Reviewed by: k.s
両親と三人で参加しました。マウナケア星空ツアーは人気なようで旅行代理店に予約をお願いしたがとれず、はじめて、インターネットで予約しました。
最初は、本当に大丈夫かなと不安でいっぱいでしたが、ガイドさん、スタッフの皆さんは親切で、
全く問題なく楽しんで参加できました。
不安だなと感じた点について、
現地集合ということもあり、どうやって現地まで行こうか悩みましたがタクシーを利用しました。
集合場所の会社名を伝えたらすぐにわかってもらえました。
また、帰りの送迎が無いと覚悟していたのですが、しっかり、ケアウホウのホテルまで送って頂けました。「帰りの送迎あり」と記載して頂けると安心できると思います。
車での移動ですが、下から山を見たら雲に覆われていたのですが、車は、雲の上を通過していくため山頂の晴天率が高いこともうなずけます。また、頂上付近の道は、舗装されておらず、途中、故障車が停まっていました。やはり、レンタカーでは無理だと思います。高山病も、すこし頭が痛いかなと思ったりもしましたが、特に大丈夫でした。
山頂には、しっかり夕日の時間に到着し雲海に沈む夕日を見ることができ、とても幻想的でした。
肝心の星空ですが、
新月ということもあり,とても綺麗でした。天の川をあんなにはっきり見たのは、はじめてでした。
また、観測中のチョコブラウニーとあたたかい飲み物は、とっても美味しかったです。
一つだけ残念なのは、すべて英語ということです。
一番困ったのは、電話です。前日までに予約確認の電話をしなければならないため、電話をしてみたものの伝わらず、結局旅行代理店の方にお願いしました。
また、両親は全く英語ができないためガイドさんの説明が???だったと思います。
しかし、日本人ばかりいるオアフ島と違って一緒にいったツアーの皆さんも様々な国からお見えになっていて、海外旅行にきたと言う感じがして良かったのかなと、見方をかえれば言えなくもないです。
日本語じゃないからとあきらめず、参加してみるのもいいと思います。
ツアー会社の回し者じゃありませんが、、ツアー料金以上に満足できると思います!
オススメですよ!!
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Packages: | カイルアコナ地区プラン / 催行会社オフィス集合<2015年6月12日まで> |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2014/10/19 |
Activity Date: | 2014/09/24 |
Reviewed by: KSD2014
Jason was our guide, very knowledgeable and friendly. Amazing views from the peak, wonderful sunset and star gazing, even got to see the rings of Saturn. Dinner at deserted sheep farm was OK. Hotel pickup would have been nice.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/10/12 |
Reviewed by: kakukaku
The office was situated in an area easy to find from Kailua Kona.
I was quite satisfied to visit Mauna Kea with an excellent guide (attached is a picture of him with Mauna Loa). I learned a lot from his wealth of knowledge and experience. His sense of taking picture was also appreciated.
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Packages: | カイルアコナ地区プラン / 催行会社オフィス集合<2015年6月12日まで> |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2014/10/09 |
Activity Date: | 2014/09/30 |
Reviewed by: Anne
Amazing sunset from the summit and a very informative evening all round. The meal en route was pretty average but the pause in the journey for the meal made the transition
to 14000 feet more manageable. The views are out of this world and it was a relief not to have to drive ourselves to and from the summit, even though on our trip the minibus broke down and it took an hour to get the replacement bus up to us. It was handled well though and overall was a very worthwhile trip.
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Packages: | Standard Package (until May 28th, 2015) |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/08/17 |
Activity Date: | 2014/08/10 |
Reviewed by: Ara kahramanian
The tour guides were ver knoweldgable, especaiily Chris. It was my childhood dream to see the Keck telescopes and it became a reality, The sunset view was amazing and the diamonds in the sky, aka the starts were even better. I saw satellites and shooting stars and the milkyway galaxy.
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Packages: | Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing Tour with Dinner |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2014/07/19 |
Activity Date: | 2014/07/17 |
Reviewed by: Ultrasonics21
It was a very educational tour with a breathtaking view. I just expected astronomy but the tour guide knew a great deal about volcanos, geology and island plant and animal life as well. The guide was awesome and I love taking tours with someone as trained and passionate about his work as this guy was. The food was so-so but it was hot and ready. The bus was cramped but it got us there and had big windows for great viewing. Once at the top, the observatories were incredible to look at as they opened up for evening viewing. The view of the sunset was also breathtaking, and not just from the lack of oxygen on top of the mountain. Once we headed back down for stargazing, our guides did a great job of pointing out astronomy as we used there 11 inch telescopes. Very great tour and highly recommended!
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Packages: | Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing Tour with Dinner |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/04/21 |
Activity Date: | 2014/04/10 |
Reviewed by: Floyd Wilson
Trip was the best. Food was wonderful. Nate was super. Very knowledgeable. Learned so much. Thank you and we will tell all our friends.
