Day Trip From Oahu To Kauai: Highlights & Movie Sites

We did a 3 day land tour in Honolulu and our driver was Kimokeo. He was very knowledgeable and informative regarding the island. The problem here with this driver was his resentment towards the United States with making Hawaii the 50th State. He made it a point to state how the US stole the island from the people of Hawaii. Took their language and religion from his people and brought in disease. All 45 people on board his bus were Americans and we really didn’t need to hear his personal feelings regarding the USA. Ironically he made sure to point out the tip policy take our American Dollar but spit on our flag. I will never understand why a tour guide be so resentful. Never again use the tour bus company again.

We were at the Honolulu airport at 5:25 am for a 6:25 am flight. Arrived in Lihu at 6:50am. We sat outside the baggage claim for an hour, until 8:05am when the tour shuttle finally arrived. There was some confusion as to who we were. They said on the phone that some people were late this morning at the hotel in Kauai, so that’s why we had to wait so long. The people who were late were indifferent to inconveniencing us. The tour guide made us feel like we were the ones out of the way that they had to pick us up at the airport. We drove around on the shuttle all morning stopping at a waterfall, chocolate store for tasting, 35 minutes to look from a distance at a lighthouse in Kīlauea, and lunch in Hanalei for an hour. All in all I feel this is something that we could have easily done on our own with a rental car much cheaper. The tour bus showed moments from movies that were filmed in the area. On the way back to the drop offs, the tour guide told us people would be dropped off first at the hotels. Even though our flight check in time was quickly and nervously approaching! We made it to the TSA check in exactly 30 minutes prior to takeoff. That’s too close for comfort! We felt very stressed about that! Again, the tour guide really didn’t offer any apology, just a thank you really like it was no big deal. But the big deal was this trip costing $1,156 for my wife and I to have a day trip from Oahu to Kauai just to see a couple of sites. We totally would have done it on our own if we had known the trip agenda beforehand and how rushed it would be.

We had a great trip with Kaleo traveling through the beautiful countryside of Kauai!!! He was very knowledgeable of all of the sites, the history of them and a lot about the wildlife and foliage of Kauai and Hawaii!!! I would definitely recommend this trip again!!!

Kales was amazing. He made it so fun and loved the video clips and commentary along the way. Would highly recommend. The island is beautiful, great way to see it!

Larry was absolutely Excellent!!! Love the tour and education on the history of the island. Learned a lot on our first trip to the Hawaii Islands. Be back soon. Thank you,

Larry was an excellent guide! Very informative with a nice mix of current information and history about movies and their involvement with Kauai and the island. He spoke clearly and engaged us with lots of questions!

Well organized, through, and well paced. Loved it and enjoyed seeing so much of the island without having to do much!

We really enjoyed our guide/driver Kimote’o! He was fun, informative and entertaining! The bus was clean and safe. The sites were very beautiful!

The entire trip was awesome. And our guideKaleo, was fabulous. I would do another tour with him.aa the guide

Captain Rob was a joy to tour with. He was knowledgeable, informative, and entertaining. His first mate, Glen, was helpful and cheerful. The tour would have been remarkable as it was but, the Captain and Glen take the extra step to make it memorable.

We were picked up for this adventure at a close location, the tour bus was big and comfortable. Every seat was a good one, our guide welcomed us and after a few more pick up stops our adventure began, Gensin was very friendly and shared a lot of information about the island, after our first stop we were given a return time,,,of course there are always a few people who don’t follow the instructions, we sat on the bus and waited and waited for them, after abut an extra ten minute wait they got on the bus offering no apologies, we passed many different types of neighborhoods and our guide pointed out interesting things to notice. Beaches were spectacular. We even spotted a turtle and sea lion resting on the beach, next stop...of course the same people come back late. Now we feel Gensin should have made it a point to say NO MORE! We we losing time at oth3 stops because of their behavior, th Buddhist Temple was amazing, the blow hole...no big deal. We enjoyed the Waterfall but if you chose not to go swimming in it the two hour wait was too much, the sun was too hot, the Dole Plantation was nice but we literally made a refreshment stop and nothing more, he also made a stop at Hawaii’s favorite shaved ice place, only a few got off the bus and it was a long hot wait, the trip was worth the price, our guide was nice but he did NOT enforce people wearing masks on the bus, we most of us obliged, everyone should have, this is well worth the day but it is also a very long bus ride, if you want to get out of the busy pace of Waikiki..this trip is for you!

