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Big Island Hawaii Driving Tour App User Positive Comments 2024
Big Island Hawaii Driving Tour app received 89 positive comments and reviews by users. Can you share your positive thoughts about big island hawaii driving tour?
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Big Island Hawaii Driving Tour for Positive User Reviews
✓ Absolutely worth itI’ve traveled the Big Island twice before. This time I brought my parents and our activities were limited to driving tours due to mobility. Purchased the app after reading reviews online. By far the best $30 spent for the vacation. App highlighted spots I’ve never read about, great navigation, solid recommendations, informative history and told us what wasn’t worth the time. A few reviews said app stops after a couple sentences. That only happens if you choose to drive past a stop as the audio is linked to your GPS location. I will strongly recommend this to friends traveling to any of the Hawaiian Islands..Version: 5.1.4
✓ Amazing!We love the Shaka apps! This was our second island to use the app on and it didn’t disappoint! I did a lot of research for our Big Island trip and had a long list of things I wanted to see. The highlight of my trip ended until being a trail mentioned in the Volcanoes National Park tour that wasn’t on my list! Without this app, I’d have missed the best part of my vacation! Only complaint is that the North and South tours are too long. We skipped several stops and were running out of daylight despite being on the go well before 9 am. We live on Oahu so haven’t used the app here yet, but I plan to download when my parents visit and I have no doubt we’ll learn all kinds of things! Keep up the great work!.Version: 2.0.13
✓ Awesome appThis app allows you to tour the island in the best way possible: free of organized tours!.Version: 2.0.11
✓ App made our vacation!HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! I was really excited when I came across this app a few weeks before our trip. It almost seemed too good to be true since it sounded exactly like what I imagined I wanted. We wanted the curated elements of a tour but flexibility of self guided. It blends both perfectly! We started on the big island and the soon realized how informative and useful Shaka was. We hopped between mist of the tours as we prioritized the sights we wanted to see. As soon as we got to Oahu I downloaded that version too. The routes are well thought out with a good mixture of history, local info, major tourist sites and off the beaten path gems. We learned and saw so much we wouldn’t have otherwise. Decent controls to choose limited starting points and occasionally direction. The only downside is that not all tours have a clockwise and counter-clockwise option. It would also be nice to start the tour at any point on the map. The price seems a little steep as far as apps go but for the quality of what you get it’s absolutely worth it. A great value when you compare a fully guided tour. Will definitely use again and urge anyone I know who is visiting Hawaii to download. 5 star! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.Version: 2.0.13
✓ Highly recommended-Great Driving Guide!!!!Loved this app. Once you get the hang of using the app it is a great hands-on tour guide. We got to see a lot more of the island and learned a lot about the history just by using this app. Enjoyable and even has music! You can start and stop the tours any time which is a great help! You can go at your own pace and when you desire. The map and the information helped us greatly and was very informative. I would recommend this for anyone! It would’ve cost us over $800 for five people to do these tours if we book them with an agency. Would love to see an app for each state in the United States!.Version: 4.0.2
✓ I’d definitely purchase this for other islandsGreat self guided tour. Easy to use, easy to follow directions, and always the options to do as you please..Version: 1.6.1
✓ Fun and informativeOur family used this app so much in The Big Island. It was such a fun way to see the island, get lots of information and listen to happy music on our way to a destination and make some unexpected stops along the way. We had some great laughs with this app. One recommendation I’d make is to have a brief intro at the start of each tour that gives some helpful info such as appropriate clothing and shoes to pack if you’re stopping at certain points on the tour and things you may need to do before you get to certain points (like eating in certain points on the route because there is a long way after it with no restaurants)..Version: 1.6.5
✓ Pay it forwardDon’t have time to do reviews but making an exception. This app is really well done. The sync with the drive is spot on - my biggest surprise. The spots they identify are things I’d never heard of and I’ve visited here many times. The voice over is spot on. Great positive inflection and well written script. Seriously worth every penny. Package price is a no-brainer. Get it. Suggestions to the developers: 1) add more great Hawaiian music. I enjoyed every song and was sad during the breaks when it stopped. 2) I’d pay more to have the map display using CarPlay. Keep my phone screen off and use the display in the car to follow along with the drive. 3) when I get out of the car and walk the trails, give me an option to GPS navigate the walk to the point of interest. That’d be awesome. Hopes this helps others as it did me. Thanks Kyle and Susan for the suggestion to get Shaka guides. When I visit the other islands I’ll be doing the same..Version: 5.0.4
✓ The BEST way to tour!On a whim we tried Shaka’s Road to Hana tour on Maui. We were hooked! It really is like having a local tour guide in your car, one that is both entertaining and informative. The app worked well for us, used our phone GPS instead of data, and provided helpful options to preview and review the tour. We ended up buying their tours for everywhere we went—Maui’s Road to Hana and Haleakalā, Kauai’s Waimea Canyon and North Shore, and the Big Island’s Volcanoes National Park. Unfortunately their Big Island Circle tour is still under development, so we tried the competitor driving tour app. It was informative, but dry and not as user-friendly. We were so glad to hear Shaka’s friendly voice and corny jokes when we did the Volcanoes loop! Enthusiastically recommend!.Version: 1.4.1
✓ Increasable Awesome AppThis app is amazing. The history of the islands while travelling is informative and entertaining. The turn by turn instructions are exceptionally accurate and the timing is impeccable. We highly recommend this app and wish it was available for other locations around the world Awesome job Karl & Lori.Version: 2.0.13
