Hawaii Island’s Best Optional Tour: Real Traveler Reviews (Perfect Even for First-Timers)

What Makes Hawaii Island So Appealing?

What Oahu Doesn’t Have #1: Sheer, Overwhelming Nature

Hawaii has eight islands in total, and Hawaii Island is so vast it’s nicknamed the “Big Island.”

It’s about five times the size of Tokyo and roughly seven times the size of Oahu, packed with dramatic natural landmarks like Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, plus Hilo, the island’s second port city after Honolulu — there’s no shortage of things to see.

Of the 17 climate zones found anywhere on Earth, Hawaii Island somehow has 15 of them — missing only the Sahara and Arctic climates.

Magma, snow, rainforest, beaches — every kind of nature you can imagine exists somewhere on this one island!

Oahu’s Waikiki area is lined with big shopping complexes within walking distance, like the Royal Hawaiian Center and Ward Village. Hawaii Island is the opposite — lava fields stretch out everywhere, and the island is famous for its natural wonders, including the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Akaka Falls, Waipio Valley, and Punaluu Black Sand Beach.

What Oahu Doesn’t Have #2: Much Better Odds of Meeting Manta Rays, Dolphins, and Turtles

Even if you swim at Waikiki Beach on Oahu, you’re unlikely to run into manta rays, dolphins, or turtles. That might be partly because Waikiki Beach was never a natural beach to begin with — it was originally wetland, artificially turned into a beach.

On Hawaii Island, on the other hand, your odds of encountering manta rays, dolphins, and turtles while swimming go up dramatically. A big part of that is simply that there are far fewer tourists here than on Oahu.

That said, no matter how cute or exciting it is, getting close enough to touch them or feed them is banned under both state and federal law, so please be careful!

What Oahu Doesn’t Have #3: Kona Coffee Farms

Kona coffee is grown in the Kona district on the west side of Hawaii Island. The world’s three great coffees are said to be Kilimanjaro, Blue Mountain, and Kona — and yes, this is that Kona coffee!

It’s also known as an incredibly rare, high-end coffee, making up less than 1% of the world’s entire coffee production.

As for the taste — it’s crisp and acidic with real body, and honestly, it’s one of my personal favorite coffees.

Should You Book an Optional Tour During Your Stay?

First, Understand Your Transportation Options

Honolulu has plenty of transportation — buses, taxis, trolleys — so getting around on your own is pretty easy. But what about Hawaii Island?

Truth is, Hawaii Island’s transportation network isn’t great — really your only options are taxis, local buses, shuttle services, and rental cars. And each of these is far less convenient than what you’d find on Oahu.

Taxi

Unlike in Japan, you can’t just hail a passing taxi — you need to book in advance, either by calling a taxi company directly or asking your hotel’s front desk to arrange one.

Hawaii Island is huge, so you’ll inevitably be covering long distances, which makes taxis both expensive and inconvenient. With so few traffic signals and so little traffic, the meter climbs fast — drive for just 10 minutes and you’ll already be at $10, $20, and climbing.

For a fixed, pre-planned trip — like getting from the airport to your hotel — a taxi is a solid choice.

Local Bus

Oahu has a city bus system called The Bus, which is so well developed — with over 4,000 stops — that you can find a stop within a few minutes’ walk almost anywhere in the Waikiki area.

Hawaii Island has its own local bus called the Hele-On Bus, but compared to The Bus, it’s far less convenient — it only runs in certain areas at limited frequency, and some routes don’t run at all on Sundays. For example, the route connecting Kona and Hilo only runs three times a day. One-way fare is a cheap $2, but it’s really built for local residents, not tourists, so it’s not a great fit for sightseeing either.

Shuttle Service

For a shuttle, you can book through Roberts Hawaii — well known even in Honolulu — or arrange a ride through Uber. An airport-to-hotel shuttle is a bit cheaper than a taxi, but destinations are limited, so if you want to get from your hotel to a sightseeing spot, you’re back to a taxi or rental car.

Rental Car

Just like in Japan, you can either book a rental car in advance or on the day — but during busy periods like Golden Week or the New Year’s holidays, economy cars can sell out completely, leaving only high-spec sports models available. So plan your schedule and book ahead of time.

An international driving permit isn’t strictly required to rent a car, but you will need your passport, a credit card, and your Japanese driver’s license. Just make sure you don’t leave your passport locked in the hotel safe by accident!

