I should have done a little mapping when researching this tour. I'm not sure why we started the trip from Kona airport- it's an hour and a half from the park vs. Hilo is just a half hour. I originally purchased the twilight trip to be able to see the glow of the lava. That didn't happen. And two days before the trip was scheduled, Dynamic rescheduled it without consulting with me to a day when I already had something else planned. I called them. They said they would call me back. They didn't. I called them again and we agreed on a date. Our tour started in Kona. Our tour guide and van picked up about 10 of us. He gave us a short tour of the area before heading to Target and leaving us in the van for 20 minutes to buy a step stool so some of the passengers would have an easier time getting in and out of the van.
The van- old, leaking window, check engine light on, door would get stuck closed, and an offensive sign describing what a "customary" tip should be per person.
Too many useless, uninteresting stops- including skipping rocks on Hilo bay (yes, we started in Kona and drove all the way to Hilo). There was a lovely Japanese style garden right behind us on Hilo Bay, but we were focused on skipping rocks. We also stopped at a bridge in Hilo- still not sure why. The candy factory was cool, as was the Macadamia nut factory. We didn't need to see the orchid greenhouse.
We were picked up for our tour at 6:00am. The FIRST TIME we stopped for food was at 3:20pm! We were offered snacks in the van- bottled water, macadamia nuts, chocolate, Fritos corn chips. Nothing that I would normally eat. Good luck if you're diabetic.
When we finally got to the park, we ate at the restaurant in the park and the rest of the trip seemed rushed. I'm not sure if our guide realized that a number of us had purchased the twilight tour. At the Thurston Lava Tube, we were told, "See that sign over there? Take a picture of it and read about it later".
I have taken tours all over the world in 15 different countries. This was the worst one I have ever taken.
Our guide was a nice guy, but definitely not a professional tour guide. None of us wanted to watch AMA vidoes.