A guided tour that provided reliable transport from our hotel and back. Airfare (both ways) taken care of, multiple spots seen, and lunch (while we had to pay) was arranged by the company so we didn't have to wait for our meals. Got to see all the highlights of the island: volcanic vents, lava tubes, black sand beach, and more. Had to be at pickup spot at 4:30am, but was well worth it!

This tour was a good time for both my 8 year old and 15 year old Grandkids. The variety of activities kept both happy and ended in ice cream, so kudos for that.

We went on a day tour of the Big Island of Hawaii. Flew in from Oahu. Every step along the way was very organized. The tour guide was so knowledgeable and we learned so much. It was great to be able to ask questions during the tour. Even though it was raining part of the day we made the best of things and still saw all of the sites. He even had umbrellas for us to use if we wanted to. He was able to answer all of our questions and the info he shared along the way was interesting. We would definitely suggest this tour to others. Loved it!!

I was picked up from hotel and they dropped us in Hanalulu airport early in the morning. There was one lady waiting at the Airport and handed over the boarding passes and told that there will be someone waiting for you to pickup when we arrive at Kona airport near baggage claim. We waited for long time and couldn’t find anyone near baggage clam and when I call them they told me to wait there until the driver arrives. They kept me waiting for long and when the driver arrived it was a old van with A/C not working properly. The driver is our tour guide and he is OK. After the end of the tour when we arrived in Hanalulu airport late night, I was told to come downstairs and wait for a lady who will arrange shuttle back to hotel and we arrived and immediately came down after getting down the plane and I don’t see anyone near the baggage clam and I called them and informed about it, They told me told me to wait there and she will come and pick us up but she never arrived. When I called them back they told me that the shuttle went off leaving us at the Airport. This was a big lie. They just don’t have enough passengers to arrange a pickup and they didn’t arrange any shuttle for us and they are just telling lies. The lady didn’t apologize and she was speaking rude at me even though it’s their mistake. I had spend $1500 for this trip and this is a waste of money. I suggest Robert travels has lot many people and their service is awesome. Their couches are really good and they have a counter in Hanalulu and Kona Airports. I don’t prefer these guys.

If you only have 1 day this is a great tour. No issues with communication and or transportation. Pickup was on time and a tour rep meet us at all transfer points. Very knowledgeable guide. Fortunate that we had a small group and therefore guide was able to make several additional stops throughout the day. Highly recommend!

Me and the other two people with who I traveled on this tour were very disappointed with our overall experience. First, the person in charge of the tour arrived late 30 minutes and we had to stay in the bus and wait for her. Then, we arrived on Big Island and had to wait another hour before our tour started because the other people joining the tour that were already on the big island were scheduled to join the tour later. Thereafter, most the attractions were closed and were not replaced by another attractions. In this regard, they did not even spend more time at the attractions that were actually opened. We felt always rushed and apparently there was no good reason. Then we were finally dropped at the airport 3 hours before our flight because the bus driver had to return the other tour members to their respective hotel on the big island. Finally, we landed back on Oahu late and had to wait another hour before we could be driven back to our hotel because a guest (who apparently was sharing the ride with us) was late. To add insult to the injury, the driver dropped the late guest before us. I seldom take the time to write reviews but this time the experience was so bad that I thought I would warn other travelers before they spend money with this company.

We were given directions to be at the airport at 5am and wait for our guide to show up with further instructions. Around 5:30am when no one showed up, I called only to be told that our dispatcher didn't show up and never headed to the airport. We were instructed to go get our boarding passes on our own. Mind you, we didn't even know which city we were flying into because no one gave us any instructions. Thank goodness for a Hawaiian Airlines attendant who was so willing to help us out and kept checking up on us. PolyAd's phone representative legitimately told me that it wasn't the point that our family was forgotten, maybe it was because we didn't check in (which we did). When we got to the Big Island and were dropped off at the next pick up point, our tour guide met us with the most negative attitude and called us "The airport people". The entire day he referred to us as that phrase. Absolutely poor communication, no information given, and the rudest tour guide. He spent the whole day talking about himself and his house on the island. Won't be booking with Polynesian Adventures ever again. Roberts Hawaii is so much better

Pick up from our resort and off to the airport to fly 45 minutes to the big island. Arrived and got on bus to start our full day of sight seeing! Our guide had a lot of knowledge of the island and filled us in on all of the rich history of the people and land. We stopped several times to experience the food or see the sights close up. If you are looking for a detailed stop of everything, this isn't the trip for you but if you, like us, just wanted highlights and volcanoes, black sand beach, Kona coffee, lava tubes, Macadamia Nuts, Water falls, etc...this is your trip! Guided by our tour guide, air conditioned bus,wonderful lunch....

