Carey was great to work with. He happily customized the tour for us and made some great suggestions for alternate place that you would not see on one of the big tours. His local knowledge was excellent and allowed us to learn things that we would not have otherwise. Happy to recommend Custom Island Tours and support a veteran owned business. read more

Mr. Shawn Shane at Custom Island Tours was a wonderful private tour guide. He listened to our wishes, was very flexible, gave us some new experiences, was very friendly, easy to deal with, and knew interesting parts of history and customs that was very impressive. Not only did he take us to so many beautiful scenic and historical sites but his stories also made our trip much more entertaining! Highly recommended! read more

Custom Island Tours - Shawn & us near Halona Lookout - Tours Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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The tour itself was good, but the tour guide wasn't very good. He wasn't very informative and didn't seem like he wanted to be touring, he also seemed like he didn't want to talk about himself or the island either. Didn't seem like he liked his job. Seemed off too, keep making weird noises, doing weird things with his eyes, and bouncing his leg so hard the entire van would shake. Our tour guide was JP read more

We booked this tour on 12/9 from our Hotel Concierge and it was amazing! We left the next morning, Conroy picked us up and made the whole day special! He was so knowledgeable and made it personable for just us two! Highly recommend them! read more

JP was an excellent driver and tour guide! My family and I totally loved our day in Paradise! Thank you, JP! read more

Custom Island Tours - Tours Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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This was awesome! Mr. Conroy was a great guide and took us to some pretty cool spots. The communication was great and my family really enjoyed the tour, we did end the tour early due to an emergency with another family member not on the tour and Mr. Conroy got us safely back to the hotel. I would definitely recommend having Mr. Conroy as your guide!!! read more

We had a great tour with Shawn. We've been to the island a few times, but were here with family who were here for the first time. We were looking for a tour that'd hit a bunch of the scenic sites, but we wanted something more than what you'd get out of "Top 10 Scenic Places in Oahu" - we wanted a tour that would not just show us the hits, but help us understand them. Shawn did a wonderful job of providing the history of the beautiful places we saw, from the Queen's Palace to the natural wonders of the island, to even the Dole Plantation - and framed them in the history of the conflicts between kings to the development of the plantations and culminating in the Queen's overthrow and subsequent annexation of the islands by the US. It was really amazing to see the places in question put into context. It was also just really great to see a lot of places on the island that we wouldn't have found by ourselves. We had a fantastic time, our family had a great introduction to the island, and Shawn was a fantastic, fun, and welcoming guide to the the culture and history of Hawaii. Highly recommended. read more

We took a custom, private tour of the island from Shawn on the first full day of our trip. Frankly, I recommend that everyone take this tour of the whole island as soon as you can, upon your arrival. The richness of history, storytelling, humor and joy is abundant and you will learn everything and anything you want to know about the history and culture of the islands. Plus, you will get to see some remarkable sites. Shawn is an absolute gem! He made friends with all of us, and everyone he meets. His connection to the people and land is palpable: An amazing tour guide, and person. Ask for him, if you can! read more

We had a full day tour with Conroy, and he was so knowledgeable about Oahu and extremely accommodating, allowing us to choose our itinerary for the day, while still giving excellent recommendations. I would definitely use this company in the future! Absolutely amazing!!! read more

Hi my family and I booked our Island Tour last Thursday with Larry, he is literally the BEST tour guide!! He picked us up on time, recommended his personal favorite spots of the Island & showed us around with such a great attitude!! He was very easygoing, friendly, & clearly passionate about his job. Our family all agreed that Larry was the best tour guide we've ever encountered. I loved my tour and recommend him to anyone visiting the Island!! Thank you Larry hope to see you around!! :) read more

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Im not gonna lie, I was nervous when we chose to go on a private tour instead of a group tour, feeling anxious about how to keep a conversation going for so long with someone new. I wish I could go back in time and tell that nervous girl that this would end up being one of the best experiences of her life. I went on this tour with my 81 year old grandmother (I'm 22) and we both had the time of our lives! I had some ideas going into this tour for places to go or things to see and our guide (Shawn!!!) took us to all of them without me even having to ask. He went above and beyond to make sure this tour was the most interactive and personalized way to see as much of the island as possible. He also did an amazing job making sure both me and my grandmother were taken care of and that she wasn't having to try things she wasn't comfortable with but that I also didn't miss out on any adventures! It was the perfect way to intertwine seeing tourist attractions as well as more local spots and experiences. All day I felt like I was taking to someone I had known for so long and I left with much more knowledge about the history of Hawaii and it's people than I thought possible. Most important of all, I truly felt like I left having made a new friend in our guide, Shawn. read more

