Hawaii Volcano National Park Shore Excursion

Pros: The group size of 16 was ideal—much better than a massive 40+ person coach bus. It felt personal, boarding was quick, and we didn't waste time waiting around.Clean AC, small 16 person tour bus. Our guide was Don was knowledgeable & humorous / attentive and informative. Don can and will deviate from advertised stop if group want to see something else. Cons: Nothing bad . Don could have announced we'll stop here for x amount of time etc. Final Verdict: Highly recommend if you want to avoid the big crowds. Don offers great value for a semi-private feel.

This was an educational and fun tour. Don is not your traditional tour guide, having come from the mainland 20 years prior. However, he was able to share extensive knowledge of the island. We visited Rainbow Falls, a local takeout counter for lunch, a lake, a park, a black sand beach, Dwayne "The Rock' Johnson's former school and home, surfers at their local watering hole and so much. I returned to the island 4 months later and ran into Don again at the port of Hilo. The tour is a nice intro so that when you visit again, you already know where to go. We rented a car to head back out to Volcanoes National Park in advance of Episode 31. Pele did not disappoint! If you are flexible and don't mind schedule fluctuations, this is a good tour.

If I could give it 10 stars I would in an instant. Fantastic tour even with crummy weather. Got to see everything and then some and learned a ton.

Wonderful excursion! Don was so knowledgeable and stopped at sites that most other tours don’t. Great day!

Don was bountiful on his knowledge of the tour sites, local fauna and flora and kept us thoroughly versed throughout the drive. Lots of locations away from the crowds and detailed encounters at each location. Highly recommended.

Was on Norwegian spirit and they changed port of call dates but our tour guide Don was helpful in rescheduling our tour to accommodate us. He was very informative about Hawaiian history and facts about area. Made stops not normally done by cruise line and spent extra time in wonderful places. Highly recommended if on big island.

This tour is highly recommended. It is a full day of seeing the sights. Don the tour guide is extremely knowledgeable and knows all the interesting places to go. As far as Hawaii goes, this excursion is very reasonably priced. You will not be disappointed.

We had an amazing experience on this tour! Even though there were fewer bookings than expected, our guide Dun chose not to cancel the trip and made sure we still had a fantastic experience. We really appreciated that level of commitment and professionalism. Dun was incredibly patient, knowledgeable, and never made us feel rushed. We visited every destination on the itinerary, and he took the time to explain the history, local culture, and interesting facts at each stop while answering all of our questions. His friendly attitude, flexibility, and dedication made the entire day enjoyable and stress-free. It’s rare to find someone who genuinely cares about giving guests the best possible experience regardless of the group size. Highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for a memorable and well-organized experience. Thank you for going above and beyond—we would definitely book with you again!

Tour was great and Don did everything he could to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. We saw things we wouldn’t typically get to on in a larger tour group.

The Hawaii Volcanoes NP and Hilo tour was really fun. Our host, Don, was knowledgeable about the NP park, trees & plants, Hilo, and HI culture AND very friendly and flexible throughout the day. I usually don't but even enjoyed stops at Big Island Candies and Mauna Loa Nuts stops - great appreciation of how these businesses are run. This was an awsome snapshot of Hawaii island.

Don was a wonderful guide, knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating to all on the trip. Could not have asked for a more enjoyable trip. Saw way more than expected. Would highly recommend this tour.

Where do I start.... We were to meet at the cruise ship terminal at 10am (he - Don - advised he had a doctor's appointment at 9, but would be there at 10am), he would to be holding a sign with the tour name on it. We went down 20mins early to find no one there with our tour sign. We saw this man standing up near the door madly waving a white paper or something similar and guess what, that was him. Apparently we weren't notified of an earlier time as we were the last 2 on the bus. My husband was squeezed into a seat at the back of the bus with 4 other people. When we got to our first stop my husband approached Don about how tight the seating was and this was what followed.... He reached up to the luggage holder above the seats and pulled down a Camping Chair (no joke a camping chair) and said, "this is exactly what I have this for". He told my husband to set it up in the aisle of the bus when all the other passengers were in and sit there. I can't begin the think this was in any way legal..... and it certainly wasn't safe. Many times the camp chair wasn't even folded out and my husband seated before he started driving. It became a habit where all the other passengers would grab onto my husband and steady him while he set up his chair as the bus took off. The driver drove rather erratically as well taking chances instead of waiting for the traffic. At one point he was tailgating a car and telling us to watch how he could make it take the first turnoff to get out of his way. The tour itself was good and we were there one day after an eruption so got to see all the debris on the rooves and all over the ground from the day before. At the lava tunnel the driver sat in the bus as it was raining and just pointed us in the direction of the tunnel and said he wasn't going out in the rain. We did it on our own and just had to meet back at the bus. We did this tour because it said we would go to places others didn't go because Don knew the area so well. Funny thing, but everywhere we went there were always lots of other tours. Overall, loved the tour, but seriously..... get rid of that driver!!

