Reviewed by: John A
My wife and I were staying in Waikiki for a week and everyone said we need to make a trip to the North Shore when on Oahu. We scoured Trip Advisor, Yelp and other Hawaii Adventure sites and this one looked appealing. Turns out to be a great deal if you are looking for transportation to the North Shore and a variety of options to choose from once you get there. We chose to snorkel in the mornng at Sharks Cove then spend an hour at Waimea Bay, then in the afternoon we did the SUP down the river in Halewia.
The tour is setup where they pick you up on a ~20 person bus from multiple Waikiki hotels, then up a narrated drive up to the North Shore which took about 1 1/2 hours all together. Sam was our host for the day and is awesome at his job. Very knowledgable, humourous and makes the tour a good time. Once you are there, you get to see the options for the day such as hanging at the beach of Waimea Bay, surfing, snorkeling, beach bike cruise, Waimea Botanical Gardens, stand up paddle boarding and probably a few others options that I am missing. There is no additional cost to do these unless you want to do more than two. If there was one draw back for the day, it was that we could have enjoyed a few more hours on the beach and shopping at the local surf shops there.
Overall, great trip and glad we did it!
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Packages: | [From Waikiki] North Shore Tour + Two Fun Adventures |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/04/29 |
Activity Date: | 2015/04/24 |
Reviewed by: Maria A
The best part is the knowledge and friendliness of your tour guide Bethany.
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Packages: | Standard |
Attended as: | Friends |
Posted on: | 2015/04/18 |
Activity Date: | 2015/03/28 |
Reviewed by: carol
Keith Fujikawa made this the best tour ever. Great local insight and made is feel like we were long lost friends he was taking around the island. Never got tired of our endless questions and seemed to really enjoy showing us his home. Mahlo!!!
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2015/04/07 |
Reviewed by: Stella Martin YT Cda
Our tour of the island was very enjoyable. Very happy to see the Pineapples growing, and the lay of the land. The guides were prompt and the guide at the Centre, was especially polite. (Congrats to them, too, for indicating they do not except tips.) We visited three villages but I've done these without a guide and on my own, saw all six villages in the time he took us to three. I know time is spent gathering people and passing out leis and explaining procedures, but this did detract from what we could experience. I would suggest that at the Center, folks are given the option to go with the guide or go on their own. The luau and HA - Breath of Life show are phenomenal!! We had half a house for the audience and I was so impressed with the quality of singing and dancing, of the performers, that I started the standing ovation. Those students really deserve our appreciation!!
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Packages: | Ambassador Luau - Premium Show Seating & Guided Group Park Tour |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/04/05 |
Activity Date: | 2015/03/19 |
Reviewed by: JDJones
The PCC, dinner, luau, and show were fantastic. The Island Tour itself was the sad part. Our driver was late and then we had to rush through all the sites, having barely time for a picture or look before having to reload.
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Packages: | Alii Luau Dinner Buffet Package & All Day Admission (Self-Guided) |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/03/31 |
Activity Date: | 2015/03/26 |
Reviewed by: R Studley
The concept is great. Transport is reliable, clean and on time. The tour guide, Harry, was entertaining and very friendly. The only thing we would suggest is that surfing be offered as one of the activities - it is after all what the area is best known for!
I would recommend this for anyone who wants an active day.
Thank you for the great review, surfing is offered to those with prior experience with our basic package.For the unexperienced folks we require they book the package which includes the "SURF LESSON". We are sorry if that wasn't explained thoroughly by Harry and will have to talk to him about that.
Mahalo Justin
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Packages: | [From Waikiki] North Shore Tour + Two Fun Adventures |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/03/23 |
Activity Date: | 2015/03/20 |
Reviewed by: Julia
I defenitely recommend that tour to everyone who visits Oahu for the first time and wants to see as much as possible! I rented a car for the time after to visit my favorite spots again! Our bus driver Ed was so funny and taught us some Hawaiian words and about the history and culture! Definitely worth it! DO IT AND GO ON THAT TOUR!!!