✓ Like a private tour guideWe have been to the Big Island four times now. By using this app, we found there is so much more to the big Island than just Kona and Waikoloa!! We were able to enjoy a “private tour” of the big Island, where we enjoyed learning about the rich Hawaiian history and culture! Saw SO many things that we would’ve never found on our own! Never felt pressured or pushed to seeing a site , and never pressured into visiting a restaurant or anything like that! (speaking of restaurants, definitely stop at Tex drive-in for the donuts as Shaka suggests. Do it now!) My teenage daughter and I fell in love with Hilo by using this app! So many things we didn’t know about Hilo town! Loved the narration and the music ! Would do this again and again! (Do give yourself 8 to 12 hours to explore. So much to see!).Version: 4.0.2
✓ Great tour guideThis app was great driving around the Volcano National Park in Hilo. Just like having a personal tour..Version: 1.4.1
✓ Highly recommend!I was skeptical but after reading the reviews we decided to use this for our family trip. We absolutely loved it! Even our 7 and 9 year old girls were really into it, and it really helped pass the time on our trip from Waikoloa to Volcanoes National Park. You will definitely need a car charger to keep your phone alive, because this provides GPS navigation as well as the commentary. I would recommend buying the bundle because if you do the south coastal journey it pauses at Volcanoes and prompts you to switch to that tour, so you really need both. You can use each tour in bits and pieces once purchased, so one day we went to Kona for a couple hours and just listened to that portion of the south coastal journey. My family and I highly recommend this guide!.Version: 5.1.0
✓ Un MUST!Nous avons acheté les tours pour l’île de Oahu et Big Island et nous avons fait un extraordinaire voyage. L’application (en anglais) nous guide vers les meilleurs attraits touristiques, sans prendre de données cellulaire, nous fait faire de petit détours pour voir des sites qui ne peuvent être visités par les bus de touristes et nous raconte des histoires intéressantes et pertinentes. Application facile d’usage..Version: 8.0.0
✓ An unexpected highlight of our tripMy partner and I downloaded the full package for the Big Island after we used (and loved) the Maui guide for the Road to Hana. It’s a great, well-paced mix of practical, cultural and historical information that we would never have known without it, with a beautiful music playlist to boot! It felt like many of the benefits of having a personal guide (though honestly, we learned more from this app than from any of the tour guides we had), but with our own pacing. It added so much more depth to our understanding of Hawaii, and we both felt that cruising around with Shaka was a big part of what made our time there so incredible..Version: 2.0.13
✓ LOVE THIS APPWe have used Shaka guide 3 years straight now, Oahu, Maui, and this year Big Island. It has been critical to the experience of Hawaii every time. With the help of Shaka guide we have checked out local spots, scenic hideaways, and learned SO MUCH about Hawaiian history, we have completely fallen in love with this state. So much of this is due to the security and comfort we feel exploring on our own with Shaka guide. We definitely recommend it without reservation..Version: 1.6.5
✓ Great use of GPS!This is our second time using these guides (Oahu and now the Big Island), and we've always found them lots of fun. They're a great way to get the kind of information and easy to miss sights that you might get with a bus/van tour, but still be able to do your own thing. They however need a CarPlay/Android Auto app so that is easier to control and use the app without needing to look at your phone, especially with wireless CarPlay becoming more common. A dedicated app would also be able to show the the map with directions, include pictures of plants, animals, and places that the guide is talking about, and add other features to the tours. Well worth the price!.Version: 5.1.0
✓ An absolute must!Let me start by saying I never review anything like this but was so pleased I just had to! Just got back from a fantastic day of touring the island. Tons of spots to see and lots of hidden gems you wouldn’t normally find on your own. Very informative and loved the flexibility of being able to choose what places we wanted to stop. Great idea and for a great price. Highly recommended! A+++.Version: 2.0.11
✓ Amazing support for exploring Big IslandWe just finished a trip around big island and we’re so thankful to have the Shaka Guide along with us. From great stories to explanations about what we were driving past to interesting cultural information this app has it all. It worked well and was reliable, car play would be a nice addition to see when stops were coming up on the screen. Overall great app that helped us to find more cool opportunities and experiences than we expected. Made our trip that much better! Highly recommended!!.Version: 8.0.1
✓ Indispensable resource for anyone traveling in HawaiiOur family has used Shaka Guide for both Maui and Big Island and it really is the best. It’s like having a personal tour guide in your pocket but you can do everything at your own pace. The app is easy to use and the guide is fun and informational. Hard pressed to find a better value (travel books probably cost just as much and aren’t interactive with your live location). We plan on using Shaka Guide for whenever we decide to travel back to the other islands. They also do regular updates so the tours stay relevant. Great job and mahalo for getting us around the island!.Version: 5.0.3
✓ GreatEasy to follow directions, very informative..Version: 2.0.8
✓ Best investment of our whole trip!!We have small children and knew a group tour wasn't going to be in the cards for our family of 5. Our littlest can't sit still and has to pee every 20 minutes, so the freedom of these self guided tours was honestly the best thing that we purchased on our week long tour! We were able to buy all 4 tours for the big island and completed them all! There are places hidden that we would have never been able to see if not for Shaka Guide! Thank you so much for making an app that helps out the regular family who wants to learn and tour around!!! I hope we travel to the other islands so we can use you again!.Version: 5.0.4
✓ Easy to use!This app is a must, it’s excellent the information it provides and the directions are spot on. The music between information is prefect to set the mood..Version: 2.0.9
