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

Sun 27 Apr

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $263.76

Make a reservation

Sun 27 Apr

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 (97)

Keiko_N

Dec 2024

Marcus was great. He was knowledgeable, entertaining and kind. Plus he provided all the stars for us on what looked like a cloudy night! Simply amazing.

Erik_d

Aug 2024

The tour was a great experience. Nice dinner and good hot choc at the end. Marcus drove the Saddle Road, set us up for sunset viewing near a parking lot and if there were no partial clouds obscuring would have set up the solarscope, and then drove to a secluded spot for 1.30-2 hours using his portable Dobsonian telescope giving each of us turns to watch e.g. Alpha Centauri (a twin star!), Venus and as top of the bill Saturn with the clearly visible ring pattern. And in between used the laser pointer to show lots of stars and nebulas. Even had 3 falling stars, a rarity! However we were disappointed that all only went to 6000 feet (2 km), meaning we missed the far better sunset views including ocean from the visitors centre. (Summit is not really needed to visit, partly due to sensitivity for local culture but also as it’s simply too cold and can bring altitude sickness). Company delivers as advertised, but we should have read better – though the pickup options in Kona for this tour were amongst the best. The tour would, both because of less delivered quality and of far less fuel cost for the company compared to the other routes, need to be sold at USD 75 at least below the current level. For the current level of price, go for a tour that visits the visitor centre (9000 ft/3km) for sunset vistas (and stargazing similar to this one) like Mauna Kea Summit sunset and stars, Mauna Kea Summit tour, Mauna Kea stargazing experience.

Sandya-and-Erik

Aug 2024