There is some much to say about the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park tour, let me sum it up by saying you absolutely do not want to miss it! To do it right I highly recommend Big Island VIP Tours! The booking experience was super easy and it is where the amazing customer service began for me, when I booked the tour I selected the wrong date, Rob noticed the conflict in my comments and the date I selected and called me to verify the date I would be in Hilo. I was so grateful for his attention to detail on every aspect of the experience or we would have completely missed the tour.
Let me talk a little about Rob, our guide for the tour. Communication was great, he checked on us throughout the day of the tour to verify when the ship would be arriving, what time we planned to get off the ship and as we exited the terminal he was right there with that easy to spot Mercedes Sprinter Van. It was raining hard as we exited the terminal, he spotted us and pulled as closely as possible and jumped out with an umbrella to walk us to the van. He was always there two anticipate every possible need throughout the day and made the entire day a huge success. But it went even further, he also gave us a plan for our next day in Kona, we were undecided on what we were going to do but his recommendations were amazing for Kona as well.
During the tour Rob provided great information on everything from the lava flows, to the different lava activities from eruptions over the years. While we saw many large tour groups in the park, they never were where we went, we were able to get to things they just could not do with a bus load of people. We walked out on lava fields to see the different types of lava and scenery throughout the park.
The day after the tour we received a link to all the pictures Rob took during our visit, his experience and knowledge enabled us to see the best sights and learn the history of the different volcanic activities over the years. Drinks and snacks were available throughout the day and Rob even knows where the best restrooms are located! Amazing day and the high point of our trip.