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Packages: | Standard Package (until May 28th, 2015) |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/04/19 |
Activity Date: | 2014/04/16 |
Reviewed by: Neil Wright
As a family with teenagers this trip catered to our needs. Our trip up the mountain was very good and our stop at the visitors centre for our meal gave us a chance to acclimatize before moving onto the summit. We made it to the summit and saw a wonderful sunset before moving onto some stargazing. Our artic jackets were more than handy and we arrived back in Kona by 11pm.
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Packages: | Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing Tour with Dinner |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2014/04/16 |
Activity Date: | 2014/04/13 |
Reviewed by: JMC
Good organization but a rather long ride to the top. Stargazing was only so-so. I expected that we would see the stars through one of the observatories located at that top but instead, about 20 of us took turns looking through a kids reflective telescope. Not very exciting. Air is rare up there so be prepared for the possibility of altitude sickness.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/01/31 |
Reviewed by: George and Barbara
We had a great guide Jim. His knowledge of Hawaiian history, plants and wildlife was great. When we were at the Summit with the large world telescope buildings and when we did the viewing of the stars he was excellent there as well.
Highly Recommend this tour.
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Packages: | Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing Tour with Dinner |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/01/23 |
Activity Date: | 2014/01/15 |
Reviewed by: 山田 紀子
マウナケア山は世界の天文台と呼ばれてきた。今ではその他、南米のチリや宇宙に浮いているハッブル望遠鏡もある。日本にいるときは星座早見盤では星座がたくさんあることは知っていたが、実際には見ることができなかった。山に行き、暗闇が訪れ、まず最初に見えたのが、カシオペア座、とても低い位置に5つの星が見えた。そうだ!ここはハワイ、北緯20度ぐらいだから周極性もとても低く見える。北極星も20度の高さ、わたしが住んでいるところは北緯35度だから35度高さに見える。銀河もくっきり見え、あらためて、こんなにも星があったんだ、と感動した。ハクチョウ座もガイドの説明で、きっちり見えた。帰りの車の中で、東の方向をみると、オリオン座が山から今にも登ろうとしていた。真ん中の三つ星が山並みと垂直になっていた。オリオン座の三つ星は、登るときと、沈む時には地平線と90度になることで知られていたが、今回、このツアーに参加して初めて、確認することができた。とても寒かったが、温かい飲み物のサービスがあり、ほっとさせられた。
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Packages: | ワイコロア地区プラン(2015年12月31日まで) |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2013/12/17 |
Activity Date: | 2013/11/24 |
Reviewed by: William C
The temperature was colder than I expected but the viewing was spectacular!
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Packages: | Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing Tour with Dinner |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2013/12/11 |
Activity Date: | 2013/11/15 |
Reviewed by: miyu
日本語ツアーが満杯だったので、こちらに参加しました。日本人一人参加でしたがつたない英語を理解しようとガイドさんが気遣ってくれてとても楽しかったです。
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Packages: | ワイコロア地区プラン(2015年12月31日まで) |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2013/10/17 |
Activity Date: | 2013/10/13 |
Reviewed by: AKIKO
日本語ツアーがどれも満員だった為、どうしようと思いましたが、今回の旅の目的だったので英語がわからなったかですが、何とかなるかなと1人でしたが思いきって参加しました。集合場所までタクシーでいかないといけないのであらかじめ下調べは必要です。着いてからは殆ど欧米のカップル(年齢はバラバラ)でした。日本人も何組かいたので少し安心しました。全てバスでマウナケアの山頂までいくのですが、途中かなり寒くなるので防寒対策は上下しっかりしていった方がいいです。途中テントを張ったとこでゴハンを食べます。その後は、ガタガタした道を進んでいくのですが霧で前が見えなく、星が見えるのか心配してましたが、頂上にいくと一気に晴れ夕焼けが見えます。今までに見た事のない感覚でした。酸素も薄くなるので飴など持っていった方がよかったです。日が沈んでから星を見に行きます。星が大きくすごくきれいでした。英語ツアーなので説明は全くわからなかったですが景色を堪能して下さい。寒すぎてバスに戻りましたが(笑)ドライバーのmakaさんがとても優しく気にかけてくれたので嬉しかったです。帰りは23時くらいですがホテルまてま送ってくれたので助かりました。貴重な体験ができすごくよかったです。
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Packages: | カイルアコナ地区プラン / 催行会社オフィス集合<2015年6月12日まで> |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2013/10/02 |
Activity Date: | 2013/09/26 |
Reviewed by: Kathy
It was a once in a lifetime experience. It's very cold up at the summit, but the sunset and stargazing were worth it. The only complaint I had was that the dinner (vegetable lasagna) was terrible.
