This was a highlight of our trip. We really enjoyed the short walking tour with Gary. Gary was so kind, appreciative, and knowledgeable. It was an amazing opportunity to explore the lava tube caves with guided expertise to educate us along the way. We learned so much and found this to be a must on our list. My husband can't wait to return for the crawling tour to explore more. I have such a great appreciation for the early Hawaiians that once traveled through the caves to gather water, barefoot over the jagged lava rock. It just amazes me to know these things about civilizations. We are so grateful for the couple that owns the property and for their many many hours of creating this path within the cave to give us this opportunity. Mahalo! read more

Awesome tour. After reading other reviews, I assumed the two hour tour would be inclusive of the lighted tour and the educational portion going over maps and such. Thankfully, it was not. We basically did all that and explored a bit as the guide took the lighted tour group back outside. Then we continued to crawl and walk around the caverns hearing all about how they were formed, what the ancient Hawaiians probably did there, and other such things. The entire time, our guide would point of rock formations and ask everyone what they saw in it. He did a very good job of keeping it interesting and keeping everyone involved. Overall our your lasted about 2 1/2 hours. And that was with 3 people only, so we made good time. Highly recommended, especially if you have never been caving before. read more

Did the short tour and wish we had done the long one to see more! Very cool cave, great guide, and very educational.

This was such a fun family adventure!! We took our kids (age 1 and 4) they both had a blast! The 1 year old was in a carrier and ended up falling asleep but my 4 year old was all about it! She even got to lead us out of the cavern which was her favorite part of our whole trip read more

Loved our tour with Gary! He is knowledgeable, passionate about what he does, gives great recommendations about places to go, and is absolutely hilarious!!! Do the longer $95 tour. Reservations are easy, just call the number which is his cell phone and reserve a tour in a few minutes. Wear long pants and good shoes. Short sleeve t-shirt is fine, caves are always at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. There's a short segment that you'll have to crawl on your knees which is super fun (he provides knee protection, helmets, gloves, and headlight). We had one person in our group that gets claustrophobic in tight spaces but she was fine. read more

Fascinating tour with an extremely knowledgeable and humorous guide, Gary. Our family enjoyed it very much and will return! read more

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Thanks to Kathlyn, this tour was great! Did the lighted trail tour with my 2 kids (4 and 7) & in-laws. It was very informative which was perfect as I was going for the educational day for the 1st grader. Advice, if the mosquitoes like you, wear repellent, I got nailed. (they are not in the cave but hang out outside) itched the rest of the trip. But luckily they had repellent at the front that I could use so was okay after that. All in all a cool little beach/pool diversion day. And yes stop at the fruit/veggie stand on the way back for stir fry that night. Great day! read more

This tour is incredible! As a last minute addition on our itinerary, we were not super sure what to expect. We were blown away! The lava tube is gorgeous, the guide (Emmanuel- he's truly the best and everyone should book a tour with him) was knowledgeable and funny, and the tour allows you to see some pretty cool things without going too far in. We were told that the "short tour" was roughly an hour, but, be warned, ours took roughly 2 hrs 15 minutes. Granted we chatted a bunch and the other couple on our tour asked a lot of questions so yours may not be that long, but I would recommend not scheduling anything an hour after your tour time starts or soon after. Both Emmanuel and Gary the office manager are super helpful and willing to recommend things to do and places to eat in the area. You can tell they love where they work and the area surrounding it. Mahalo for a great tour Kula Kai! read more

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Best tour of caverns. EVER (anywhere)!!! We had to change our tour date, they accomodated us, then we arrived an hour early, again not a problem. Our tour guide was Gary who is wonderful, very knowledgable, informative, and funny, we learnt so much. We will be going back soon to take the longer three hour tour and we can't wait to do it. Seriously anyone interested in caverns, must take this tour. One of the best tours offerred on the island, loved, loved, loved it. read more

This trip was my first time visiting any of the Hawaiian islands and going to the Kula Kai Cavern light tour to see the lava tubes was one of my favorite activities! Our tour guide, Victor, is absolutely hilarious and super knowledgeable! He spent the time to answer all questions and I never felt like we were rushed. All in all, would def recommend checking this spot out. And with the great staff, it's def a plus! read more

We had a wonderful time on our kid friendly cave tour. We highly recommend the Manager, Gary. We learned so much about the big island, the Volcano's, and the Lava Tubes they created, along with the trees that are grown there. Thank you so much for an amazing tour and having patients with our children. We'll never forget it. read more

My family of 4 had an amazing experience at the Caverns. Our guide Emanuel knowledgeable and patient, especially with my energetic 7 year old who couldn't wait to explore. We did the 2-3 hour tour that explored the tubes 100 feet deep. It was one of the highlights of our visit to the big island. read more

