Hawaii Forest & Trail - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Robert Downes

The tour was well worth it. Our tour guide was knowledgeable about Hawaiian culture and astronomy. His explanation how the observatory works and how they interact with the citizens of Hawaii was very informative. The attached pictures are recommendations from our guide and I would not have been able to take them with out his help.
If you never been to high altitudes before this tour is well worth the money for your safety and enjoyment of the sunset and start gazing. The advice of the tour guide helped me to accumulate to the higher altitudes so I could take the attached photos.

Maureen Carroll

Loved the Hawaii Forest & Trail tour of Hidden Craters - our guide, Mark, was really knowledgeable and passionate about plants, geology, history, and how all the elements of the ecosystem work together. His enthusiasm made it very fun and interesting, plus we liked that he clearly has a respect for the land and the history. Loved walking high ridges and dipping down into lava tubes. This was really fun, I feel like it helped us understand Hawaii better, and I highly recommend it.

Heidi Milne

This was an amazing treat! Dane was an excellent historian and enthusiastic host.... Our teenage sons (15 & 17) thought it was excellent (loved the off-road driving) and thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the nature. They swam in the waterfall pools and played with some unusually sized crayfish!? Lovely lunch spot and educational 'break' to learn more about the island and its people. Absolutely worth doing.

Amanda Snyder

My 11 year old daughter and I took the Kohala Waterfalls Adventure today. I haven’t left a Google Review in many years, but I really want to pay-it-forward and give a huge thank you to the employees of this company.
Mel, our guide for the day, went above and beyond getting to know EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US, so that the day met our goals to the best
of her ability. She kept us safe and comfortable in the brand new Sprinter Van, in very remote areas of the island, and taught us more than any guide book could! She lives here and embraces the Hawaiian Heritage that we were delighted to learn about. The tour itinerary is an amazing experience, but meeting Mel and the way she made all the tour members feel like family was priceless. Today was a day you’ll wish you could live over and over in your mind…a favorite memory you’ll never forget, even when your daughter is a Senior in High School, we’ll remember today.
We booked our tour last minute, yet Chels went out of her way to pack my daughter a special treat. She felt so special thanks to Chels and Mel, and I’m so very grateful for that unexpected kindness. (We want our kiddos to be excited to go along & do exciting learning adventures with us, and these ladies definitely helped her feel welcome with the adults. Little people can do big things too!).
Thank you Mel and Chels for showing Ohana to myself and my family, and everyone else who came today. The food was delicious and all the important comfort details like towels and walking sticks were greatly appreciated.
-Amanda & Aspen

Photos: Mel teaching Aspen that spiders make two types of web material, the sticky middle web material to catch insects, and the non-sticky web-stabilizing strands.
The sweet note Chels left on Aspen’s snack pack

Jen LaVin

Highly recommend this tour company to anyone visiting the Big Island - we took the day-long tour up to the top of Mauna Kea. Our guide was great - fun and informative. The mountain is beautiful and worth seeing at sunset. We were treated to a telescope tour of the sky - truly amazing. Got to see Saturn's rings, a nebula, and Jupiter and 4 of its moons! Really really a wonderful day.

Tiffany Corrao

What a fabulous day! This unique hike was beautiful and full of off the beaten path fun. Every part of the hike, from the lava tube to the Parrot Pit was amazing. The small group was perfect. The guide, Mark, knew so much biology, culture and history! Sign up, you won't regret it. Thank you Hawai'i Forest and Trail for gaining access to this treasure.

Christine Fend

Really unique and special tour. Hiking to the falls was quite muddy so bring shoes you don’t mind getting muddy. As much as the tour description tells you to bring closed toe shoes, you will get your shoes and socks completely muddy when going into the waterfall swim. I wore a sturdy sandal and was happy I did.

The lunch spot offers spectacular views of the ocean and green mountain cliff side of the island. A spot not accessible otherwise so that was really amazing. I ordered the pastrami sandwich option and it was very tasty. Better than the turkey my husband got.

Very nice tour and a day well spent.

David Ellis

Our guide was excited and informative. He made sure we drank water and stopped any time anyone needed to.
The summit was beyond our expectations. It’s mind blowing to think we needed coats and gloves to stay up there for any length of time! You don’t expect this in Hawaii.
Thr star gazing was great. I was a science teacher, but my wife was not. Even she got into the spirit due to the enthusiasm of our guide. Also, seeing a comet that won’t be close to earth for 80,000 years was a bonus!!!
We enjoyed it and have told many others at our resort that it was a quality day!