✓ Love this app!!!Stayed in Kona but not only did we have a great time touring Kona at our leisure pausing at places we wanted to stop at along the way, we got to tour all over big island even Hilo . It was amazing road tripping , sightseeing ,hiking , eating & shopping all over Big Island. Very informative with interesting facts / history along the way. Love the music I wouldn’t mind if it played all the way through the quiet times between points . The voice made it all the more interesting and funny at times to my husband and I . To each their own but definitely worth the money we spent. You shouldn’t drive fast around the island for safety reasons anyway & also if you do you can easily miss a turn . Great app!.Version: 5.1.9
✓ Big island tour HawaiiVery good info-good humour and lovely music- enjoyed the tour . Did get lost a bit but found our way finally - thanks to Shaka.Version: 1.6.5
✓ Amazing!What an amazing concept! Thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone to make the most of the car adventuring and touring! Thanks!.Version: 1.1
✓ 5 starsWe had so much fun listing to the Shaka guy and he gave great recommendations.Version: 1.6.5
✓ I love it!Great app! We hate tour groups, but love fun facts and history. This app gives us the history and tips of a tour guide with out the crowds and with the freedom to stay or go when we want. Far cheaper than a guided tour and just more comfortable driving ourselves in our rental car. The guide was also witty and informative, would definitely recommend and use again..Version: 2.0.11
✓ Amazing Service, amazing valueMy Husband and I just spent most of a month on 4 of the Hawaiian Islands. Since my Husband permanently uses a wheelchair, most tours and beaches are not available to us so we rely on exploring on our own a lot. So often we drive by something and wonder what it is or maybe what it’s greater significance might be. With Shaka, it’s like you have a high quality travel guide right in the car with you. Literally, there are times we would see something and say Wow and 2 seconds later, Shaka would say wow and then explain what you are seeing. We loved the Hawaiian music between points of interest, we loved that this app is incredibly seamless— truly you set it and go and never have a glitch the entire day. It’s an amazing value for the service. Now that we’re home, we find ourselves missing Shaka and his corny jokes and laugh..Version: 5.1.8
✓ RecommendedThis is such a great audio driving guide. I really recommend it for Anton visiting Hawaii. I used the Volcano National Park tour on Hawaii Island plus to other tours on other islands and they were all fantastic! Excellent directions, beautiful background/history/cultural stories and fun for the whole family..Version: 1.1
✓ Great with a few minor issuesThis was a great deal! We found sites that our friends who visit twice a year didn’t even know about. We did the bundle and we finished 2 of them and did parts of the other 3, it was still a great deal. I loved that we could take our time, skip what we didn’t want to see or spend more time in an area…we were definitely working on. Island time. My only complaint is that sometimes the audio would start, stop, and then restart so that got a little annoying. Not sure if it was a service issue or what, but we never got lost. The other thing is that I love that they included local music, but I wish they would’ve had more songs. I got sick of listening to the same 10 songs. Other than that it was a great informative way to spend our vacation. 🤙.Version: 8.2.1
✓ ONE OF THE BEST APPS OUT THEREOn the big island of Hawaii now using this app. It has been easy to set up (in a rental, no less), extremely user friendly, really educational, and your guide, Mr. Shaka is just downright fun to listen to. Gps is on point and takes you off the beaten path to really cool hidden spots as well as popular spots. Just pick one of their tours and head out for the day. That’s what we did, and hubby and I both agree, this is one of the best apps out there. Oh and, I splurged and bought the $9.99 option which gives you about 5 different tours on the big island alone. You have the option to purchase each adventure by itself but seeing we were going to be here for 1 week, it made sense to get the bigger one. Great deal. Worth every penny. Spend the money. You will love it! Make more of these apps please!!.Version: 2.0.6
✓ Worth the price for the amazing trip and history lesson!Generally, When vacationing in Hawaii, Thom and I prefer to just let the wind takes us wherever on a road trip to explore the island we are visiting. However, this time we decided to get a little help as there were just too many possibilities to see in a week. We downloaded the Shaka Guide app and couldn’t be more pleased! Through a narration that was entertaining and informing, we were able to take the backroads with ease and find beautiful locations all across the island! We learned a lot about the history of the island and the Hawaiian people which was truly the best part! Using the GPS on our phone, this guide gave us turn by turn directions and options for side trips along the way! It almost felt like the “Choose Your Own Adventure” chapter books I loved as a kid! Except with this guide I didn’t have any regrets! If you are planning a visit to any of the Hawaiian Islands, I highly recommend this app to guide you!.Version: 5.1.9
✓ Fantastic tour guideWe used the guide for our tour through Volcano national Park. The Shaka guide is excellent. Lots of anecdotes and stories about local landmarks. Worth every penny! I recommend it!.Version: 1.1
✓ Took our road trip from enjoyable to awesomeSo lucky I stumbled upon this app. Love the GPS angle - allows you to join a tour at any step of the way. We did smile a little at the narrator’s “uh?” and “bro’” references and his artificial laugh, but what a great way to learn the history of the island and the volcanoes. There were several times we made discoveries (like the lava tubes) that our other guidebooks completely neglected. All four of us agree that this app improved our trip immensely. Wish they had one for every major tourism destination..Version: 2.0.11
✓ Great app!!This app is so helpful with its stories and local legends. It takes you step by step they the area and because the tour is gps enabled, you’re able to take your time with the local sights and then pick back up right where you left off once you’re back in the car. When listening to the narrator tell the stories along your tour, you’ll feel like a local is talking to you. The only suggestion I have for improvement is the waypoints should turn colors once you’ve already stopped and completed them to help you keep track of where you have been. Overall, the best money we spent on vacation; there is no way we would know most of the history and legends that are dictated in each tour. If you’re traveling to Hawaii, make sure you download the app for your designated island(s) and get the individual tours. You won’t be disappointed!!.Version: 3.0.6
