Top 8 Shore Excursions

1.Hilo Shore Excursion: Volcanoes National Park & Black Sand Beach

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 2,338 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $159Our pick

From Hilo Port, visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Kilauea’s steam vents, Sulphur Banks, a lava tube, Richardson Black Sand Beach, and a macadamia nut farm. Guides such as Robert, Jess, Donna, and Hannibal add local stories and practical help. Allow for weather and changing park access.

“I would highly suggest you were close toe shoes for walking around—good time…Evelynn was fantastic! Someday soon they should deal with the windows situation…it would have been nice to have clear sight out the windows for good pics”

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2.From Milazzo: Panarea & Stromboli Cruise Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 597 reviews · 10 hours · from $91Best value

Spend 10 hours at sea and ashore with NAVI.SAL, sailing from Milazzo to Panarea and Stromboli. You get free time in both ports, views of Cala Junco and the Aeolian islets, then a sunset stop beneath Stromboli’s Sciara del Fuoco. Italian, English, and French assistance is available.

“Overall good experience , too windy on the top deck, they can put some plexiglass in front - 1 meter high to divert the winds ?? Only 2 hours stops on the 2 islands ,so not much to visit but the port itselfs , no time for beach. Prices are OK on the islands ,but can be 20 % cheaper at least. Transit time from main land to Stromboli is too long , unfortunately ship can't go faster.”

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3.Tauranga Shore Excursion: Rotorua Highlights

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 427 reviews · from $152

Travel from Tauranga to Rotorua with a local driver-guide such as Stephen or Rolf. Visit a kiwifruit orchard, redwood forest, Government Gardens, and Whakarewarewa’s geysers. A Māori guide leads the village visit and cultural performance. Lunch is at your own expense, and port return is guaranteed.

“This was a tour of an authentic Mauri village built over hot springs and geysers. Twenty five families still live here. Tour was led by a Mauri resident and the performance was great. The Pohutu geyser fully erupted. We even got to taste ears of corn cooked in a boiling pool. Tour also included a visit to a kiwi fruit orchard with tasting, a stop at the Whakarewsrewa Forest, government gardens, and Kaituna Falls. The tour began at the ship’s port and our guide was very careful to watch the time all day in order to get us back to the ship in plenty of time.”

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4.Hilo Shore Excursion: Active Volcano, Lava Tube, Waterfall and Gardens

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 393 reviews · 5 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $187Top rated

Spend 5.5 hours with Mauka Makai Adventures visiting Kilauea, steam vents, Halema'uma'u Crater, Thurston Lava Tube, Chain of Craters Road, Rainbow Falls, Big Island Candies, and Lili'uokalani Gardens. Guides such as Jill and Josh add local stories and practical help. Pickup is available in Hilo and at the port.

“Our guide Josh was very informative of not just the volcanoes, but of the island as well. Very convenient pickup up from Port, and also brought us back after the tour. Big van with plenty of room, and he even had water and snacks. Would definitely recommend!”

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5.Hilo Shore Excursion: Volcano Safari Lava Caves & Black Sand

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 363 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $154

This six-hour Hilo excursion visits Rainbow Falls, Kaumana Caves, Lava Tree State Park, Pohoiki, and areas changed by Kilauea. Expect a small group of up to 14, local guides such as Ellen, Troy, Dave, or Lori, uneven walking, and a local food stop.

“Ellen was a fantastic guide. She was incredibly knowledgeable and timed our stops when other big bus tours weren’t going to be there.(less crowded). We loved having only 14 in our group. The van was so comfortable. It was the best way to see Hilo. Highly recommend.”

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6.Naples Shore Excursion Mt Vesuvius and Pompeii Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 313 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $148

From Naples cruise port, visit Pompeii with a local guide, eat a supplied pizza, pasta, or salad lunch, then hike Mount Vesuvius to its crater. The day runs about seven hours, but traffic and group transfers can stretch it. Rita, Rosa, Michael, and Mikael have received especially warm praise.

“Group was too large - we would be in a single line and at the end the headphones would disconnect from the tour guide Maria. We missed many key points because we were too far back. The meeting point was not clear and the bus was late. They did make accommodations to take our lunch to go or we would have missed Vesuvius entirely. We had 40 minutes at Vesuvius which was not enough time to get to the top.”

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7.6.5 hour Small-Group Rotorua Naturally Shore Excursion – Tauranga

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 283 reviews · from $135

Travel from Tauranga to Rotorua with a small group and a local guide such as Simon, Richie, or Alistair. See geothermal pools, soak your feet at Kuirau Park, sample a hangi-style pie, visit the Redwoods Treewalk and Glow Worm Cave, and return to port in about 6.5 hours.

“We enjoyed half of this tour very much. The walk in the redwood forest, on rope walkways high above the forest floor, was the highlight of this excursion. We enjoyed a quick stop to see the kiwi fruit plantation. After that, the trip’s pace was far too slow and detailed for most of our group. Rotorua Lake is pretty but not worth a half hour stop there. And our guide obviously was really most interested in showing us the geothermal pools in the city park, and while these were interesting, he took a really long time to show us every little pool, losing the interest of the tour group. I…”

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8.Azores: Shore Excursion Furnas – Crater volcano and hot springs

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 47 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $94

Travel from Ponta Delgada to São Miguel’s Furnas volcanic zone, stopping at Gorreana Tea Plantation, Pico do Ferro, steaming calderas, and volcano-cooked food sites. Guides such as Pedro, Raphael, Andrea, and Pablo are praised for local insight. Terra Nostra hot springs are optional and cost extra.

“this place was heaven the tour was amazing the guild was very knowledgeable and very nice I definitely will do this tour again”

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