Hilo - Hoppa-On Hoppa-Off & Richardson Beach Park

[teamwanderer]

My husband and I are wondering if there is more then one Hilo Hop on Hop Off service.  We have found the site by Keikana Tours.  Yes the price is much better then taking a cruise excursion but does it give you enough time to appreciate the sites (they advertise stops at

• Rainbow Falls *  Old Town Hilo * Hilo's Farmers Market
• Richardson Black Sand Beach *  Carl Smith Beach Park
• Coconut Island *  Big Island Candies *  Reeds Bay Beach 
• King Kamehameha Statue * Queen Liliuokalani Garden)

 Really do not want to rent a car for this port.   Our 2nd thought was going to Richardson Beach Park.  Is there a bus that will take you to Richardson Beach Park.  Any suggestions would be appreciated

[Zoemakes5]

When we traveled in 2018, Hilo was intended to be Volcano National Park excursion, but because they closed down just about everything in the park due to activity we canceled.  We thought Hilo would be a "throw away" day but when we got off the ship we saw the hop on hop off.  We did all of the stops, and got back and husband got back on the ship and I continued back to see the beaches again and still didn't fee like I was running late.  Didn't get off that time.  We got off in all of the other stops, at least briefly, had a great time and having trouble deciding not to do it again (though the Volcanos are calling....)

[teamwanderer]

Thank you

[sfaaa]

Check your cruise calendar. Being a lay back island port, many shops in downtown Hilo don't open on Sunday. I was just there last week and the place looked like a ghost town. Farmers market was about the only place that was open.

Edited October 7, 2022 by sfaaa

[Lorabelle]

We did the Hoppa On Hoppa Off last week.  The way it works is that it does the tour first.  That took about an hour and a half or so.  I felt we had plenty of time at each stop, none of them required much more than a look and a few photos.  There was plenty of time to shop at the candy factory. 

 

Once you are finished with the tour, then you are entitled to use their shuttles for the rest of the day.  The tour concludes downtown across from the Farmer's Market.  You can opt to stay downtown and catch a shuttle back to the ship whenever you'd like.  You can also take the shuttle back to their office, which is just outside the gates of the port.  From their office, you can catch the shuttles that go to the various beaches.  As of last week Richardson's Beach was not open to shuttles.  The beach itself is open, but they are doing some major construction, so the large vehicles are not allowed to go.  We had the option of being dropped at Carl Smith or Reeds Bay.  We actually did both.  We jumped off at the first beach stop, stayed awhile, then grabbed a shuttle and got off at the next beach for awhile.  Then we caught a shuttle from there that took us back to the ship.  

 

So, the downtown and beaches are not actually part of the tour, but just options to shuttle to after the short tour is over.  We felt it was worth the money to get a look around and have the transportation from downtown and also to get to the beaches. 

[JerseyShore]

Are there any places to walk to at the Pier?  Have done all the tours before.

[teamwanderer]

Thank you Lorabelle.    I'm checking into Renting a car in lieu of Hop on Hop Off.  I have not been able to find out for sure if agencies like Avis and Budget have a shuttle from Hilo's Cruise Port to ITO airport which is 3 miles away.  I have seen post on another site which states that some have taken a shuttle from port to Avis and/or Budget rental office and back.  But they didn't give in depth info and I have not been able to reach anyone at Avis or Budget.   Does anyone know if a shuttle exist and is it a city shuttle or rental agency shuttle or is there a bus we can catch to airport from port and port to airport?

[teamwanderer]

For those who may also want to rent a car and explore I just came across the following from Hawaii Tourism Authority "Waipio Valley Road on the Island of Hawaii Closed to Visitors Indefinitely, Effective February 25"

[sfaaa]

On 10/22/2022 at 8:37 PM, JerseyShore said:

Are there any places to walk to at the Pier?  Have done all the tours before.

Pier is next to an industrial zone. 

[Paula_MacFan]

On 10/24/2022 at 2:06 PM, teamwanderer said:

I have not been able to find out for sure if agencies like Avis and Budget have a shuttle from Hilo's Cruise Port to ITO airport which is 3 miles away.  I have seen post on another site which states that some have taken a shuttle from port to Avis and/or Budget rental office and back.  But they didn't give in depth info and I have not been able to reach anyone at Avis or Budget.   Does anyone know if a shuttle exist and is it a city shuttle or rental agency shuttle or is there a bus we can catch to airport from port and port to airport?

Have you checked the rental agencies' websites for the shuttle info?  We're not renting in Hilo but we are renting in other ports, and port pickup information (or the lack thereof) was listed on their respective websites.  

[teamwanderer]

Some website will say they have shuttles but I have manage to contact some of the local offices and they are saying they do not have shuttles.   FYI;  some news agencies are reporting the following: 

Hawaii's Big Island gets warning as huge volcano rumbles

Hawaii officials are warning residents of the Big Island that the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, is sending signals that it may erupt.”

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 11/2/2022 at 2:14 PM, teamwanderer said:

FYI;  some news agencies are reporting the following: 

 

Hawaii's Big Island gets warning as huge volcano rumbles

 

Hawaii officials are warning residents of the Big Island that the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, is sending signals that it may erupt.”

 

Forget "news agencies", subscribe to the USGS site for Mauna Loa.

 

https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna-loa/volcano-updates

 

Friday, November 4, 2022, 8:38 AM HST (Friday, November 4, 2022, 18:38 UTC)

MAUNA LOA (VNUM #332020)
19°28'30" N 155°36'29" W, Summit Elevation 13681 ft (4170 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: ADVISORY
Current Aviation Color Code: YELLOW
 

Activity Summary: Mauna Loa is not erupting and there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time.

[Blue Lagoon]

Aloha!

Has anyone recently used the Hilo Hoppa on/off bus tour?

Back in the day, Hillo Hatties had a bus that picked up from the pier and return with only a visit to the shopping plaza where the store was located. Are there any free shopping shuttles still?

 

Does the Hoppa On Hoppa Off  bus pick you up and drop you off at the pier itself.?

I couldn't find any info on the site about this. 

The calendar did show that there were buses on cruise ship days. Hope that is still the case.

 

Mahalo

[georgiacat]

We used the Hoppa On Hoppa Off Trolley in May, 2023.  We thought it was well worth the $39 pp even though it was rainy that day.  It rains a lot in Hilo.  We prebooked the tour on their website; they picked us up at the end of the terminal due to the rain and took us the short 2 blocks to the office.

 

After the tour we returned to the ship because of the rain.  They give you a choice of remaining downtown or catching a shuttle to the beaches.  All included in the one price.

 

Hoppa On Hoppa Off Keikana Trolley Tour $39 PAID

Meet at office 60 Kuhio St., Bldg 1        

 

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

Big Island Candies, candy factory

King Kamehameha Statue

Rainbow Falls, waterfall

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

[elainmir]

How much time do you get to spend at each stop? 

[Fun4sure]

On 10/25/2023 at 5:30 PM, elainmir said:

How much time do you get to spend at each stop? 

Waterfall, candy factory, & gardens=20-30 min. approx., Statue=quick photo.

Farmer's market & beaches=unlimited

[georgiacat]

Yes, I agree with Fun4sure.  thanks

 

[Hogladyrider]

FYI...we are considering this for our February 2024 cruise stop in Hilo, price is now $42.  Seems like a good way to get an overview of Hilo.

 

We are not interested in VNP.  We'd prefer the tour and then head to Carlsmith Beach to snorkel then shuttle back to the ship.

 

HAL does not offer any Hop on Hop Off for Hilo.