Most amazing sunset I’ve ever seen and as a pilot that’s saying alot.!!! Stargazing was equally awesome and our tour guide was super knowledgeable. Very informative and interesting. Highly recommended!!!!👍🤙

It was great the tiny group of 7 people, the stops, the tour guide with knowledge and so beautiful!! very grateful I was able to go on this tour :)

Our guide was knowledgeable and punctual. He was very clear what to expect next xx miles or where and what we do next. Constellation guide by using the pointer was so great too! A day before, we experienced the constellation at the planetarium, Imiloa center but our guide’s live show was so real and imaginary! Very special moment was provided… We were able to see‘Subaru’. Thank you.

We just got back from our trip of a lifetime to visit Hawaii as a couple - long delayed honeymoon by many years... A dream was to see the observatories and so glad we found Arnott's Lodge & Hiking Adventure. I had lots of questions, plus we wanted to try a day tour which is less common and everyone who answered phone was super nice & patient with my many questions. We ended up being the only couple on the tour with a fabulous guide Donna who knew so much and gave us a great tour for hours. We started by visiting the rainbow falls - cloudy - drizzly - didn't matter - still gorgeous. Note: If blue skies are important to you, the weather in Hilo area unpredictable and often cloudy/rainy so plan accordingly.... Then up Mauna Kea - broke through clouds & drizzle to blue skies - like being on another planet. We stopped at the different telescopes - yes, after reading & watching 3 Body Problem had to pose in front of the giant radio telescope. Donna was amazing not only gave tour but took lots of pictures of us and pointed out areas of interest and local recent history. Keck visitor gallery -small hall with photos - an actual bathroom (!!!) and glass wall for viewing telescope is open again limited hours. At first we were debating this due to cost but so glad we splurged and had the experience of a lifetime we will always treasure. Views stunning beyond belief. Donna, was a a rockstar tourguide and driver. Thank you Donna for your time & expertise & hospitality!!!

Absolutely incredible. One of the most memorable moments of my life and made even better by a great guide.

It was such a Great experience. I can only recommend it. The guide was very good. I got picked up from the hotel. We even stopped at the beautiful Rainbowfalls. I learned many new things and the view was absolutely out of this world. The star gazing was amazing to.

One of the most memorable tour we took in the big island! Donna is a friendly, energetic, and knowledgeable guide, and she’s also a great driver at the same time! She made this trip so much easier and more enjoyable for us, by sharing all the fun facts of the island and the astrology knowledge. 100/10!

Despite the rainy weather in Hilo and on the drive up, Donna made this trip memorable by narrating a history of eruptions, lava flow anecdotes and some Hawaiian history along the way. Loved having the only female guide up to the summit of Mauna Kea as an added bonus (who runs the world? ;))! Lots of opportunities to ask questions, with Donna continually checking in with how everyone was feeling at altitude, taking everyone’s pictures, and making sure we were warm enough (there were strong winds and a healthy wind chill every for us Canadians at the summit!). We never felt rushed or corralled and the high points were all hit (thanks Mother Nature for no sunset-obscuring blizzard at the peak!). Her knowledge of the telescopes, constellations and of the drive down a precarious road in low visibility was impressive, and included tips on how to use an iPhone to capture the best pics of the Milky Way so we have incredible pictures of the whole epic adventure. Only thing to make this tour “go to 11” would have been a thermos of hot chocolate to defrost with, and a telescope to see more detail (recognizing there might be some COVID-created limitations to those suggestions). Loved the “small group tour” feeling of not just being people to be schlepped for a sunset - highly recommend this tour company and guide - thanks Donna for all the little touches :).

Great tour led by Donna who has unlimited knowledge, energy and spirit. Fantastic sunset above clouds and great knowledge of the stars for stargazing. Highly recommend

If possibly try to go during a darker phase of the moon, but our guide did an excellent job; he was very respectful and informative about the local issues surrounding the observatory. Bring a sandwich, it’s a long trip, and a pair of warm pants. It can get very very cool on top out of the sun. The trip back was dark and quiet which was nice.

