perennial-palmtrees
Aug 2021
I'm no expert in Hawaii's mask mandate, but I believe the state currently requires individuals to wear masks indoors, and the Hawaii Covid-19 state website expressly states that masks are required "on public transportation or when ride-sharing." Despite this, our tour guide rarely wore his mask on the tour bus, nor did he require all of the guests on the tour to do so. We first asked him to put on his mask politely, but he shrugged it off. We then called the main KapohoKine Adventures office at our first tour stop. An employee (whose name I believe is Jamie) confirmed that masks were required by all tour guides and guests when in the vehicle, and said that the tour guide's manager would be informed. Despite this, our tour guide still did not wear his mask during most of the rest of the tour, and about half of the guests on the tour also followed his lead and did not wear their masks on the tour bus. I understand that controlling guests is difficult, but the tour guide was an employee of the tour company! We would have left the tour, but given that we were miles away from our hotel without a car (Uber/Lyft prices were around $150-$200 for the distance we had to get back to our hotel!), we opened the windows on the tour bus to try to minimize our risk. If you've been following the Delta variant in the news, then you may understand our desire for greater caution when indoors.
If you are not concerned about Covid risks, you might have found the tour mostly enjoyable. It is a very efficient way to go about Big Island and to see all of the main sights (though all of it is a bit tourist-ey). Rainbow Falls was a beautiful sight. Keep in mind that this tour does not drive you down into Waipi'o Valley, but just to the Waipi'o Lookout point. The tour guide was friendly and knowledgeable, even if we were dissatisfied by his Covid safety protocol.