Big Island of Hawaii Private & Custom Tours

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.

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!

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.

Kalaninuimehamhea is a fantastic guide briming with local and cultural knowledge. He was full of stories of the local plants and wildlife and how the land at higher elevations came to be viewed as sacred. The tour started with a brief history of the islands peoples and how they came to be here, and progressed through to modern times ad the tour progressed. An absolutely gem of an experience and the highlight of my entire trip. If you have a curious and respectful mind and soul, you can't book a better tour.

Finally we went a little bit different way as the weather condition was bumpy in one part of the flight and I didn't feel so brave after my previous day sea sickness. Still brilliant flight above active volcano and coast. Very enjoying - and smooth. Thanks to Lance our pilot

Our tour guide Adam was excellent. He shared a lot of knowledge/history/facts along the tour, took group photos, adjusted the schedule as we wanted. Couldn't have had a better experience! That you Adam!

The entire experience was awesome. Uncle Jim truly makes the tour. His knowledge fueled by his passion and love for what he does is quite apparent. We cannot thank him enough. Our family could not stop speaking of how awesome the tour was and everything we were able to do in 11 hours. Thank you so much!!

Our guide Michael was very informative. Enjoy every minute of our tour. He took great care to be sure we had a good time

20/10 — One of the Most Incredible Ocean Experiences We’ve Ever Had!I honestly don’t know how to give Scott, Kate, and Kona Ocean Adventures enough stars for the experience they gave us tonight. Five stars doesn’t even come close. This was a 20/10 experience from beginning to end.We booked their private sunset snorkeling trip, rustic dinner, and nighttime manta ray experience, and the entire evening was absolutely incredible.A little perspective: we’re from Florida, we’re scuba divers, and we spend a lot of time in and around the ocean—so it takes quite a bit to really blow us away. Scott and Kate absolutely did.The sunset snorkel alone would have made the trip worth it. We saw an unbelievable amount of marine life—puffer fish, purple tangs, yellow tangs, unicorn tangs, blue boxfish, angelfish, foxface, all kinds of wrasses, urchins and so much more.And then there was the monk seal.A HUGE monk seal came right up between the boats and literally used the line between them to brush her teeth! 😂 We just sat there watching her work the rope through her mouth like dental floss. It was one of those completely unexpected wildlife encounters you know you’ll be talking about for years.But somehow the night was just getting started.The nighttime manta ray experience was absolutely unreal.We had at least SIX different manta rays swimming with us, and when I say close, I mean INCHES FROM OUR FACES.They came straight toward us and did barrel roll after barrel roll directly underneath us. At times they were so close you could look straight into their mouths as they rolled beneath you. They actually made physical contact with us multiple times as they passed.We have video of it, and even watching the video doesn’t completely capture what it felt like to actually be there.There were moments when you’re floating on the surface, looking down at these enormous animals coming straight toward you, and your brain is telling you there’s no possible way they can get any closer—then they roll at the last second and pass just inches underneath you.Again. And again. And again.It was spectacular.What really made the evening, though, was Scott and Kate. A private charter is supposed to feel different from being shuffled through a big commercial tour, and this absolutely did. They made the entire evening personal, relaxed, fun and memorable. You never felt rushed or like you were just the next group being moved through an itinerary.The sunset, snorkeling, dinner, wildlife, manta rays and the personal attention from Scott and Kate all came together into one of those rare vacation experiences that completely exceeds what you thought you were booking.We’ve done a lot of ocean activities and diving over the years, and this is easily one of the coolest marine experiences we have ever had.If you’re coming to Kona and considering a manta ray trip, do yourself a favor and book the private experience with Kona Ocean Adventures. Especially if you want something more personal than a large-group excursion.Scott and Kate — thank you for an absolutely unforgettable evening.We came hoping to see some manta rays.We left having watched at least six of them barrel roll inches from our faces, had a monk seal stop by to floss her teeth, saw an incredible variety of Hawaiian marine life, and made a memory we’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives.Five stars isn’t enough. 20/10. Absolutely phenomenal. 🤙🌅🌊🤿

We are a family ranging from 4 to 73 y/o. We enjoyed the boat ride although sitting for awhile in a bumpy ride is not so comfortable still we had fun. Captain and crew were very friendly and informative. We saw a lot if dolphins and fishes while snorkeling at captain cook. We wish we even had more time snorkeling. My niece 6 y/o and nephew 4 y/o was their first time snorkeling and they were experts right away. I was kinda scared for them going into the water but they actually had the most fun. There was enough lunch and snacks and drinks for our family. We even brought home the leftovers. It’s also easy to find the location and once you book, you just show up and they were really nice. They even gave us sun screen to use. Also everything is provided for the snorkeling.

I can’t say enough good things about this tour! It was amazing and Igor was just wonderful. We have teenagers and they can be difficult to please at times. Igor was kind patient but more importantly took us to all these wonderful places around the Island. It’s a long day of traveling around the island but it’s well worth it. There are plenty of food stops along the way so don’t worry about that. Bring layers because climate changes rapidly. My girls loved Igor and we loved that he shared his favorite spots with us! Thank you for a memorable day!

Great experience. Loved all of the scenic stops. Very educational. We all enjoyed ourselves while learing too.

The absolute best way to see the Park. The navigation APP was amazing and easy to follow. You get to see areas that would normally require a 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk with ease. Gwendolyn was amazing in getting us set up and used to the bikes. Highly recommend this no-brainer way to see an amazing park.

We had a blast! The bikes were solid and comfortable. The app was easy to use and provided good guidance around the park. Being on the bikes had the major bonus of not having to find parking at all the viewpoints. My son (15) depleted his battery by using the throttle too much, so he had to pedal back the last couple of miles. I pedaled the entire time, so didn't have to worry about battery power, and the pedal assist made it easy to climb the hills without much effort. We may have taken slightly too long at our lunch stop as there was a section of the route that we had to skip in order to be back at the starting point by 2, but again, my son used up his battery, so that worked out just fine. The only note I will make - follow the directions to the Lava Rock Cafe! I assumed we were starting inside the park somewhere, so paid the entry fee before realizing we were in the wrong spot- the instructions for the activity came with a link to pay the entry fee, so that definitely contributed to my misunderstanding. If I can support National Parks for $30, I don't mind.

We had a wonderful time. The scenery was fabulous. The Rainbow Waterfall was amazing. Our tour guide and driver, Donald Macnaughton, was great. Very knowledgeable and laid back. He brought us to wonderful places.

Our family of four had our first helicopter sight seeing tour with them. The pilot was an expert and made the ride as smooth and easy as possible. We had breathtaking views of cliff, valleys, coastline and tall waterfalls which are not accessible by road. It was a really memorable experience. We will be back for more.