If you’re comfortable driving on the right with a left-hand-drive car, a rental car is a great option. But if you rarely drive in Japan, let alone abroad, don’t risk ruining your trip — put safety first and choose a different way to get around.

So, Should You Join an Optional Tour?

If you’re covering a huge island like this one, I’d recommend joining an optional tour and getting around by tour bus — it’s a much more efficient way to hit all the sightseeing spots.

So with so many optional tours out there, which company and which tour should you actually pick?

Let me walk you through the tour I actually joined — and absolutely loved.

Recommended Tour: Mauna Kea Stargazing & Island Sightseeing

If it’s your first time on Hawaii Island and you want to see the island’s highlights, I highly recommend the “Mauna Kea Stargazing & Island Sightseeing Tour” run by VELTRA Inc.

Here’s roughly what the tour I joined looked like. You can sleep in, grab breakfast at your hotel’s buffet, and still make it — the whole tour runs over 10 hours, so it’s seriously packed. The regular price is $160 per adult, but when I joined, a limited-time discount brought it down to $138!

I’ll cover how to book it shortly, but I booked through VELTRA, a website that offers local optional tours in destinations all over the world.

The “Mauna Kea Stargazing & Island Sightseeing” tour I joined picks up hotels starting from the south side of the Kona area and works its way north, so if you book a hotel further north — around the Waikoloa area — you’ll get a much more relaxed morning. Highly recommend it.

By the way, I wrote a full review of the hotel I stayed at, so check it out below!

<Tour Schedule>

Time	What Happens	Notes
10:40-12:50	Pickup at major hotels	Any major hotel in the Kailua-Kona or Waikoloa areas gets a pickup. I was staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, so my pickup time was 11:50.
12:15	The “Aura Cave”
13:00	Waipio Valley
13:30	Drive through the town of Honokaa, rest stop at Tex Drive-In
14:20	Visit Akaka Falls
15:45	Drive through Hilo town, view the King Kamehameha statue (from the bus)
15:55	Big Island Candies (Hilo)
17:15	Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
18:20	Hawaiian-style boxed dinner (on a lava plateau along Chain of Craters Road)
20:40	Stargazing at the foot of Mauna Kea (elevation 2,100m)
21:30	Depart Mauna Kea
22:10-23:50	Drop-off at your hotel

The “Aura Cave”

In an area called Mauna Lani, you’ll find what locals call the “Aura Cave” — actually recognized as one of the three great power spots in the world. “Mauna Lani” reportedly means “a hill within reach of heaven” in Hawaiian.

The light filtering down from the cave’s ceiling is genuinely mystical, and apparently photos taken there capture an “aura” effect.

If you’re staying at a hotel within the Mauna Lani Resort area, you can walk there — but for anyone staying elsewhere, joining a tour is definitely the way to go.

On the tour, you’ll arrive when the sun is directly overhead, which is perfect timing for photos!

Waipio Valley

As you can see from the photo, Waipio Valley is a jaw-dropping viewpoint — it’s also said to be the land where ancient Hawaiians first settled. This sacred land is believed to be protected by the mana of Hawaiian royalty. Even when tsunamis and floods have struck in the past, the story goes that no lives were ever lost here.

The tour doesn’t give you time to actually descend into the valley, but the view from the lookout deck was absolutely incredible. Don’t forget to ask your guide to snap a photo of you there!

Tex Drive-In

Heading north from Waikoloa along the Hamakua Coast, you’ll pass through the town of Honokaa — this is where the tour makes a rest stop, and malasadas are served as a snack.

Malasadas are a beloved Hawaiian local sweet, but they actually originated in Portugal and were brought to Hawaii by immigrants. Freshly fried dough dusted in powdered sugar — it’s got that same irresistible flavor as the fried bread you’d get in a Japanese school lunch, sweet and delicious.

Akaka Falls

Akaka Falls drops an incredible 135 meters — that’s 38 meters taller than Japan’s famous Kegon Falls in Nikko. The scale of it is overwhelming.

Big Island Candies

Next up is a stop at Big Island Candies, a classic Hawaiian souvenir shop. Honolulu Cookie Company might be more famous, but Big Island Candies has an even longer history, baking cookies for over 30 years. Compared to Honolulu Cookie, it’s a bit pricier and the packaging feels more upscale — a great gift for someone special.

Flavors include bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate, butter, lemon, strawberry, and more — you really can’t go wrong with any of them. Get friendly with the staff and they’ll let you sample all sorts of flavors, so definitely give it a try!

