I was just like you, looking for a tour of Oahu that hits all the major spots. And just like you I saw all the amazing reviews for Aloha Circle Island Tours so my wife and I decided to give it a go. It was our last day in Hawaii and we didn’t have a car so combine that with the awesome reviews it just seemed like the best way for my wife and I to see all the major sights and get some snorkeling in before leaving Hawaii. But before you book this tour I hope you’ll take the time to read this since I very quickly regretted this decision and it was a complete waste of our last day in Hawaii.
I should have known something was wrong when they didn’t contact me till the morning of the trip to arrange a pickup spot and didn’t answer calls or immediately hung up when I would call in the days prior to ask about this. Then they were almost an hour late picking us up in front of the Aston Waikiki and it was pretty chaotic since a van came that only had room for two people so we had to wait for another one. When I tried to call and text the dispatch number provided there was no response.
We finally got to our van and met our guide, Mitchell or Mitch. The reasons why this tour was so horrible (more on this later) were mostly out of Mitch’s control but I hate to say it, he was pretty horrible too. He mostly rambled throughout the tour and since the mic either wasn’t working or just not being used (again, more on this later) it was very hard to hear him. When other people on the bus were taking forever to come back from one of the stops he just sat there and waited instead of go find them, which seems like an important part of the tour guide’s job. We probably spent at least 45 minutes of the tour sitting in a bus waiting for people while Mitch just sat there. When we got back from lunch everyone was back on time but he was sitting there stoically for a quite a while until someone had to tell him everyone was in the bus and we could go. Throughout the tour he just didn’t seem very knowledgeable and rambled a ton. He also didn’t know how to get back to our hotel drop off spot (I had to use my GPS to guide him). I know a lot of the reviews rave about “Captain Vince” and some of the other guides and things would’ve probably been different had we got one of them, but alas we did not.
But the two major reasons the tour was so horrible and why we’re trying to get a refund — something I’ve NEVER done before in all my travels — is because the snorkeling stop on the north shore didn’t happen and the AC mostly wasn’t on. Regarding the snorkeling stop, when we got to the north shore Mitch told us in order to make it to the Dole Plantation before they close we’d have 30 minutes to snorkel, which was pointless. We still wanted to do it but the rest of the people on the bus said it was pointless (which I understand) so we just went on to the Dole Plantation. This was very disappointing since it’s the highlighted part of the tour and what I was looking forward to most. It should not be up to a vote to get rid of the main stop and the time management should’ve been better so we got to the beach sooner and had more time there. If Mitch wasn’t sitting stoically for 10-15 minutes after lunch and waiting forever for other people on the bus at Tropical Farms that would’ve helped.
Regarding the AC: whenever Mitch would talk he would turn off the AC so people could hear him and often times forget to turn it back on which made the van equatorially hot and several times people had to ask him to turn it back on. But the better question is why wasn’t Mitch talking into a mic? Did he not have one, not know how to use it or just choose not to use it? Were the speakers not working? Whatever the case this was totally unacceptable — it made him impossible to hear, especially with a loud family sitting behind us, and when he turned off the AC so we could hear him a little better it made the van unbearable since it was the middle of July.
So here’s where we’re at now: when I call to discuss my concerns and request a refund it either goes to voicemail or they literally hang up on me, just like when I was calling before the tour for info on the pickup location. I then got through to someone at Viator and the rep was very friendly and helpful but also unable to get through to them on the phone and sent them an email which I doubt gets responded to. So I’m out $220 and all I can do is leave this review and highly recommend you do NOT book a tour with this company based on our experience. Sure, our experience might’ve been an outlier but you’re really better off renting a car for the day and going to whatever sites you want than taking a chance with Aloha Circle Island Tours.
Odpowiedź od gospodarza
Jul 2021
Well we realized with this group there was a party that wasn't very considerate with punctuality. They didn't return to the bus anywhere near on time and it drained the rest of the stops. It's important that we all remember that we share this tour with other families who want to see the whole island. It's a site seeing service that's about having a sweeping view of Oahu - it's not for activities / shopping.