We didn't do this tour but Scott the volcano man saved our day. We rented a car in Hilo and drove to Volcano National Park and got a flat tire after misjudging a curb. Scott really saved us helping us put on the spare. We made it back to our cruise on time. We should have done a tour with him to avoid all the stress of going it on our own!!! So TL:DR we didn't do this tour and absolutely should have. Scott is quality people. read more

The Volcano Van - Tours Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Saw sights we'd never see on our own, had 2 other great passengers we met, Scott's a gem, awesome awesomeness!!

Scott is great. After 5 minutes you know you have a new friend and it seems you've know each other for years. His knowledge on everything about our earth is extensive and he loves to share it with a passion. Easy and relaxed pace that will not wear you out at the end of the day. You shouldn't leave Hawaii without enjoying this tour. read more

We rode with Scott yesterday. He is a personable and knowledgeable man. Our van mates were really nice people. It was a grand day

Scott was a great host and tour guide. Very knowledgeable in all things volcano and the island. Super funny too. read more

The Volcano Van - Scott ! - Tours Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

We did the Big Island Volcano Adventure. Definitely recommend doing this tour - especially if you're staying at one of the resorts, it's well worth taking the day to see the rest of the island. Scott is a really fun tour guide. The provided lunch is good. Book through his website! read more

Such an incredible experience. We were just expecting to see the volcano but we stopped to get coffee, pastries, saw parts of the rainforest and desert, some amazing waterfalls and lava tubes. And we can't forget the black sand beaches and many other stops as well. Scott was so fun and knowledgeable. Would give more then 5 stars if we could. read more

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Just finished volcano van tour of basically the whole island. It was a bit ambitious but was amazed Scott knocked it out. Most importantly we all had fun and took in all parts of the island. As per the previous reviews he knows a the island like the back of his hand and we made plenty of stops long the way. Lunch was great and The whole family had fun chatting with Scott. Highly recommend Scott as your guide to the volcanoes or the any part of the big island. read more

What a fantastic and epic day! Scott picked us up at the condo and we headed to the north east side of the island. He paid attention to our preferences and we even made a few special stops that were not on the 'itinerary'. He's great about customizing the tour based on the needs and wants and desires of his clients. What a fantastic tour guide. He's very knowledgeable about the island and its volcanoes, and he enthusiastically shared so much information. It's obvious that this is his passion and not just a job. He's also like hanging out with a friend rather than being with a tour guide. We had so much fun. We stopped off at a farmers market in Parker Ranch, he brought us to a place that serves the best malasadas on the island (?), we enjoyed the gorgeous views of the Waipio Valley and headed south for two waterfall adventures. I highly recommend The Volcano Van and the volcano man! Thanks Scott! Your Blue Ginger Buddy! read more

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Scott was great. He certainly has a love for Hawaii and it was evident in how he shared the history of the volcanoes. Scott was easy to talk to and he loves to share or listen to a story. I would absolutely recommend using The Volcano Van for a nice day trip to the waterfalls and the volcanoes. read more

This was such an amazing experience! Scott showed such a depth of information about volcanos and the whole Island in general. You could really feel his enthusiasm. We got pastries, saw Akaka falls, drove up into the Kilauea volcano, as did so much more. I definitely recommend! read more

My family and I (total of 5 of us) really enjoyed our full day tour with Scott and his Volcano Van!! To quote my husband, it was "pure awesomeness"! Scott's energy and enthusiasm was evident from the first minute we met him. He is extremely passionate about volcanoes and the Big Island in general (climate, geography, history, etc). He really knows his stuff and is full of interesting facts, which he shared with us throughout the day. A few highlights from our tour: -Fresh malassadas (sp?) In the morning -Visit to a hidden away park with AMAZING ocean views -Akaka Falls -Stopping by a small fruit stand for fresh coconut milk! -Lunch at a cute cafe with fresh pineapple sliced by Scott -Seeing Kilauea's caldera and steam by daylight -Walking along the lava rock inside the national park -Surprisingly good dinner at the Volcano cafe -Seeing the glow of Kilauea in the dark (see picture) Scott was prepared with cold bottles of water, chips, ponchos, and flashlights, so we were well taken care of. A few vocabulary words that we learned (and remembered): caldera, lava lake, vent, and more that I can't think of at this moment! We enjoyed our day tour so much that we ended up booking Scott again for a 1/2 day tour to a black sand beach! I highly recommend booking Scott for a tour. He is intelligent and high energy, which made a long car ride enjoyable!! read more

The Volcano Van - The glow of Kilauea! The last stop on our Volcano Van tour....simply amazing! - Tours Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