Looking for activities to do with 2 young kids and finding this cavern was a blessing. I called Gary in the morning and 3 hours later we were on a private tour how sweet is that? Gary was very informative, funny & made our tour a great experience. He made sure we got all the pictures we wanted and included the kids every chance he could so they felt "part" of this exploration. The caverns are so cool, you must check it out! read more

We had booked a tour for our 30th anniversary trip to the Big Island in early March. When we arrived we found out that it was a personal tour. Gary (I believe) was extremely informative, humorous, fun, and knowledgeable. We had such a great time. The information shared was amazing. The geology lesson before the tour was eye opening. We even got to meet the owner at the end. Highly recommend this fun and educational adventure. It shaped our understanding when we went to Volcano National Park. read more

100x better than Thurstons lave tube, Definitely worth looking into though I'm not so sure it was worth $100 dollars a piece. Our guide and owner was great, though he was caught off guard by our arrival even though we booked well in advance. Well he rose to the occasion and was obviously very well versed in how the lava tubes were formed not just on his propery but throughout the entire island. We went over maps for a while and a little bit of history/ geology of the caverns discussing how no one person has seen the entire 35+ miles of caves. It got me very excited to get in there and go exploring, I was thinking this first 20-30 minutes would not count towards our 2 hour tour time. Once in the cave I felt like I was somewhere else, it was great, the smells, the sounds, etc. We went past the lighted section of the cave and did some light crawling and exploring, we sat in the dark for a little while being somewhat deep in the caves all along our guide discussing what the first Hawaiians might have been doing there and where they would sleep. Well our tour ended after we had done a circle back to the beginning. All in all maybe 45 minutes of actual walking, again shorter than what I had hoped for, if I could do it all over again I would try to schedule some sort of overnight trip of sorts. Equipment provided was clean, newer, and worked well. read more

Literally a hidden gem. Next time I want to do the two hour tour, but this time we did the lighted trail tour. I called and made a reservation. I got old school directions(i.e. explained over the phone) and it was very easy to follow. Our guide, Gary is seriously the best: extremely knowledgable and hilarious. I learned a ton and will be back for the two hour tour next time for sure. read more

We had a group of 10 ranging from age 70 to 8 and we all had a great time! Gary was very accommodating trying to schedule our tour even though I was only a day or two out when I called. He was a wealth of knowledge, and very funny! He certainly kept us entertained. We all learned a few things about volcanoes too! My parents have been coming to Kona for years and have done so many things on the island - but they had never done this - they said they were glad I found and booked this tour! read more

When coming to Hawaii the last thing we thought about was going underground and yet this was definitely the coolest part of our trip so far! The cave was really fascinating to see and experience what it was like years ago. Gary was so knowledgeable and patient with all of our simple questions Highly recommend! read more

Emmanuel gave us the best tour- his wealth of knowledge was vast! We had three young kids, so could only do the shorter lighted tour, but it was information packed! I wished we could have done the longer cave hike, which would be amazing! What a unique and amazing experience on the Big Isle you do not want to pass up. It is located on private property, so the only way to experience this is through this amazing tour. read more

Great lava tubes tour! We had a fantastic time with our whole family aged 10 to 69. Gary was a great tour guide and made it very fun (but still safe!) for the kids. Totally different experience from limestone caves we've toured in the past. It's a very small operation but don't let that deter you. Excellent experience and we'd totally do it again read more

My family and I took the 45 minute tour and the entire time we were learning so much about the lava tube system and rock formation. Gary, the tour guide, was amazing and had so much knowledge to share. The cave is unbelievable and remarkable! It was most certainly worth the 20 dollars for each person. read more

My family really enjoyed the tour. Small group with kids - guide was very informative and entertaining. Would visit again.

Thank you Emmanuel for your wealth of information and taking so many photos! This was such a memorable experience and we definitely will never forget it! Mahalo! read more

My husband and I enjoyed this interesting little tour. We did the one for wimps - $20 and you get to stand upright as your tour it. I was able to do it in flip-flops but I don't recommend that in general as there is a ladder at one point. The guide (Victor) was extremely knowledgeable and very friendly and funny. Gary was there when we arrived and he was really fun to talk to about all the places he has been around the country. Even if you are not into caves generally, it is almost worth it to go just for the remoteness of it. You feel alone in the world! read more