One of the top 3 excursions we experienced on the Big Island over a 10 day visit where we spent 1/2 time on Hilo side and 1/2 time on Kona side. Our tour guide was great-very informative and safety conscious. Loved everything-the information, the observatories, watching sunset, and stargazing.

Truly amazing experience to be on top of Mount Kea. Due to high winds, the rangers shut the top down shortly after arriving, but our guide made sure we had a great spot to see the sunset near the visitors center and even took us to a private location for star gazing. He was super knowledgable.

Our Mauna Kea adventure with Arnott's Adventures was extraordinary! Our guide shared fascinating insights about the local area, Mauna Kea, and the observatories, enriching our experience. Witnessing the breathtaking sunset and moonrise was truly incredible. The guide took us to a special stargazing spot, creating a memorable family moment under the stars. A fantastic journey with educational and awe-inspiring elements!

The tour guide was awesome and very knowledgeable. He did a very good star gazing explanation, even though the moon was too bright to see everything

This was the highlight of our trip! We met at Arnott's lodge (we did not stay here) and picked up a few other individuals on our way to Mauna Kea. We had a brief stop at Rainbow falls but the rainbow is better seen in the morning than early afternoon. If you are staying on the Kona side, you can still meet up with this tour at the bottom of mauna kea. There is a parking lot there where people arrange to be picked up. We went to the visitor center for a short break to acclimate to the altitude. Be sure to check out the small garden to the right of the VIS to see the silversword plants. If you want any food, you need to bring your own. It is not provided with this tour. We brought only a small snack as to not get altitude sickness but didn't even eat that. The altitude did not bother us on this trip (I have experienced it before though). Our guide made several stops after the visitor center to talk about the observatories (you do not go in them). Then we ended up at the summit for sunset. They provided warm coats but bring hat, gloves, and any other warm layers you have. It is freezing and windy! The sunset was a beautiful sight. After sunset, we drove to another location for stargazing. We sat in the vehicle for 30-45 min after sunset until the sky was absolutely dark. When we emerged from the vehicle and looked up, the night sky was amazing! We could not believe the beauty of the night sky and all the stars. Our guide was very knowlegdable and pointed out the different constellations/stars. He also helped us set our camera to get good exposure pictures. It was also nice to have someone drive us back to Hilo so we didn't have to do it in the dark. Highly recommend!

Our tour guide, Andras, was awesome! Even though a storm system clouded the summit, we were still able to make up for it with a stargazing experience elsewhere.

The views on summit of Mauna Kea is amazing, see the best sunset ever. The tour guide Donna is so experienced and knowledgeable. When I got headache on the summit, she take us to the lower level immediately. Will definitely recommend this tour especially the tour guide to my friends.

It was cancelled due to bad weather and icy roads. I am glad they put safety first. I will go through this company again as I did use them for 2 other awesome tours.

10/10 would recommend! Donna was amazing and extremely knowledgeable about everything we saw on our tour. Definitely go watch the sunset and star gaze with Donna.

Words cannot even describe the experience I had this was truly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen and done, not sure how anything can top it. I started my tour hanging out with Lauren at Arnotts Lodge who was so kind and helpful and then drove up with Donna my tour guide (THE ONLY FEMALE MAUNA KEA TOUR GUIDE HOW COOL) but I told her I was very afraid of heights and she calmed me down the whole way. I’m telling you I did not feel an ounce of fear because of Donna and the way she drove. Throughout the entire experience I learned so much about Hawaiian history from her so I even got a mini Hawaii history lesson! If you’re going to book a Mauna Kea tour this is the one I promise, you don’t need the meal I just packed a sandwich to eat at the picnic table on top that looked yummier than the meals provided by other tours LOL! But, once we saw the beautiful summit we even got to stargaze where I saw all the constellations, the Milky Way, Jupiter, Saturn and such cool stars. Thank your Donna, Lauren and Arnott for providing me this experience.