✓ Yah man!This app is a game changer. Once in a while a technology comes along that blows everything else out of the water, and this is it for guided tours. The ability of the app to keep up with us and chime in when and where we choose to go was amazing. Couple that with friendly and informative banter, thematic Hawaiian music, and easy tech setup, it was a total success for us. If you have a car and plan to explore, you really should get this. We bought the full package for the big island, which gave us the flexibility we needed. Only used about 20% of the content and it was still worth it. Love love love Shaka Tours!.Version: 5.1.4
✓ Great tour guide!We enjoyed listening to you as we travelling around Hawaii. So much history here and thanks for sharing some great tips!.Version: 2.0.13
✓ Wonderful guideEasy to use, great information, loved being able to tour on our own and still get all the info, local flavour, and interesting stories- plus music!.Version: 2.0.11
✓ Great way to see the Big Island of HawaiiWe did the National Volcano tour yesterday and it was the best narrated tour I’ve ever been on. We are three seniors and didn’t want to do a bus tour because of a crowd. This was a perfect way to spend time at stops we were interested in and either skipping some of the stops or spending a short time there. We talked to people on the way who were just using the supplied map at entrance and we told them things that were not on their maps. This was our third Shaka tour on this island. We did three Shaka tours on the island of Kauai last week and after we learned how the first one worked we were very happy with all three tours also. Thank you for making these tours available. If anyone is planning on driving on these islands look into these tours. You don’t have to purchase them to find out about them. Well worth the money..Version: 5.1.2
✓ Oahu Circle TourVery informative app for travelling the island with local history and directions. There were places that we would have missed without the app. Coming from Australia and driving on the right hand side of the road for the first time it was great to have thorough and timely directions eg turn right after the big tree etc. This made it a lot easier to keep on the correct side of the road :) With the GPS functionality it was like having a Guide in the car with you. Also good to know that it is a Hawaiian produced app..Version: 1.6.5
✓ Another huge success for our vacationBig Island was our last Hawai’i Island to explore. We had done the rest of them with ShakaGuide. Before Big Island we did zero planning as we knew we had a reliable app to guide us. This time we had a 10 year old with us and he absolutely loved the tour, so did we. Everything in the tour is made so well and thoughtful, including rest stops and meal breaks. It is an absolutely perfect app for family vacation, it takes care of need to talk - everybody is just busy listening to stories, wonderful music and enjoying all of the stops. I am ready to alter my vacation plans depending on what country ShakaGuide covers next..Version: 2.0.11
✓ Love this appMy husband and I visited Big Island . I just stumbled upon this app on Trip advisor when I was checking out 'things to do' section. This is an app that lets you do a self guided tour and that too on our your own pace. All you need to do is download the tour before you trip and then just play it once you start driving. It will detect your location and start narration for the nearby areas. We used a tour on our way to volcano national park and it kept us busy for full 4-5 hours . The Shaka guide is so enthusiastic in narration and it kept us engaged through out our drive. Also loved the story telling about Hawaiiian culture. Definitely recommend!!!.Version: 4.0.3
✓ Highly recommendAmazing tour while on the big island. We always buy the multi pack because you can always either start a tour at the beginning or wherever you are on the map. Be patient as the Shaka guide will start talking only upon reaching the number within the tour. We’ve also bought the oahu and Maui guides and each have been amazing. Highly recommend- make sure to download before starting your trip!!!!.Version: 5.1.5
✓ We loved the Big Island with Shaka Guide!This was a last minute purchase the night before we left. I’d never purchased a $30 app before (and I never review them!), but I’m SO glad I bought this. I can’t imagine driving all around the Big Island without it; we would have missed so much! All the must-see spots were included between all the tours in the bundle, and the history was so very interesting. (We loved the music, too!) The app itself worked perfectly once I figured out how to pick the correct direction, and we really appreciated that we could play and navigate while on airplane mode! We loved hanging with Uncle Shaka and will get the other islands’ tours when we return to visit them again. Mahalo! Thank you!.Version: 4.0.4
✓ Shaka is like your own personal tour guideLove the Shaka guides. We used the road to Hana one on Maui and loved it. This time we bought the Hawaii big island bundle but with the size of the island and varied routes it can make it tricky as you can’t do the tours in reverse. Still love all the history and tips it gives though..Version: 5.1.4
✓ Does what it says on the box!Very informative and useful guide. We used 3 routes on the big Island and found hidden gems and places to stop which we would have driven past without the guide. We also learnt a lot about the ancient history of Hawaii as we drove. Highly recommended if you want to get the most out of your drive around the island..Version: 1.6.5
✓ Perfect way to explore the Big Island!My girlfriend and I went to the Big Island for a week. We did every audio tour in the Shaka app and they were so worth it! A perfect way to see the Big Island by car. Honestly, we were mostly there for the beaches and volcanoes, but we ended up picking up a bunch of cultural knowledge anyway just listening between stops. Lots of great stories as well as practical info. We didn’t follow the tours exactly, but they were very easy to modify and fit into any itinerary. Highly recommend if you’re planning to do any driving, especially from one side of the island to the other..Version: 5.1.0