If you find yourself on the big island, even if you've rented a car, get yourself booked for a day with Scott and The Volcano Van. What a fabulous day we had - volcanos, tropical forest, beaches, black sand beach, Akaka Falls, Volcano National Park, a stop at Hilo Shark's Coffee and Tex Drive In's malasadas! And he fed us lunch! You could not spend a better day with a nicer, and well informed, guide. Really a wonderful day. read more

The Volcano Van - Tours Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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The Volcano Van experience was amazing. Very informative. Kīlauea was active and were able to get a nice view on our tour. Scott is so knowledgeable and a pleasure to be with. The tour took the entire day but we toured most of the island. This is a great experience, very friendly and down to earth experience. I would recommend to anyone visiting The Big Island read more

our group had THE best time with Scott on our full day tour of the island. Scott has a wealth of knowledge that is deep regarding everything from how volcanoes and the ones on Hawaii have developed as well as the history, culture, economic development and transitions of the island. He shows you all of this and makes it all fun! Highly recommend taking a day of your trip to see the island with Scott and the Volcano Van read more

Scott is amazing. So knowledgeable and so much fun. We saw so much of the island and learned a ton. I recommend Scott in a heartbeat. My sister and I were in Hawaii in November, 2023. Scott picked us up at our hotel and returned us there. (Hugs all around) read more

Scott is the Big Kahuna of tour guides. His knowledge of and passion for Hawaii and its landscape is very impressive. Booking was easy, pickup time was right on, and tour was informative and very enjoyable. Scott multitasks the whole was doubling as a photographer, food server, and comedian. So much fun and so worth it! read more

We had an amazing tour with Scott during our recent trip to Hawaii. A private tour is definitely the way to see Volcanoes National Park. Others in our group skipped the cost and elected to do the NPS driving tour only to miss actually seeing the lava in the caldera which we likely would have missed without Scott. Highly recommend! The drive down Chain of Craters road to the ocean is a don't miss! read more

Scott and the Volcano Van was awesome! Best time we had and to say that about a nine hour van ride is something. Well worth the money and the time. DO IT NOW! read more

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The Volcano Van is a one-man show. Scott, the guide, is a main-land transplant with a passion for volcanoes. Our tour package took us all over the main-land of Hawaii, starting with him picking us up at our hotel. We got to see several beautiful waterfalls (I now know the difference between cascading and free-falling waterfalls), but we spent the bulk of the day in the volcano national park. What I appreciated about this tour, was that Scott was very accommodating to helping my mother and I get our "Kodak Moments." Since it was just us, and not us plus 40 people, we could ask Scott to stop for a photo or spend more time in a certain area without being rushed. Now, you do spend a lot of time in the van to drive to all the different spots, but it was never dull. I also benefited from the wealth of knowledge that Scott has. While we did visit some of the standard tourist areas, he also took us to little known locations so we could get up close to a dormant caldera or a steam vent and walk on lava fields. He also was able to answer almost every single question we had about the Big Island and it's volcanic history. One of the best parts about this tour: on the way back to the hotel at the end of the night, Scott took us by Starbucks so we could get drink and a snack. :) read more

Scott is awesome. We had a great time with him on a combined rain forest and volcano tour. He is super nice, funny, and very knowledgeable of the island and geologic history. We learned a lot, had a great time, and saw a ton of stuff we never would have seen without him. He also has great relationships with local vendors along the way so stopping at a fruit stand or coffee shop for a short break was always a treat and greeted by smiling faces. I'd highly recommend this tour for anybody visiting Big Island. read more

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We highly recommend taking a tour with The Volcano Van Tours! My family (with 2 teenagers) did the "Choose your Big Island Experience" tour. Our tour guide was Scott and he worked with me via e-mail to come up with the perfect all day tour to accommodate all our goals! We learned so much about the island, explored unique areas, tried many delicious local foods, went to the Botanical Gardens, saw the newest black sand beach and so much more! Scott made sure we were comfortable the entire time and offered wraps, snacks and drinks along the way which was very appreciated. It was one of the highlights of our Big Island trip and having a personal tour guide made everything stress free and the ideal vacation experience. Book with him today! read more

This tour is amazing. Not only do you see important geologic sights, you also see the island that as a tourist you might not see. Every stop on the tour had wow factor to it as you get to know the geological history of the island. Scott our guide was such a great guy and very knowledgeable. He takes great care to make sure everyone has an awesome experience. I cannot recommend him enough and I hope his business continues to grow. read more

The Volcano Van - Tours Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Absolutely amazing tour with knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. The entire day was beyond our expectations and worth every penny.

