Hannibal was our guide and he was fantastic! He narrated non-stop with info and personal stories and we loved it! We thought the time at the visitor's center was way too short and we didn't get to see everything (not Hannibal's fault). The description about the excursion for the sandwiches at lunch, along with Hannibal's telling us about them, told us that they were the best sandwiches on the island and big enough to share. In actuality, it was $20 for a sandwich, chips and water and it was one of the worst sandwiches I've eaten! White bread, with cheap ham and slathered with mustard and mayo. It was all there was to eat and very disappointing. Aside from lunch, it was a wonderful excursion and Hannibal was wonderful! read more

C Big Island - Awful $20 sandwich - Tours Near Me - Hawaii, Hawaii

My first review of the year, also first time as a Black Yelp Elite, *hooray* and I couldn't be happier to start it off with the awesome C Big Island! This was the only tour we did during our cruise and Steve did not steer us wrong! His expertise allowed us to make the most out of the hours we had on our trip and his endless enthusiasm kept us engaged throughout the day in Hilo. Thanks for such a memorable day, Steve! read more

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We did the Manta Night Snorkeling and had a great time. The team was so funny and informative. They provided us with wetsuits which was greatly appreciated because the water is cold, and the wetsuits helps us float. Further more, I cannot swim and the team kept me alive . I really appreciate that they take on non/weak swimmers like myself so I can experience seeing Manta Rays in the wild! It was a great experience and I highly recommend this tour group. PLUS, Tamae gives you her Manta and dolphin videos for FREE!!! She is an angel! Ps. I recommend bringing your own snorkeling mask and snorkel. The ones they provide was hard for me to breathe through and the mask was kinda scratched. read more

We were lucky enough to get into a small group tour with Troy. There was only another couple so it felt pretty private. Troy knew alot about the island and the history of Hawaii. He was lots of fun and made sure we all had a good time. We covered lots of locations and his vehicle was very comfortable. Would highly recommend this tour company and especially Troy. read more

The best non-swimmer manta-ray trip you can ever experience. 10/10. Saw more than 10 rays. Super nice staff and trip. read more

The tour was excellent! Lots of history and geography/topographical information was presented, and was exactly what I was hoping for, in addition to all the many places we stopped to see beautiful mountains and volcanoes. And our tour guide, Kelvin, was awesome! He had tremendous background having lived in HI for most of his life. I would highly recommend this tour with him. read more

Hilo Shore Excursion, Volcano National Park, Rainbow Falls Excursion. Gio was awesome and very knowledgeable. He went above and beyond, he made the adventure a fun experience. He gave us an excellent tour and we highly recommend touring with this fantastic company. read more

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The "C Big Island" tour guides arrived at the port at different (personal) times. As the cruisers/passengers found the "Big Island Tours" signage, they were instructed to sit on a bench until their complete group and tour guide was present. This is where the confusion started. The passengers did not know who their tour guide was and EVERY tour guide had a different way to identify their passengers. There were at least four tour-vans populated with 10-12 passengers; about 50 passengers looking for where they needed to go. One guide had a white board with names hand-written on it, another guide had a clip board with a blank piece of paper and asked passengers to write their name(s) on it, while another had a computer-generated print-out with names already populated on it and passengers could confirm their reservation. It was confusing and chaotic until someone could confirm where each passenger belonged. This allowed for a 45 minute milling about and delay. It was a dysfunctional practice and could have been easily avoided with an organized, consistent, professional process. Once in a van, the driving tour began. Unfortunately for us, a passenger in the front seat commented on the paraphernalia hanging from the tour-guide's rearview mirror... which had religious symbolism. The tour-guide felt this was an invitation to share her personal views of Christianity and politics. The next several hours in the van were filled with scripture ideology and quoting of Biblical texts. It was a one-sided conversation and any anecdotes to Island history were tainted with the limited Christian and political viewpoint of the tour-guide. UGH. It was mundane, long-winded, uncomfortable and even anxiety-ridden. If the tour-guide could "read the room," she would have noticed that no other passengers gave her eye-contact, asked questions or even acknowledged the information in her self-absorbed speeches. The beautiful views were masked and sometimes lost because of the preaching... it wasn't until I inserted my earbuds that I began to appreciate the views from my backseat window. As for the tour itself, it was as described in the advertisement- a drive to amazing views with a couple of forced shopping venues (a shop to purchase a sandwich and a chocolate shop). In my humble, limited opinion: A rented car and a self-guided audio tour would have saved several hundred dollars and avoided the stressful, Christian-laden version of the "C Big Island Tour." read more