✓ Some Glitches. Overall GoidWe had a great experience with the Kauai tour so purchased this for BI as well. It is not as good. There are long gaps of silence between spots so you have to keep checking it’s still working. It also doesn’t give accurate turns or instructions to turn in time to make them.. so you’re constantly reviewing where you are against the app map. We were disappointed with the Volcanoes tour… directions not always clear. At the same time, we overcame these challenges and we saw so many wonderful places and learned so many interesting things thanks to this app..Version: 5.1.0
✓ Loved this App!!This app was exactly what we needed on our trip to the Big Island! We love the history and stories it provides like a tour group but in our own car at our own pace! It had so many wonderful suggested routes and stops and the information as you were guided through was second to none. While speaking to another traveler about the app he told us it had taken him years to hear some of the stories we had heard while using the app. If you like the history, culture and entertaining stories behind all the beauty you are seeing and you like to take your time, go at your own pace. This is the app for you! It also provides information about the upcoming stops. Like what is involved (parking, a hike, how far the hike is, if it’s worth it) so you can decide if you want to do it or if you’d like to keep moving. Uncle Shaka (voice) is an awesome addition to the road trip!.Version: 5.0.4
✓ Perfect tour guide for people who don’t like tour guidesMy girlfriend and I are both servers. We worked for 14 months to pay off a 8 day Hawaiian cruise. On this cruise we went on multiple excursions off the boat. Large groups and bad tour guides on some of those excursions really made us question why we spent so much money. But on our trip to Volcano’s National Park we rented a car and downloaded this app. Just the two of us in our car using this app to go where we wanted to, when we wanted to, all while receiving great information from to audio tour on the app. It follows your gps locations and gives great recommendations on where to stop. It even tells you about the spots in the park that aren’t worth your time. This app allows you to make your tour your way and it is pretty funny at some points. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants a great time without the hassle of large groups and subpar tour guides.Version: 1.6.5
✓ The hidden gem of HawaiiThis app doesn’t just guide you to hidden gems, it is a hidden gem! We first came across this app for Maui road to Hana. It made the trip extremely enjoyable! Now we have travelled to the big island, the first thing we have done is to look for this app. Another great day. Oahu next, can’t wait for the next round!.Version: 1.4.1
✓ Thank you Shaka Guide!This app was such a lifesaver! My husband and I traveled with our nine and seven year olds. We contemplated booking one of those six to twelve hour tours around the island, but I just couldn’t imagine such long tours going well with our kids. We needed more flexibility with our schedule but didn’t want to miss out on all the neat historical facts and sights only a proper tour guide can point out. Shaka Guide was our answer! Everyone in our family thoroughly enjoyed the app, the fun stories, facts and cool music. This app is so well made! We purchased the bundle package and used three out of the five tours. Each one was awesome! Thank you Shaka Guide! My only regret was not being able to spend more time on this amazing island with its amazing people!.Version: 5.0.4
✓ Oahu and Big IslandMy wife and I used the Oahu and Big Island Shaka tours on our honeymoon. The apps were amazing. They took us to the normal spots but also took us to little know areas which greatly enhanced our trip. The apps provided music, fun stories, and got us to the areas efficiently. Only issue was when doing the opposite way tours there were some spots that told us the wrong turn directions but it was very obvious which way was the correct turn way (ie volcano National was one spot). There were times we doubted we were heading in the right direction but we should have trusted the app because we got to some great spots. One area for future expansion it would have been nice to have a “find a place to eat” option. It did call out some places to eat but they were off our eating schedule based on when we started the tour. I would - and have recommended - to others this app. A great addition to our trip..Version: 5.1.0
✓ Made a Fine Day FantasticThe app is simple and easy to use. Shaka clearly spent time & $ making the UI refined, colorful and intuitive. But they really shine with the content. We used the Hawaii Volcanos tour from Hilo through Jaggar and all the way down to the Petroglyphs. The Guide was informative in a folksy way, knew his Hawaiian pronunciations, and let us know the best places to stop as well as skip. Each stop was anticipated and described so we were more informed and prepared than the tourists around us. Even better, the long ride back up the Chain of Craters road was filled with tales and stories - helped keep our child from getting bored. Such a great value - we highly recommend this app!.Version: 1.1
✓ AwesomeWould never seen as much of the island as was possible with Shaka Guide. Lots of info and history. Great GPS with no data or wifi. Best money I spent on the island..Version: 1.6.5
✓ Absolutely loved Shaka Guide!My husband and I purchased the 5 tour bundle for the Big Island and LOVED it. I had already planned on us driving around the Island, and the Shaka Guide made it so much easier! There’s so much knowledge and information within the Guide, and the spots the Guide takes you to are amazing. We didn’t have any issues with sound or navigating using the app, so our road trip was seamless! We only ended up using 1 full tour and a little bit of another, but I’m not upset because the tours don’t expire! We definitely recommend Shaka Guide and I’m so glad our friends told us about it in the first place..Version: 5.1.0
✓ Worth every penny!We have used the Shaka Guide driving tour for both Kauai and the Big Island and found them both to be very useful and entertaining. The Shaka Guide directs you along the tour route and narrates along the way, giving many interesting and fun facts. It also guides you to many out of the way spots including great restaurants that a normal tourist probably wouldn't find on their own. The only negative comment that I'd include would be that sometimes the routes overlap or trace back on themselves and, at times, it can be a little difficult to determine which way the app is directing you to go..Version: 8.2.5
