BIG ISLAND · HAWAII
Volcano below. Mantas at night. Stars above.
Active lava on one side of the island, manta rays gliding past your snorkel mask on the other, and one of the clearest night skies on the planet 13,800 feet above both. Day-by-day reviews of every tour worth your time.
Only on the Big Island
Three experiences you’ll only find here.
Beaches and boat tours exist on every Pacific island. These three don’t. The mantas, the summit, and the live volcano are particular to this stretch of Hawai‘i. Plan the rest of the trip around them.
After dark off Kona
Snorkelling With Manta Rays
One of only two places on earth with a reliable nightly manta gathering. Boats anchor over a feeding ground off the Kona coast, drop a ring of bright lights into the water, and the rays glide inches past your snorkel mask. Nothing else on the trip feels like it.
- 1 Big Island Manta Ray Night Snorkel
- 2 Big Island: Kona Manta Ray Snorkel Tour in Keauhou Harbor
- 3 KONA Manta Ray Night Snorkel – FREE re-ride if no Sightings
Above the cloud line
Stargazing From 13,800 Feet
Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the Pacific and one of the clearest night skies on the planet. The summit road climbs past the visitor centre into thin alpine air for sunset above the clouds, then the Milky Way without a haze in sight.
- 1 Big Island GOAT Experience: Mauna Kea Summit, Sunset & Stars
- 2 Small Group Big Island Twilight Volcano and Stargazing Tour
- 3 Big Island: Mauna Kea Summit and Stars Small-Group Adventure Tour
Where the island is still forming
Standing On A Live Volcano
Kīlauea is one of the most active volcanoes on earth, and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park puts you on the rim. Steam vents, lava-tube caves, the Halema‘uma‘u crater, and during an eruption the glow shows up best after dark.
- 1 Hilo Shore Excursion: Volcanoes National Park & Black Sand Beach
- 2 Deluxe Volcano Experience with Restaurant Dinner
- 3 Captain Cook Snorkel Tour with Sea Caves and Lava Tubes
By coast
Five sides to the same island.
Sunshine on the west. Pasture in the north. Mauna Kea through the middle. Rainforest on the east. Live lava in the south. Pick a side and the day plans itself.
What everyone books first
The booking that defines the trip.
If you only have one tour locked in before you fly, this is usually it. The most-booked experience on the Big Island, by a long way.
The flagship tours
The Big Island’s Most Popular Tours
Manta rays, summit nights, lava fields, reef snorkels. The tours readers come for, ranked by traveller popularity across the booking platforms.
Day & Night
Two islands, twelve hours apart.
Few destinations split this cleanly. The afternoons belong to reefs, waterfalls, and slow drives through the coffee belt. The nights belong to mantas, summit stars, and the glow off Halema‘uma‘u. Plan a day for each.
Clear water on the Kona side, waterfalls and green on the Hilo side, coffee farms at 2,000 feet in between. Slow mornings, long lunches, sunscreen.
- Reef snorkels Kona’s Best Morning Snorkel: Captain Cook & Kealakekua Bay
- Waterfalls Big Island Zipline Tour Near Akaka Falls (250-ft Waterfall!)
- Coffee farms Big Island Highlights: Coffee, Volcano, Black Sands & Waterfall
- Whole-island day Hawaii’s GOAT Experience: Mauna Kea Summit, Sunset & Stars
Nightly manta gatherings off Kona. Mauna Kea’s sky above the cloud line. Twilight glow over Kīlauea. Hawai‘i’s after-dark hits don’t exist anywhere else.
- Manta rays Kailua Kona: Night Manta Ray Adventure on the Big Island
- Stargazing Mauna Kea Stargazing Experience + Photos
- Sunset sails Deluxe Snorkel & Dolphin Watch Aboard a Luxury Catamaran from Kailua-Kona
- Luau Big Island, Hawaii: Admission to Voyagers of the Pacific Luau
By experience
Pick the kind of day you want.
Reef snorkel if you want clear water. Mauna Kea if you want altitude. Volcanoes if you want geology. Manta rays if you want a night you won’t forget. Plus waterfalls, coffee, ziplines and the rest.
The Captain Cook coast
Where the reef does the work.
Kealakekua Bay was protected as a marine reserve long before the rest of Hawai‘i caught up. Clear water, healthy coral, dolphins most mornings. If we had to pick three boats, these are the ones we’d book.
The Hilo side
The rainforest is on the other side.
Wet trade winds dump rain on the east face of the Big Island, and thirty minutes inland that rain turns into waterfalls. Akaka, Rainbow, Onomea Bay. Our three favourites for a half-day in the green.
Above the Kona coast
Up the slope into the coffee belt.
Kona is the only commercial coffee region in the United States. The orchards sit at 1,500–3,000 ft on the western flank of Mauna Loa. Mostly small family farms, with tasting decks looking back down to the Pacific. Three we’d send a slow-morning traveller to.
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