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2015/03/22 |
Activity Date: | 2015/03/18 |
Reviewed by: The Lyons Lot
Our family of 6 adults from Brisbane Australia loved this whole day tour. Our driver / tour guide Sam picked us up from our hotel on time, & drove safely. He was so friendly and knowledgeable about Oahu, and explained all the sights on the way to the North Shore - he make the entire trip an awesome experience. He gave us a drive by & quick stop at each of the available activities before we chose them, then dropped us all to our chosen areas. 3 of us chose bike riding along the famous surfing beaches where we could stop and have beach time as we liked; the other 3 the walk through the beautiful gardens to the waterfall. Though a lovely walk, it is quite a long one, for anyone older. If you want a swim at the Falls, take cash for a compulsory life jacket hire! From there we walked back to Waimea Bay beach for a swim until our bus pick up. Our next activity for 4 of us was SUP (stand up paddle boarding) and 2 did kayaking. We LOVED this time on the water and would have liked to have a bit less time on the morning activities and more time for the afternoon ones! After, we walked through the town and sampled the Shaved Ice and some delicious lunch before boarding the bus completely satisfied with our day. We did several different tours while in Waikiki, and this was BY FAR the very best for the sightseeing, and activities on offer, plus the freedom to have our own time was fantastic. We were REALLY impressed with Sam the driver & happy to tip him well for his outstanding service - he contributed in a big way to making it the best tour during our time in Hawaii. Thank you Sam! I would highly recommend this tour, well worth it and we have great memories of our day.
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Packages: | [From Waikiki] North Shore Tour + Two Fun Adventures |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2015/03/21 |
Activity Date: | 2015/02/26 |
Reviewed by: LJB
This Circle Island tour was terrific. Our guide, Dai Mar, was very knowledgeable about Oahu, the islands in general, and the places we visited. We saw the North Shore and spent time at the Banzai Pipeline, we visited Waimea Falls after a nice stroll/hike with lots of info about the area and the flora/fauna, we ate at Fumi's Shrimp Truck, and we stopped at a Macadamia farm/shop. It was fun, relaxed, and I learned a lot, plus the views were fantastic!
Aloha,
Thank you for the great review. We are so happy we got to share these fantastic places on our island with you. We take great pride in the wonderfeul personalities and extensive knowledge of our guides. Your great review and kind words are always satisfying to hear. We hope you had a great time in Hawaii and come visit our paradise again soon.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Oahu Nature Tours
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Packages: | Standard |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2015/03/20 |
Activity Date: | 2015/03/17 |
Reviewed by: L. Villeneuve
Nous avons apprécié le tour de l'île d'Ohau. À la Dole Plantation, nous aurions aimer avoir des explications sur la culture des ananas.
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Friends |
Posted on: | 2015/03/14 |
Activity Date: | 2015/02/18 |
Reviewed by: Lalit Khullar
Best tour arrangements . Driver was very helpful and conciderate.He did his best to show us around as much as he could. Best service .
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Packages: | Ambassador Luau - Premium Show Seating & Guided Group Park Tour |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/03/13 |
Activity Date: | 2015/02/28 |
Reviewed by: Chuck
Enjoyed the bus tour, but it gets you there 2 hours after it opens.
The center itself focuses too much on entertainment and not enough on education. It is run by the Morman education system, so one would think if we are supporting the students we in turn would be educated about the various Polynesian cultures around the pacific.
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Packages: | Ambassador Luau - Premium Show Seating & Guided Group Park Tour |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/03/05 |
Activity Date: | 2015/02/26 |
Reviewed by: Sally
This tour featured beautiful views of some of the most gorgeous beaches to be found in all of Oahu. The guides knowledge of points of interest, trees and flowers exceeded and was far superior than most tour guides. We have been coming to Hawaii for over thirty years and the presentation on this tour exceeded most of our previous tour experiences. The wetlands preserve was interesting and we did see a lot of birds and ducks among the grassy areas. The guide Tiffany was patient and respectful answered all the questions asked from all 25 members of our group and spelled out the names for those trying to keep a list of where we were and what they were seeing.