✓ No other way to tourThis app was spectacular! It made the week on The Big Island so much more enjoyable than if we had used a tour book. We stopped at places we would have never known about had it not been for the app. The developers of the app took a lot of time thinking about what users of the app would need (i.e. downloaded content vs using data) and thoughtfully gave options to reverse the direction of the tour depending on user preference. Even better how current the content was, as if the developers had just been on the road. The app was well worth the cost (I purchased all 5 Big Island tours) and if future tours are available for other of my travel destinations, I will definitely purchase! App well done!.Version: 2.0.5
✓ Big love for ShakaWe downloaded this app after using the Road to Hana version on our stay in Maui. The app is really useful if you want to avoid awkward bus tour but still want to know what’s going on as you drive/hike the sites in the national park. I’d really recommend it and thank you to the developers for making such a brilliant app!.Version: 1.4.4
✓ Great NarrationWow, well done Shaka Tours. We are only on tour #2 so far and already have to leave a review. The narration is entertaining, the history very informative and it all makes the long parts of the drives fun. The great directions and local knowledge are really appreciated. Very helpful to know when a stop is really worth it if you have time and when just passing on by is ok. The owner at one small stop along the south tour was amazed she was on your tour and for us it was worth the stop!!! Coffee, shortbread and macadamias were just what we needed. Love the music as well. I highly recommend Shaka Tours if driving the big island!.Version: 2.0.13
✓ Great Volcano TourWe enjoyed every minute of the tour. This was a stress free day. I did not have to worry about how to get there and what I was going to do when I got there. The Shaka Guide app mapped out my trip and tour and it was so easy to use and very informative. I definitely would not have learned as much as I did if I did not have this app. I have one minor improvement. There is a movie at the Visitor Center that stops showing at 4 pm but it wasn’t mentioned until the end of the tour, so I missed it. I suggest you mention this at the beginning of the tour to give the person the option to go then or at the end of the tour..Version: 4.0.4
✓ Great driving appWe really enjoyed the volcano park tour- would recommend the app. Some of the information is not quite up to date as the lava flow has started again in a different part but a good guide nonetheless.Version: 6.1.0
✓ Excellent Guide!We are so glad we found the Shaka Guide! The driving tours were the highlight of our two weeks on the Big Island. The Hawaiian music in between narration was beautiful, the narrator was fun and told great stories about the history of the island and its people, and as a bonus we learned how to pronounce names and places. We enjoyed all five driving tours and liked the ability to choose which hikes to take based on the information provided. It was such an adventure finding all sorts of out of the out-of-way places we would’ve never seen on our own was such fun. Well done! Mahalo nui loa!.Version: 5.0.4
✓ Highly recommended if you drive the volcano park by carIf you drive through Big Island Volcano National Park by car, I highly recommend this App. Great guide, GPS guided (it knows where you are and therefore guides at the right time). Tells you also some secret places not on the park map and recommends what to leave out (they are right!). Its also funny. When the tour is finished and you drive back uphill from the ocean, they narrate different Hawaiian stories. Simply nice! I am sad the other Big Island tour guides are not available yet (soon to come). I would buy them all! But not sure when and if I return to Big Island. PS: Have an USB 12V charger for the cellphone and a cellphone holder for the car. Just makes your life easier..Version: 1.1
✓ Great little appWe really enjoyed the app and did all the drives it was easy to follow we got to see places we might have missed and the historical information was great - loved the app and we will use it again on our next trip.Version: 2.0.6
✓ Wonderful tour guideStumbled on this little gem doing internet searches and found the app was well made and with great pricing. The narration was nicely done and our family learned a good deal on history of Hawaii and other interesting tidbits that I’m sure will come in handy as conversational topics. Linking the waypoints to gps location makes navigation easy and straightforward. The app ran smoothly with 0 hiccups and the intro to usage was simple to follow. The developers put in a lot of time and effort and it shows. I ended up getting all 5 tours because the price point was just right. My only recommendation on the next release of this 5 star app is to give the user some selection over the waypoints to fit into time allotted for the tour and that could be either through a menu to click and choose or pre-picks based on popularity. And personally I wouldn’t mind paying $10 for this premium feature. And if it so happens that the developer of this fine app finds this suggestion useful and decides to implement, I wouldn’t mind being a beta tester and free lifetime user ;-) Mahalo from J Chia in CA.Version: 5.0.3
✓ This is a great appWe decided to do the volcano tour on Big Island and were looking for some on-line information when we came across this app. It made our day! It was easy to use, easy to listen to, and very informative. Once we got it going the narration would just start up whenever an interesting landmark was coming up. Direction were clear and the stories were fun. Very clear instructions on what to do before starting out, how to Bluetooth it to the car and how it operates using GPS without using up data. Although it suggested downloading before getting on the road we started out before reading the instructions and found ourselves in low signal heading south of Kona and the download of the app was slow, but as soon as we got into good signal at Captain Cook it finished downloading and we didn't miss a thing. This is my first trip to Big Island and this tour and Shaka Guide were a highlight. Highly recommended..Version: 1.1
✓ Better than a bus tourWe loved this app and all the info that it provided on what to see inside Volcanoes National Park and the stories that went along with them. We rented a car and drove through the park ourselves. The tour is guided by your GPS location so it's always relative to what you are seeing. We even got to walk up to Devil's Throat crater that wasn't even on the map because the guide recommended it. The rich stories brought this Park to life in a way I never expected. You can even download the tour ahead of time so that it doesn't use any cellular data on the drive. If you're planning on driving through Volcanoes National Park, I highly recommend you take this app with you..Version: 1.1
