Hilo Shore Excursion: Volcanoes National Park & Black Sand Beach
Overview
Available languages
6 hours
Mobile ticket
Cruise Ship Guests: We have special permits to pick up directly from Hilo port of call. Departure times may be adjusted to fit your ships arrival & departure.
Hilo Hotel Guests: Meeting location is Hilo Hawaiian Hotel
Tour grade: Easy
Highlights of this tour include Black Sand Beach, Rainbow Falls, Liliuokalani Japanese Garden, Drive through Down Town Hilo, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Farm
Volcanoes National Park - Steam Vents, Sulfur Banks Thurston Lava Tube, Kilauea Visitor Center & Exhibits Kilauea Crater lookout.
The visitor center in National Park is currently closed for renovation and all gifts and exibits have been moved to KMC
Lunch: Stop will be made by a local vendor
Additional Info
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Vehicle: 12-14 passenger van or mini bus max 25,29 pass mini bus
HOTEL : You can meet us at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel to join this tour.
CRUISE PASSENGERS : We have special permits to pick up directly from Hilo port
We will ensure your timely return back to the ship in Hilo Pier for this activity. If your ship does not come into port , your money will be refunded. If is delayed we will adjust our departure time to the ships itinerary. See our terms and conditions for full details
DEPARTURE TIMES: Because we are a shore excursion company we schedule our departure times around a ships arrival and departure.
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Easy tour - Involves walking over relatively level terrain, possible gravel or uneven ground in some areas. Lava tube is .4 of mile long with descending and ascending steps. Comfortable walking shoes & light jacket recommended
WHEELCHAIR / WALKER or SCOOTER ? We must know prior to the tour date if you are bringing a mobility device in order to accommodate. (Please add note to comments box) The mobility unit must not exceed 45 lbs. For various reasons our guides cannot assist with mobility units. Guests must have someone with them to move the mobility device in and out of the vehicle. Our vehicles do not have a lift, so any mobility device must be collapsible to fit through the mini bus doors which is 32” wide.
Mobility Restrictions: Mobility devices cannot go into the lava tube, a trail to the crater is dirt path. Trail to black sand beach in ok but the beach is sand. Customers can stay in the vehicle at any time if they wish. Call us if you have further questions.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Richardson Ocean Park
This Black Sand Beach is a local favorite, and is a great way to see how the ocean and volcanoes make fine black sand.
Lili'uokalani Gardens
JUNE 1st 2026, this drive by area will be removed and replaced with an extra time and stop inside the Volcanoes National Park. This is the largest Japanese garden outside of Japan donated by Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1917. Throughout the gardens are stone lanterns, gazebos, and torii gates, recalling the Japanese immigrants who came to Hawaii.
What‘s Included
Professional guide
National Park fees
Port / Hilo Hotel pickup and drop-off
What to bring/wear: Walking shoes. Light sweater due to cooler climate at Volcano Park
Souvenirs
Gratuities
Stop is made to purchase food
Options
OCEANIA RIVIERA 11:30 am
Duration: 5 hours: Due to ship arrival and departure time this tour will be approx 5-5.5 hr 11:30 am: We are aware your ship doors will open at 11:00 am, and we would like to depart at 11:30 am Starting point: Port of Hilo, 80 Kuhio St, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Oceania Riviera 11:30 am
Special Time : This will be a special departure time for this ship's arrival time Starting point: Port of Hilo, 80 Kuhio St, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Holland America 10:30 am
Holland America - Koningsdam: Special departure time for this ship 10:30 am Starting point: Port of Hilo, 80 Kuhio St, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Hilo Hawaiian Hotel Meeting
Hilo Hawaiian Hotel: Meeting location lobby of Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Dr. Hilo, HI 96720 Starting point: Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, a Trademark Collection by Wyndham, 71 Banyan Dr, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Hilo Cruise Ship Passenger
We are a SHORE EXCURSION company. We have permits to pick you up directly from the Hilo port. Accessibility : If you have a walker or wheelchair you need to contact us before your arrival in order to accommodate you
Reviews
2,689 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Fun and educational great Bang for the buck
Mark C,May 10, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00Very good. Covered a lot Evelyn was a wealth of information. Like so many Hawaiians we met she showed pride and knowledge of the region. She's a great tour guide
One of a kind visual, in person sights - beaches, waterfalls, volcanos....
