Kohala Coast Backcountry Tour

Like having a private tour guide in the car!

We loved this guided tour of Volcano National Park! The GPS-triggered points of interest executed flawlessly at each marker, even when there was no cell service. The tour features information about each stop, Hawaiian history, and cultural mythology… all interspersed with lovely Hawaiian music to accompany the drive. This is an excellent tour to take when you don’t want to go with a tour group. There was enough information to lead us to many points of interest, and it gave us history and context for each stop. I purchased the Big Island bundle, and I’m looking forward to trying one or two more guided tours before my vacation is over. The guide/narrator had a fun and approachable voice, and it felt like having a private tour guide in my own car. The app works flawlessly with CarPlay, so I was able to see the map and the stops easily on my car display. I will look for other tours when I’m on the islands again!

Absolutely love(d) it! We started in Kona and made our way toward the volcanoes (Big Island). Every way point had a new description of the area with key points and must knows. it kept up with us as we navigated through the park and it didn't disappoint. Even my teenage kids put away their phones to listen and take in the sights. The only issue I had in the beginning, which is why I took off a star, was locating the app and being able to access it. It definitely needs to be made simpler.

Arches

We loved Shaka Big Island and Kauai; Arches was equally spectacular.

Our travel agent told us about this app. We used it for several places on the big island of Hawaii. It made our travels more interesting and educational. The app also suggested beautiful opportunities off the main roads that we would have missed otherwise. We highly recommend this app and plan on using it in future travels.

We went around the Big Island today guided by Uncle Shaka (Ray). We felt like we were on tour bus but better, Uncle Shaka knows the area so well, even when we were driving by the dense fog area, the guide already warned us about the fog right before we got to the area. Also told us where the speed trap might be. I will use the Shaka Guide whenever it's available for our road trip vacations.

Hawaii

Used Shaka for Big island vacation. Many good things to say. Glad i purchased. 3 big downsides: 1. Way too much nonsense about ancient pagan gods. 2. Missing basic facts about volcanoes. Focus more on the major points. Active/inactive. What can tourists see. Like that’s all i sort of kind of cared about. Instead i got history lessons and points on all volcanoes and back and forth with myths and facts. Confusing. 3. We chose to do our loops differently than their tours were set up Would be nice if the app could be smart enough to open and begin a new tour if i crossed the boundaries into that second tour. Overall, good purchase. Informative and entertaining.

Adds to the vacation experience!

We purchased a package deal which was a great value. And since the Big Island does require A LOT of driving the Shaka tours were fantastic! We went places we wouldn’t have known about and learned so much about the history.

Awesome for the big island

The best value and fun I have ever had from an app. Super cool and great tours!

Amazing

We love this app. We have visited the Big Island 2x now and we have done 5 tours of the island between these two trips. It’s so great to be able to learn about the island on our time and in our way. We love the stories and the music when there isn’t a story. Thank you for putting this app together.

Best driving guide ever!

First time I used Shaka guide was on big island when my family came to visit. Now I’ve used it for Yellowstone and Grand Tetons as well. In Hawaii it showed us things I didn’t even know as a local. On the mainland it made my trip. Thanks Shaka guide , keep up the amazing work.