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a must-visit if you’re on Hawaii Island. It erupted explosively on May 3, 2018, and reopened that October. Standing there, you can genuinely feel the whole island is still alive.

The Lava Plateau

Dinner is served here on the lava plateau while you watch the sunset. Portions are small, but it’s tasty. The only downside is that it’s not hot — it gets a bit chilly, so bring something to layer on! You’ll get about 30 minutes here to rest.

Stargazing at the Foot of Mauna Kea

After eating on the lava plateau, you’ll ride the tour bus for about another hour and a half to reach the foot of Mauna Kea. I didn’t see any gas stations or restaurants along the way, so if you’re driving yourself, keep an eye on your fuel — this is exactly the kind of stretch where a tour makes life so much easier.

The base of Mauna Kea sits at around 2,000 meters elevation, so temperatures drop to roughly 5-10°C. On the tour, they’ll lend you cold-weather gear for free, but you’ll still want long pants and about three inner layers. There’s a bathroom break right after dinner, which is the perfect time to change.

Mauna Kea’s summit sits at 4,205 meters, said to be the closest point on Earth to outer space — and the stars really do look incredible up there. Your guide will walk you through how to read the constellations, find the North Star, and spot the Summer Triangle, and you’ll spend about 40 minutes under the cold night sky taking it all in. At the end, they even bring out a telescope so you can see Jupiter!

My Real Review After Actually Joining This Tour

I came away from this tour completely satisfied! Sure, being able to hit so many sightseeing spots in a single day was great, but honestly, it really comes down to one thing: the guide was fantastic.

I think VELTRA’s guides are consistently high quality overall, so I plan to keep using them going forward, not just on Hawaii Island.

There were three big reasons I loved it so much.

Reason #1: They Make Sure the Group Gets Along

Right after you join, the guide introduces everyone to the group.

It’s a casual, conversational introduction — where you’re from, how many times you’ve visited Hawaii Island, how many nights you’re staying and what your plans are.

This gives everyone an easy opening to chat and helps the group bond. And honestly, swapping detailed travel tips with other participants is half the fun.

(On the flip side, I imagine a few people out there would rather skip the introductions… but that’s probably the minority.)

When I joined, it was a roughly 10-seat van, and a long, silent car ride would’ve made for a pretty awkward mood.

Reason #2: The Schedule Explanations Are Clear and Perfectly Timed

The guide explains, in detail, the overall plan for the day — when and where you’ll eat, whether there’ll be breaks, whether it’s okay to nap or whether you should stay awake for the scenery.

That way, you can plan ahead — whether you should use the bathroom now, or get your camera ready.

Reason #3: The Guide’s Trivia Is Endless

This tour covers close to 500km total, so you spend a lot of time in the vehicle. Our guide was driving solo, and pretty much nonstop through the daytime, he kept introducing nearby towns, geography, and sightseeing spots, and fielding questions from everyone on the tour!

This is a great chance to ask about local restaurant recommendations, hidden gems, and how to get there — you can even plan out the next day while you’re at it. Total win-win!

After dinner, the mood in the van shifted to a quieter, wind-down vibe, with people naturally keeping conversation to a minimum — that kind of thoughtful pacing was just right.

What Other Participants Said

So how did other participants rate this tour? Let’s take a look!

Positive Reviews

We got to experience power spots, an amazing waterfall, and great tips on the cookie shop — it was such a rich experience. The weather was rainy to cloudy, so I figured the stargazing was a lost cause… but when we got out of the car at the base of the mountain, the sky was absolutely blanketed in stars! It ended up being the most moving part of the whole day. Thank you so much.

Maria, Who Loves Hawaii

I just wanted to get a feel for the vibe of Hawaii Island, so I booked this tour for the day after arriving. Ended up completely satisfied! Hilo, to the east, tends to get more rain, so we did hit some rain there — but everywhere else was clear skies!
Getting to see Hawaii’s famous sights and the stars in one day was the memory of a lifetime. The number of stars especially — nothing like what you’d ever see in a Japanese city. We saw a ton of shooting stars too, and the guide even showed us Saturn through a telescope. Couldn’t have been happier.
He also told us all about Hawaiian history while driving — I genuinely had a blast.

keiindy

It was about a 12-hour tour, but so packed with content.
Our guide, Masumi-san, was great‼️ She was fun to talk to and made a point of chatting with every single participant, so you could relax and enjoy yourself.
The Aura Cave isn’t somewhere you’d easily get to on your own, but it kicked the tour off with a real burst of excitement — we got to eat a big malasada, were blown away by the waterfall, and dinner on the old lava field was amazing. For the stargazing, they even lent us binoculars and explained everything in detail, so we got to see all kinds of stars.
I absolutely want to come back to Hawaii Island again — and when I do, I’ll book this tour again.
Having Masumi-san as our guide really made the day.