✓ Good, but needs updatingWe love Shaka Guide! Definitely download the app for the island you’re visiting. You don’t have to do the whole tour, you can just hit play as you’re driving around where you want to go anyway - learn some fun facts and discover some things you might not have otherwise. This app, however, needs to be updated to reflect the latest conditions of the volcano. It discusses eruptions that have since stopped and does not reflect the eruption of 2021. Recommend updating those portions yearly. I also wish the apps displayed on Carplay. Last, I wish they either had more Hawaiian music to play in the dead spots between talking or better integration with the user’s chosen music application (Shaka guide will interrupt my music, but my music app will not resume playing automatically when it’s done)..Version: 5.1.0
✓ Great tour for Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park!When my fiancé and I were planning our trip to the Big Island, we knew we had to visit Volcanoes National Park but we didn’t want to pay big bucks for a guided tour. I stumbled upon this app and I am so glad I did. This app was amazing for our visit to see the Volcanoes. This app takes you to every single spot available at the park and you can go at your own speed. You have the ability to pause and/or go back to any spot at any time. It tells you which spots are a must see or which ones you can skip and go back to later. It tells you about all the hikes available and it gives you the history behind the park. We spent about 6 hours in the park and loved using the tour. This app is so easy to use and we recommend it to everyone!.Version: 8.1.3
✓ Best $ spentI’m so glad I stumbled upon this app during my trip to Kona. My kids and I really enjoyed listening to the info/stories as we toured the island. We enjoyed the South and Volcano Park tour. My only regret was that I found this too late in our trip to get to tour all 5 routes. Best money spent on our holiday. Great value, fun and interesting..Version: 2.0.11
✓ Great Tour GuideWe did 4 of the 5 tours for the Big Island, and they were great! It was so nice to hit all of the must-see areas as well as the lesser known ones simply by following spot-on directional cues. The only trouble we had was when we did Volcanoes and we went the opposite direction of the tour to avoid crowded parking lots. Once we got back on track with the Shaka tour, though, it was great. The only improvement I would like is more music between locations. Sometimes we would wonder if the app was still connected because of the silence. We have recommended it to others we have met on our vacation..Version: 5.1.2
✓ Very useful app!!If you’re going to Hawaii you definitely need to get this app!! We used it on Maui and Big Island and we actually thanked the Shaka Guide many times for views and activities! The stories and music were a big plus as well. Definitely worth the price!.Version: 2.0.11
✓ Informative, Easy to Follow, and EntertainingThe tours we followed (Volcano, North Jungle, Kona) were easy to follow and kept us busy the entire trip allowing us to see and experience things we would never have otherwise. There are many interesting tidbits of information included about the history, cultural significance, and descriptions about many places. We were able to go at our own speed, stop when we wanted to and keep going when we didn’t, and come back a day or two later when we did not finish. There is plenty in each tour to keep you busy and it guides you through everything there is to experience..Version: 5.1.8
✓ Better than an actual tour guide!My teenage son and I came to the Big Island and didn't want to be herded around like cattle on a tour nor did I want to spend $150+ per person to see the Volcanoes. We downloaded the App, rented a car and set out on our adventure. At first I didn't think my teenager would be listening to the stories or even be interested but he not only listened, he repeated them several times throughout the trip! One of the best things about the trip were the hidden secrets and the best places to stop or keep going. There was one stop called the Devils Throat with no signs and was the "best kept secret". We pulled over on the side of the road and someone following us pulled over too. When we got out and walked down a small dirt path, whoever was in the car behind us decided to keep going since there were no signs as to what we were visiting. Too bad for them! It was so exhilarating to see this crater ... even a little eerie and definitely the best view of all the views. Needless to say ... this was ABSOLUTELY the best tour App I've ever downloaded! Hopefully you will leave the Islands and travel around other places and create the same app!.Version: 1.1
✓ This app made our trip so specialI can’t say enough great things about this app! We had no solid plan for our trip and purchased all five tours “just in case”. After our first day, we decided to try one out and we absolutely loved it! After that, we decided to do the rest of them. The amount of research that went into these tours is astounding. We learned a ton about Hawaiian history and got to see so many places we would have missed out on if we had been on our own. Especially with COVID, it was really awesome to be able to essentially have our own private tour guide that took us all over on our terms. Next time we come out to another island, we’re going to go with Shaka Guide! Thanks so much for the amazing experience!!.Version: 4.0.2
✓ Made the trip to Volcano National Park 100% betterMy partner and I loved the tour for the volcano national park. I was hesitant to pay $20.99 CAD for the app but I would’ve paid more after recognizing g the value we got from it. It was full of great and interesting info and if we didn’t have it we would’ve just driven around and said “oh, that’s interesting, more lava rocks.” We did the whole thing and felt so satisfied with the trip. We both agreed that if we didn’t have the tour that we would’ve missed a ton and not felt as blown away as we were with the park..Version: 5.1.4
✓ All I can say is WOW! And THANK YOU!My husband and I did an island hopping cruise earlier this year and decided we wanted to come back to Oahu and the Big Island this time. We did the tourist thing and road a bus tour on Oahu and walked a lot, which was very good and all but rented a car on the Big Island and found a flyer for this app at the Kona airport. We are SOOOOOO glad we did!! It is PERFECT for how we like to travel! We love the history and scenery and to stop at as many places as we can. THIS APP DOES ALL THE WORK FOR YOU WITH THE ADDED BONUS OF FUN & EDUCATIONAL INFO AS YOU GO. we told as many people at stops as we could to get the word out. We also loved the helpful tips on where to taste the local treats and foods. Thank you so much for your app. We will def tell people back home and use it when we come back to the other islands. Mahalo!!!.Version: 8.2.5