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DO NOT BOOK!!!! This was the worst tour we went on and ruined the vacation. Our tour guide was rude, pushy, and yelled obscenities at other drivers. The driver was extremely unsafe. Will never book with this company again. read more

Our hotel in Waikiki had set up a tour for my family and I through Custom Island tours. Our guide Shawn led us through scenic views of Oahu, caves, plantations, Chinatown, food trucks, and more. Shawn was friendly, knowledgeable, and very nice. I would highly recommend Custom Island Tours to anyone visiting the island. Ask for Shawn he is the best! read more

Excellent tour guide David, he was so helpful and recommended best shrimp lunch. Private tour are the best because just the five of us and you can spend how much time as you want at the different locations. Highly recommend read more

Out of my three trips to Oahu, this was by far the best tour I have done in any of my trips. This was my boyfriend's first trip to Hawaii, so I wanted to introduce him to more than the beaches of Waikiki where we were staying on vacation. Tyco was our tour guide for the day- he was prompt, funny, and very kind. We paid for a eight hour tour, but we were out for close to ten hours. He encouraged us to linger at every stop and take our time to truly experience Oahu. We chose to go to the preset tour around the island- however, requests are allowed and encouraged. We stopped at many beaches and lookouts, including Hanauma Bay, Makapu'u Lighthouse, Tropical Macadamia Nut Farms, Halona Blowhole, a shrimp truck for lunch, and the Dole Plantation. The highlight of the trip was snorkeling at Turtle Bay and a stop at Laniakea (Turtle Beach). We had the opportunity to not only see many turtles in the water, but were lucky enough to see a turtle coming ashore. I would highly recommend this tour. It is an excellent value for what you pay, especially compared to many other private tours of the island. I will definitely recommend this tour and Tyco to all of my family and friends! read more

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This tour was a great decision for me and my family and it's because we had the most knowledgeable, funniest and awesome tour guide/driver to bring us around the island. Eddie was awesome he gave us many little factoids about the island, movies that were filmed, secret places on the island, great places to eat, and so on. He was great to talk to and he really made our day. I'd recommend your company and Eddie to my friends and relatives that want to visit Hawaii. Time and money we'll spent. read more

When we had trouble renting a car or finding a snorkel adventure I saw the Custom Tour van when I was picking up some guests. I called and scheduled a tour for snorkeling and sightseeing. Unfortunately, when we got in the van Carey (owner and operator) informed us that due to the heavy rains the week before that water where he would take us was murky and brown. We then proceeded to take the tour from Honolulu around to the North Shore and back. He stopped for photos at the best places. He has a good knowledge of the Island and it's plants, trees, birds, etc. He took us to the Leonard's Bakery food truck and Fumi's for lunch. We stopped at several beaches, he pointed out waterfalls. He talked about movies that had been filmed on Oahu and the locations of various scenes. This is NOT a movie tour, but interesting facts. He did take us to a beach he knows typically has Turtles. One of my granddaughters was excited to be able to get in the water even if it wasn't snorkeling. Much to our surprise there was a turtle on the beach and in the water she saw several other Turtles. The water was shallow. It was low tide so she and my son had no problem walking out to see the Turtles and get some pictures, however the water was cloudy so the pictures weren't very good. By this time everyone was ready to head back to the hotel. They were disappointed the driver wouldn't let them eat shaved ice in his van, but were anxious to get back and did want to take time to eat it at the coffee and chocolate stop. The tour lasts up to 8 hours. He will take you where you want to go , but would recommend you ask him to take you to places where your full day would be spend at one location such as the Polynesian Cultural Center. For something like that a car rental would be less expensive. This 8 hour tour cost $550 for 5 people. Call for prices for your tour. read more

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Not only did Eddie get us to all the sites that we wanted to see around the island of Oahu, he was extremely knowledgeable about the culture and history of the locations. We especially enjoyed some of his antidotes about the surf culture. And appreciated him making a special stop at the Leonard's food truck so that we could try the malasadas. I highly recommend him to anyone who wants to get out of the hustle and bustle of Waikiki and explore the island. Thank you, Eddie!!!! read more

We did a private tour of Oahu with Custom Island Tours. Feaomalu was our driver. She is very knowledgeable about the best spots for sightseeing and taking memorable pictures. She was pleasant and is an excellent photographer too. We recommend her and the company highly. read more

We were booking last minute during a holiday week and Nona was very responsive in trying to find an opening for us. We wanted a custom tour so we could stay as little or long as we wanted and we got that. Our driver JP was excellent. He contacted us before our start time and arrived on time. He was able to provide us with a lot of unique information about the island and its people. Van was fairly new and very clean. Overall a great tour. read more

We had a great tour of the entire island with JP as our driver! He was very knowledgeable and accommodating!