No Name

Negative Reviews

Our guide was a fluent Japanese-speaking third-generation Japanese-American who explained Hawaii Island’s history, culture, and landmarks in a way that was clear and genuinely interesting.
The bubbling magma was mesmerizing.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the stars because of rain. During the rainy season, there’s a good chance you won’t get to see the stars at all, so I can’t fully recommend it for that reason.

Monstera

It was down to the weather, but the crater was completely fogged in and we couldn’t see a thing.
The lava plateau was cold, so we ate our boxed dinner in the van.
The sky was cloudy, so we couldn’t see any stars. Our guide tried his hardest to find a clear patch of sky for us,
but in the end, most of what we’d been looking forward to
just didn’t happen, which was a real letdown.

Cherry

The hotel pickup window is a full two hours, and if you’re one of the first pickups, you basically lose those two hours sitting in the van.

They try to pick up guests from so many hotels that, on the tour I joined, they actually forgot the last pickup, had to turn back, and that guest ended up an hour and a half late — which pushed everyone else back by two and a half hours. The whole itinerary got cut short, and by the time we reached the volcano crater it was pitch black and we couldn’t make out anything. Not getting any kind of refund for that felt completely unreasonable, and honestly, it was a real disappointment.

Anonymous

So what’s the takeaway? The positive reviews consistently point to a rich, jam-packed tour, with the nighttime stargazing as the clear highlight! Praise for the guide’s deep knowledge stood out too — that’s a great sign.

On the flip side, the negative reviews rarely criticized the tour content itself — most of the complaints were about the weather. But from the operator’s side, that’s really just nature being nature.

Since this tour picks up hotels from south to north in order, anyone who wants a relaxed morning at their hotel should book somewhere north of the Waikoloa area — you’ll get to enjoy a much calmer start to your day!

About the Optional Tour Platform “VELTRA”

All the tours I’ve introduced above require advance booking.

So where do you actually book? The booking site is VELTRA.
＞Book a Hawaii Island tour through VELTRA

Is VELTRA Actually Safe to Use?

Is VELTRA actually a safe service to use? Honestly, it’s still not a hugely well-known name.

Many of us still remember when the discount travel agency “Telemecrub” went bankrupt in 2017. It was a company selling overseas tours online under the “discount” banner, and roughly 90,000 people were affected at the time — it made headlines across every major outlet.

After something like that, it’s only natural to feel at least a little cautious about booking an overseas tour online.

So how does VELTRA actually measure up?

It’s Run by VELTRA Inc.

The service is named after the company that runs it: VELTRA Inc. Founded in November 1991, the company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Mothers market in 2018 — so this is clearly not a company in financial trouble. Let’s look at their recent business performance.

Looking at the quarterly trend, even through a rough year for the broader Asian market, both operating revenue and ordinary income have held up steadily.

Looking at booking numbers, they’ve grown roughly 2.3x since 2015, now hitting 650,000 tour bookings a year — and that number keeps accelerating year over year.

All of this shows that VELTRA Inc. is in solid financial shape and is a service you can book with confidence.

How to Book an Optional Tour Through VELTRA

Let me walk you through exactly how to book a tour online. The site itself is clean and well designed, so you shouldn’t run into much confusion!
＞Book a Hawaii Island tour through VELTRA

Bottom Line: Book an Optional Tour

So there you have it — the appeal of Hawaii Island that Oahu just doesn’t have, plus the optional tour I’d genuinely recommend.

My bottom line: “if this is your first time on Hawaii Island and you want to efficiently hit the island’s top sightseeing spots, joining an optional tour is by far the easiest route.” The reason is simple — compared to Oahu, Hawaii Island just doesn’t have great transportation built for sightseeing, and the island itself is huge, meaning long distances between everything.

The taxi ride from Kona Airport to my hotel in Waikoloa cost $68.75 with tip! At the exchange rate back then — about ¥108 to the dollar — that’s roughly ¥7,500 for a single one-way ride. That’s steep!

Compare that to an island sightseeing tour hitting four or five major spots for $138, and it’s absolutely the better deal.

You’ve already spent the time and money to make it all the way to Hawaii Island — so go ahead and soak in that incredible nature. I’d say booking an optional tour is well worth it.