Scott was both informative and entertaining. We enjoyed our tour around the Island and had a great time. I highly recommend Scott's tour as it personal and attentive to detail. Scott knows lots of folks around the island so you won't be disappointed. read more

Scott made the tour the best ever. He is knowledgeable about so much of the Big Island. He tailored our tour to the specific wants of the four of us - new lava flows and black sand beach vs the crater, etc. I was unsure about walking down to Akaka Falls due to my plus size status, but he encouraged and supported me. It ended up being a piece of cake. 5 minutes! His personality made the tour so much fun. He kind of has a Guy Fieri thing going on -ha! By the end of the day, it was like chatting with an old friend who happened to know a lot about volcanoes. Highly recommend. read more

Five star all the way!! Scott really took care of us during our "choose your own tour" type gig. Not only is Scott a great driver, and someone who has a great rapport with all of the locals, but he is also a walking encyclopedia about the history of all of the Hawaiian islands, cultures and landmarks. read more

The Volcano Van - Our 23rd anniversary. - Tours Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Scott made the Volcano Adventure a SPECTACULAR DAY!!!! He gets 5+ stars for Social Skills, Volcano Knowledge and sense of humor! Although I am not a big fan of Climate info, Scott made that part of the tour VERY interesting. Big Island is ONE OF A HANDFUL OF PLACES IN THE WORLD to have FOUR of the FIVE Climate Zones ( Humid-Tropical, Arid & semi-Arid, Temperate and POLAR. Yes, POLAR!! We drove through all but the Polar (small spot on top of Mauna Kea) on the way to Volcano National Park. Scott's great patter made it a LOT of fun. He showed us a 400+ foot waterfall en route (photo on website) which could be seen after a walk through rainforest filled with beautiful, unusual flowers. The Volcano was ACTIVE and we saw orange lava bubbling and shooting into the air!! The Park has a great standing telescope & Scott had great binoculars to share. DON'T MISS THIS!!!! read more

One word: Scott. Our volcano van tour would not have been as dope as it was if it wasn't for Scott. He was very enthusiastic, informative, and made sure everyone was having a great time during our several hour tour. I appreciate that at every stop, he informed us everything was was to know. If we had any questions, whether on topic or off topic, he was more than happy to answer them. During our volcano tour, we got the chance to experience several different climates and see some pretty cool things (such as a turtle at Black Sand Beach). I would HIGHLY recommend requesting Scott as your tour guide because he is the sh*t. read more

Had a great day with Scott. He has intimate knowledge of Big Island. He was helpful in taking us a McDonalds at the end. Great way to explore Big Island in one day. read more

My husband and I were excitedly planning our honeymoon in Hawaii when we came across the awesome Yelp reviews for The Volcano Van. On reading them we decided a tour would be a good use of our four days on the island, allowing us to cover the 'must sees' and to learn from an insider as to where else we should visit while on the island. We booked the Heavenly Hamakua tour and communication from Scott when booking was prompt, friendly and courteous. On the day we were picked up on time. We were the first pick up on the tour and spoke to Scott on the way to get the rest of the passengers, about a forty-five minute drive away. Scott was very vocal - almost extremely so -but didn't show any interest in the answers we gave to his questions or in any conversation we tried to make with him. He only seemed interested in talking at us, and this continued throughout the day, making his friendliness seem very fake. There were six passengers including my husband and I, and really the van should have seated four. The backseat was like a normal car seat which for three adults (and I am pretty small) was very tight, and one person had to sit in the front passenger seat so was kind of cut off from the rest of the group. The tour itself was okay. It consisted of a LOT of driving through scenery that was the same for hours, and stopping at places for only a brief time to take pictures before getting back in the car. Fewer places for longer periods would have been much better. It would have been good to have been told when to expect lunch but instead we were kept in the dark about that until we were nearly at the place we stopped for lunch. By then it was 1.30pm and our day in the van had started at 8.30am. The place we stopped for lunch was very scenic and nice, but the lunch itself - part of the tour price - was disappointing. The guests each had one small piece of a deli sandwich (and I mean small), a bag of chips, and a small amount of pineapple. Fruit juice was provided but for our group of six there were only five cans, so my husband and I ended up sharing a drink. The only other refreshment we were offered was one bottle of water - and the tour lasted nearly ten hours. We got off the van hungry, having felt we didn't really see much of interest, and that Scott wasn't in the slightest bit interested in anything we had to say. Yes, we saw some pretty things but we only got a brief time at each. The next day we hired a car for $55 and drove to places ourselves - it was much better value and allowed us real time to see the beautiful scenery. read more

