Mauna Kea Summit Adventures

Do yourself a favor and book a trip with these folks.
Period.
Seriously, this was one of the high points of our trip. The Summit Adventures team coordinates the pickup either from their central offices or on a pre-​determined circuit towards the destination: the summit of Mauna Kea.
I do advise that you arrange for an RX of Acetazolamide (Diamox) before your trip if you are worried about altitude sickness. Our entire group made the summit without major distress, but some needed to stay in the van because they were feeling too weak /​uncertain of their footing.
Part of your trip cost covers a catered box meal served at a camp location part of the way up to the summit (see below for pictures of the NeNe — an indigenous wild duck). This gives you a chance to warm up and to acclimatize to the altitude.
The summit will be COLD after the sun goes down so be sure to pack /​buy something warm enough that you can enjoy your time at the top.
Despite our trip arriving on the worst day of the month to take pictures of the solar system (full moon = bad), I did manage to get one serviceable shot.
The Mauna Kea summit is considered sacred ground to native people of Hawaii and after having visited myself — I can see why.
Trek well, my friends!

Simply stellar customer service!

My girlfriend and I went on a tour around March 2011.
For the money, we had a great time and thought it was well worth it. If you haven’t seen the road leading to the summit, you will probably be really glad you didn’t try it yourself (I’m cheap and considered it, bad idea! and apparently rental insurance won’t cover you)
The food was hot and pretty good. Our tour guide (forget his name, said he was studying astronomy and was from SF bay area where we’re from), did a great job and kept us entertained even during the long ride up to the top.
Watching the sunset from the summit, above the clouds, was something we considered «must see in Hawaii» from doing internet research, and it was amazing.
Had to fight with some light cloud cover after dark with the telescope, but got to see some incredible stuff. Space junk visible with the naked eye, nebulas, Saturn… I’ve been toying with becoming an amateur astronomer since then.
This was one of the more memorable things we did on our first trip to the Big Island, recommended!

I went on a tour with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures in the summer of 2009. It was absolutely the highlight of my Big Island vacation. I called the last minute and they told me they had a spot on the tour the last night before my departure. Everything was as advertised and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about Hawaii history, the geography and everything about the island and the two giant volcanoes (Mauna Kea and Mauna Lea). The drive up the mountain after having our dinner at the 9000 ft visitor center was exciting as I was in the shotgun seat up front. The evening sunset above the clouds was a sight I would never forget. And finally the perfectly clear dark sky when we returned to the private viewing area they had off the visitor center and those excellent 11 inch Meade SCT scopes provided awesome views of some of the sights I can’t see in my northern latitude home. This is a tour not to be missed if you’re even slightly interested in astronomy and vulcanology. The memories (and the pictures I took) will last me a lifetime.

Great service — convenient, safe, informative, helpful…
Keiko pretty much summed up most of the highlights (although we didn’t have snow on our tour, had a bit of cloud cover below us so all we could see is mauna loa, and I wasn’t quite listening for a sexy guide voice. hehe)
Air is thin up top so take deep breaths to try to avoid feeling light headed/​dizzy
I can’t stress enough what the view is like after the sun goes down. I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of stars that I had never seen before (east coast so I get a lot of light polution). You will most likely never, ever see the night sky like this again (unless you come back up the mountain or go up into space)
Overheard a conversation the driver was having with another customer about how much they stress safety and customer satisfaction. With all the potential dangers up there (mainly from the narrow winding steep roads and the stress it puts on vehicles/​drivers), it’s important to choose a place with a lot of experience with that area. Mauna Kea Summit Adventures uses heavily customized vehicles for customer safety/​comfort. After hearing some of the pitfalls/​near tragedies with some of the other companies, I’m all the more happy to suggest Mauna Kea Summit Adventures

AWESOME TOUR. Sure, you could drive up the mountain yourself if and only if you have a 4WD… but seriously, this tour is unbeatable.
Here are some details of the trip — about 7 to 8 hours in duration:
Around 3pm, a 4WD van/​coach picks you up at a designated location in either Kailua-​Kona or Waikoloa. It will be a group of 9 or so. The guide will do everything — drive, talk, serve food, take photos, set up telescopes and answer all questions you may have. Our guide, SHANE, was funny, informative and had the most soothing, sexiest voice. (It helps, ladies… the tour lasts for hours.)
The van will stop at the Onizuka Visitors Center for dinner and a much needed bathroom break. Our boxed meals were catered from Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill in Kailua-​Kona. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Here, the guide will also hand out thick parkas and gloves. Yes, you will temporarily experience a snowy WINTER on the Big Island.
Before sunset, you will reach the top of Mauna Kea — the world’s tallest mountain measured from the ground. The air was thin at 14,000+ feet, and there was snow in mid May. The views were so PHENOMENAL, they left us speechless. You see the moon, the stars, the curvature of the earth… It was one of the clearest days when we were there, so we could actually see the city of Hilo as well as Mt. Haleakala on Maui.
Next, you head back to Onizuka Visitors Center for star gazing. It is incredible, ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. We saw Saturn. It was so clear, we thought it was fake. Here, the guide will set up telescopes and hand out shortbreads and warm drinks. I swear, the guide never rests.
In addition to climbing the world’s tallest mountain and observing a myriad of stars through powerful telescopes, you learn about the island, the history, the nature, the culture… WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR?
Note: Reserve EARLY!
Price: $ 197 per person + tip