Riding an ATV in Hawaii was the most fun I had on the Big Island!!!(Aside from my friends getting married that is!) I wanted to ride an ATV since I missed my chance when my friends rode them at Pismo Beach. What better way to start your vacation in Hawaii, with an off road adventure!
You book the tour through this group, and they send you information on where to meet the day of the ATV tour. The tour my friends and I selected was Ride the Rim Waipio Valley ATV Tour (http://www.hawaiifuntours.com/big-island/land-tours/atv-tours/ and https://www.ridetherim.com/tour.html). It's about 3 hours+ for the ride and you get to drive across land that is not open to the public unless you take an ATV tour or horseback riding tour. The price has increased only by a few dollars since two years ago, pretty impressive considering inflation. I don't remember how I managed to get 10% off for booking though. In 2009, it was $155, today it's $159.
The tour guides have pretty interesting stories of the culture and their personal experiences, which is pretty cool. Light refreshments were provided at the scenic point waterfall. It's pretty neat to drive through patches of eucalyptus and ginger forests, and seeing the twin waterfalls. The day we went, it had rained the day before so the ground had puddles of water that were super fun to ride through! There was even a moment where I freaked out because I thought my ATV was "overheating," but it was just the puddle water that made my vehicle steam (not a big deal they said =).
It's really easy to drive an ATV, even an older couple in their 60's joined our tour. At first the wife was hesitant, but after the experience, she was so glad that she decided to participate! read more