Hop On Hop Off Hilo Cruise Port

[ccotting]

Hello:

 

Just wondering if I should pre book hop on/off?  We are visiting in September with Royal Caribbean and all our excursions are already sold out.  I know that you can usually purchase at the harbour but given all excursions sold I wonder if I should lock in.  If so, is there a particular firm folks recommend?

 

 

[georgiacat]

We pre-booked and took the Hoppa On Hoppa Off trolley in Hilo , May 2023.  I would recommend it completely.  It is only $39 pp.  It was raining that day, so mostly rode the tour.  If it had not been raining, we would have gotten off downtown and walked around.  Trolley takes you back to ship after that too, if you wish.  All is explained well.  People can visit the beaches by trolley after the tour if they wish.  The tour is very interesting (even in the rain) and well worth the money.  Especially if you take advantage of the transportation options after the tour.  We just went back to the ship because of the rain.  Hilo gets a lot of rain.  Plan for that.

[haynesra]

georgiacat how long was the tour part? Is there a regular scheduled times at each stop, especially downtown?

On 7/6/2023 at 1:02 PM, georgiacat said:

We pre-booked and took the Hoppa On Hoppa Off trolley in Hilo , May 2023.  I would recommend it completely.  It is only $39 pp.  It was raining that day, so mostly rode the tour.  If it had not been raining, we would have gotten off downtown and walked around.  Trolley takes you back to ship after that too, if you wish.  All is explained well.  People can visit the beaches by trolley after the tour if they wish.  The tour is very interesting (even in the rain) and well worth the money.  Especially if you take advantage of the transportation options after the tour.  We just went back to the ship because of the rain.  Hilo gets a lot of rain.  Plan for that.

 

[georgiacat]

The complete tour is about 2.5 hours.  We chose the 10 am tour because we like to sleep later than some do; there are earlier choices, but this was the latest.  We had to be at the office at 9:30 am.

 

We were met at the dock terminal because of the rain and bused to the office (short walk away).  They use short buses.  Below is the list from their website.  Order may vary.

 

Escorted city tour of Hilo, Hawaii plus hop on hop off shuttles!

Duration  2.5 Hours

Escorted city tour of Hilo, Hawaii plus hop on hop off

shuttles to downtown Hilo and Richardson Black Sand Beach.

 

Stops: Liliuokalani Gardens and Coconut Island, beautiful, stopped about 20 min because of rain. (could be longer if it were not raining)

Big Island Candies, candy factory; about 15 min.  Yes, we bought candy.

King Kamehameha Statue, photo stop, about 5 min.

Rainbow Falls, waterfall; rain had stopped; about 20 min.  restrooms

 

Then you had choices.  The bus stopped in downtown and about half of the people got off.  There is a bus stop where the shuttle bus would pick them up and return to the ship (no additional fee) and bus stops to the beaches.  Because of the rain, we elected to stay on the shuttle and return to the beach.  We enjoyed the tour even with the rain.

Downtown Hilo (blue line shuttle, self guided)

Richardson Black Sand Beach and Carl Smith beach

park (blue line shuttle, self guided)

*Note- Buses board at Keikana Office near Port of Hilo

Queen Liliʻuokalani Gardens, Japanese botanical gardens, free

[haynesra]

Thanks for the info. Great summary.

[georgiacat]

You are welcome.  Enjoy your trip.