Tours from Kona and Waikiki?

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

We are going to be at Kona for a week and Waikiki for a week in April.

I am wondering if anybody can recommend some good sightseeing tours at
both places. We are not interested in tours requiring much walking. Is there a tour from Waikiki to the Polynesian Cultural Center that includes the Luau? All day tours are great. Cost is not a big factor.

Please don't recommend renting a car as we never do that on vacation anywhere. We like to let somebody else do the driving.

I have done some searching on the web but didn't really see anything that jumped out at me.

[MargeS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MargeS]

I would call the concierge where you are staying (or upscale hotel) for recommendation.

[Kentonmag Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kentonmag]

The best sightseeing tour you can do is by plane around the Island in Kona. We used Vacation Airtours and it was breathtaking, you'll see the lava entering the sea, the volcano, the older lava flows, the waterfalls and all the beaches and scenery the Island has to offer. The knowledge of the pilot was outstanding. We were about 3 hours in the air and we were picked up and dropped off at our resort.

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden


The splendid Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

is located just 7 miles north of Hilo on the fertile Hamakua Coast. The Garden's trails wind through a variety of environments offering a diverse view of more than 2,000 different plant species, waterfalls, back-dropped against the natural beauty of the coast.

This is your chance to see rare views of Onomea Bay. You will see a richly diverse variety of plants and blooming flowers, orchids, ferns, palms, and many more. Enjoy the self-guided tour as the trail weaves itself in the tropical rainforest. The Garden is open daily 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

This garden showcases the dramatic beauty of the Hamakua Coast and is a must-see attraction.

Directions: Follow route 19 until just north of Hilo, follow the blue highway signs on the coastal side of the road saying "Scenic Route".

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden.

[garyd210 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close garyd210]

Cowboy ranch dinner

A couple of years ago while staying in Kona, I won a ticket to a bbq style ranch dinner/evening. We were picked up by a tour bus and taken up to the 4000' area to a ranch. They put on a fun evening of stargazing, roping, and branding with an open soda/beer bar followed by a wonderful bbq steak dinner with fun music, a visit by Piggily Wiggily a pet pig and a great dessert. Just a word of caution as it was geat fun, but it got mighty cold for shorts and a thin sweatshirt. The ranch was originally 10,000 acres and went all the way down to the water at one time. Not your normal hawaiian island tour. We heard about this at our regular meet and greet Continental breakfast at the Wyndam Moana Loa Village By the Sea.

We did the airplane flight around the island with special emphasis on the volcano. I think our flight was out of the normal realm of flights as we had a lot of turbulants and 5 of 8 barf bags were used. The company no longer is in business that we know of. The views were amazing(of the scenery, not of the bottom of the paper bag)! As I recall we had to meet the plane at the Kona airport, though. There are bus tours to the Volcano area. but the best views will require some hiking, water, proper footwear, etc.