 28 million light years away. Yep, we saw Whirlpool in James amazing camera peering into deep space! It was rad. James was very knowledgeable of the skies. He pointed out specific stars, planets, constellations and other fun stuff UP THERE. The event was really well organized, no Snaf-oos and the guide knew what to do while operating in the dark. Very professional.

Amazing experience

Todd_A, Dec 2022

James was an excellent guide, well-organized, and picked a great location that afforded clear viewing with minimal disruption. Great pictures too! Really liked his approach towards pointing out the stars and talking about the hows/whys of viewing them.

Excellent experience!

Bala_S, Dec 2022

Excellent star gazing experience with detailed information. James was also very accommodating wet the groups' request for finding us a better viewing location due to changing weather conditions.

Star gazing on The Big Island of Hawaii

Lisa_P, Dec 2022

Amazing star gazing experience on the side of a volcano . Stars like we had never seen before everyone in my family was amazed by the tour guides expertise and presentation. We learned all about the stars and other galaxies!! My college kids loved it as well as my husband and myself!

Wonderful guide and beautiful night stars

AIPING_C, Nov 2022

James was wonderful explaining constellations and stars and showing us the great photos he took. It was however quite cold at 8800 ft. So be sure to bring plenty of warm clothing. The jacket provided was quite warm but a pair of gloves if you can. I would also bring a blanket cause the chair would actually allow you to lay down and watch the stars.

Highly recommend - glorious!

Jesica_L, Nov 2022

A magnificent experience! Beautiful starry skies, glorious photos, and James was a fun and charming guide. I’d do this again, for sure!

Great tour —- but overpriced

Alan_M, Oct 2022

Very enjoyable tour with knowledgeable guide. Superb night for stargazing, and guide talked us through the night sky and the objects he captured with his excellent digital camera set up. However, I do feel this tour is somewhat overpriced for what you get.

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