Wheelchair accessible Hawaii shore excursions

[shel003]

I have a cruise booked to Hawaii on the Pride of America for March.  Assuming that it goes, I’m look at shore excursions.  Prefer to not go through the cruise line as they are usually “drive by” tours.  I have an excursion booked for Kauai already but looking for private operators that offer wheelchair accessible excursions.  I can transfer to a regular vehicle vehicle but cannot climb steps to get into a bus.  I was originally planning to use Roberts Hawaii but they are cirrhosis not offering shore excursions due to covid and couldn’t give me an estimated timeline of when they may offer shore excursions in the future.  Google is not proving helpful.

 

would love to do a whale watching tour in Maui as well as go to the national park there.  I’m Hilo want to see Volcanoes National Park.  Not sure about Kona as it’s a tender port.  If I can tender would love to do something.  I can walk short distance with a cane so hoping I can tender.

[1025cruise]

You might want to post on the Hawaii ports of call board.

[GeezerCouple]

14 hours ago, shel003 said:

I have a cruise booked to Hawaii on the Pride of America for March.  Assuming that it goes, I’m look at shore excursions.  Prefer to not go through the cruise line as they are usually “drive by” tours.  I have an excursion booked for Kauai already but looking for private operators that offer wheelchair accessible excursions.  I can transfer to a regular vehicle vehicle but cannot climb steps to get into a bus.  I was originally planning to use Roberts Hawaii but they are cirrhosis not offering shore excursions due to covid and couldn’t give me an estimated timeline of when they may offer shore excursions in the future.  Google is not proving helpful.

 

would love to do a whale watching tour in Maui as well as go to the national park there.  I’m Hilo want to see Volcanoes National Park.  Not sure about Kona as it’s a tender port.  If I can tender would love to do something.  I can walk short distance with a cane so hoping I can tender.

 

Whenever we have wanted private tours that could be customized due to medical need to rest frequently or to avoid "tricky" walking, we've just asked a tour provider if they are able to accommodate us.  Sometimes their initial response includes a query about whether we need a wheelchair accessible van or such.  (And we often customize the itinerary, to do more of "this" and less of "that", etc. - another benefit of private excursions!)

 

Given that tourism by those using wheelchairs isn't unusual now, most private tours are already able to do this, and some large group tours are as well, but they may need advance notice - so they can plan accordingly if they need to make sure that a specific vehicle is kept available for your group, etc.

 

Just let them know from the start what your needs are, to make sure it's a good match.

GC

[kokopelli-az]

I would at least check with NCL to see what accessible tours they will be offering, although they might not have all their tours lined up yet.    Note that ships tender at most of the islands.  Here's their contact info:

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising#ship-transfers

 

When we were in Hawaii a couple of years ago (on Celebrity) we took an accessible helicopter tour.  My husband is the one with the wheelchair and he was not interested at all in the helicopter tour.   I knew it was accessible and that we had never done a helicopter tour before so I finally convinced him to do it.   He said that the helicopter tour was by far one of the most memorable tours he's ever been on.   They even did a fly by right over our ship at the end.  

 

We booked through the cruise line and the helicopter company was Blue Hawaiian.  https://www.bluehawaiian.com/en    They actually came to the ship and picked us up, took us to the airport where the helicopter was located, and took us back to the ship afterwards - all in an accessible van.   The helicopters are equipped with a lift that will lift the wheelchair person on to the helicopter.   Here's an example of a helicopter lift (although not in Hawaii):    

 

 

Per Blue Hawaiian:  "All of our bases are wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. Each base also has a custom built chair lift to assist passengers into the helicopter safely and comfortably. Our chair lifts are able to accommodate passengers up to 250 lbs."

 

This was definitely the most expensive tour we have ever taken, but well worth it.  

[DUTRAVEL]

Will you have someone with you who can drive? Its easy to rent a car in Hawaii and do your own tours. For example, in Hilo you can rent a car and drive to Volcanoes National Park. 

[shel003]

5 minutes ago, DUTRAVEL said:

Will you have someone with you who can drive? Its easy to rent a car in Hawaii and do your own tours. For example, in Hilo you can rent a car and drive to Volcanoes National Park. 

