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Hakalau Forest Reserve: Exclusive Bird Watching Experience in Rare Hawaiian Ecosystem
5.0
46 Ratings
Kailua-Kona
Embark on an exclusive bird watching experience in the rare Hawaiian ecosystem of Hakalau Forest Reserve. Discover rare plants, animals, and endemic Hawaiian birds while enjoying first-class comfort and expert guidance.
Embark on an exclusive bird watching experience in the rare Hawaiian ecosystem of Hakalau Forest Reserve. Discover rare plants, animals, and endemic Hawaiian birds while enjoying first-class comfort and expert guidance.
Duration:
12 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge - Embark on an unforgettable journey through the restricted lands of the Hakalau National Forest Reserve, home to some of the world’s rarest flora and fauna. Begin your adventure in a comfortable 4-wheel-drive Short Wheel Base Mercedes Sprinter. These vehicles are ideal for birdwatching tours, accommodating…
- Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge - Embark on an unforgettable journey through the restricted lands of the Hakalau National Forest Reserve, home to some of the world’s rarest flora and fauna. Begin your adventure in a comfortable 4-wheel-drive Short Wheel Base Mercedes Sprinter. These vehicles are ideal for birdwatching tours, accommodating smaller, more intimate groups (up to 10 guests) and featuring a robust design that allows access to remote locations. Travel across Hawaii Island, experiencing its diverse climates and ecosystems, before heading off-road to your destination. Accompany your knowledgeable naturalist birding guide into Hakalau’s forests and fields of the Pua Akala tract, where you’ll encounter rare native plants and animals, including carnivorous caterpillars and happy-faced spiders. Your guide will assist you in spotting Hawaiian endemic bird species such as the Akepa, Akiapolaau, Amakihi, Apapane, Hawaii Creeper, Iiwi, Elepaio, Omao, Io, and Pueo with your binoculars. The day includes a deli-style lunch, snacks, beverages, and filtered water. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore protected and private Hawaiian native forested lands.
What's Included
- Snacks
- Lunch
- Binoculars
- Interpretative Birding Guide
- All Fees and Taxes
- Central Meeting Locations for Pick-up & Drop off
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Filtered water, juices and flavored sparkling waters
- Snacks
- Lunch
- Binoculars
- Interpretative Birding Guide
- All Fees and Taxes
- Central Meeting Locations for Pick-up & Drop off
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Filtered water, juices and flavored sparkling waters
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Hakalau, a term that translates to ‘multiple perches’ as named by the ancient Hawaiians, continues to be a significant sanctuary for birds in the present day. With a history as a massive cattle ranch, Hakalau holds the distinction of being the first Forest Bird National Wildlife Refuge in the United States, providing a home to some of the world’s most…
Hakalau, a term that translates to ‘multiple perches’ as named by the ancient Hawaiians, continues to be a significant sanctuary for birds in the present day. With a history as a massive cattle ranch, Hakalau holds the distinction of being the first Forest Bird National Wildlife Refuge in the United States, providing a home to some of the world’s most unique animal and plant species. Access to the Pua Akala section, which is typically off-limits to the public, is granted to our groups—it is a prime illustration of efficient conservation methods. Our group sizes are capped at 10 guests to ensure a more personalized experience as you navigate in our top-of-the-line 4-wheel drive Mercedes Sprinter with a short wheelbase. Accompanied by your skilled naturalist guide, embark on a quest to spot rare local plants, creatures, and endemic Hawaiian birds such as the Akiapolaau, Akepa, Amakihi, Apapane, Hawaii Creeper, Iiwi, Pueo, Io, Elepaio, and Omao. Explore the restricted-access natural preserve with our top-tier field manual. This promises to be an unparalleled adventure on Hawaii Island.
- Guests on this tour should not be physically challenged or unable to hike on uneven or rocky terrain. Must be able to do short hikes of 1.5 to 4 miles.
Location
Hawaii Forest & Trail Kona Headquarters
Olowalu Street
Please park in a non-reserved parking stall.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(46 Ratings)
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Steve_n
Sep 3, 2025
Awesome endemic birding - Great for seeing the endemic birds of the high country. Relatively vigorous but not out of reach for anyone who is in reasonable shape. We were blessed with ideal weather and saw all of the endemic birds that are present. Only the palila was not seen and that requires a trip to a totally separate area. Gary Dean is a great guide and knew the area and birds intimately. We also saw many great birds on the way there and back from the Kona area that added both Hawaiian Hawk and the Hawaiian Short-eared Owl.