After driving every where in Kona, we returned the rental car in Hilo and booked the Volcanoes National Park and Waterfall tour and let them do the driving. Donna picked us up and we were on our way for the day! Donna is very knowledgeable about the island and Hilo. She pointed our many things that we would have missed driving ourselves. She stopped at a local market for us to pick up lunch to eat while at VNP. Her suggestions for lunch was spot on! This tour was perfect for us to see some of the attractions. Already planning our next trip to the Big Island as there is so many things to do and see. This trip will include another tour with Big Island Tours. Thanks for the great day we spent with you-Donna. read more

Our guides were Marissa and Cheyvan (?). They were wonderful, very knowledgeable and kind guides! I highly recommend C Big Island!

This was one of the best excursions I have ever taken. C Big Island told us what we would see and guaranteed us back to our ship in a timely manner. We did see everything they told us we would see and more. If you luck into a C Big Island tour, I hope you will even be luckier and have Marissa as your tour guide. This woman is phenomenal!! Marissa took us to Black Sand Beach where we held sand in our hands and looked for the green crystals. On we went to Rainbow Falls and Marissa clued us in to walking a little on up where we could get great pictures of the rainbow created by the falls. We then went to the Volcanic National Park for two separate and distinct different viewpoints and culminated our tour with a walk through the Lava Tunnel. Wow! Marissa even shared her personal pictures of the recent volcanic eruptions which left us awestruck looking at them. read more

Donna is a wonderful tour guide who is not only knowledgeable, kind but also very professional and passionate about her job. She also takes great pictures. We enjoyed our excursion! read more

We booked The Volcanoes National Park & Waterfall Tour with this company and we're very excited to take the journey. However the tour was very underwhelming. First off the bus that took us, was not conducive to a view. The front window was halfway hidden due to the layout of the bus. We had no views. The company stated they would supply waters, snacks, umbrellas and ponchos. None of that was supplied. We never went to the Orchid Flower Nursery, or the Japanese Gardens. We did however get dropped at a Public Park area that had some Japanese style bridges and ponds. We drove through the town of Hilo, but again did not get to see it very well. The driver was a nice man but he really didn't give us a lot of information and half the time we couldn't hear him because his Mic was off. The air conditioning was up full and we had to ask several times for it to be lowered. Lunch consisted of a 7-11 stop where we got sandwiches and drinks which we ate on the bus. Once we got off the bus to see things we were left to explore usually for 10-15 minutes alone. No guided tour, no information on what we were seeing. The Volcano's aspect was the most underwhelming of all we were expecting to see Lava, but instead saw steam vents and a mini view of the crater from a long distance away. Reminded us of a mini version of the Grand Canyon. The Macadamia Nut Farm is closed and not open to the Public at this time. On the way home we stopped at a Candy Store. We opted to get off the bus at that point even though he was taking us to see "The Blank Sand Beach" which he said was ten minutes outside the town of Hilo. We decided to skip because we were expecting the Black Sand Beach on the south of the island and considering how awful the whole tour was, we decided that this beach would be also. This Tour was promoted as something it is not. We were extremely disappointed considering we drove from Kona to Hilo to take this tour. 1hr45min. We wasted our money. So frustrating. I really hesitated about writing a negative review, I don't like to do it. But, I feel others on the tour felt the same as we did and were not prepared for the underwhelming experience. Be warned!! read more

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Paul was the best! He took our group of 14 around, he was very knowledgeable and so helpful. He went above and beyond to take care of us. Thank you!! read more

You will have your once in a lifetime experience here!!! I saw hot lava entering the ocean the first time in my life. I even smelled it! It's an awesome experience especially for a geologist like me :) There are several companies who do this tour, and let me tell you C Big Island is the one to go with and here's why: - Cheaper than others. It's less than $200 per person, to be exact it's $195 plus tax - You'll be on a boat of 6 swivel captain seats only, definitely an exclusive experience for the price you pay! Other tour companies might put you on boats packed like sardines as we saw when we were out on the water... - They offer the sunset tour but they get you back to the dock when there's still daylight because they care about safety. It's easy to back up to the water in the dark, but it's very challenging to return the boat on shore without any light - The lady was pleasant to talk to on the phone, although the accent was a bit difficult to understand. Tips: Make sure you are well prepared for a VERY CHOPPY BOAT RIDE. For several times our boat was flying off the water surface because of the huge waves. This part of the land has no shore because of all the new rocks building outward, and the waves are not abated whatsoever, so you have Pacific Ocean swells accumulated from the Californian coast all the way to Hawaii! And your cataraman is there riding those swells... Be safe and enjoy the magnificence of nature! read more

