May 30, 2025
Must Do Experience- Highlight of Our Trip! - This workshop with Mani was absolutely incredible and easily one of the highlights of our entire honeymoon! Mani is not only a master carver but also an amazing storyteller, sharing the rich cultural meaning behind each design with so much passion and knowledge. The workshop was hands-on, fun, and surprisingly meditative—there’s something truly special about creating your own piece of Polynesian art with traditional tools under the guidance of someone so skilled and kind.
Whether you're an artist or a total beginner, Mani makes everyone feel welcome and supported. We walked away not just with beautiful tiki carvings to remember our trip by, but with a deeper appreciation for Polynesian and Hawaiian culture. This experience was unforgettable, and we can’t recommend it enough. If you're in the area—do not miss this!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 26, 2025
Unforgettable Tike Carving Experience! - An unforgettable experience! We had an amazing time time carving our own tikis. The hands on activity with Mani was both fun and meaningful. Highly recommend for families looking for something unique and memorable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 9, 2025
Incredible carving experience - This was so much fun and by far the most underrated activity we had planned for our Hawaii trip. We found out about it it from a random reddit thread, but I'm convinced it should be on every travel bloggers' "things you must do while visiting Big Island" list. We learned a ton about the history of carving tikis, the symbolism of the tikis we carved, and lots of helpful tips while he guided us step by step in our carving. He finishes things off by cleaning up your piece a bit for you and doing some detail work of your choosing on the top of the tiki, and the end result is that they look SO GOOD while still feeling like we learned a ton about the techniques used and feeling proud of having done the bulk of the carving work for the tiki faces. We have two incredible tikis coming home with us now and we will totally be coming back for another session on any future Big Island vacations!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mar 20, 2025
Enjoyed tremendously. Highly recommend! - Truly one of the best things we have done here on the Big Island. Mani was very informative and so very fun to listen to, work with and learn from. HIGHLY recommend this to all ages!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 22, 2025
Absolutely Do Not Miss Activity!!!!!!! - Carving with Mani was one of the absolute highlights of our trip! It was FANTASTIC! We learned so much about this authentic and traditional Hawaiian craft. Mani is one of the best carvers in the world. He took so much time with us. He is hysterical!! I will do this every time I visit the Big Island. Great activity for families with teens.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 21, 2025
An amazing experience! - This was a great ending to our Hawaiian vacation. Our host was amazing. He was a great teacher and ensured that we all went home with a tiki we were proud to have made. We had lots of laughs too. Definitely recommend this experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 20, 2025
One of a Kind Experience - Our Master Carver (sorry, I forgot his name, but I remember his face) was amazing! He was personable, shared with us some history of carving, and made our carving experience memorable. He showed us how to use the tools effectively and monitored our progress. We got to choose the design we wanted, and did the basic carving with his instruction. Then he did the finishing touches and styling for us. We got to take home something we made with him, something you cannot get at a gift shop. His skill and artistry is exceptional. Unlike the picture in the ad, we did not sit on the floor. We sat in chairs and had vices hold the wood in place. For those who are older and are not able to sit on the floor that long, this is still a good option. I highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 29, 2025
An Amazing Experience with a Master Carver, Mani !! - We happened to stumble across Mani and his wood working class as we were on our way to a Kona coffee tasting. We saw another couple "carving with Mani" and they were having a blast! So based on 5 minutes of watching them and then talking with Mani, we decided to come back the next day and try it ourselves.
We are so happy we did, as it was one of our best experiences while visiting the island of Hawaii. The carving was fun, but Mani is what makes the experience really special!
We each made a traditional Tiki sculpture. We also bought a beautiful Manta Ray Koa wood sculpture that Mani had made. His wood sculptures on display in the Office and around the studio are stunning.
Thanks for the experience, Mani !!!
Duncan & Cathy
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 23, 2025
Excellent and unique experience - The tiki carving was amazing! Definitely worthwhile and maybe the best experience of the trip. You make your own presentation ready tiki statue, and with the help of the master, it really looks amazing. Can't recommend the experience enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 5, 2025
Tiki carving in Hawaii—Brilliant - We stumbled onto this activity from a pamphlet. We were so glad we did it! We were a group of 8—from mid sixties to age 8. We all had a good time.
It’s harder than it looks but Mani was very good about coming around, instructing, and lending a hand to help clean up and enhance your carving.
Highly recommend this one.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