Aloha Sally,
Thank you so much for your great review! Tiffany is an amazing guide, and we are so glad you got to see our beautiful island while learning about the flora and fauna. We will make sure she receives your kind words. We take great pride in all of our guides' expert training and knowledge & hope you join us for another adventure the next time you visit Oahu.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Oahu Nature Tours Management
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/02/19 |
Activity Date: | 2015/02/16 |
Reviewed by: Jesper
It was nice to see various things on this tour, but it felt a bit too much like sitting on a bus a lot of the time, with too short stops at interesting places. We got sufficient time at the Byodo-In temple, which was good, but the North Shore was less than a 5 minute stop. I really wanted to see the Kualoa ranch, and partly booked this tour because of it going there, but the short tram ride only did a short route outside the valley of the ranch, which was a personal disappointment for me (I went for a full Kualoa tour the following day to make up for that).
The Pali lookout was nice.
I would have enjoyed it better if I got to see less things in a better way, than to rush through several things too quickly.
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2015/02/09 |
Activity Date: | 2015/01/15 |
Reviewed by: Marin
Great experience. The driver made the trip extremely pleasant..
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2015/01/17 |
Activity Date: | 2014/12/27 |
Reviewed by: Henrik
Were well planned and executed tour giving a lot of insight to Hawaii and the the Hawaiian culture.
The planned stops are relevant and seams to be well picked giving a good head start for enjoying Oahu
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2015/01/05 |
Activity Date: | 2014/12/21 |
Reviewed by: Donald Owen
Spectacular scenery, blue sky, eighty degrees. What more could you ask? Even a 1 hour hold-up in Waimanolo couldn,t spoil my day.
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2014/12/16 |
Activity Date: | 2014/12/13 |
Reviewed by: Grace S
This was a truly awesome experience. We had Sam as a driver and he was totally great. He navigated traffic well and all of his narrating was necessary, funny and enjoyable.
We had a slight problem in that we missed our pick up (oops!) but the company was helpful and told us where to go to get another pick up.
We did some bike riding in the morning, saw Pipeline and had a great time. In the afternoon we tried SUP and saw turtles! It was a fully awesome experience. So good getting out and SEEING the North Shore, not just taking pictures of it.
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Packages: | [From Waikiki] North Shore Tour + Two Fun Adventures |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2014/12/12 |
Activity Date: | 2014/12/09 |
Reviewed by: Pattye
This was a wonderful tour. Jessie was our driver and he was more than excellant. He was very knowledgable. He knew tons of facts about the history of the island. It was well worth spending a day to do this tour. I now know of some "secret" LOL places to go next time I am there. Jessie made the tour interesting. We ended up seeing him the next day at the Polynasian Culture center and he came over to us to say hi. Thanks Jessie for the fantastic day!
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Packages: | Arizona Memorial & Circle Island Tour |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/12/09 |
Activity Date: | 2014/11/20 |
Reviewed by: Suri
This truly was the best tour ever. Had a little bit of confusion as to where the bus was going to pick us up, but a quick call to customer service cleared everything up.
Can't say enough about Ernal, our tour guide. Super friendly, knowledgeable and over all great guy. During our tour he was teaching us Hawaiian words and very interesting facts about Hawaii. His stories were funny and kept us to schedule.
You really should do this tour!
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/12/04 |
Activity Date: | 2014/11/28 |
Reviewed by: ELEN
it was indeed an amazing experience! we visited most important sights without spending a fortune! Excellent!
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
Posted on: | 2014/11/29 |
Reviewed by: AJ - Melbourne
Had Justin as the guide. Very very good - he made the trip!
Think he managed to talk the entire day(!) and added a lot of interesting and useful information throughout. Wife wanted to try the Shrimp Trucks, so that was her highlight, I wanted to see the large surf, so all-in-all, satisfied all our wants. Highly recommended.
Aloha AJ,
Thank you so much for the great review. Justin and all our guides are the best in Oahu, and we are so glad you got to experience the North Shore guided by his passion and knowledge. I will pass your kind words on to him. Our guides love hearing that they were able to share the aloha spirit with our guests, and show visitors to our island a great time.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Oahu Nature Tours Management
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Packages: | Standard |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/11/17 |
Activity Date: | 2014/11/13 |
Reviewed by: Kristen Olthuis
My husband and I were disappointed with the tour guide. We felt he had a attitude about him and really didn't want to be there. At times we thought he was being rude in his manor and attitude. We went on another tour and the guide was so different and really acted like he wanted to be there. It made a big difference on the tour and made it much more enjoyable. The tour itself was great, but it could of been a lot nicer if the guide was more interested in the people on his bus and what he was doing.