Review provided by Viator
G5593czhelenm
May 14, 2025
Incredible Guide and Area for Birding - Oh my gosh this tour was everything I wanted it to be and more!! Our guide Garry was SO friendly, considerate, helpful and beyond knowledgeable about Hawaii's nature history as well as all plants and birds. I swear he is a bird whisperer!! We did a little birding on the way to the reserve and got to see a few different kinds. Then before we started the walk he educated us on the kinds of birds we would hope to see and within the first 30-45 minutes of starting the walk we were able to see the top 3 endangered birds on the island!! I almost cried it was so awesome!! Garry even took the time to help me track down a bird on my own list that I had been wanting to see. He knows where they all hang out LOL
The road to the reserve is insanely rough but manageable. The walk it's self is easy. I had my two 84 year old parents with me and they did just fine. We were there the first week of May and our weather could not have been more perfect.
Thank you HF&T for the great memories!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aljanrose
Apr 19, 2025
Excellent birding and educational for native habitats. - This birding trip was even more than we hoped for!!! Garry, our guide, was the very best -- personable, professional, quite knowledgeable about not only the birds and their behaviors, but native habitat, plants being restored, and some interesting history of the Island. This area is being protected and native habitat is being restored thru incredible challenges. A truly special place. The birds were fantastic and difficult to ID but thru our great tour guide we observed some special endemic species. The Mini Bird List plus Honeycreeper Bill adaptations was an added bonus.
Not easy to get to but truly worth the effort!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E9913cslynnl
Jan 30, 2025
Fabulous experience! - Gary was great! Very knowledgeable about not only the birds but the plants and history of the island. It was a great day out in nature.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dlm0548
Dec 24, 2024
Great birding experience - It was a well-organized tour and Jon was a most knowledgeable birder and leader. Many birds were seen and heard and the forest was beautiful. Water, snacks and lunch were provided with a vegetarian option available.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
V9560ybalisonm
Dec 12, 2024
Fabulous day in Hawaii's restored forest looking at birds. - Garry shared lots of interesting stories and information about not just the birds, but also their habitat and the plants of native Hawaii. He found all of the endemic birds that are in the Hakalau reserve for us and we had great views of most of them. We felt like we were privileged to see the "real" Hawaii. Highly recommend if you love spending time in nature and learning about the local environment for both casual birders as well as birding enthusiasts.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rndm
Dec 5, 2024
A Privilege to Experience Hakalau Forest with Gary - First of all I cannot speak to value. It costs a lot of money but it is easy to figure out why. If you are an avid birder then you are unlikely to have a similar experience anywhere else. It was a privilege to be allowed into Hakalau forest. The only way for the public to go there is with Hawaii Forest & Trail. We have been to most of the islands many times and hiked through many forests birding. Unlike the thick forests of Koke'e on Kauai and Hosmer's Grove in Maui, Hakalua is perfect for birding given how open the forest is, You can actually see the birds. Many of our party with big cameras got spectacular photos. We ended up doing three tours in all with Hawaii Forest and Trail. With most companies they guides are competent. Typically younger folks who have been on the islands for a few years and have worked hard to learn enough about their tour to get by. ALL of the guides we had with Hawaii Forest and Trail had been on the islands for decades and had an encyclopedic knowledge which they were happy to share. Even on a tour of dedicated birders GARY was the most passionate one there. He is a gem!
PS we did "check off" all the rare birds on the list although I'iwi are still my favourite.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Newenglander1952
Oct 30, 2024
Great hike by a great company! - This is a great hike with great views. Jon was our guide and he did a fabulous job. It is relatively strenuous so be prepared. Varied terrain. Bring water. This company has never failed us. Only four of us on this hike including an Ironman participant (yes, he finished the race. Congratulations Bobby!) Jon was very informative.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stefanie_t
Oct 19, 2024
Awesome experience! - Amazing tour! Our guide Jon was fun, helpful, and gave just the right amount of information. Great lunch and snacks provided.
Review provided by Viator
Chris_w
Sep 23, 2024
A highlight of our trip and one of the best guides you’ll ever encounter - This was without a doubt one of the highlights of our trip. Garry Dean, our guide, led us to see three of Hawaii’s four rarest birds…on two separate occasions…and in both cases, the rare birds were all in the same tree. Throughout the huge site, he knew which birds could be expected in each area, and almost always spotted them (or heard them) well before anyone else in our group. It seemed like most of the group had their best birding day of their life, all thanks to Garry. And he didn’t just know his birds. As we were walking between areas, he frequently passed on his knowledge about the endemic and rare flora found on the site. We could not recommend more highly this tour, place, or Garry!
Review provided by Viator
