Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Tours

Mel was a great guide. Very knowledgeable and entertaining. Would do this again had fun. Great time !

WoW! and WoW! At first, my husband and I were concerned about the length of the tour (pick up at 10:30am - drop off at 10pm!) However, Drew (our phenomenal tour guide) and Wasabi Tours Hawaii definitely know how to plan a tour!! We were promptly picked up at our resort (Club Wyndham at Kona) where Drew introduced himself and shook each of us passengers by hand. After all pickups had been made of the 13 passengers, the tour officially began! Though not native to Hawaii, Drew began to share his vast and expert knowledge of the history and culture of the Big Island - even pronouncing all of the Hawaiian villages and landmarks with perfection! The tour made several stops at scenic areas and local farms, including Paradise Meadows Orchard and Bee Farm, (where we enjoyed a yummy lunch), Whittington Beach* and a macadamia nut farm. (Apologies, I can’t recall its name:/) All stops were efficiently timed and passengers were given ample time to explore, eat, sample, stretch our legs, eat, shop, and take care of other essential needs. Throughout the driving portion of the tour, Drew broke it down into well-thought-out segments, including his sharing of cultural stories and historical narratives, pauses/quiet times– when we listened to beautiful and relaxing Hawaiian-infused pop music), and the last segments, included conversing and taking questions from his passengers. About half way into the tour, the moment we had all been waiting for – our arrival at the effusive and significant Kilauea Volcano!!! Our first sighting of the magnificent Kilauea Volcano was awesome and simultaneously humbling! Her caldera is massive and we witnessed the heat from her lava flow steaming upwards from the cracks and crevices in the ground. We watched in awe as her gentle and heaving ‘hula’ dance consistently oozed orange flows stretching outwards underground like glowing roots. After another stop for a tasty dinner at Lava Rock Cafe in Volcano, darkness was upon us and Drew announced it time pay a second visit to witness the twilight glow of Kilauea Volcano and, of course, she did not disappoint!! Her fiery and shifting lava flow was much more visible and we were rewarded with more photos and videos! Alas, Drew announced it was time to make the return trip back to our resorts, including another bathroom break at the luxurious and famous Volcano House! Enroute back to our resorts, and with perfect timing, Drew announced that the clouds that were initially present, had now parted and that we would be able to stop for another special treat - Stargazing! Again, Drew really impressed us with his knowledge of astronomy, the constellations, and answering our questions. On the journey back to our resort, my husband and I agreed that this experience with Wasabi Tours Hawaii, and especially the delightfully entertaining guide, Drew; was well worth the hours and had been one of the BEST, if not THE BEST tours we had participated in in our decades of travelling and touring!! Need I say, we highly recommend!!

My extended family of 6 with ages ranging from 90 to 19 booked the Big Island in a day tour. While the tour encompassed a full 9-10 hours of the day, our guide Leon provided an excellent experience. He provided knowledge of the history island as well as the geology needed to understand the island’s origins. In addition, he made the journey personal by relying family and friends of his that lived in the various villages and towns that we toured through. My entire family enjoyed the outing which is no small feat given the variety of personalities. Thoroughly looking forward to another tour when we return to the Big Island. Highly recommended this adventure. You won’t regret it!

Our tour guide Ian was amazing and so knowledgeable. He deserves a raise and promotion. It was the best day ever.

Kelson does a great job and knows his history. Very pleasant personality and most importantly a safe driver!! You can tell he enjoys his job.

Del, a driver and tour guide was very knowledgeable in the Big Island's tourism. He gave us very detailed and thorough information about the tour which everyone enjoyed.

We had a great time on our tour! Dean was funny and entertaining as he shared information about the island, the people and the sites we visited.

Rebecca was amazing! Kind, flexible, and accommodating to any group or limitations you have! She called within minutes of me booking just to go over every detail and reassure me of the itinerary and that she was able to pick me up from our hotel even though the website said it was out of policy. She accommodated a family or two elderly grandparents and a 2 yr old toddler. We were changing our pickup time and whether we wanted to do a day or night tour all the way up until the night before and she was so accomodating and doing research to give us minute by minute suggestions. I will totally book with her again the next time I come back!

We had Mel as our tour guide and he was the absolute best! He picked us up right at our hotel and the tour itself was so fun and we also learned so much!

It was everything we wanted. Our guide was personable, entertaining, and a wealth of knowledge. He took very good care of us and I would recommend this tour to everyone.

This tour was excellent! Holley was our guide. She was VERY knowledgeable and have a lot of information. She was very accommodating to the group and flexible with time and stops. I highly recommend this tour.

Mel was great, provided lots of great information and a dash of humor. The van was perfect, modern with charging capabilities for electronics and very comfortable. We made numerous stops as we made our way to the volcano, all important to understanding the islands characteristics. Our day gave us a small glimpse of lava, no fountains but enough to scratch the itch to see. I did one day travel from Oahu, even with flight issues (a cancellation and maintenance problems) the tour group kept things on track and low stress. Really enjoyed the trip, and highly recommend.

I had a great time. Our guide was the absolute best. Miexia made the trip so enjoyable. He was very informative and kept as entertained. Would give more than 5 stars. We got to see so many things. The café we went to for lunch was awesome. A great variety and massive portions. If you like pancakes get ready.

Alex was fantastic. He is native to the islands and was extremely knowledgeable. He shared a lot of gems from his native culture to help you understand the islands and the volcanos. He is friendly, funny, engaging and draws you in. He blew a conch shell to draw us back to himself and was always clear in his directions. I would highly recommend any tour where he is the guide.

Our tour guide was knowledgeable and great sense of humor. Had a little taste of the island from different areas. Volcano experience great.

Even with the Labor Day holiday and Hurricane Lowell on the horizon, Mel still managed to guide us through an epic excursion that we will never forget. We saw lava in real life from Kilauea! Mel is so knowledgeable and an all-around great person. He really is a special person and leads a very special tour. I didn't want to leave Hawaii without seeing a volcano. That was delivered and then some. The day was so well planned out. The airfare was booked for us. All we had to do was show up. Worth every penny.