425nathanielf,May 10, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Dave was a wonderful tour guide - just the right amount of information. Kept us on schedule while showing us many, many wonderful sights.
Great experience
Paul K,May 9, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00Great experiance to the beach, Volcano and lava tunnel. The macadamia stop wasn't really great- felt more like a tourist trap. Would rather more time at the crater.
Crater was cool!!
Kimberly W,May 9, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00The tour was long but interesting so we enjoyed it. John was knowledgeable and shared a lot of local information, which was interesting. However, our mini bus, license #number 707’s air conditioning was not working very well. For those of us in the back of the bus it was extremely hot with no airflow. Tour company needs to fix that!
Highly recommend
westermeyerf,May 9, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Would highly recommend. David was very knowledgeable. Perfect amount of time at each stop.
Volcanoes National Park Tour with Amazing Scenery but Some Logistical Frustrations
Adam G,May 9, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00Overall this was a very good excursion and we enjoyed it. The volcanoes, lava tube, black sand beach, waterfalls, and scenery made for a great day and our guide was knowledgeable and friendly throughout the tour. I’d still recommend it, but there are a few operational issues keeping it from being a 5-star experience. First, while this is technically a “small group” tour, the company appears to run many of these groups simultaneously. At the port pickup area, there was one massive line where everyone had to be checked in and sorted into separate vans. We spent about 45 minutes just standing in line before the tour even began. A more organized check-in process would make a huge difference. Second, the pickup instructions at the waterfall stop were unclear. Even between my girlfriend and I, we heard different directions, and more than half the group ended up waiting at the wrong location. This delayed the tour by about 10 to 15 minutes and could have been avoided with clearer communication. Third, the stop at the macadamia farm really needed more time. This was also the designated food stop, but there were so many tour groups there at once that we spent nearly the entire 40 minutes just waiting in line for food. We never had a chance to actually explore the property and ended up taking our food back to the bus because time ran out. Despite those frustrations, the actual tour itself was beautiful and worthwhile, especially Volcanoes National Park. With some better logistics and time management, this could easily be a 5-star experience.
A must!
ksmithrd,May 9, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Excellent overview with interesting details shared. Our tour guide, Robert, was extremely knowledgeable, great communicator & fun! Clear timelines for each stop & what to expect.
So much to see and do!!
893elieg,May 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00It was an amazing tour Jess was fantastic all the stops where fabulous so much to see and do I highly recommend this tour
My partner liked it...
Thomas D,May 8, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00My partner liked it better than I did. It was OK as far as sights went but it was way too long at 6 hours. I think we visited about 5 places and got 20-25 minutes for each. The remaining 4 hours were spent on the bus traversing the most uninteresting scenery imaginable. I happen to like caves so the lava tunnel (which was blocked off at one end rendering it to the status of cave) was interesting.
A must do while in Hilo
G5465SXjamesm,May 8, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00A 6-7 hour excursion with about 24 other people in a semi-air conditioned mini bus. Most stops are very close to downtown Hilo: 20 minutes at black sand beach where I saw a turtle and another turtle in a pond on the side of the road while driving by, a 2 minute drive through a Japanese garden with picturesque ponds and bridges and landscaping, 20-30 minutes at Rainbow Falls which is a beautiful waterfall about 10 stories tall and several smaller waterfalls upstream, 30 minutes at Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory and gardens which didn’t have a factory tour but you could look through the window to see the machinery and also buy some lunch/drinks/ice cream/macadamia nuts/attire, and lastly the crown jewel was a tour of highlights in the Volcano Park (visitor center and the steam vents and the crater and the lava tube). No rainbow at the waterfall for us but we were unlucky with that. We were lucky with no rain for the day which is unusual. No lava either while we were there; maybe a couple times a month you have a chance to see some, but your chances would be better at night. Donna the tour guide is super fun and funny and efficient and helpful and very very informative.
From US$169.00
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Operated by C Big Island Tours