Loved Eddie! He showed us a GREAT time and adapted our trip based on weather, traffic etc. We got to see so many things and he was so knowledgeable about the area. Loved him and highly recommend anyone use him if you want to see the area!!!! read more

My family and I had the pleasure to tour Oahu with Shawn as our guide. Shawn was awesome and made sure that we were able to see the best parts of the island. He made sure that we really saw the beauty of Hawaii . Thanks to Shawn we can't wait to come back to Oahu again! read more

Shawn was AWESOME!! He was so sweet. Plus he informed is on so much on Hawaii's history. It felt like he was family. He was the highlight of my trip read more

We (me, my sister and my mom) had a customized Circle around the Island tour with Larry from Custom Island Tour. My mom has limited mobility and could not speak English but Larry was so informative and accommodating that all of us had the best time in Hawaii. We wanted to see so many places in the 8 hours time and Larry drove us along the shores and stopped for the must see attractions. We also learned so much from Larry about Hawaii's history and culture. He took us to taste the sourdough donuts and shrimp truck ( not the Giovanni but Fumi) for the tasty butter garlic shrimp and more. Much better and fresh. Overall this tour is awesome and exceeding our expectation. We strongly recommend Larry to anyone who wants an in-depth and great tour around the Island. read more

Our guide was Tyco and was fantastic. Took us to all the great places on Oahua. He was very knowledgeable about the island and took his time, not rushing us. He stopped at a wonderful eatery and had great shrimp and rice. I highly recommend this company and make sure you request Tyco as yourvguide read more

My friend and I had the pleasure of having Tyco as our tour guide last week. Tyco was friendly, professional, and very knowledgeable with facts about the islands. He drove us to the places that we requested and also introduced us to memorable sights of Oahu. I would definitely recommend Tyco to anyone interested in seeking a private tour of the island. Tyco, we forgot to take a picture with you for memory. read more

Spent the day circling the island with our guide, Jeffrey. An incredible experience. Highly recommend. read more

Custom Island Tours - Tours Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Fantastic day tour of the northern sights of O'ahu. Our driver Tyco was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Our group contained adults to young kids to grandparents and he managed to cater to us all. Couldn't recommend enough. read more

I've taken this tour twice when friends came to town. I love it because they will pick you up right at your place (doesn't have to be Waikiki like so many other tours) and bring you back, and you can go pretty much wherever you want (customize it), and they know a lot about the island. It's only a little bit more than the other tours, which are not customizable. Also, they will stop if you want to go to the bathroom, buy a drink, or see something along the way, so it's great. The first guide we had, Tico (Tyco?) was very nice and knew a lot about geology, lava and rocks. He had just moved back here from the Big Island, so there were some other things that he was wrong about or didn't know, but by and large, we had a great time, and he was very nice. That was back in July 2014. In February 2015, my friend and I had the owner, Cary, who can be kind of a jerk. There is no nice way to say it. Again, the tour was great, overall, and he knew a lot. He does this AMAZING demonstration with sand on the beach where he explains how the islands formed. He was polite in some ways; like when I bought lunch, he thanked me twice. We had some very nice chats. But he could also be really impatient and rude. He's clearly not a people person. I'm used to scifi geeks, so he kind of reminded me of one of them. Right when our tour started, he got mad at me and walked off in a huff because I had "interrupted" what he was saying (I really didn't, I had just interjected something to my friend, adding to what he said). It was a very weird and immature reaction. Other times, when I would ask questions, he would snap, "I just told you that!". Also, he tried to pressure us not to go to the Macadamia Nut Ranch, which I wanted to go to (although I made it easier by giving up some other stuff, so he was better after that). I had asked what time he would pick us up, and he said 8:30, so I asked if he could pick us up at 9, and he said that it was fine, on the phone. Well, he was about 10 minutes late, not that it's a big deal, but then we couldn't park in the Hanauma Bay parking lot (to which I really wanted to go), and he said that this is why he likes to leave at 8:30. He said it in an accusatory and rude way. Later, when we went snorkeling at Turtle Beach resort, he got annoyed when I said I can't go very deep because I'm not a good swimmer, and he got very impatient with my friend who was a bit nervous and scared while she was out there with him. In fact, he had provided a defective mask, so water was leaking in. When he came back in to get one, I asked how it was going, and he replied in an annoyed way that she wasn't following his directions! So, again, he's a jerk, but the tour itself is good if you can put up with him. Or ask for Tyco. Or find another private tour instead. I should note that he went out of his way to take a nice underwater video of the turtle in the coral for us, and he also took a photo of us in the water after our batteries ran down in our phones. He also provided a charger in his van; and since I don't like shrimp, he found a really good Hawaiian stand to stop at that had wonderful food. So he's kind of Jekyll and Hyde. Jekyll gives a good tour, but Hyde is someone that you want to smack. :) He also gives a night-time astrology excursion if your'e into that. RE: his comments below, I was not at all "difficult". And my complaints about the other guy were not about where he could take us, it was that he agreed to it on the phone with my friend and then once we met up, he said he couldn't go there (should have let us know ahead of time). He told us the Polynesian Cultural Center was closed, which it wasn't. He didn't know the island where Gilligan's Island was filmed (Coconut Island) and said he thought it was not a real place. Both tour guides also mispronounced local names. Also, my friend had wanted to see one of the lighthouses and he just drove by one at a distance, not even slowing down so she could see it or take a photo. BTW I also tipped him very well as well as buying him lunch and bought one of his photos.... read more

