LET Islandwide Tours show you the real Big Island of Hawaii ... from a comfortable, air-conditioned, 14-passenger van -- so much more personal than a big, noisy, tour bus with dozens of other visitors! Join our local guides on a relaxing and memorable Big Island Tour. These native driver-guides will entertain and inform you with their knowledge of the Big Island and Hawaiian culture. Let Islandwide Tours do the driving -- and we make plenty of stops and excursions along the way -- freeing you to enjoy and photograph the splendor of this wonderful place, Hawaii's Big Island....
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Hilo Downtown / Rainbow Falls / Volcano: 4-5 hours / $75>> photos from this tour <<
Continuing on the road through old Hilo town, we proceed to Rainbow Falls, an 80-foot waterfall fed by the rains of Hilo, and creating the Wailuku River, which flows into Hilo Bay. An overlook of the waterfall is only a short walk from the parking area. Behind the falls is a large cave -- and there are steps climbing to the top of the waterfall itself, giving a view of Boiling Pots pools, bubbling over as they flow down to create this beautiful waterfall. Next on our Big Island tour is Kilauea Volcano National Park, about 30 miles from Rainbow Falls. Kilauea Volcano has been erupting since.... (continue) |
Hilo Downtown / Rainbow Falls / Hamakua Coast: 3-4 hours / $50
We travel back onto the main highway, and 2 miles to Honomu town, then climbing 3-1/2 miles up the road to the beautiful 'Akaka Falls State Park. There we walk 1/2 mile through a rain forest, on a moderate loop trail (not wheelchair-accessible, for there are short sections that are steep, with steps and handrails). The trail is hard-surfaced, under a canopy of trees in the fragrant forest, with cooling, gushing streams, and sweet-scented ginger blossoms -- all leading up to the picturesque, 420-foot 'Akaka Falls. We travel back to Hilo town, and up.... (continue) |
Kalapana to Kapoho / East Coast: 4-5 hours / $65>> photos from this tour << LEAVING HILO town, we travel to the Puna District, which is the east side of the Big Island. We will make a stop at a small shopping center in historical Pahoa town, for your lunch, and for snacks and drinks to take along with you. As we arrive at Kalapana, we can see smoke and fumes rising, from hot lava entering the sea, only a mile away. This is the only tour on which you will be able to see this fabulous act of nature happening just 1 mile away! Kilauea Volcano has been erupting since 1983, and it destroyed the villages of Kalapana and Kaimu, from 1983 through 1991. You will see the amazing lava that covered these historical villages, plus remaining traces of the roads and villages themselves. You can hike a short, 15-minute walk over the lava to a beautiful, newly formed black-sand beach. This beach is for viewing, and pictures ONLY, there is no swimming because of strong, forceful currents that would pull you out to the deep sea! If you prefer not to make the hike, there is a small gift shop, a snack bar, and roadside arts and crafts for your viewing and purchasing. On down the beautiful coastal road we go, to an overlook of Kehena Beach (black sand), where the porpoise often swim close to shore. Down the road we stop for a short walk to the shore, for a close look at the green sea turtles.... (continue) |
Kona / West Coast: 3-4 hours / $65DRIVING DOWN Ali'i Drive, we pass the Hulihe'e Palace, which was used by the Hawaiian Royalty as a summer residence in the days of old. Fronting the Palace is Moku'aikaua Church, one of the oldest missionary churches in Hawaii. It was built by 4,000 people and completed in December 1823. The original church was destroyed by fire in 1835, and the present structure was completed in January 1837. Continuing down Ali'i Drive -- which is a beautiful Kona coast road passing many beaches -- we come to one particularly special beach, Magic Sands Beach Park, which is one of the few white-sand beaches along this coastline. During the winter months, the sands usually wash off the beach, and are replaced by large boulders. At times you can return to the beach the next day, and the beautiful white sands have returned: therefore, the name Magic Sands. Next we pass Kahalu'u Beach Park, where we will return at the end of our tour, for swimming and snorkeling with many fish, green sea turtles, and large colorful coral heads. Snorkeling equipment can be rented there, very affordably. Driving up to the mauka ("mountain") road, we stop at a scenic lookout for a spectacular view, looking down to the Kona coast.... (continue) |
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WE TRAVEL through Hilo's famed Banyan Drive, under a canopy of more than 50 Chinese Banyan trees, which were planted by celebrities -- including Cecil B. DeMille, Babe Ruth, Amelia Earhart, Dr. Thomas Jaggar, Hawaiian Princess Abigail Kawananakoa, and Louis Armstrong -- as they visited Hawaii's Big Island. We'll stop for pictures, at the largest traditional Japanese garden in the U.S., .17per.jpg)
AS WE LEAVE