I'm so sorry, who was your driver?
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Packages: | [From Waikiki] North Shore Tour + Two Fun Adventures |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/11/02 |
Activity Date: | 2014/10/27 |
Reviewed by: Susie Pena
The tour was fantastic! Our driver, Ben, was awesome and so informative. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and learned so much about the Island that we would not have had we driven ourselves. Especially because it was our first tour of the Island, it was totally worth it! Relaxing, beautiful and fun. Kudos to Ben!! Highly recommend it!!
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/10/18 |
Activity Date: | 2014/09/23 |
Reviewed by: sunita iyer
It was a nicely planned trip. Our driver cousin pekelo was very informative. Highly recommendable headstart into ur hawaii trip.
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Packages: | Standard Package |
Attended as: | Families |
Posted on: | 2014/10/16 |
Activity Date: | 2014/10/12 |
Reviewed by: KSD2014
Great tour from our tour guide Ed. You get a good overall view of most of the island. Some of the stops were a little short, but overall an enjoyable day.
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Packages: | Test Package |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/10/12 |
Reviewed by: Candice
After spending the first couple of days in Hawaii walking everywhere, it was nice to sit and relax in the tour van and watch the island slide by out the windows. The hike through Wiamea Valley to the falls was beautiful, although I wish more plants and flowers had been in bloom. Lunch was awesome. This tour is alright, but we could easily have seen everything on our own with a car rental.
You can do anything on your own if that's what you want to do. But then you would have had to drive for 8 hours (paying close attention to the worst traffic in the nation), instead of enjoying the views and just relax. You would have had to rent a car for the whole day, you would have had to pay your own entry fees to the visited locations, you would have had to pay for your own lunch at Fumis and stand in line for it yourself instead of being served, you would have had to buy a guide book and study it to know where to go, you would have had to have someone read out aloud all the interesting facts about our islands natural history, just like our trained guide did for you for 8 hrs. We agree with you that the tour is beautiful and awesome. Plus, we fully delivered what we promised and if you add up all these extra expenses and inconvenience you would have had to encounter had you chosen to drive yourself, you would have lost money and comfort instead of gaining. Aloha!
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Packages: | Standard |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/09/28 |
Activity Date: | 2014/09/21 |
Reviewed by: Fabes
Awesome experiemce! The food is no that good! Interesting history
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Packages: | Prime Rib Dining, Premium Show Seating & Guided Park Tour |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/09/24 |
Activity Date: | 2014/09/19 |
Reviewed by: J&K
The tour was good. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. We basically saw the whole island in one day so it was long day but worth it. Bring plenty of water to keep hydrated!!!!! The only negative was that our driver was 30 minutes late picking us up but other than that it was cool.
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Packages: | Arizona Memorial & North Shore Tour |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/09/18 |
Activity Date: | 2014/09/16 |
Reviewed by: Betty
This was a great tour. Our tour guy, I believe his name is Sam was very helpful and funny. Sam was also very knowledgeable and he made the tour a memorable experience for us. We like the fact that we get to plan out our activities and get to see couple places at North Shore. The only suggestion that we think can improve for the tour is the activities in the afternoon. There wasn't a lot of options in the afternoon activities like in the morning. Overall, we enjoyed the tour very much.
Aloha Betty,
Mahalo for your review and to make suggestions on how we can improve. This is essential to make guest's experience even better. We will think about ways to try to incorporate more activities to the pm break. Alooooha!
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Packages: | [From Waikiki] North Shore Tour + Two Fun Adventures |
Attended as: | Couples |
Posted on: | 2014/09/09 |
Activity Date: | 2014/08/28 |
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Aloha Maria,
Thank you so much for your kind words. We are glad you had a great time, and hope the rest of your vacation was full of aloha as well.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Oahu Nature Tours Management