Mauna Kea Summit and Stars Small-Group Adventure Tour in Big Island of Hawaii booking from $313.09

Mauna Kea Summit and Stars Small-Group Adventure Tour

Overview

Head to the Mauna Kea Observatory, nestled high in the mountains of the Big Island, and experience an intriguing and provocative journey through space and time. Discover Hawaii from the top of the island's tallest peak, Mauna Kea, also known as 'White Mountain,' located 13,796 feet (4,200 meters) above sea level. This small-group star-watching tour ensures a personalized and unique experience at the enchanting Mauna Kea summit.

City: Big Island of Hawaii

Tue 24 Jun

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $313.09

Make a reservation

Tue 24 Jun

Starting at $313.09

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Private star show with telescope

Hooded parkas and gloves

Central Meeting Locations for Pick-up & Drop off

Hot cocoa and cookies

Local taxes

Guide

Hot picnic dinner

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Minimum age is 13 years
Due to the high altitude; this tour is not suitable for those with respiratory, heart or circulatory conditions, poor health, or pregnancy
Scuba divers should be aware of altitude dangers
**IMPORTANT - Please note, guests meeting at the Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel must meet at least 15 MINUTES PRIOR to the tour's departure time.**
Guests are required to wear closed-toe walking shoes or hiking boots, long pants. We recommend bringing a light sweatshirt or jacket
Guests must bring their own water bottles. Tour operator will provide filtered water refills.
Please advise your parka size (small, medium, large, x-large or xx-large) and choice of meal at time of booking. If you do not indicate this at the time of booking, you will be required to call and advise them of this information directly.
There is minimal walking on this tour, the maximum being about 150 yards
The access road to Mauna Kea is four-wheel drive only, so it can be bumpy. The custom off-road transit vans will get you to the top and back in safety and comfort. The transit vans can carry a maximum of 12 passengers
Snow is seasonal at Mauna Kea, with the heaviest snowfall occurring during the winter months

What To Expect

Maunakea Visitor Information Station

Enjoy a warm picnic dinner while you acclimate to a higher elevation and learn about Hawaiian star navigation before you head to the summit.

Mauna Kea Summit

Enjoy a sunset from above the clouds while overlooking the Pacific Ocean atop Maunakea. After the sunset, travel to a more comfortable elevation and let our guides reveal the night sky with our 11" Celestron telescopes.

Maunakea Visitor Information Station

Descend to a lower elevation after the sun sets and sip hot chocolate during a private star show with our 11” Celestron telescope. View deep space objects with our Stellina digital telescope and share captured images of the Hawaiian night sky with your friends & family

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (1000)

mvdreamtime

Jan 2019

Twice before we’ve booked this tour only to have Madam Pele intervene by serving up foul weather. Last year we actually made to dinner at the sheep station before a blizzard closed the road to the summit. I wrote a review of that one, noting the fact that the company gave us a full refund despite the fact that they had to pay for dinner, our guide, and the fuel to get that far. Great customer service, to be sure. But this year, we finally made it! And I guess it’s fair to say it was worth the wait. The trip began with a bit of sad news as we learned that Hank, our guide on the last, abortive, trip had lost his life in a motorcycle accident. It had obviously been a blow to the staff as well. This year our guide was Heraldo, and his knowledge of a myriad of subjects, from Hawaiian history to geology to astronomy and astrophysics was nothing short of amazing. The dinner was a “boxed lunch” format (but hot) picked up at Waikoloa on our way to the mountain. Choices were beef and chicken (there was a vegetarian option as well) and both were quite good given the logistics of transporting it. Then came the real adventure. We’ve driven to the top of Pike’s Peak and this was similar but with more guardrails and a washboard surface that taxed everyone’s back and bladders! But oh, the view from the summit! We arrived at the summit maybe 20 minutes before sunset, giving us time to take a few pictures and marvel at the observatories. One thing I thought was pretty cool (though others might say, “Meh, big deal”) was the view to the east where the shadow of the mountain stretched out across the Pacific. After sunset, we drove back down to a spot at about the 12,800-foot level where Heraldo served brownies and hot chocolate and set up the telescope. Again I must mention his encyclopedic knowledge of stars and the ancient Polynesians use of the skies for navigation. The telescope viewing itself was a bit of an anti-climax. There wasn’t really all that much to look at other than the Andromeda Galaxy and a couple of nebulae, all of which pretty much looked like faint fuzzy blobs of light. But the overall view of the sky was absolutely mind-boggling. We had booked the date to coincide with the new moon so when it did get dark, it was REALLY dark! So dark that Orion, easy to pick out normally, became difficult to differentiate from the “billions and billions” of background stars. It was also the first time we’d seen “zodiacal light” (Google it) which was quite spectacular. Those thinking of booking this trip need to keep a few things in mind. First, it IS a TRIP. We left the company HQ, near Costco, about 2 p.m. and returned just after 10 p.m. Second, the high altitude is not to be taken lightly. Heraldo did an excellent job of coaching us on how to breathe properly but we both experienced some light-headedness when we first got out of the van at the summit. We are both in good shape for our age, but we found ourselves walking and moving very slowly and deliberately. Third, once it got dark, the temperature really plummeted. Despite the warm parkas that were included with the tour, some folks were shivering by the time we got back on the van for the trip home. It seems strange to be putting on warm clothes in Kona with the temperature in the 80s, but you’ll be very glad you did when that temperature drops into the 30s! Finally, it got a bit disorienting once it got really dark on the mountain. The dome of the sky was huge, you couldn’t see much of the surrounding earth and you spent most of the time with your head tilted back looking up. Add to that the thin air and the slight slope of the parking area and I found myself weaving around like I’d had one too many drinks! But, overall, this adventure, along with the night snorkel with the mantas, is an absolute Bucket List/Must Do activity on the Big Island. And Hawaii Forest and Trail knows how to do it right!

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Mauna Kea Summit and Stars Small-Group Adventure Tour

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