If it were pre-covid I’d agree but with rental car shortages this may be a challenge.  We also enjoy having a guide that can tell us about the history and local stories etc.

[shel003]

1 hour ago, kokopelli-az said:

I would at least check with NCL to see what accessible tours they will be offering, although they might not have all their tours lined up yet.    Note that ships tender at most of the islands.  Here's their contact info:

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising#ship-transfers

 

When we were in Hawaii a couple of years ago (on Celebrity) we took an accessible helicopter tour.  My husband is the one with the wheelchair and he was not interested at all in the helicopter tour.   I knew it was accessible and that we had never done a helicopter tour before so I finally convinced him to do it.   He said that the helicopter tour was by far one of the most memorable tours he's ever been on.   They even did a fly by right over our ship at the end.  

 

We booked through the cruise line and the helicopter company was Blue Hawaiian.  https://www.bluehawaiian.com/en    They actually came to the ship and picked us up, took us to the airport where the helicopter was located, and took us back to the ship afterwards - all in an accessible van.   The helicopters are equipped with a lift that will lift the wheelchair person on to the helicopter.   Here's an example of a helicopter lift (although not in Hawaii):    

 

 

Per Blue Hawaiian:  "All of our bases are wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. Each base also has a custom built chair lift to assist passengers into the helicopter safely and comfortably. Our chair lifts are able to accommodate passengers up to 250 lbs."

 

This was definitely the most expensive tour we have ever taken, but well worth it.  

I’d love to do a helicopter tour but my doctor won’t let me (I’m on a ventilator).

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 9/21/2021 at 9:49 AM, kokopelli-az said:

Note that ships tender at most of the islands.   

 

The Pride of America only tenders at Kona (on the Big Island).  It docks at Oahu, Maui, Hilo and Kauai.

[FOPMan]

Most of the ship’s tours should be accessible, since your are in the US and the ADA applies.

[Mikeyto]

On 9/21/2021 at 2:49 PM, kokopelli-az said:

I would at least check with NCL to see what accessible tours they will be offering, although they might not have all their tours lined up yet.    Note that ships tender at most of the islands.  Here's their contact info:

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising#ship-transfers

 

When we were in Hawaii a couple of years ago (on Celebrity) we took an accessible helicopter tour.  My husband is the one with the wheelchair and he was not interested at all in the helicopter tour.   I knew it was accessible and that we had never done a helicopter tour before so I finally convinced him to do it.   He said that the helicopter tour was by far one of the most memorable tours he's ever been on.   They even did a fly by right over our ship at the end.  

 

We booked through the cruise line and the helicopter company was Blue Hawaiian.  https://www.bluehawaiian.com/en    They actually came to the ship and picked us up, took us to the airport where the helicopter was located, and took us back to the ship afterwards - all in an accessible van.   The helicopters are equipped with a lift that will lift the wheelchair person on to the helicopter.   Here's an example of a helicopter lift (although not in Hawaii):    

 

 

Per Blue Hawaiian:  "All of our bases are wheelchair accessible and ADA compliant. Each base also has a custom built chair lift to assist passengers into the helicopter safely and comfortably. Our chair lifts are able to accommodate passengers up to 250 lbs."

 

This was definitely the most expensive tour we have ever taken, but well worth it.  

That's really AWESOME!  I'm going on my first Hawaiian cruise next October with HAL and I plan to do a helicopter tour over the Volcanoes.  Do you have any tips or advice that would be beneficial for me to know in advance?  Thanks!

[kokopelli-az]

15 hours ago, Mikeyto said:

That's really AWESOME!  I'm going on my first Hawaiian cruise next October with HAL and I plan to do a helicopter tour over the Volcanoes.  Do you have any tips or advice that would be beneficial for me to know in advance?  Thanks!

Try and make your reservations as early as possible.   The helicopters only hold so many passengers and they fill up fast.  

 

HAL has helicopter tours in Hawaii (they're called Circle of Fire) but it's too early for them to be listed.   When your trip gets closer, check with HAL's Access Department to see if they can get your tour coordinated.