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Manta ray night snorkeling from Kona was a really wonderful and very well executed trip. Bryce, Scott and Tamae helped us feel comfortable and safe. Our family was a mix of swimmers and non-swimmers. I am happy we chose this tour which catered towards non-swimmers as well. read more

We enjoyed our day with Rusty on our Volcano National Park and Waterfalls Tour in Hilo. Rusty gave great commentary, took pictures of us and gave us plenty of time at the stops. She was even helpful when we saw her the next day in Kona! We highly recommend a tour with Rusty. read more

Maggie was awesome- very well spoken, had a lot of knowledge and was super fun to be on a tour of waterfalls and volcanoes on Hilo! Booked this excursion for Pride of America NCL in a whim and was sure glad we did- everyone in our party had a real good time read more

We really enjoyed our Volcanoes National Park and Falls tour! It included so many more attractions than the port adventure offered by Disney Cruise Line. Ernie kept us entertained with his vast knowledge of the island and his sense of humor. I am so happy we canceled the Disney tour and booked this one. Every stop was so breathtaking and picture worthy! He has us back to the ship well before all aboard. I highly recommend. You will not be disappointed! read more

Friendly guide. Poor vehicle for sight-seeing. Questionable sites. One of the sites was seeing lava in a lady's backyard.

Manta Ray small group evening snorkel was amazing! Captain Chris and "manta whisperer" Buddha made the experience wonderful. We were on the 16 seat zodiac and the snorkel took place in the ocean right off the airport. We set off at sunset and returned under the full moon and spent a good amount of time with the rays...and there were 8-10 swimming with us. Mahalo! read more

This was an amazing experience! If you get a chance, do not pass up the Lava Boat Tour! C Big Island Lava Boat Tour was the best tour we have ever decided to take. It was an incredible experience, like nothing else we have ever done! The boat is very comfortable with six swivel captains chairs. Plenty of room to stretch your legs and see unobstructed views of the coast line on your way out to the lava run and of the flow itself spilling into the ocean. You get so close you can feel the heat of Madame Pele! It was incredible! While we were out there we saw one of the other tour boats that looked like a cattle truck. People packed in rows under a canopy which looked like it was blocking much of their view. If you weren't lucky enough to get a seat on the edge of the boat it didn't look like you could see much at all. I'd highly recommend going with C Big Island and skip the over packed tours. And our guides were awesome! I would like to give a big shout out to Kanoa and Kainoa, our captain and guide! They both made our experience amazing not only with how knowledgeable they were but with making us feel safe and comfortable! I don't always do well on boats but on this trip I thoroughly enjoyed myself all due to them. Mahalo guys! One side note, the ride out there and back can be rough. If you tend to get seasick make sure you take Dramamine or get one of those patches you can wear behind your ear. But in case you do get sea sick (unfortunately one of the women on our tour did), your guides are fully prepared and take great care of you! Also we did the sunset tour and it got a bit chilly on the way back, but nothing a light jacket didn't fix. 110% recommend these guys for an amazing experience watching something you can't see anywhere else in the world right now! read more

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We booked the Coffee farm and sea turtles tour as an excursion from our cruise ship in December 2022. The mini bus was comfortable and the sight seeing well timed. Our driver/guide (Donna?) was very friendly, engaging and knowledgeable about the sites and Hawaiian culture/history. Sites visited were interesting and it felt good to support the local community. Afterwards, we were dropped off at the pier with plenty of time to catch our tender back to the ship. Would recommend this company for the reasonable price (compared to cruise ship sponsored excursions), variety of sites seen, and the friendly guide. read more

**Note - this is for their customer service only** We booked a lava hike with C Big Island to get up close and personal with some molten rock. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks prior to our trip the lava flow changed and the hikes were suspended. After our arrival to the Big Island, the flow became hikeable but the hike was long and much more advanced. Since our party included two kids, 10 & 12, that wasn't going to work for us and they quickly issued a refund. Here's the thing, all of the events above happened over the course of about two months. C Big Island communicated with us via email and text the whole time with updates on the flow. At one point they texted to tell me that they were going to test the hike out in two days, then followed up after their exploration with what they found. I didn't have to check up on them, they took the initiative! The whole experience, other than not being able to do the hike, was fantastic and I would absolutely book with them the next time we head out that way. read more

