Nomad51653207718
Mar 2022
As we were waiting to eat breakfast at Eggs ‘n Things, we were walking around Waikiki Beach when we ran into Kevin. Kevin began to talk to us about his tour and all of the places they stop and visit. I am skeptical person and as I listened to Kevin talk, I knew we were going to rent a car during our week long stay and head to the same places as this tour. I continued to listen and found the idea of being dropped off/picked up and not having to worry about traffic or parking appealing. We took one of the brochures he was handing out and then went to breakfast. During breakfast we talked about either taking the trip on our own or taking a chance on this tour.
We decided to take a chance and booked the tour. My two teenage boys 16/14 were excited about the tour. On the day of our tour we were met by our tour guide Kevin. He walked us to our bus driven by the other tour guide Damo. Being the first ones on the bus we able to talk with both of them and immediately they had us laughing and I knew it was going to be a great tour.
Kevin and Damo did not disappoint. From Kevins great “dad jokes” to his knowledge about the Hawaiian culture and history we were kept informed and entertained. First stop was for coffee to get all us caffeinated. Then it was on to a Kawela bay beach that we had all to ourselves. Then it was on to pipeline beach to watch the surfers and waves. The highlight for our boys was the next stop. Paddle boarding!! The boys truly enjoyed paddle boarding but enjoyed the game that Kevin invented, “battle boarding”!!! Battle boarding involved knocking myself and their mom off our boards. It was fun watching others have fun and knock those that wanted to battle into the river. We continued paddling up the river and saw turtles and stopped for a bit so that the boys could swing off the tree swing into the river. We finished paddle boarding and then it was time to snorkel with the turtles. We could see the turtles in the surf as we stood in the beach. We snorkeled for a bit and then it was time for lunch. We stopped at a local food truck that had our lunch orders ready. After lunch it was time to head to the Dole plantation for a pineapple whip cone. Our tour was winding down and we were heading back to our hotel when we made one last unscheduled stop. We stopped in the area of the Aloha Tower at pier 9 and fed the tropical fish. Kevin actually was able to hand feed some of the local birds that were hanging around. It was nice to see how clean the harbor water was. After this we were dropped off and said our good byes.
Kevin and Damo were top notch tour guides and kept the energy going all day long for all 21 of us on the tour. My youngest was amazed about the information he learned about Captain Cook and his ultimate demise. He continued to talk about it for the rest of our vacation. Both boys stated that this tour and specifically the paddle/battle bordering was the best part of the trip. If I could modify the tour, I would would cut out the Dole plantation and use that time at any of the other previous stops. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to stop so I could say I was there but for me I would rather spend the time lounging in a secluded bay or snorkeling and paddle boarding. I would recommend this tour to all that are visiting the island and would like the the ease of someone else handling all of the details. We are already planning on coming back to this beautiful island and will take a repeat tour with Kevo’s tour. I would recommend this tour to those that are visiting. I would recommend taking the tour early in your stay so that you can go back and visit some of the places again if you so desire
Aloha. Chris