✓ Trip Saver!Our airline changed our flight at short notice leaving us with several hours to kill in Kona with use of a hire car. Having seen the app recommended online we paid for the guide for the area and set off on a leisurely drive taking in new scenery and new information. We even took one of the lunch recommendations which was perfectly timed on the commentary and was fantastic BBQ food. Saved on so much planning and researching routes to take!.Version: 1.6.5
✓ Driving in the RainThis is our second visit to the Big Island and Volcano Park. With Shaka as our guide we explored more, saw more, learned more and were completely entertained the whole trip! The app is a great way to see the park at your own pace with your own witty travel guide pointing out the best hikes, views and historical events. Download this before you go to really enjoy the Island..Version: 2.0.11
✓ GET THIS APP!!!!I can’t say enough about this app! We downloaded the package for our trip to the Big Island. We were able to complete 4 of the 5 tours. They were so informative. We learned so much history along our drives, and also there were a lot of suggested stops we would have never come across ourselves. It was especially helpful when letting you know what beaches were good for snorkeling and which ones you should just admire and not swim, as well as describing hikes so we knew what to be prepared for endurance and time wise. I HIGHLY recommend. It was worth EVERY penny of the $25 for the tour package. We are looking forward to doing the tours again, and also doing the tours on the other islands. I wish I had a guide like this for every trip! My only suggestion is that there would be a “farewell” tour on your way back to the airport lol. We enjoyed it so much we played the tour on our way to the airport again just to hear all the history and music. We all thought it would be fun if there was a last little tour for the way home. Hopefully maybe others will feel the same and they’ll add one!!! ~Aloha.Version: 3.0.6
✓ Amazing AppWe came to the big island as part of our 3 week honeymoon, came across this app on trip advisor so I thought I’d download it and see what it was like... safe to say this app is amazing, fun & really accurate. We did the volcano tour and the one around kona over 2 days, worth every penny. Loved the local knowledge, history and recommendations for places to go for food. A place to add to your food recommendations Annie’s on the big island. I am just gutted we didn’t discover this app last week while we where at Honolulu. Can’t wait to come back to the islands and do some more tours. Thanks for helping us make memories!.Version: 1.6.5
✓ A Must Have for Independent TouristsI used the entire set of the Shaka Guide for the Big Island and it made my and my husband’s driving all around so much more enjoyable, safe and educational with great information and music. It gave us freedom to go at our own pace and take as much or little time at various places depending on our interests and time. We had a whole week, so the whole set was useful and then we went back to some of the places to spend more time on another day. If you have a very limited time, then get a full day for North Island Loop or South Island Loop. Each loop does take almost 12 hours. If one is prone to motion sickness, then prepare for it before taking off. Some roads are quite narrow and curvy. Thanks for helping us create wonderful memories of the Big Island of Hawaii!.Version: 2.0.6
✓ Awesome!This app greatly enhanced our trip to Volcano National Park. We did the entire park following its direction. I strongly recommend it to anyone new to the park..Version: 1.1
✓ My favorite travel appIf you don’t like organizing a To Do list on your trip then this app is for you. I was blessed to find it back in 2020 when I visited Kaua’i, then used it for O’ahu during 2020 during the pandemic out of boredom (I was born and raised in O’ahu and still reside there 😀) and now, 2022, I’m using it on the Big Island and it is still amazing! Monday we did the South tour and it took us 14 hours! We left Waikoloa at 7am and got back here at 9pm 😳 AND… we only stopped at 10 of the 25+ items listed! Over 200 miles! There’s so much driving so be sure to know what you really want to do(watch travel vlogs about vacationing on the Big Island if that’ll help you narrow down some choices) I got all the tours for $30-what an amazing deal! It’ll give you the option when you go to purchase 1 tour(cause I was freaking out before that lol).Version: 5.1.7
✓ Thank You Shaka!We purchased the Shaka tour for the Big Island and we were not disappointed. The tour is entertaining and filled with history and “talk story”. We would never have visited or known about several of the places we visited. We liked the fact that you could join the tour anywhere you were. This was helpful as we traveled multiple days through the island and didn’t stay in one place. We liked the restaurant/coffee/bakery/shave ice recommendations because they were local and Hawaiian or family owned. Not the chains or mainland places which you can find online anywhere. The app was easy to use and saved a lot of time from research. We just play and go! Can’t wait to use Shaka on the other islands..Version: 5.1.0
✓ Great AppEnjoyed the tour. Will definitely use it again. Mahalo.Version: 2.0.11
✓ Amazing Guided ToursI took a family vacation to the Big Island. We spent a few days driving around the island and seeing all of the amazing sites. This app made planning my routes a lot easier. I paid for the guided tour and it was absolutely amazing. There were a lot of good suggestions on different things to see that we normally wouldn’t have known about and great places to eat. The added details about the different locations where we were driving, along with native Hawaiian stories behind those locations, kept us all interested, even my teenage kids. There was a great explanation of altitude sickness that we listened to while driving up Mauna Kea. It ended up being very helpful while we were hiking near the visitor center. My daughter started having symptoms of altitude sickness and we wouldn’t have known what was wrong without the explanation we just heard. Thankfully we knew what was going on, so went back to the car and headed down the mountain. She felt much better once we got back to the main road. Overall it’s a great app, especially the guided tour, and I highly recommend anyone to use it..Version: 5.1.4
😕 Big Island Hawaii Driving Tour Negative Reviews