Kelvin was an amazing guide. Sharing the histories and stories of the island. He was personable and professional. He took pictures of my family at every stop so all four of us could be in photos, which are the only ones I have from our recent trip to the islands. The tour was an excellent value and I would highly recommend C Island Tours to anyone visiting the Big Island. read more

Volcanoes National Park, Rainbow Falls and Highlights My wife and I spent our 25th Anniversary on a Hawaiian Cruise. On Hilo, we went for the excursion to see the Volcanoes National Park and Rainbow Falls. The tour guide was a man named Chris. He was fantastic with his information and for all he did. The tour was much more than the Volcanoes and Rainbow Falls. We went to a beautiful Japanese Garden, the Falls, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Store and farm. We also stopped in a store that grows and sells orchids. It was informative on how to grow them and so many varieties. We had 3 stops in the Volcanoes Park. The view was great and the Steam Vents were very interesting. The only reason this is not a 5 Star rating was due to the beach at the end of the excursion. No fault of C Big Island, the beach was high tide and so the turtles were not out. We had hoped to see them, but I guess that is determined by the tide. Overall, it was a great tour and some good memories on our anniversary day. Aloha Chris. read more

Went on the Sunset Manta Ray Snorkel excursion in Kona. The manta Ray's were amazing! The crew was great. Had a little schedule issue, but the customer service was great and everything turned out well. On my list for another trip when we return to Kona! (This time I will bring my gopro! Duh!) read more

When you see new land forming in front of your eyes it's an overwhelming experience in it self. You are in awe of it and generally don't consider how you got to that place or who took you there unless of course something major goes wrong. Fortunately with us nothing like that happened. When we got to the meeting place they were waiting for us, easy to locate from all the points in the information email. Also crew of 6 meant quick boarding. Staff was nice and friendly. It is a good 50 min to the point. They gave us a decent enough time to take it all in. Took pictures for us, offered water and other drinks and manuvered the boat around to give us good views. On the back when we were all awake they did give us tons of information about some other great places on the island. Only down point is price. It's a bit exorbitant. We paid because well we just had to do this but I did feel they were discounting the experience in the price and not just the service. Or may be the demand enabled them to charge whatever. read more

We did the 6-person sunset tour and really enjoyed it. I give it 4 stars because, as expected of a tour, it was a bit impersonal and canned. Takes a really unique guide to make a booked your truly 5* and personal. Anyway, met at the boat near Pahoa. Follow the instructions in the email! Park across from the boats. For the 6-pedson tour, get seats on the right side as you walk onto the boat for land view on the way there and early view of lava steam plume. There are two rows of 3 seats. Sit in the last/back seat if you want to watch and be by yourself and enjoy the view but sit in middle or front seat if you want to hear the tour guide at all. The engines are loud. You board the boat on land and ride it to the boat ramp. It's a 40 minute ride to the plume. Pretty; we did not see any whales. Then you park at the lava flow and watch. It was very impressive. We did see the actual orange lava along with plenty of steam and the occasional "sand explosion". We sat there for 15 mins then the guide suggested pictures using your phone. No upsell at all, which is nice. On the way back we got more stories about the local beaches and land. We tipped 10% and it seemed expected. They earned it. read more

This was our first trip to The Big Island, and a tour of the Mauna Kea observatory was on our "must-do" list. Sadly, all of the "Super-Deluxe-Fancy" tours (those that advertised sumptuous gourmet meals before the trip) were all booked-up. After some digging around, we found C Big Island and were connected with Edmond, a C Big Island tourguide who would meet us at the bottom of the mountain, and take us up in a four-wheel. (No super-deluxe gourmet meals, though.) Our first stop was the Mauna Kea visitor's center, at about 9,000 ft above sea level. We spent about 40 minutes there, getting acclimated to the altitude & temperature. We also were provided with some Ramen noodles. While standing around slurping my noodles, I looked around for those sumptuous, super-deluxe gourmet meals -- just to see what we were missing. But all I could see were other folks, standing around, eating chicken and beef out of styrofoam "take-out" boxes. (There was one beat-up picnic table. Everyone else was standing.) If those styrofoam take-out boxes represented the "gourmet meals" (and I'm pretty sure they did), then I was very happy with my Ramen noodles. (They were much easier to eat while standing up.) The Mauna Kea visitors center and observatory is not a "luxury" place to visit -- no matter who is providing the tour. (If you are expecting waiters in pressed tuxedos and a five-course "Downton-Abbey" style dinner, you won't get it at Mauna Kea -- it just ain't that type of place!) After about 40 minutes, Edmond outfitted us with warm parkas, and drove us up to the summit. Along the way, he provided a huge amount of interesting information about the observatory, the culture, some of the controversy surrounding the observatory, and much more. Above all, though, he emphasized our safety and our comfort. The observatory is about 13,700 feet above sea level -- and the air is pretty cold and pretty thin. It's easy to get sick, get lightheaded, or pass out. While most of us were looking to the west, anticipating a fantastic sunset, Edmond invited us to look to east, where he pointed out the H-U-G-E shadow of the mountain. The shadow is so large, you might not notice it as a shadow, unless it was pointed out to you. We were treated to an amazing sunset, then trekked back down to the visitor's center for a session of stargazing. Again, Edmond provided volumes of interesting information about Mauna Kea, as well as the stars we could see from there. If you love astronomy, are a Science Nerd, or just want to experience the Big Island in a truly different way, then contact Edmond at C Big Island, and see Mauna Kea. Do not miss this! read more