We recently went on a full day tour and had a fantastic day. Firstly we were all in the one vehicle (there was 9 of us) most tour companies wanted to put us into two vehicles. Our tour guide Cha was awesome so friendly, knowledgeable and easy going. He let us pick places we wanted to visit as well as taking us to "local" spots that we would never have found by ourselves. The highlight was swimming with wild turtles. Would not hesitate to use Custom Island Tours again read more

Our family was completely astounded by the wonderful experience provided by Custom Island Tours! Our tour guide Danny (Who also go's by Big D) was professional and knowledgeable. He took special routes to avoid traffic, drove smoothly, and provided us with incredibly interesting stories and facts about the history of the island and the culture. Every single attraction he brought us to was beautiful in its own way, and the lunch spot he chose at Giovanni's was great comfort food. He let us chose which attraction we wanted to go to, and was cheerful and upbeat the entire trip. The attractions that really stood out to us was hiking in Waimea Valley and taking up-close pictures of turtles in Turtle Beach (A truly fitting name!) Danny really thought out the little details, providing a stepstool for our two seniors that had difficulty getting on and off the van. Overall, we all had a great time exploring the entirety of Oahu, and we're really impressed with the service provided by Danny. We definitely recommend this tour if you want to get a complete look at the history and culture of Hawaii. With incredible service and great attractions, this is a must for all tourists and travelers! - Will read more

I had a great time during my tour with Custom Island Tours. The price was great considering my tour was private and catered just for me and the things that I wanted to do and see!! No other tour company out there in Waikiki offers that. Carey my tour guide, was very informative and took me to great places that aren't even on the map! I was highly impressed with the whole experience! Things that stood out to me are, The tour was private, I didn't have to squeeze into a bus with 30 other people. It was catered for me, we did what I wanted. He offered complimentary beverages, the van was clean and smelled nice and the service was great. I would recommend Custom Island Tours to anyone!!! A great island experience! read more

It was a nice tour. Saw a lot of nice scenery and was able to go snorkeling. Although some of the " facts" about the island the tour guide gave us were false we still had a good time. Just don't believe everything they tell you :) but def worth the money if you plan on seeing different places on the island read more

Me and my family had a wonderful day with Isaac. I would happy recommend them to any one.

The astronomy tour was outstanding!!! The tour is very personal and Carey is extremely knowledgable about astronomy. Highly recommend the tour!!! read more

custom island tour wow great tour with great service !! my tour guy wade was a really great guy we went snorkeling 2 time in the water 1 time at north shore and 1 time at turtle bay beach he got in the water and show me how to snorkel and teach me the tips to snorkeling by the 2nd time i was snorkeling also check out fumis food shrimp truck and the dole plantation to try out the dole whip also ride the pineapple express train at the dole plantation fun train ride but be ready to spend 1 hour during the train ride also went to the place where they film the jurassic park with the china man hat in the middle of the ocean also wade also took me to food land after the tour was over to get some poke and beer and pie great tour custom island tour check them out when you are in hawaii fun a great tour lots get to see lots of place and check out the local food place and get in the water thanks for a great time custom island tour check them you yelp a fun time !! yelp on ! read more

I went on my vacation to Oahu island in Hawaii and ran into Carey Johnson and Custom Island Tours. I absolutely had an incredible time! It was an all day tour around the island. We got to enjoy beaches, snorkeling with the turtles, plenty of spectacular views, local stores and food, and learnt enough history and facts to get a good sense of the place. Carey is very knowledgable and delivered his ideas with great sense of humor. Overall, our 8 people group was pleased and got to explore the island in a much more personal rather than touristy way. If you're ever visiting Oahu, I highly recommend to go with this company. You'll get to experience the island and have fun. read more

my family took a tour of oahu, our driver and tour guide was named Che,, he was awesome, would highly recommend him, thank you Che, the willshaw family read more