Scott was a personable, welcoming host and tour guide. Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics are his passion. He knows the Big Island, they various climatic zones found no-where else in the world, the beaches, etc. There was a great lunch included in the tour. The van was for us, sat 5 very comfortably. This is a full day tour, be aware, and included stops for Ice-Cream, Iced Coffee, sinful Portuguese Doughnuts, Akaka Falls, etc and of course Volcanoes State Park. We did not get to see a black sand beach as it was off the way. The Green Sand Beach is really not near and needs a hike to get to. It seemed Scott wanted to rush us a little towards the end of the trip around 6:30pm or so, but then it was a long day read more

The four of us -- all adults -- had only 10 hours free to get a taste of the Big Island, and Scott did a remarkable job of keeping us entertained, educated and engaged. We chose the "roll your own" experience, and Scott gave us more than our money's worth. From the ocean to the caldera, by way of waterfalls and lava flows, I lwas left at the end of the day with a deep appreciation of the beauty of Hawaii. He knew exactly where to go to stage some great photo memories. Thanks Scott for being a phenomenal tour guide and a highlight of our trip. read more

What a wonderful day we had on the Volcano Van tour today. The sights we saw we awe inspiring and Scott was a real blessing and joy. We were on the shore to summit tour. I wish I could recall half of all the volcano info Scott provided. If you visit the Big Island - hook yourself up to a Volcano Van adventure. read more

This tour is amazing. Scott has a great sense of humor, is knowledgeable, and is passionate about volcanos. He genuinely cared that everybody on the tour was having a good time, and helped keep the conversation moving. We chose the Big Island Volcano Adventure, which takes you through the middle of the island, through Hilo, and South to the national park. This tour illustrates how the Big Island was formed from volcanoes and erosion; the park is just one small part of the tour, which also includes stops at a waterfall and a black sand beach. The trip takes a circuitious route through the island, and utilizes back roads rather than the main highways; the trip takes a little longer, but you get to see more of the small towns, and more of the natural landscape. Throughout the day, there are plenty of times to stop, explore, and stretch your legs. Lunch is a deli wrap from a local coffee shop, chips, and fresh Oahu pineapple. There is also a stop at Tex's for malasadas. Our tour didn't make it to the Thurston lava tube, so Scott gave me a recommendation of a lava tube nearer to our hotel. He also suggested some hikes we could do at the park on our own. You should definitely make room in your vacation for this tour. read more

WOW! Scott is an awesome guide. He asked us what we wanted to see and he delivered. I said I wanted see lava. He explained there were no guarantees, but he would would do his best. He explained it would entail at least 4 hours of hiking and 4 hours of driving. During the hike on the lava field, he accommodated my frequent breaks. During my breaks, he would venture ahead a bit and look for the best place to view lava. Even with my frequent rest/water breaks we were able to find lava and get up close enough to catch a walking stick on fire and hike back to the van within 4 hours. He was very knowledgeable about the Islands and volcanoes. He has a great sense of humor and shows a definite love for what he does! read more

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We had an absolutely great experience on the Volcano Van. Scott was professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable guide and host. He taught us things but skillfully showed us places where the island, shores, and volcanoes spoke best for themselves. The other positive reviews on here cite many great specifics -- and I concur with them all. The one "negative" point we could make is that on the full day tour, we had nearly too many great experiences to remember them all. Thanks to Scott for introducing us to Pele stunningly illuminating a huge vent plume as the culmination of our full and exciting day - a sight that exceeded my every expectation. I recommend this tour happily. read more

Scott was a great tour guide!! He was hilarious and made continuous effort throughout the day to ensure that we were all having the best experience possible. His breath of knowledge was amazing and it made a long day one of the best experiences of our trip. For those Disney fans- ask him about how accurate the Disney film "Lava" was. Thanks again Scott!! read more

We had an absolutely amazing tour of the volcanos on the Big Island with Scott as our driver today. We were staying in Kona and the volcanos are on the other side-so we decided to book a tour instead of just driving ourselves. What a great choice! We were picked up at our door, had the maximum size group-a total of 6 people plus Scott. The all day (and I mean 12 hours) tour took in water falls, lava tubes, a stop at Tex's drive in for an amazing snack, and such a wealth of information about the island, the geology, great special spots to see--it was super! The active volcano had a stunning plume, and while this group was not up for long treks in the lava fields, he tailored this trip to the group, and gave us a fabulous day. We have never been interested in big group tours, so a small size, personalized, with a great guy in charge, could not have been better. Thank you, Scott, for the wonderful introduction to the island and it's volcanoes! If you want to see the island rather than drive all day, you won't be sorry if you book the Volcano Van! read more

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Wonderful trip. Scott is very knowledgeable, friendly, and accommodating. We had a great hike out to see lava up close, and a beautiful waterfall afterwards. It was also sweet to hear him gush about his new baby girl. read more