Ultimate Grand Oahu Circle Island Tour with Snorkeling and More

Posted By : monap312
Ultimate Circle Island Tour ($105, discounted to $65) In the review that follows I mention the attractions listed on Circle Island Tours advertisement in “This Week Oahu”. (I toured 5/28/24.). Please note that I skip around some on order of sites and don’t comment on every site. First we saw Diamond Head, from a side lookout, not the top. Soon afterwards was Halona Blowhole, the nicest site I saw on the tour. It was non-touristy and I liked it. Then came a long list of stops for food and souvenirs, interspersed with attractions I would have liked to have seen, but we just drove by them, as mentioned after the next paragraph. Food and souvenirs include Souvenir 1 (I’m not sure of the name); it’s the first stop with coconut sales. A Malapagos (donut) food truck, Macadamia Nut Farm (no macadamia trees seen); Tanakas Shrimp Farm (tasty lunch with minimal services—no TP in the restroom); Kahuku Fruit Stand, Dole Plantation (gift shop only—pineapples seen only as we drove by them). I think at the end was what the ad lists as “Green World Coffee Farm”, which was just a coffee stand. The sight of coffee trees was as our van whizzed by them. We drove by Sandy Beach where Obama used to bodysurf as a young man. Other things worth a stop, that we just drove by were Waimea Bay and Laie Temple. I am not sure what Makapu’u Lookout is—it wasn’t pointed out by the van driver. We also drove by the Banzai Pipeline and Haleiwa Town. I liked the brief stop to see Chinaman’s Hat, a nearby island. The other ‘nature’ stop was Turtle Beach. I think I saw two or three turtles swimming. The beach was too rocky for swimming, for me. (No snorkeling equipment was offered.). It was pleasantly underwhelming. The van driver was knowledgeable about Hawaiian history and movie stars homes. He kept up a somewhat interesting running chatter, but the van trip overall had too many touristy sites (one after another after another) and not enough natural attractions.
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Posted On : 2024-05-29

Posted By : Linda_B
We chose this tour because we wanted to learn about the island and we love snorkeling. If you enjoy snorkeling , the place they took us to is nowhere you would want to go. The beach wasn’t nice, the water was murky and it was extremely crowded. Very poor visibility that day. While on the bus our guide spoke mostly about his personal life, surfing injuries and the dead body he saw as an 8 year old. We received no information about growing pineapples. Basically we got dropped off places to spend money. He implied that the majority of his income came from tips. This was our only day to see the island and we were extremely disappointed, but it could have been better.
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Posted On : 2024-04-09

Posted By : Inspire60411500067
We loved going on this tour. It was well worth every penny we spent on it. Our tour guide “Prince” Keshua was very knowledgeable and shared a lot of interesting info with us. He didn’t even just ramble because he knew what he was talking about. Our driver Dean did a good job at getting us to our locations on time and safely. I also like their selections of Hawaiian flavored drinks.
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Posted On : 2024-03-19

Posted By : tbelcastro74
Aka and Neal were the best. Aka is so informative caring and such a loveable tour guide and Neal the best driver. He really treats you like family. They give you snack and drinks along the way .. you stop for an authentic lunch and then se the wonderful island. Learning about the Hawaiian culture from him really is the best way to experience Hawaii. Even though we come every year I have never felt so much like Ohana as we did this day. Hats off to you all.
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Posted On : 2024-03-06

Posted By : stormk2024
This tour is definitely worth doing in your visit to Oahu! The tour was accommodating, friendly, insightful, and breathtaking. Definitely recommend! You can’t go to Oahu and not do this tour! Tour guide Jake, and bus driver Uncle Will were delightful!
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Posted On : 2024-03-03

Posted By : john_P
Our tour guide Aka was superb, very knowledgeable and entertaining the whole way. Would definitely recommend this tour
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Posted On : 2024-02-14

Posted By : Hannah_M
Our tour guide, Jeremy, was absolutely awesome and funny. The sights of Hawaii were beautiful and I would 100% recommend this tour. You see a lot in one day.
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Posted On : 2024-01-20

Posted By : sangeetha_c
We had an amazing time exploring the guided island tour. Our guide King Mike was so fun and kept everyone engaged and also shared many historical facts about the island.
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Posted On : 2023-12-30

Posted By : JUDITH_L
Perhaps it was because it was the guys first time, but the tour director could not give any facts or point out anything of interest. The snorkling was not only long walk but there were no sea turtles it was a total bust.
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Posted On : 2023-09-20

Posted By : Joni_C
We loved watching the Sea turtles while snorkeling and viewing the whole island 😍 Our driver was exceptional and our tour guide was super sweet and knowledgeable!
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Posted On : 2023-09-17