There is so much to see and do in Hawaii that it can be frustrating trying to decide how to best spend your limited time when visiting. Especially for first-timer visitors, a guided bus sightseeing tour is often the best way to see each island’s highlights and most popular sights in a relatively short amount of time after you first arrive.
Experienced local guides know the sights that most guests want to see as well as the most efficient driving routes between them. They are also good at avoiding crowded visit times and road traffic congestion. Plus, each Hawaii sightseeing tour experience is so much better with am island expert explaining the history and details of each sight. What’s more- they do the driving while you enjoy a leisurely time gazing out the window at Hawaii’s beauty. And finally, your tour host gets you back to your hotel in time to lay on the beach, take a swim and get ready for that exotic island dinner you’ve been looking forward to all day!
Another benefit of a Hawaii sightseeing tour is it gives you an introduction to the different parts of each unique island so you can pick the areas in which you have the most interest and go back later to explore in further detail on your own.
Hawaii sightseeing vehicle tours (it doesn’t have to be a bus!) are usually packaged in full or half-day experiences and most will pick you up and drop you back off at your hotel, resort, condominium or a convenient central location nearby.
Oahu Sightseeing Tours
Known as “The Gathering Place”, Oahu is home to world-famous Waikiki Beach, the State’s only “big city” – cosmopolitan Honolulu, as well as historic Pearl Harbor. Most of Hawaii’s residents (affectionally known in Hawaii as “Kama’aina”) live on Oahu.
Usually called the “Grand Circle Island Tour,” this 9-hour Oahu sightseeing tour experience includes passing by Diamond Head Crater (Hawaii’s most famous image), the Kahala area (called the “Beverly Hills” of Hawaii) as well as the snorkeling mecca, Hanauma Bay. This journey continues on to the island’s mountainous interior with a stop for the dramatic views at Nu’uanu Pali Lookout. Then you move on to Oahu’s fabled North Shore – home to the World Surfing Championships each winter. Lunch is served, usually in the form of Hawaii’s dining staple, the “plate lunch” – an island entree of your choice served alongside heaping scoops of white rice and local versions of macaroni salad. Your return to town features expansive views as you pass through miles of farmland with a stop at the Dole Plantation Visitor Center, paying tribute to the days when pineapple, sugarcane and other crops ruled the Island economy.
Maui Sightseeing Tours
Less than a half-hour flight from Honolulu, Maui is known as the “Magic Isle” and probably the island most visited by Hawaii’s many repeat guests, some of whom come multiple times in a single year. It features some of Hawaii’s most luxurious beach resorts alongside thousands of convenient condominium options.
Popular Maui sightseeing tours on “The Valley Isle” feature Mount Haleakala, Central Maui and Iao Valley. This 9-hour experience includes admission to Haleakala National Park, home to a dormant volcano and Nene, endangered Hawaiian geese. You may even view the rare Silversword plant flowering on its steep slopes. After stopping at several lookout points, you will descend with views of Kula town and upcountry Maui before coming to Makawao, a former “paniolo” (Hawaiian cowboy) town for lunch and shopping it’s quaint selection of art galleries and boutiques. This guided tour continues on to Iao Valley State Park, a 4,000 acre tropical rainforest featuring native Hawaiian plant life and Iao Needle – an emerald green rock outcropping that towers 1,200 feet above this valley rich in history as an ancient burial site for Hawaiian royalty.
Hawaii Island Sightseeing Tours
Best known for its active volcanic crater, the “Big Island” is just that – expansive. It is so large that one could view it as two experiences in one – with popular oceanfront Kona town and the glittering resorts of the Kohala Coast on one side, and lush Hilo town surrounded with thick tropical vegetation, rushing waterfalls and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the other. Most guests fly into and stay on the Kailua-Kona side of the island but Hilo also offers its own major airport for inter-island travelers. The direct drive between the two major towns can take around two hours.
Given its size, the Big Island Grand Circle Island Tour is an 11 to 12-hour experience featuring stops at world-famous Kona coffee farms and Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Park – once the picturesque home of royalty and a place of refuge for ancient Hawaiian lawbreakers. The diverse selection of eco-systems and climate zones make this Hawaii Island sightseeing tour journey a fascinating series of experiences as you continue on to black sand beaches, often with green sea turtles and an extensive visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Afterwards, waterfalls and botanical gardens abound as you drive through the tropical rainforest surrounding the Hilo side of the island. Lunch, park entrance fees and jackets & rain gear (when necessary) are provided.
Kauai Sightseeing Tours
A very short flight west of Honolulu takes you to “The Garden Isle.” Kauai is the oldest island in the major Hawaiian chain. Although relatively small, it is rich in seclusion and the tropical island beauty that most people picture in their dreams. Unlike most of the other islands, one cannot drive the perimeter of Kauai as its north shore consists of the steep Na Pali cliffs coastline- one of the most picturesque areas in the State and passable only by rugged hiking or traveling on the ocean. As a result, it is also one of the best destinations for helicopter tours.
The most popular Kauai sightseeing tour is a 10 to 11-hour bus experience featuring stops at Waimea Canyon, the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” and a beautiful 150-foot waterfall. You will hear the ocean roar as it surges up through Spouting Horn Blow Hole. And panoramic views abound as your journey turns into a narrated boat ride on the beautiful Wailua River where you will get to walk to the Fern Grotto – a rock cave dripping in ferns as you listen to a melodious live performance of the Hawaiian wedding song. A local-style lunch is also included with your peaceful day in paradise!