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A great tour with Chris about the island he lives on. He is a 10 out of a scale of 1-5. Knowledgeable, friendly and thorough. If you book a tour with this company---ask for Chris---you will be a very happy camper. bill and mary pittsburgh read more

It was an amazing adventure for my husband and I. Our tour guide Bob was awesome. We can't wait to returning. So much to see and such a little time. read more

C Big Island - Tours Near Me - Hawaii, Hawaii

We had heard of this tour through word of mouth from home in Washington state!! I immediately booked this! We have zero regrets. The Captain and his son were well organized and completely ready for us! They were knowledge and friendly and helped make our experience even better then just the lava alone!! If your wondering where to book it's a no brainer. The MOKU NUI was a clean and well maintained boat with enough room for a more comfortable view, just my husband and I and two other couples. I will remember this one for the rest of my life!! They crew man took pictures of each couple standing at the back of the boat in front of the lava, added little bonus!! The Captain grew up on the very waters he takes you out on, he knows so much and shared a lot of history with us. I am not easily wowed and they wowed me!! Thank you to all of the C Big Island Tours!! What an amazing experience!! (The Hiatt's) read more

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Had the absolute best time! Buddha and captain kris were the best!! Don't book with the 4 hour tours, 2 hours is plenty. And use a wetsuit if you are prone to getting cold! read more

We had an amazing time on C Big Island's summit and stargazing tour! Our tour guide Daisy did an awesome job keeping all the guests entertained and was quite knowledgeable about the history of the island and Hawaiian culture. The tour provided thick jackets (and pants) and hot chocolate which were an absolute lifesaver. Weather was cloudy at first, which we were told does happen a small percentage of the time, but luckily the night sky cleared up and we had a great view of the stars! read more

We were so happy to have booked the Hilo tour with C Big Island! Edmond gave great information and has such a nice personality. He kept us on time so we could see ALL the stops. Another C Big shuttle was doing the same route as us and even their driver took good care of us, helping to take pictures and laughing with kids. Really a nice group of people and easy booking online. read more

we had an open day while on Hilo and decided to take a tour with C Big island. Our tour guide Daisy, was very knowledgeable and had a lot of good stories about the areas that we visited! We made numerous stops. Among them Rainbow Falls, the volcano, a lava tube, macadamia nut plantation, saw black sand beaches and saw sea turtles. I would recommend this group very highly. Gr8 experience and reasonable $$. read more

Edmond is the best. Saw a beach with a ton of turtles. Also went and learned about kona coffee. (Got to sample as well). Very enjoyable, highly recommended . This is the tour you want! The big island/kona is very beautiful and this tour is the best way to see it all. Lunch stop was the best. Nothing bad to say here. Book your c big island tour today! read more

In mid September we went on a night Manta Ray trip. Our guide was Buddha and the trip was fantastic. At first we were near about 12 other boats and saw some swim bys. Buddha then moved us about 200 to 300 feet away from the other boats then we had about a 15minute show of one big Manta feeding. The Manta got within inches of us. I thought Buddha was a Manta Ray whisperer. read more

Loved our tours!! Edmond was a great host. He was informed, knowledgeable and fun! We did the Volcano Nat'l Park tour in Hilo and had such a great experience that we booked another tour, Kona Coffee and Chocolate, the following day ( with Edmund of course). It was amazing how many things we were able to see in two days!!! We did not feel rushed and loved the size of the tour. Edmund added a lot of personal touches by giving us hints and suggestions before we left the tour bus. He didn't just drop us off, he gave us great tips on what to look for once we got off the tour bus!! We would book again with C Big Island Tours in a heartbeat! Thanks for making our vacation amazing! The Karens .. Rhode Island read more