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Packages: | Mauna Kea Sunset & Stargazing Tour with Dinner |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/07/01 |
Activity Date: | 2013/06/04 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
I expected this trip would be a magical chance to get to stand "on top of the world" and watch the sunset and see the stars. It was indeed spectacular. The stargazing portion was really geared towards people who are absolute astronomy beginners, so if youre an amateur astronomer you'll be a little disappointed that you don't get to see more. But the guides were great the whole time giving a great history of the Big Island ranging from botany to politics to Volcano development. Don't expect a very lively time, if you're there as an individual it's a quiet, lonely world up there. but would be great as an adventurous couple to see something totally out of the ordinary.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Friends |
Posted on: | 2013/03/04 |
Reviewed by: Steve Frey
Our guide provided a trip filled with interesting history, fun facts, and a great stargazing discussion! Probably the best activity we did on our Big Island vacation.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
Posted on: | 2013/03/04 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
We had Nate as our tour guide, he did a wonderful job. We learned
about about the Hawaii, Observatories, and stars. He enjoys his job and it shows. Would recommend this tour to those in good health with no lung issues. It was amazing to be at 13,700+ feet.
Star gazing was fun with all the information presented.
Dinner was good. Would recommend this tour.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
We had a wonderful guide/driver. She really gave us a lot of information on the way up and at the site. It was nice to not drive or worry about packing warm weather gear. Well worth the money. And the meal was very good and filling.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Lindsay
My husband and I enjoyed our afternoon/evening learning all about Mauna Kea and the journey up the mountain. Our tour guide was wonderful and knowledgeable.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Larry
The food was not very good this time. I didn't get the choice I requested on their website (beef) and instead got cold/dry chicken. I went with Forest and Trails since I used them for this tour the last time I was on the Big Island. The last time we stopped near the Ranger station and were allowed to go in and look at the exhibits, this time we parked in a remote corner and were too far away. The views were amazing and well worth the little issues that came up.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: MEFDenver
My husband and I have driven in the mountains for 40 plus years but booked this because we were led to believe it was difficult to get a permit to go up to Mauna Kea Summit in a private vehicle. If you are used to altitude and drive in the mountains, don't pay for this. The meal was only so-so though I realize if you are not used to living at altitude you don't want a heavy meal when you do the ascent as you do not have the extra red blood cells most of us who live at 6,000+ feet carry. The guide was okay but on the highway he drove way too slow. It really was not worth the price to us. It would be great if it was the only way you would be at the summit as seeing the sunset there was awesome. Our driver led us to believe that rental car companies would not allow you to drive a rental car up it. But, when we returned our car to the airport to leave we found out that was not the case (at least with our company). There is part of the road that is unpaved but it was graded and r
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
Nearly 14000 fts above sea level. You will able to see very beautiful sky!!! The tour guide has wonderful knowledge about stars positions. It's worth it.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Friends |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
This was my husband's favorite excursion. Our guide was very knowledgeable. The views from the summit are breathtaking and well worth the effort.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
Loved the tour. The clouds dissipated in time for sunset and we had perfect timing for stargazing - got to actually see the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. The tour guide was knowledgeable and very personable. If I was going back to Hawaii, I would do this all over again. Highly recommended, as it is a once in a life time opportunity.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Friends |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Kim&Geoff
We were on our honeymoon, looking for something to do, this was so unique! Who would of thought we would be in a parka in Hawaii! Pick this company! There were many up there, but these guys did it best, so thankful we paid a bit more and got an awesome experience. Staff was wonderful, thank you!
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
Wonderful experience! Felt a bit rushed with having our dinner. Not enough bath room breaks, especially after having a cup of coffee after star gazing and then having a two hour drive back to our hotels, made for a very uncomfortable ride home.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Tanya W
Overall, this was fun.The main guide was knowledgeable and really knew his constellations. One negative was they should have had the single guy sit by the guide and let my husband & I sit together.They both ended up yelling to each other across the aisle over me on the drive back.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: William
I would not recommend this activity unless you've already done most everything else on this island. Everyone we talked to after getting back was dis-appointed. It sure isn't what I thought. First the transportation isn't very convenient. Getting to and from the pick up points should be improved. Next on the way up the mountain we stopped at a gift/visitor shop. Thats where we had a cardboard box dinner in the van. Someone else said bring a sandwich. I also recomend that. Going on up the hill. The observatories we only got to see from the outside, and was just told about them. We did watch a nice sunset at 13,780 feet of elevation. It was a nice view although I like the sunsets over the beach better. After the sun went down we left and went down to about 7000 feet elevation and they set up 11inch Celestron telescopes. Nice telescopes, i have a friend who has one. We saw several stars and clusters ect. Beautiful clear sky. Chitchen-Itza ruins in Mexico was just a clear a
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous
The trip was just amazing! Our guide was very entertaining and knowledgeable. Would go back and do this again! Can't believe the view! This is one of the few trips we will never forget!
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2013/01/03 |
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