Don was amazing and ensured that we got to the volcanoes in time to see it erupt. He allowed planty of time to spend there.

Volcano National Park was awesome. Guide was very helpful pointing out different lava types in the lava field. Took us to several stops in the park. Tour includes multiple stops in the Hilo area of Hawaii- some are strictly a gift shop stop (Mauna Loa and Big Island Candy) . Our bus was full and sitting in the back row of the bus became very cramped for five average size adults. We left the tour early in part because the weather deteriorated and because we couldn't fathom sitting in the back seats so uncomfortably for three more hours.

This tour was amazing! Don was an excellent guide and took us to the less busy beautiful parts of Volcano National Park and all of Hilo. We saw amazing waterfalls and rainforests. I talked to some other folks who booked through the cruise line and we had a much better experience booking ourselves and really got lucky finding Don who is so knowledgeable about Hilo and the surrounding area and even gave us a couple of tips for our next port Kona.

I could not give it a 5 star because the trip was booked to see the National park and we never made it into the park! Our tour guide brought us to other sites first and then by the time we headed to the park … we were in a line of traffic and the park had closed its gates… my only concern was that his office never contacted him to let him know the Volcano was erupting and that the park was closed. He did take us to other sites but we were never offered any refund for the entrance fee to the park that was included in the price of our excursion.

Awesome day in spite of the rain. We got to see and do so much more than similar excursions. Don was amazing at keeping us organized and providing interesting information.

Great stops/sights. Too much extraneous commentary

Easy to book and great communication from tour operator Don. Smaller group size is perfect and he customizes as we go so we didn’t miss anything we wanted to see. Don is friendly, very knowledgeable and a great tour guide! He went the extra mile when we forgot our bags of macadamia nuts on the bus and made sure we got them back which was greatly appreciated as they were gifts. Great value for your money a whole day of adventure. Highly recommend this tour for anyone who wants to make sure they don’t miss anything. Kilauea wasn’t fountaining on our day, but still had a lot of fun!

Great tour guide! Great pace, enjoyed all the activities.

Don is a pro. He gave us a tour of the island that was totally different from what you get from the standard tour he and other tour operators normally provide due to weather. Extremely interesting and informative! Don knows the island and does everything he can to make sure that you have the best tour possible. Highly recommend his tour!

Don't was a fun guide who took us off the beaten path to show us a few unique things and was very knowledgeable about native culture and plants. He made the most of our time and made sure we got back to Port on time.

Excellent tour, highly recommend if on the Big Island.

We had a blast on this tour. I chose it for the small group experience. We had 13 people. Don was very friendly and had lots of information about the island. We were able to see everything I wanted to see and had plenty of time at the different sites. Definitely a great tour to go on.

Fantastic tour guide. Very knowledgeable of the area and used our time wisely. Easy communication. Provided umbrellas for us. Got to see the wild pigs. Black sand beaches. Ice pond and turtles. Mac nut farm and chocolate factory. And most exciting part, We got to actually see the volcano start to erupt. Once in a lifetime experience for us. Thanks Don!

Great tour, and guide was excellent. Commentary and knowledge were excellent. Great way to see the island.

This was an absolutely fabulous tour. Our tour guide Don might just know every single plant on the island, as well as every person. His knowledge and humor made the tour just utterly unique and enjoyable. While we didn’t get to see any spouting lava, it was still a wonder to behold a volcano for the first time ever. And that was the pinnacle of what was already a great tour to see some spectacular falls and other natural wonders. I would one hundred percent book this tour again. Thank you, Don! He was even able to pick us up from our hostel after retrieving the remainder of the tour from the harbor cruise.

All I can say is Wow…. Don was the best tour bus driver we have ever utilized over the years. great communicator kept it fun and filled our day with multiple Hawaiian sites.

Excellent service by driver. He took us to all the best areas to see everything. The volcano was amazing. Waterfalls stunning, Lava tube interesting Shopping at candy farm good. Thoroughly enjoyed this trip

Overall excellent time at the National Park. Frank was very informative about the local area and plants. Enjoyed the experience.

I experience was one I will not forget. We got to do a lot more than just the Hawaii Volcano Park Tour. We had many stops along the way and back! It was a little chaotic but a jam- packed tour for sure!

