Maunakea Stellar Explorer from KONA

Overview

For an out-of-this-world experience, check out Maunakea Stellar Explorer from KapohoKine Adventures. This thrilling adventure is the only Big Island star tour to feature nighttime astronomical observing AND safe daytime solar viewing with all ages welcome! Our in-house stellar explorers are the best and most experienced in Hawaii with one having created the Mauna Kea Visitor’s Center and operated it for a decade. Others on staff have written noted articles and reviews for well-known astronomy magazines and have worked at world-class observatories.

City: Big Island of Hawaii

Fri 17 Jan

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $263.76

Make a reservation

Fri 17 Jan

Starting at $263.76

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Bottled water

Driver/guide

Dinner

Jackets

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

What To Expect

Kailua-Kona

The adventure starts with dinner.

Saddle Road

Next, you’ll travel across Saddle Road between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, two of the tallest and most massive volcanoes on Earth. Your National Park Service trained guide will discuss the volcanology, geology, and history of these monstrous wonders, as well as providing in-depth narration on the various lava flows and flora and fauna that you’ll be passing by. Lastly, your guide will take you to one of our preferred locations on Mauna Kea for nighttime stargazing.

Mauna Kea

You’ll observe deep sky and planetary objects through a large aperture Dobsonian telescope under one of the darkest and most pristine skies on planet Earth! Our Dobsonian telescopes are a true purist’s experience to view the night sky. Their fast focal ratio enables you to see sprawling wide field views of objects that simply aren’t possible with the types of telescopes used by other tours. Depending on what is visible in the current sky and weather permitting, you’ll observe galaxies, nebula, star clusters, planets, double star systems, the moon, and much more; all the highlights and showpiece objects like you’ve never seen before! Afterwards, warm up with Kona coffee and hot chocolate before returning to your resort. Warm jackets provided. This tour does not visit Maunakea’s summit out of deference to Native Hawaiian concerns.

Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Reviews (70)

michaelgZ9111YF

Nov 2019

Lawrence was a great guide; knows Hawaii and the night sky. There was no "tour" of the coffee farm, just a coffee from an urn, no tasting, no staff telling us about the farm and its history. Very disappointing as we are in the coffee business and love to hear from others in the business. The property was on a steep hill and we were not able to walk around. Dinner was good, Lawrence was a good cook. The main event was the night sky and that did not disappoint. We spotted satellites, planets, stars, constellations and so much more. Notwithstanding everything else, i would recommend this tour if you have any interest in the night sky!

Stephen P

Nov 2019

I was picked up from my accommodation at the stated time. We were then driven to a coffee farm owned by Doutour (Japanese company) to take a nice walk through the farm and its lovely gardens. There were lots of little birds, wild turkeys and mongoose. You then get a free coffee tasting and an informal talk about the farm and products from the farm's staff. I haven't drunk coffee for about 30 years but I had to do it and it was nice enough. We then went to a nice outdoor reception area where we had an early BBQ dinner. Following dinner, we had the chance to look at the sun through a specially filtered scope. We then drove up Old Saddle road and stopped to watch the sunset at a suitable spot before travelling up the mountain to find a stargazing spot. We looked at Jupiter and its 4 big moons, Saturn and its rings. It was a full moon which may have restricted some of the things we could see but there's lots up there so Todd had no trouble finding lots of interesting things to view. There were only 3 of us so we all had plenty of viewing time on each object. We finished by checking out the full moon in all its glory. Todd and his colleague (sorry I can't remember your name mate) were both very knowledgeable about the night sky and also about Hawaiian geology, flora and fauna. It was really cold up on the mountain (about 10 Celcius) but they provided warm jackets and blankets. Wear thick socks!

Response from Host

Dec 2019

Aloha Stephen, mahalo for the great review and for the great tips. Happy to hear you had a wonderful time. I just wanted to let you know, we have a giveaway on Instagram to win a 2-night stay at the Grand Naniloa and a Zippin' Volcano Adventure for two -- check out @Kapohokine on Instagram to learn more and to enter.

Les M

Oct 2019

We had originally booked a Mauna Kea Summit tour, but our plans were cancelled due to the ongoing protests over the TMT. At the last minute we booked the Maunakea Stellar Explorer tour with Kapohokine and I'm so glad we did! Out tour guide Lawrence picked us up right ontime in a very comfortable tour van. Lawrence is the very embodiment of the aloha spirit. He was a perfect guide for our tour! I don't know if Kapohokine will let you request tour guides, but ask for Lawrence if you can! We picked up the other groups at some other resorts and then we were off to our first stop, a coffee plantation. I'm not a coffee person. I don't drink coffee, don't know the difference between beans, etc. and even I thought the coffee plantation was cool. The property is beautiful and the food they prepare for you is very good! We learned about coffee and got to do a tasting as well. We even were able to picks beans to taste right from the tree. It was cool. After dinner, we went about half way up Mauna Kea via saddle road to a park and met the Kapohokine group from Hilo. The elevation there is about 7,000 feet and it did get chilly - bring a jacket! Lawrence and the other guide set up 2 big telescopes and then trained them on several celestial objects for us to view. It was incredible! We saw the rings of Saturn, Jupiters Great Red Spot, several stars, Nebulas, Galaxies, etc. You could see the Milky Way with the naked eye (only 3rd time I've ever seen it) and we saw several shooting stars and even some satellites. When we got cold, they served coffee/hot chocolate to warm us up. We were dropped off at our resort a bit ahead of schedule and I would recommend this tour to anyone!

Response from Host

Nov 2019

Aloha Les, mahalo for adventuring with us and for the great review. Happy to hear you had a wonderful time exploring Mauna Kea. We'd love to see your photos from your tour with us. Be sure to tag us on Instagram @KapohoKine.