Our tour guide was Jeff & he was outstanding! The tour was amazing & the knowledge he shared: unreal!

On confirming the Grande Circle Island Tour as required, from the start there was poor communication. We were told to wait outside the main entrance of the Marriott Resort. As tourists we later discovered that there was more than one Marriott and rang back to ask which one and confirmed the right one and pick up time. After waiting 3/4 hour on tour day we rang customer service and told we should have been waiting at the tour lobby entrance instead of the main entrance, so had missed the pick up. We did get asked if all this was explained on confirming along with what tour company to look out for and the only instruction given was to wait outside the Marriott main entrance. We were fortunate we had a spare day and it was rescheduled for the next day. However we were disappointed in the following for the tour, the monologue commentary continuously delivered in a monotonous voice, Kualoa Ranch stop not informative, a waste of money and time - looked old and run down, Dole plantation insufficient time to see all that is available there e.g train ride, demonstrations on offer, shop. Scenery stunning.

<p>This tour is better for those travelling in a couple, I wouldn't recommend it for young families as is it a huge day, 21 hours.<br/> We were picked up from our hotel at 3:30am for a 5am flight over to the Big Island. Once we arrived we waited 45 minutes to be picked up and begin the tour. Unfortunately as it was such an early morning some of the sights driving around the island were missed as most passengers were asleep on the bus. We stopped at numerous places our favorites were the black sand beach, the Volcano national park and the waterfall. I would recommend spending a few days over here and driving around the island on your own time if you can afford it as it is such a beautiful place and so different from the mainland of Oahu, but for those looking to get things done on a time basis this is the best way to see the island in 1 day!</p>

<p>Excellent tour. Although the day was long, the trip was fantastic. Rainbow Falls, Black Sand Beach and Volcano National Park were tours best sights.</p>

<p>This was a very fun tour. If you have never been to Hawaii like me, it allows you to see more than you could possibly on your own. The stops were not long but if you want to see as much as you can, you have to stick to the timeline. Volcanoes National Park was my favorite. The only downside was that I thought that we would see the operations at the macadamia nut factory and Kona Coffee but it was just a gift shop. It was still interesting anyhow. Also, the samples were abundant! I would recommend that if you are flying in from another Island to make sure that you can get in bed early the night before. I accidentally scheduled this tour after spending the whole previous day at the Polynesian Culteral Center and did not get back to our motel in Waikiki until 10 PM. Then we had to be at the bus stop at 3:30 am for this tour on the big island! </p> <p>Our tour guide was awesome and full of interesting facts. His sense of humor was priceless. Also, be prepared, there will always be someone who is late getting back to the bus. That got on my nerves and I wanted to just leave them BUT that was all factored in by the tour guide and we didn't miss a thing. Hooray!</p>

<p>This tour was well-worth our time, even though it started at 4:00 a.m. with a pick-up to the airport for the flight to the Big Island and didn't finish until we were back to our hotel at 10:45 p.m. An hour or two less would have been great. Tommy, our tour guide on The Big Island was amazingly knowledgeable and friendly. Thoroughly trustworthy and professional. In some ways, Rainbow Falls and the Black Sand Beach were more impressive than Volcano National Park, where we had hoped to get closer to the actual volcanoes. We were still very happy to see it all, though. The one thing that we didn't like was when we were approaching a sales place, like the shortbread cookie company, or the macademia factory. Suddenly our tour bus became a QVC-type hard-sell promotion for the 20 minutes before each stop where we were highly encouraged to buy, buy, buy. Tone it down, ok?? It was a turn-off to sit-through this sort of non-stop advertising each time we came to a place to buy coffee, nuts, or cookies. That said, the tour of the entire island's major tourist sites is outstanding and still to be recommended.</p>

<p>Our drivers name was Fred. From the minute we boarded his bus, he made us feel comfortable and was very organized in his thoughts an communication. He is a 21 year Coast Guard retiree and was organized in his timing of the trip, the answering of questions, the knowledge of the Hawaiian island of Oahu and it's history and culture, etc., etc. There was not a single question that he was asked that he couldn't answer. He was very polite, orderly, kept us on time in getting to our destinations and making sure that our breaks were timely. I would highly recommend Fred for your guide.</p>