This is a phenomenal excursion. Don made this a lasting memory for all of us. He is extremely knowledgeable of life on the big Island and the history of the volcanos. He shares many stories of his personal experiences which made the day fly. Highly recommend!!

It was the tour guides goal to get us to as many sights as possible. And he accomplished that. Volcano national park was amazing even thought you couldn’t see a lot through all the smoke. It was a good tour.

Besides the Volcano, Dan was the star of the tour! He made sure we saw many sites on the way to and from Volcano National Park using local knowledge to describe what we were seeing and insure the shortest time traveling. And we received a botanical class as well. A great tour

This was a fantastic tour and Don is a fabulous tour guide! His local knowledge is amazing and he is happy to share it with the group. His enthusiasm for the region is infectious and he points out the little things that only locals would know. I learned a lot about the beautiful flora and which plants were native or introduced. We saw turtles, fish and shrimp, birds, stunning parks, waterfalls and especially the amazing Kilauea Volcano! There we saw the craters, lava flows and learned a bit of the history. Then to top off a perfect day we enjoyed a candy store, shopping at the markets and a black sand beach. Thanks Don! We loved the tour!

Loved that Don, our tour guide walked with the group especially in the lava field. The lava tube walk was a surprise and a bit daunting with the walk through wet, puddles and very dark tunnel. A bit disappointed that we did not go to the much more known Rainbow Falls as per itinerary but can't compare if the boiling pots falls we did go to was better. However, Don took us to other places interesting and really made excellent use of our short time in Hilo.

Don is the Michael Jordan of tour guides, he knows so many interesting facts and makes sure to keep you entertained the entire time. Well worth every penny paid, fun for all ages. If you’re booking anyone other than Don you’re doing it wrong.

We enjoyed this tour. Small, well planned regarding activities, weather and avoiding crowds. Good narrative regarding wildlife, trees, volcanoes/lava, and even real estate trends. Port pickup and drop off (Holland America). Great tour if you're looking for a local tour guide who has lived on the islands for a long time and makes the most of your limited time! There were a few tangents in the conversation, and one joke regarding signing the waiver was repeated about 12-15 times too many. Also, there was limited direction on when and where to eat, so some people missed buying lunch at the lunch stop. Recommend asking at the beginning which stop is for lunch. Other than that, great tour from a knowledgeable guide. Thank you Don!

We loved loved loved this tour! Small, well thought thru regarding weather conditions, timing, and avoiding crowds. Fascinating narrative: wildlife, trees, volcanoes/lava, real estate trends. Great food recommendations. Port pickup and drop off (NCL Pride of America). Great tour if you're looking for an trained tour guide who has lived on the islands for 25+ years, prioritizes learning, and makes the most use of your time! Thank you so much, Don!

Don was fantastic . He really enjoyed showing his special surfing spot an pointed out all the plants by name

Don is a true local with hidden gems on this tour; we especially enjoyed the off-the-beaten-path drive through the thick tropical jungle, his knowledge of the local plants, animals, geology, weather, history, and other lively local lores, myths, and jokes. His passion for this job is unbelievable. One of the most stimulating, thought-provoking tours we have had. In summary, Don is a Renaissance man of a guide who learned so much on his own (not because of schooling but his curiosity in real life and the real world). Sometimes he tells crazy stories --- don't be too quick to judge; take his words and take his tour as a whole. And importantly, Don is not just sharp but a nice guy deep inside. For example, we bought a coconut at the Hilo farmer's market (the last stop); we only drank the juice and could not access the coconut 'meat', and realized this too late (already on the minibus); time-permitting (after dropping off the main group), Don drove us back to the farmer's stand so the coconut seller could work his magic (to get to the good stuff in 20 seconds or less). This is an example of how he goes beyond and tries his best at this job.

I really enjoy the tour and all the stories about the local history and about the plants and animals. 100% recommend this tour.

What a great guide! Volcano National Park is absolutely breathtaking. We traveled through different parts of town, and enjoyed all of the stops.

Don knows his stuff. He will take the time. He will go the extra mile. He will give it a personal touch. Takes a pretty good picture. Knows his real estate and his plants.Excellent parker.

We had a great time on our tour with Don. It was a fun filled day and we visited a lot of sights that we would not have seen without booking this tour!

Don is the best, caring, knowledgeable and funny. It was an incredible experience. Highly appreciated and recommended.

It is an action packed itinerary. You certainly see more than expected. The bus was comfortable and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the area.

Excellent tour by a long-time resident. Visited multiple interesting sites by a guide who was very knowledgeable about the volcanoes as well as the flora and fauna.

Great tour, very knowledgeable guide, did extra things. Really enjoyed the lava fields. We did get to see a sea turtle too