The 15 Nature Shore Excursions in the USA Worth Leaving the Ship For

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: Active Volcano, Lava Tube, Waterfall and Gardens

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 393 reviews · 5 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $187Top rated

Review of Hilo’s volcano tour with Kilauea, Thurston Lava Tube, Rainbow Falls, orchids, chocolate, gardens, and port pickup.

“This tour was excellent! Perfect amount of time spent at each site. The variety of sites were great. Felt like you got a good sense of this side of the Island. The tour guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and entertaining! She was native of the Island and wealth of knowledge. We really enjoyed the tour!”

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3.Ketchikan Shore Excursion: Rainforest Canopy Ropes and Zipline Adventure Park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 390 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $150

Review of Ketchikan’s rainforest zipline tour, with seven ziplines, canopy ropes, over-water views, transport, safety tips, and honest value advice.

“We had so much fun! The entire team is amazing and the adventure includes climbing wall (if you are in the mood for it). Great experience overall. My parents were over 60 and they loved doing it.”

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4.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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5.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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6.Meares Glacier Cruise Excursion from Valdez

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 119 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $199

Review of the 8-hour Meares Glacier cruise from Valdez, with glacier calving, wildlife, lunch, practical tips, price advice, and FAQs.

“It was Amazing! Alan who was the Captain was extremely personable and likable as well as being very knowledgeable as he shared wild life, geographical and historical information regarding our itinerary. In addition the crew did an excellent job. Everyone was extremely nice. We saw lots of wildlife. We got really close to Meares Glacier and witnessed multiple calving events. It was amazing”

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7.Hawaii Volcano National Park Shore Excursion

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

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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8.Kauai Cruise Ship Shore Excursion Journey to Waimea Canyon

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 110 reviews · from $97Best value

Review of Kauai’s Waimea Canyon shore excursion, with Spouting Horn, island history, coach details, pricing, timing, and practical booking advice.

“Driver guide mr. leoni was very nice and spoke alot and shared alot. The actual excursion was not that great compared to others..lots of driving to see a small water blow hole 20 min and then the canyon 30 min. Was not a very impressive outing for that much time in a bus.”

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9.Volcanoes National Park Adventure Tour – Hilo Shore Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 104 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $195

Explore Hilo, Rainbow Falls, black sand, lava tubes, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on a small-group shore excursion.

“Auntie Karen gave us a great tour! Lots of colorful, local stories while driving. Great visit to Volcano NP, made more stops than expected for all the best sights. Caught many other sites around Hilo area, especially enjoyed Rainbow Falls.”

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10.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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11.Mendenhall Glacier Canoe, Paddle and Hike

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 75 reviews · 5 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $402

Paddle across Mendenhall Lake, hike its rocky shore, and view a receding glacier on this active, small-group Juneau shore excursion.

“Fantastic and wonderful experience! The guide was excellent, very enthusiastic and with knowledge of the area. It can be done perfectly, the most complicated part was that we rowed all at once.”

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12.Mendenhall Glacier Guided Hike

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 71 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $234

Hike through Juneau’s rainforest to a Mendenhall Glacier viewpoint with a small group, guide, rain gear, snacks, and water.

“Our guide Brad was great. Best trip we had while we were in Alaska. Loved it. If you like to hike this is a must.”

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13.Helicopter to a Dogsledding Experience with a Glacier Landing

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 60 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $860

Ride a dogsled on Herbert Glacier, land by helicopter, meet sled dogs, and explore Juneau’s icefield in a thrilling 3.5-hour tour.

“Fantastic I recommend it 100% Very exciting. An unparalleled experience. All staff very responsibleAuto-translated”

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14.Seward Shore Excursion: Pre- or Post-Cruise Kenai Fjords National Park Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 59 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $223

Cruise Kenai Fjords from Seward for glaciers, whales, sea otters, puffins, lunch, and practical advice on timing, weather, and value.

“One of the best Alaskan tours I have been on! Would highly recommend this trip to anyone that’s in Seward.”

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15.Private Shore Excursion Hilo Volcanoes National Park up to 10 PPL

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 36 reviews · 6 hours (approx.)

Review of a private Hilo volcano tour with Volcanoes National Park, lava tubes, waterfalls, gardens, snacks, and Mercedes transport.

“A cool experience in Hilo. Skylar was our guide & he was very kind, knowledgable & professional. We enjoyed our time Volcanos National Park (volcanic craters, steam vents & lava tubes!), Rainbow Falls, then a stop at Mauna Loa macademia nut factory (yummy ice cream). Skylar took photos of us the entire day with his nice camera then we got access to them for free.”

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