We got off the plane and went here first: did the Two Hour Tour with one other couple. Long story short, Gary is the reason our vacation was phenomenal. First, Gary is quite knowledgable, enthusiastic, and patient. I learned so much. I want a copy of that map of recorded and estimated lava flows so I can stare at it in my spare time. I really appreciate how encouraging he is with everyone learning how the heck to walk on the rough and loose aā type of lava. It is tough; initially you might think you cannot possibly complete this tour without falling (hiking boots will help a lot, here). Lava tubes are quite different from limestone caves. I saw so many types of weird formations I'd never seen before--everything is named after food, and it's delightful. I loved how he pointed out and explained scientific research ongoing in the lava tube, too. I was thrilled that we could go at our own pace, pause for photos, and ask any question even tangentially related to lava tubes and volcanoes. I came away wanting to buy real estate in the Ocean View neighborhood. After the tour, Gary asked where we were headed next and wrote out a list of all of his favorite restaurants, beaches, coffee farms, and activities all around the Big Island. We went to as many of them as we could fit in: Punalu'u Bake shop (delicious and much needed after the tour!), Punalu'u beach (the blackest sand I've ever seen!), Thai Thai (totally authentic!), the Hilo farmers market and Cafe Pesto (tasty lunch, macadamia pesto!), Heavenly Hawaiian (amazing, would have never considered it on our own!), and Kona brewing (we liked the unique beers more than expected!). I have kept the list and intend to return and complete it. Thanks so much, Gary! read more

great price. about a 2 hour tour (way longer than Thurston lava tube) with a lot of archeaology and things to see. Be sure to wear close- toes shoes, jeans. Had an awesome time on the honeymoon. read more

Awesome! Great tour that was enjoyed by our group from ages 9-73. Our private tour allowed for everyone to ask questions and go at our own pace. The kids were ready to come back for a longer tour. We will be back again! read more

Victor was amazing and shared his knowledge of the cave, flora and fauna of the island. He was entertaining and really taught us so much that really helped us understand Volcano National Park the next day. We only took the 30 minute tour, but would have gladly taken the 2 hour, had that worked out for us. read more

I am so grateful to the folks at Kula Kai Caverns for making my caving adventure truly great! My guide Victor was absolutely amazing. He was so knowledgeable, personable, and kind. I am claustrophobic so I opted for only the short lighted-walk tour, and it was super fun (and also, Victor took more time than I expected, which was wonderful). He never made me feel rushed, answered all of my questions, and really helped me appreciate the amazing geology of the Big Island in a way I would never have been able to otherwise. Visiting these caverns with Victor was a completely different experience than being herded through the Thurston Lava Tube with throngs of people, and it's got to be the best value of any activity I did on the Big Island! Thank you so much, Victor and Kula Kai Caverns! read more

This was an unexpected find on our visit to the Big Island. For a $20/person fee for the short non crawling tour we learned a LOT about the geology of Hawaii, the volcanoes and lave tubes. The guide was super informative and very thoughtful about the quality of our experience. Folks who are more active physically should definitely try the longer tour where you crawl through some sections to larger open areas deeper into the system. We have a much greater appreciation for the dynamic history of this island having done this tour. read more

Fantastic experience from start to finish! Called yesterday hoping to make a reservation for the following day and Gary called back promptly. We were fortunate that he did have spots available for us! He did a great job explaining the differences between the different tours and made sure we were prepared including directions to the cave. Gary greeted us when we arrived and was our guide throughout the tour. We did the "two hour tour", which was more like two and a half hours. We were never rushed and had plenty of opportunity for pictures and questions. Gary was not only extremely knowledgeable, but also clearly passionate about the history and the caves. I highly recommend Gary and the two hour tour! read more

Our guide Gary was the best he made the tour for our adult family group of 7. It was the best value of the trip on the Big island and very entertaining and informative. A must do !!!! Gary also gave us invaluable things and places to go on other parts of the Island. He is a big island treasure and should not be missed. read more

Gary has a super personality and to top it off he's extremely knowledgeable about the cavern and lava history and flow over the whole island. I learned more from Gary in an hour about volcanoes, minerals, what makes a volcano active verses dormant etc than I have in the last few days doing google searches. Gary was super good with my 7 year old son and gave me lots of tips of place to go while here. I would love to do a deeper tour when my son is older. If you want someone engaging, knowledgeable, with a great personality this is the tour you want to go on. And it's very economical too. read more

Wanted to explore some lava tubes and this tour was great. My husband and I only did the light tour but it was amazing. Next time we will definitely do the longer tours. Gary was fantastic and made the experience even better. read more

This place is cool, especially if you've never been caving before. The guide was very nice & knowledgeable also. Our only complaint is that the 2 hours are 1 hr. of the guide talking & then only 1 hour actually in the cave. So we felt like we paid a lot for how little we got. also, the guide wasn't aware we were coming, even though we had reserved a time & paid for the visit well in advance. read more

Took the 2 hour tour, it was great. Our guide (Vince I think) was really fun to cave with and very informative. As others have said, wear mosquito repellent if you get bit a lot while above ground. No mosquitos underground. read more