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Island of Hawaii Stargazing

Our most recommended Island of Hawaii Stargazing

Mauna Kea: Summit Sunset & Stargazing Trip with Photo

1. Mauna Kea: Summit Sunset & Stargazing Trip with Photo

Get your photos taken by the stars during this sunset and stargazing adventure on the summit of Mauna Kea. Learn about the area from your guide as you sip on hot chocolate and eat snacks. Choose from pickup and drop-off options at several locations.  Delight in the awe-inspiring sunset at the top of Mauna Kea, the highest point in the Pacific. Get cozy with a parka, gloves, and hot drink as you learn historic accounts of Hawaii, the Big Island, from your guide. Stand amidst the world’s largest collection of research telescopes and see two of the eight telescopes which took the first photo of a black hole. Enjoy your very own private star show with a Celestron telescope. Capture your experience forever with photos taken by your guide on a DSLR camera. Get emailed these photos after your experience. After your unforgettable evening with the stars, depart back to your pickup location for drop-off.

Mauna Kea: Stargazing Experience with Free Photos

2. Mauna Kea: Stargazing Experience with Free Photos

Explore a secluded stargazing spot on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Stargazing on this summit has never been allowed for any individual or tour group; all other tours do their stargazing on the side of a busy road near the highway, but this tour allows you access to a remote spot located miles from any highway.  Head to the meeting point and grab a parka jacket. Hear about this unique spot from your guide, as they use a green laser to point out constellations, planets, space objects, and hopefully some fast-moving shooting stars. Your guide will also take some photos of the best objects in the night sky with an astro-modified camera/lens for you to check out later. Next comes everyone's favorite part; have some fun posing for astro-photos with the stars in the background. 2-3 photos taken during the experience will be sent to you after the trip. Look back on these photos, touched up with Lightroom photo-editing at no extra cost.

Big Island Twilight Volcano and Stargazing Tour

3. Big Island Twilight Volcano and Stargazing Tour

Enjoy a guided adventure starting with a stop at a Kona Coffee Farm. Walk through a lava tube and orchards with your guide to learn about the harvesting and milling process while sampling a warm cup of Kona-grown coffee. Continue through the scenic view of the Kealakekua Bay and South Point, the southernmost point of the United States. Relax at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach to spot marine life, like Hawaii’s green sea turtles, from the shore. Next, head to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Drive on the Chain of Craters Road. Learn about volcanic eruptions and current and past lava flow sites. Visit the Kilauea Iki Lookout, Lava Tube, steam vents, Halema’uma’u Crater, and the crater rim trail. After enjoying dinner at a nearby cafe, return to the park to view the lava glow at night and stargaze. Depending on weather conditions, observe stars, planets, galaxies, and more.

High Country Private 4x4 Adventure with Sunset Dinner

4. High Country Private 4x4 Adventure with Sunset Dinner

Hidden, Rare and Unique: A One of a Kind Adventure! Discover the natural beauty of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on this 4x4 adventure day trip. Look for rare plants and birds in Mauna Kea forest reserve with your naturalist guide. Admire views of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on a sunset picnic.  Be picked up from the comfort of your accommodation and hop aboard a comfortable, fully customized, Toyota Sequoia that truly is a rugged yet luxurious 4X4 adventure vehicle. Travel on a road built through lava flows in a Martian-like landsacpe as you explore the northern flank of the largest volcano on earth, Mauna Loa. Take in the sights of from the Mauna Loa Observatory which has been recording atmospheric changes since the 1950’s and boasts the longest record of direct measurements of CO2 in the atmosphere. Explore the rare and lesser known high elevation dry forest around the slopes of Mauna Kea volcano. Search for the endangered and endemic Hawaiian Honey creeper the Palila (Loxioides bailleui), the last finch-billed honey creeper in the main Hawaiian Islands. Witness other rare and endemic birds such as the Hawai‘i ‘Amakihi, ‘Apapane, Hawaiian hawk, and the Hawaiian short-eared owl. Hawaii has some of the best birding opportunities in the world due to the evolution of the islands and the presence of the rare bird species. Go for a guided walk through the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and learn about the unique plants and animals found in the area. Get a better view of birds with the use of provided Nikon ProStaff binoculars. Marvel at Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa as you enjoy a delicious picnic dinner in the sub-alpine dry forest. Stargaze with a top-of-the-line Vaonis Stellina telescope at a private location before returning to your accommodation.

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What people are saying about Island of Hawaii

James is an extremely knowledgeable guide who brings not only the closest stars, but those millions of light years away, up close and personal. The pictures and information were amazing and really gives one a perspective on the vastness of the universe and how small we are in relation to it. Very humbling! Also, this is our second time doing this tour. The first time we went was in the summer and it was interesting to see the difference between the summer sky and the winter sky!

We were lucky with a clear night and very little wind. The tour was extremely well organized, and our two guides were great. Jaime, our driver up the mountain also gave us a quick star gazing tour. The views atop Mauna Kea really were breathtaking. I highly recommend the tour, but do know there’s a good amount of driving involved to get to the mountain and back.

The staff was great, knowledgeable and attentive!! We had a really windy day - but they made it work! Wished we could have spent more time looking through the telescope - but brrr it was cold!

I very much enjoyed this tour!! Although the sunset wasn't as beautiful and the skies were cloudy, I still had a wonderful experience.

Aaron the tour guide was spectacular and full of great knowledge.