<p>For what it was it was a good tour however knowing that there was so much else to see on the island I'd suggest skipping it and spending more time. If you only have a day spare and are desperate to do it then definitely recommend.</p>

<p>Although it was a very long day 4am pick-up! I would thoroughly recommend this tour! It is a great way to get a sense of the biggest island of Hawaii and it was surprising how many different landscapes/scenery the island has to offer. Our bus driver Kala was exceptionally knowledgeable and likable and made the tour insightful throughout. Personal highlights for me were the black sand beach at Punalu'u and the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park purely for the landscapes and the active magma. Unfortunately on this tour, we did not make it to the Macadamia Nut Factory as our bus experienced a tyre blow-out! This was disappointing and also slightly concerning about whether we would make it back for our inter-island flight. However Kala handled it all very calmly and professionally and we made it to the airport by alternate transport supplied by Polynesian Adventure Tours. There was a minor delay in being collected once back at Honolulu airport due to a change in the arrangements that we were not notified of. My boyfriend and I will definitely be returning to the islands and would be happy to use Polynesian Adventure Tours again!</p>

<p>We flew over from Oahu so had to leave the North Shore at 3am. Got to the airport at 4 and was met by an agent from Polynesian Adventures. She gave us our tickets and got us to the counter. Our flight landed at 5:45am but no one was there to meet us. A call was made to the Polynesian office where we were informed that they don't pick up that early but would send someone in 15 min. hmmm? Aside from that the trip was fantastic!. Tommy our guide and bus driver was knowledgeable, funny and talked for 12 hours God bless him He drove that big bus like a pro!! Give that guy a raise :.The big island is so different from Oahu we were awestruck. A few recommendations if you are flying over take an empty water bottle as there is no place to buy water except lunch, which is on you . Also if you are a coffee person bring an empty container as you can refill it at your first stop free. I think a cooler on the bus with water would be a good addition that Polynesian could implement especially considering the cost of the tour All in all this is a tour that I highly recommend even if you are staying on the big island. Tommy got us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight home walked in the door at 9:30 pm exhausted but so glad we did this.</p>

<p>We totally enjoyed the trip. Be prepared for a very early start but it was great to be picked up from our condo at Waikiki Banyan at 4.30am and taken to the airport, where we met a another guide to received our flight details. We had time for a quick breakfast after going through security so don't forget passports and/or Id. At the Big Island we met our guide and driver for the day. Tommy gave us great information flavoured with humor and some local community information to make our day enjoyable. Tommy described what we would see at each stop and made sure everyone knew how to appreciate and understand the enviroment, or the production process and history to produce the products we were about to sample. The number of stops were ok but I personally would have liked one on local art/crafts but really we were interested in the volcanic park so we both felt the tour met our main objective for the trip. It was a big day for us and all was going well untill we arrived at Honolulu Airport. Well when we met the transfer resentative she was confussed about our arrival time and indicated we were very late but in fact we came straight from the plane to meet her. The transfer driver was unimpressed that he would have to go out of his way to drop us off at our condo and instead dropped us off at a nearby corner. This was not appreciated but we really had no choice but to leave the shuttle, this was disappointing and discourteous after being up from 3.30am and very tired after a 17.5 hour day. One has to ask who would have taken responsibility if we had had an accident whilst walking from the corner to our accommodation. Perhaps the company used needs to make sure their staff are well informed and follow procedure in a courteous and considerate way.</p>

<p>Very good tour. Interesting and informative. Shame about the weather. Only negative was the long wait at the airport until our flight back to Honolulu.</p>

<p>Despite the early start this is an amazing tour, well organised, although it would have been appreciated if fellow travelers had been a little more considerate and arrived back at the coach on time. You see many different types of terrain, walking through a lava tube, how often will you get the chance to do that! Sightseeing interspersed with a lunch stop as well as visits to both sweet and macadamia nut factories, delicious!</p>

<p>This tour was very interesting but not exactly what we were expecting. Most of your time is spent on the bus. We had 45 minutes for lunch (cost not included), and only 10-15 mins. at the few stops we made. We were led to believe we would be able to actually see fresh lava, but our tour guide said that could only be done by air and that we had been lied to. He said the same thing about waterfalls. He stopped at one and we "saw" several others as we sped by in the bus. Again, he said we were promised to see waterfalls, not get close enough to touch or get good photos. The majority of the tour you drive by lava fields, coffee trees, and macadamia nut trees. It was a good Island over view with some beautiful scenery, but after returning home to view our photos, many were blurred because they were taken out the window of a moving bus. We would not do this tour again, especially considering the $$ paid. If we knew then what we know now, we would fly over, rent a car, and stay overnight. Anyone could drive to any of the places we stopped themselves with a map for much less cost.</p>

