Best Big Island of Hawaii Shore Excursions: Our Top 15

1.Hilo Shore Excursion: Volcanoes National Park & Black Sand Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 2,338 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $159Our pick

Review of Hilo’s six-hour volcano shore excursion, with Kilauea, lava tubes, black sand beaches, macadamia nuts, and practical tips.

“Our driver and tour guide Hannibal was outstanding and both educated us as well as entertained us. He was super helpful and patient. Highlights included terrific views of an active volcano and a fascinating walkthrough of a lava tube.”

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2.Hilo Shore Excursion: Volcano Safari Lava Caves & Black Sand

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 363 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $154

Review of Hilo’s six-hour volcano safari with lava caves, black sand beaches, lava fields, local guides, port pickup, and practical tips.

“The guide was informative and knowledgeable and was accommodating to the whole group by adding extra stops that we were all interested in. Highly recommend!”

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3.Kona Shore Excursion: Sea Turtles, Historic Kona & Coffee

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 324 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $149

Review of Kona’s sea turtle, coffee, history, and food shore excursion, with itinerary details, value advice, and practical cruise-port tips.

“Great day in Kona with Kelvin. He was very knowledgeable. Loved the coffee farm. Great food at the Poke stop. Yum! And ended seeing the turtles. Lovely day!”

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4.Hilo Cruise Ship Excursion: Volcanoes National Park Rainbow Falls

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 130 reviews · 4 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $154

Review of Roberts Hawaii’s Hilo shore excursion to Rainbow Falls and Volcanoes National Park, with practical tips on price, timing, stops, and value.

“We took this tour with a small group and visited Rainbow Falls and Volcanoes National Park. It was informative, impressive and at a good pace. I’d recommend this tour.”

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5.Hawaii Volcano National Park Shore Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 117 reviews · 7 to 8 hours (approx.) · from $168Top rated

Review of a Hilo shore excursion to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with waterfalls, lava tubes, macadamia nuts, beaches, and local insight.

“Don was passionate about his job and took us to places that other tours did not go to. He was very knowledgeable about all the plants and trees etc. however, the tour was a little too long for us and we were really not interested in the real estate listings he pointed out extensively, and I was disappointed that we didn’t see the volcanic flat rock that the astronauts trained on. But on the whole, it was a good day.”

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6.Hilo Shore Excursion: Visit Volcano, Waterfall, Beach with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 80 reviews · 6 to 7 hours (approx.) · from $189

Review of Hilo’s volcano, waterfall, lava tube, and black sand beach tour, with lunch, local fruit, small groups, and cruise pickup.

“This was a great combination of activities: waterfall, lava tube, black sand beach, and seeing Kilauea. Our guides, Desmond and Anthony were exceptionally attentive and knowledgeable and made for a fun day!”

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7.Kona Shore Excursion: Wild Dolphin Reefs Snorkel and Sea Caves

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 73 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $149

Review of Kona’s 3-hour dolphin and reef snorkel shore excursion, with Captain Cook, sea caves, lunch, pricing, tips, and honest drawbacks.

“A great experience of snorkeling, whale and dolphin watching. Great job of showing us more than just going to a snorkeling site and taking us back. Excellent explanations of what we were seeing and the significance of lava tubes and caves in Hawaiian culture and history. Sign up for the experience rather than with the cruise line to save money.”

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8.Cruise Ship Shore Excursion of Historic Kona

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 33 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $79Best value

Review of Historic Kona shore excursion: Puuhonua refuge, Painted Church, Kona coffee, small groups, timing, value, and practical tips.

“Very good and very informative. Our driver/guide was first class.”

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9.Volcano Adventure Tour & Waterfall – Shore Excursion from Hilo Harbor

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 10 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $199

Review of Hilo’s six-hour volcano shore excursion, with Rainbow Falls, black sand beaches, gardens, lava views, costs, and practical tips.

“Im sharing this review as I feel there are a lot of questions out there regarding this tour and I want to help people choose the best one. Booking: I agree with others that it is awkward as there is not a lot of clarity. I was told pickup at noon verbally through a phone call although they arrived at 11am and were about to leave at 11:20am as I was not there even though I was in the lobby since 10:30am. Website is unclear as in one place it says pickup from Hilo Hotels between 11am - 11:10am and departure at 12:15pm from Hilo area. Dont worry, the tour…”

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10.Private Hilo Shore Excursion to Volcano Waterfall and Black Sand

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 6 to 7 hours (approx.)

Review of a private Hilo tour covering volcanoes, black sand beaches, waterfalls, coffee, gardens, and local treats for groups up to 14.

“Adam was fantastic! We booked this excursion for our group of 12 during our recent visit to Hilo, and it ended up being the highlight of our trip. Our group had been closely watching the activity on the live cameras for a potential eruption of Mt. Kilauea, and when we saw lava flowing, we headed straight for Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Thanks to Adam’s quick planning and expert guidance, we were lucky enough to witness Mt. Kilauea fountaining in person—an absolutely breathtaking sight. His dedication to making sure we didn’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime moment was truly appreciated. Highly recommend this tour and Adam’s outstanding service!”

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11.Kona Cruise Ship Excursion Hapuna Beach Day & NHS

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 6 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $134

Review of Kona’s Hapuna Beach and Pu‘ukoholā Heiau excursion, with macadamia tastings, scenic stops, pricing, timing, and booking advice.

“After booking this excursion months in advance, they canceled it last minute, the night before via email, due to overbooking, i would never recommend them . Customer beware”

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12.Private Shore Excursion Tour: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews

Review of a private Hawaii Volcanoes National Park tour from Hilo, with Kilauea, Rainbow Falls, Big Island Candies, and private transport.

“Scott was an amazing guide. We saw more overwhelming volcano sites than I could imagine, and his depth of information was very impressive. Beautiful scenery - great guide.”

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13.Hilo Waterfall Swim and Hike with Hilo Cruise Ship Pickup

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 4 reviews · 4 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $198

Review of Hilo’s waterfall hike with cruise pickup, private falls, farm trails, swim time, pricing, fitness needs, and practical tips.

“My son and I thought it had too much farmland and not enough scenery. It was pricey for this hike your. More like $75 The guide was nice and knowledgeable, but my son thought it was boring and monotonous”

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14.Private Hilo Shore Excursion Volcano National Park up to 10

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · 7 hours 30 minutes (approx.)

Review of a private Hilo shore excursion to Volcanoes National Park, Rainbow Falls, macadamia farms, beaches, markets, and more.

“Don is very informative and seems to love his job. He was one of the best tour guides I have ever used. I will be back and I plan to use him again”

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15.Hilo and Volcano National Park Tour for Cruise Passengers at port

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $230

Review of Hilo’s cruise-port tour to Volcanoes National Park, with waterfalls, gardens, lava tubes, local treats, timing, and value advice.

“Nice 4.5 hr excursion. Plenty of time to see volcano and walk around a bit. If you want more time to hike some of the trails, maybe rent a car. Guide knowledgeable.”

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