Breathtaking Big Island: Volcano Glow & Starry Night Tour

OK, I haven't reviewed anything in sooooo long, because I've simply not been blown away with an excursion. UNTIL 10/10/25. First, we were island hopping, and when we arrived for Day 1 of our Oah'u part, we got a call from another tour company (booked via Viator - UGH!) cancelling our Volcanos island tour on the Big Island, less than 48 hours prior, and that was the reason we had planned to be on the big island for just a day - to do that tour. We Googled and by dumb luck found Wasabi Tours and I am forever grateful we did! First, our booking was managed seamlessly and was considerate of our fixed flight times to find an option that worked, and we DID :-) Our guide, **Derek Stuart** was AMAZING. Not only is he so personable; you can also tell he simply loves his island home. We started with a stop at Bay View Farm to learn about coffee farming and production. He knows so very much about the earth, climate, weather, and how that impacts that region’s ability to grow Kona coffee. We tasted wonderful coffees and enjoyed gorgeous views! We had a delicious warm picnic lunch taking in the vistas over Cook’s Bay and learned the history there. Then we hit the road southbound, and along the way learned about the mac-nut tree production along the way. Next we drove down to southern-most bakery in the USA, Punalu'u, and had baked goods (you MUST have the malasadas – chef’s kiss). We then stopped in at the Punalu’u black sand beach where they just happened to be tagging and checking green turtles' health. Incredible to talk to the people doing the work and be able to take in the views and understand the ecosystem and life cycles of these gorgeous creatures. Then we were off to Volcanoes National Park. Now, as we were traversing the island from center west, around the southern-most point, then north into the park, Derek was sharing the histories of the volcanoes, how they formed, why they appear as they do (shield or dome versus cone volcanoes) to be sure he could focus on the incredible things to see once we were there. We got out and took a really lovely hike (they don’t do this with all groups, depending on the physical abilities of each collective group) around the rim of the lava lake at Kilauea. It was remarkable. And while we were there a week before the eruption, it was still extraordinary to see. We had a good deal of time at the park, walked through a lava tube – mind-blowing – it was about 16 feet tall and 300 feet long – Derek prepped us for how they are created and what to expect. We got the hear the Coqui frogs in the forest at night. Afterward, we stopped into a café for hot dinner (again, scrumptious and included), then on the trek back to our hotels (about 90 minutes) we stopped along the way for stargazing and to learn about the stars visible in Hawai’I that may or not be in each of our respective home locations on the CONUS or abroad. I give this 5 stars and would give 10 if the platform allowed me to! And, just an FYI, the vehicle was a Mercedes Sprinter van with tall headroom, comfy seats and plenty of outlets to keep devices charged and ready take as many photos and videos as your heart desires!

Visiting the Kilauea Volcano is a must do while on the Big Island! It is a spectacular experience. Sadly the issue we had with this tour was our guide, Todd. He was odd from the moment he picked us up and gave us a warning about how the other party of 8 was going to be”all up in their own world” and said he had to stick together. Turns out they were a lovely family and we had a great time touring together as well as commiserating about Todd’s many quirks. He would point out sites along the way and then telling us we weren’t going to talk about that now. For example, he asked us to identify a historical figure at a church graveyard in Kona and told us we would talk about that later. Why would we not discuss the church when we were looking at it? No idea. My son asked him about how a lava tube is formed and Todd scolded that we would be talking about that later! He did not want us having casual conversation with our families and preferred to yammer on endlessly. Some of his information was interesting and some was really just Todd listening to himself talk on the headset which he liked to keep very loud to discourage other interactions in the van. He also gave us a long soliloquy about his personal life which was definitely not needed. His poor directions at Volcano National Park ended up getting us lost closed to dusk and we had no way of contacting him to see if we were on the right path. I don’t know if he didn’t like our group or what his issue was, but I would request a different guide if you book this tour. Aside from Todd, we absolutely found the geology fascinating and enjoyed seeing videos of an eruption that happened only days before our visit. The donut shop and the drive through Kona could be sacrificed in my opinion to make more time for the actual Volcano tour and stargazing. I would caution that the tour is very long- over 12hours and there really isn’t time to do stargazing unless you cut one of the other stops. I wish we had more time to stargaze as they were absolutely beautiful and the stars seemed like they were twinkling in the night sky. It gets cold at night so definitely wear a jacket. Black sand beach was a very cool stop too.

Good trip, very good driver/guide. Too bad that there was delay due to road closure because of accident. We had to reroute and missed star gazing.

The volcano/stargazing tour was an exceptional day. Our driver Aaron picked us up promptly and offered water throughout the day. His information and history of the island was very informative. He even added some personal insight of life on he island. My husband had some mobility concerns and Aaron was very kind and considerate. All of the stops were well planned and timed. We loved the small group as we got to interact with others on the tour. It was a great day.

Im not a big fan of tours in general but this was the best I’ve been on and well worth the money and time thanks to drew. Thanks for the humor, local legends, and fantastic amount of knowledge. Thanks again for the great tour. Drew was very professional and very energetic with great mana.

If you take any tour of the big island, this one is it! Felix was amazing from the beginning to the end. He formats his tour according to his group. Ours had very able body persons so we were very active on our stops. Stargazing was amazing! We missed the current eruption by 4 days but saw early signs. You gotta do this!

We started the day around 11am. We were picked up by Derek in a relatively new van with comfortable seats. The van also had some USB ports for passengers. 1st stop was a coffee farm and lunch. Not overly interesting but good coffee. Lunch was chicken on rice which was probably cooked before the van left it's office. Then it was off to the black sand beach. Interesting stop but not enough time to swim. Next stop was for Malasadas. Yummy. Then to the active volcano. We were dropped off at point A, walked along the rim and were picked up at point B. Lots of picture chances. Then we did the lava tube. A nice short walk. Then was dinner at a local restaurant. That was actually very good. Everyone liked what they got. Then back to the volcano rim for a few quick night shots of glowing lava. YMMV. The last stop was star gazing. If you have never seen the Milky way, you will. Back to the pickup point around 10:30. Long day but worth it. Derek did a good job keeping us entertained.

Our guide Dreu was great. All along the trip he provided us with so much history and stories. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the stars due to much needed rain. But Dreu took us back up to the volcano rim. We got lucky to see episode 35! It was absolutely breathtaking!

There were 10 in our group and the day was delightful. Our tour guide Derek did a fantastic job of getting everyone comfortable and enlightening us about the sights and entertaining us. He was prepared for all our needs and very warm and personable. He definitely was a part of what made the day fun. It was a long day but well worth the experience.

No one can guarantee the weather will be perfect, but our guide Drue was great! He is no knowledgeable and animated in his narration. We learned so much and saw so much. We had very tasteful lunch at a coffee bean farm and watched how the brewing process worked. We got to see the turtles on the black sand beach. We went to several stops around the crater rim, walked through a lava tube. The cauldron is massive. Luck not being on our side, the big island got some badly needed rain. The cloud coverage prevented us seeing any stars. Drue was kind enough to take us back up to the rim. We are so glad he did. To witness the lava flow at night is breathtaking.