Hawaiʻi Island · Tours & Activities
Big Island Tours & Activities
Most of the island’s signature experiences need a boat, a 4WD, or a guide. These are the ones worth your money — compared on reviews, group size, and price.
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The signature experiences
Each guide compares every option side by side — reviews, group size, and price — with our picks for first-timers, families, and splurges.
Manta Ray Night Snorkel
Float at the surface under the lights while reef mantas loop and barrel-roll beneath you. It’s the Big Island’s signature night out — here’s how to choose the boat.
Compare 5 tours
Volcano Tours
Kīlauea’s summit is about 4,000 feet up and a long drive from the Kona resorts. A guided tour handles the driving, the timing, and the park’s ever-changing list of closures.
Compare 7 tours
Maunakea Stargazing
Watch the sun set above the clouds beside some of the world’s largest telescopes, then stargaze through a telescope on the mountain astronomers chose for its skies.
Compare 6 tours
Captain Cook Snorkel
The most protected snorkeling on the Kona coast lies off the white obelisk of the Captain Cook Monument — and the easiest way to reach it is by boat.
Compare 7 tours
Big Island Luaus
Dinner, mai tais, hula, and a fire-knife finale at sunset — here’s how the island’s luaus actually differ, with honest ratings.
Compare 5 tours
Helicopter Tours
Kīlauea’s lava fields and the waterfall valleys of Kohala are easiest to see from the air. Where you take off decides what you’ll see.
Compare 6 toursTours
Adventure
Ziplines, ATV rides, horseback, and kayaks — the active half of the island.
Tours
Whale Watching
Humpback season runs through winter and spring — boats from Kona go looking for breaches and songs.
Tours
Coffee Tours
Walk the farms of the Kona coffee belt and taste the beans where they grow.
Tours
Sunset & Dolphin Cruises
Sails, sunset cocktails, and dolphin-watching runs along the Kona coast.
Tours
Sightseeing Tours
Guided island-circle days, Hilo waterfalls, and lava-tube trips — let someone else drive.
Guides
Read before you go
Tours · 4 min read
Big Island Whale Watching: Season, Rules & the Best Tours
When humpbacks visit the Big Island, how to spot them from shore or by boat, the 100-yard rule, and how to choose between the Kona whale-watch boats.
Read the guideTours · 5 min read
Manta Ray Night Snorkel in Kona: What It’s Really Like
A Kona manta ray night snorkel from check-in to the ride home: what it feels like, who should ride along instead, the rules, and how to pick a boat.
Read the guideGetting around
You’ll want a rental car.
Public transit is limited and the best sights are hours apart. Pick up at Kona (KOA) or Hilo (ITO) and compare every major company in one search.