Overview

Explore beyond Hawaii’s land and sea treasures—the Big Island offers a perfect perch to marvel at the celestial wonders. This exclusive tour stands out as the sole experience combining daytime solar viewing and nocturnal stargazing, led by astronomy specialists. This exclusive tour stands out as the sole experience combining daytime solar viewing and nocturnal stargazing, led by astronomy specialists.

Highlights:

• Rainbow Falls
• Boiling Pots
• Explore Kaumana Caves
• picnic-style lunch atop the caves
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Bottle Water, Coffee and/or Tea

Activity Times:

Activity Duration:

7 Hours

Upgrade Options:

Tour Schedule

Meetup: 3:30pm
Rainbow Falls: 20 mins
Boiling Points: 20 mins
Kaumana Caves Park (Picnic Style Dinner): 1 hour
Mauna Kea: 1.5 hours
Saddle Road: 1 hour

Videos

Mauna Kea Observatory ~ Time Lapse

Description

Rainbow Falls
Embark on your adventure in the charming Hilo town, where you’ll journey along the historic waterfront before reaching the awe-inspiring Rainbow Falls. This picturesque waterfall, reminiscent of scenes on postcards, showcases a twin waterfall system standing at a height of 80 feet. Don’t miss the mesmerizing rainbow effect that lends its name to this natural wonder! Duration: 20 minutes

Boiling Pots
Continue your expedition up the Wailuku River to the Boiling Pots. This location offers impressive opportunities for capturing photos, particularly when the river seems to surge through depressions in the rock formations, creating a boiling effect. Duration: 20 minutes

Kaumana Caves Park
Uncover the mysteries of Kaumana Caves, a part of the lava tube system that transported lava 1.5 miles from Hilo-town back in 1881. Take a glimpse inside the cathedral-like space before indulging in a quick picnic-style lunch atop the caves. Duration: 1 hour

Mauna Kea
Your guide will lead you to a preferred spot on Mauna Kea for a night of mesmerizing stargazing. Through a large aperture Dobsonian telescope, immerse yourself in the captivating world of deep sky and planetary objects beneath one of the Earth’s darkest and most unspoiled skies. Our Dobsonian telescopes provide a purist’s view of the night sky, offering expansive wide field views of objects that other tour telescopes can’t provide. Depending on the current sky conditions and weather, you’ll marvel at galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, planets, double star systems, the moon, and more – a collection of highlights and showcase objects like never before seen! Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Saddle Road
Continuing your journey, traverse Saddle Road that stretches between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, two of the Earth’s tallest and most immense volcanoes. Your guide, trained by the National Park Service, will delve into the realms of volcanology, geology, and the history of these colossal wonders. While you absorb the breathtaking terrestrial panoramas, your guide will prepare equally stunning celestial vistas. Utilizing a state-of-the-art solar telescope, your specially trained guide will enable you to safely witness the vibrant colors of the sun, including solar flares, sunspots, prominences, and other ongoing solar activities – all presented in their true glory, weather permitting.

Know before you book:

• A confirmation will be sent upon booking.
• No history of heart problems or other significant medical conditions is required.
• Not suitable for wheelchair access.
• Conveniently located near public transportation.
• Open to the majority of travelers.
• Limited to a maximum of 26 participants for this tour/activity.