<p>Although the day is a long one (3:30am pick up in Oahu to the airport) it was fun to visit the Big Island! We got to see most of the island, including volcanos (no lava) -- and we were kept well informed on the history by our tour bus driver, Sal. We were a little bummed because we got to the airport to fly back to Oahu only about 12 minutes before the plane took off - and this was after being driven for what seemed like hours at night time to drop off folks staying on the island at their hotels. A good tour though and glad we did it!</p>

<p>Early start (4:30 a.m.) but everything was organized perfectly. I had never used Viator before and was nervous especially about this large group of 7 people and the details surrounding getting us where we needed to be. The pick up bus was a little late, but other than that, everything worked great and we enjoyed our day tour of the big island. The tour guide/bus driver was very entertaining and knowledgeable. I would suggest reminding people in advance to tip the driver well. We hadn't thought about this until later in the day and did not have much cash left.</p>

<p>The trip advertises (as you can see by the main image on the left on this rate your trip page too - a trip to the molten lava area). This is false advertisement.</p> <p>Beware that you will NOT SEE THE MOLTEN LAVA.</p> <p>If we had known that, we would have rather taken our own car and did the trip.</p> <p>There is a lot of driving, and a lot of talk about multi-million/billion land deals and who's who on the island. </p> <p>The tour stops - Coffee company, and the lunch were mediocre at best. The tour operator should co-ordinate with some better restaurants with a wider menu choice. (13$ for a veggie burger and fries).</p> <p>The drivers at both end (Airport pickup/Drop-off and Mr. John on the main leg) were wonderful.</p>

<p>It was a nice trip that let you feel of the wonderful naturals seens</p>

<p>The tour was too long and it was not what I expected. To be dropped off at airport and to have to wait two hours before our flight back to Waiiki was very disappointing. There was an earlier flight however - we would have had to pay $50 pp extra..This is the first tour that I have booked through Viator that didn't reach our expectations. The tour guide was very annoying spoke the whole time while on the bus and repeated himself two or three times, when he should have gave us rest time.</p>

<p>I didn't expect this to be mostly sitting on a bus with only 20 minutes at every stop.</p>

<p>Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and highly entertaining. This tour does have a very early start from Oahu (3 am pickup) so expect to be completely wiped out by the time your plane returns. We had the 8 pm flight as was totally sleeping in the airport by the end. Another gotcha.. 2 pina colado drinks at the big island airport will run you $30 so beware.</p>

<p>The fact that you promote this tous by showing a picture with people standing next to a laval stream is far from reality and misleading. No lava is visible during this tour just steam coming out of the ground. Tour was well organised and with good guide. Some walking should be included and not just hopping of the bus each time.</p>

<p>Excellent tour. Wonderful sights, high recommendable!!!!</p>

<p>Very enjoyable day. Excellent tour guides.Well organised. Visited so many interresting places, like the black sands with sun bathing turtles,well worth the money.</p>

<p>I would not recommend this trip if you are not currently on the big island. The tour is nearly 12 hrs. long and if you have to fly over, it's even longer. You do not see much of the volcano from a ground view. The island was interesting and there are many things to see, but not what I expected.</p>

<p>This was a very good tour. It is about an 18hr day from Hawaii, well worth doing. However I have recently had spinal surgery (3 weeks ago) and they are a couple of stops that I could not do. The tour guide was funny and very informative. Enjoyable but a long day.</p>

<p>A very long bus ride, but you get to see the whole island with all of its' vast diversity.</p>

<p>Tour guide was knowledgeable and entertaining. The trip to the volcano and surrounding areas were wonderful. Could have done without the stops to the stores though.</p>

<p>Tour guide was excellent. Saw a fair bit of the Big Island. Did think we would get closer to the volcanoes. But still a great day.</p>

<p>Everything was so organized to the letter!!! Drivers were prompt, friendly and very knowlegeable about their state. It was very enjoyable, at times we wished for more time but on the flip side we did need to catch our flight back so time limit was understood. Had a blast and looking forward to a return visit.</p>