Top Hawaii Day Trips - page 22

Jeff was a super knowledgeable tour guide. Everything was super tight. From the pickup time. To the timing of breakfast and the drop off. Very well run. And of course the experience is one I’ll never forget. Dress warmer than you think. It’s freezing on top of the mountain!

We so enjoyed our tour! Our guide was top notch!!! There wasn't much silence during our tour which we loved & appreciated - our guide was so personable, friendly and professional - sharing Hawaiian history/culture, facts, personal family stories or just checking in on everyone to make sure we were surviving the curves. Each stop we were informed of how much time we had and the time allotted was perfect. We never felt like we wanted/needed more time and the longer stops never felt too long or that we were ready to move on to the next destination. The only negative we can say if that one main reason why we picked this specific tour/company is because they advertised stopping at a farm-to-table lunch offering personal fired pizza vs a deli sandwich like several other companies, but unfortunately the place updated their menu and was no longer serving the pizza. The food was still very good but made for a hard choice for our picky eater. We know that has nothing to do with the tour company though a heads up prior to our tour would've been good. It was definitely memorable time, and we understand fully why it's on the "must do" list when visiting Maui.

This is an experience that cannot be missed! Seeing the sunset atop Mauna Kea, considered the tallest mountain in the world, literally above the clouds, is truly one of a kind. The landscape itself is otherworldly. When people say it looks like another planet, they aren’t lying. It’s how I imagine Mars would look! After sunset, we gathered under the clear night sky and gazed at the thousands of stars dotting the vast darkness. Coming from a big city, I have never seen a night sky with that many stars—and shooting stars too! It was absolutely surreal! Our guides, John and Chris, were awesome and made the experience even more memorable. They showed us the constellations and had a telescope that allowed us to see celestial objects I had only ever seen in pictures. Holy smokes! What I saw through that telescope was spectacular! Seeing nebulae and distant stars with my own eyes gave me an entirely different appreciation for the sheer scale of the universe. And somehow, one of my favorite little details was enjoying hot cocoa while stargazing. There was something wonderfully cozy about holding a warm cup of cocoa while peering into the vastness of a cosmos so far beyond our ability to fully comprehend. You feel incredibly small looking out into that immensity, yet at the same time, the warmth of the cocoa makes you feel grounded and present in that exact moment. More than anything, though, this was a deeply spiritual experience for me. Mauna Kea is sacred in Native Hawaiian culture, and standing there, I could appreciate why this mountain has held such profound significance for generations. You feel so close to the celestial heavens when you’re there. The experience also gave me an even greater appreciation for the extraordinary astronomical and navigational knowledge of Native Hawaiians and other Polynesian voyagers. Just wow. Between the sunset above the clouds, the otherworldly landscape, the incredible night sky, the telescope, the shooting stars, the hot cocoa, and our fantastic guides, this was an unforgettable experience from beginning to end. I feel incredibly grateful and fortunate to have experienced Mauna Kea in this way.