Na’alapa Stables

No responses to my messages and calls in 3 days. Yiu should be more responsible to your clients.

We took this excursion while visiting in Kona and LOVED it! Great customer service, horses were beautiful and well trained (this was my first riding experience). Had a great time with Tiny, even though he was the newest horse at the time. Our guides were fun & funny and took great care of the entire group, and showed us some incredible views and took pics of us on our behalf. Thanks for an unforgettable experience! Jag, Ang and Neal

Profoundly disappointed. Thank you for ruining my vacation.

An outstanding adventure. The guides that day, Keoni and Mana, were great fun and professional. They had a wealth of information about all aspects of the area and the horses. The views are spectacular and there are plenty of photo ops. Taking pics while maintaining control of the reins is not easy, so be patient. This ride is well worth the price.

Awesome valley ride. Guides keoni and mana could not be nicer or more fun and are genuinely great local guides. They take care of everyone and calmed the first time riders expertly. The horses are well groomed and very well trained. It’s just gorgeous in Waipio valley and not easy to see or spend time in this beautiful place. Horses are the best way to go. Saw so many waterfalls, wild horses, wildflower and fruit growing everywhere. Got to share some wild guava at the end. Great way to spend our morning.

There’s only a few places on earth where one can escape from modern culture –this is it. We rode in Waipio Valley while our tour guides told stories about living in Waipio Valley as natives there. Amazing. I will go back. I cannot say enough about it.

Solid trail riding experience.
The gals who led us were so friendly and did a great job mixing the history of the valley with stories of their life in the valley. The trailride is a little different than you may get in other locales with numerous creek crossings and walking up creeks. But its still nose to tail riding. If your not a horse person you don’t mind (like me) but if you’re a horse person (like my girls) you want more freedom.
The overall experience with the surrounding beauty is wonderful though. Its a great way to discover the birthplace of Hawaiian civilization.

Amazing!!! The tour guide was so welcoming and the trail is truly breathtaking !!! You really to see how beautiful Hawaii is. Definitely recommend to anybody wanting to ride horses in Hawaii. The horses are very friendly and well taken care of. You do get to see waterfalls and actually ride through a couple of streams. Amazing !!!

Horseback riding through the Waipi’o Valley was an experience! The check-​in spot is a really cute gift/​snack shop with bathrooms. Friendly staff, well-​maintained horses, great views of the valley & black sand beach on the way down. Great horse-​back riding instruction as well. I was very nervous and the staff paired me with a calm, obedient horse. Some of the other horses had minds of their own but I’m sure that’s typical. Absolutely worth the money!
A few FYIs:
–no cell reception once you reach the check-​in spot
–I’d suggest long pants and sleeves and a light rain coat in case it rains
–pretty sufficient shade for parts of the ride, never felt like we were baking in the sun
–we brought bug spray but didn’t notice any bugs
–bring a camera for photo ops
–bring cash to tip the guides!

The most beautiful way to see Waipi’o Valley is on horseback. The folks at Na’alapa Stables make it a fun and safe ride suitable for just about everyone, with an especially useful «driver training course» before you get in the saddle. Happy, healthy horses and fabulous scenery as you ride through streams and see some of the longest waterfalls on the island – truly, an unforgettable experience!

Just finished our trail ride through the Valley with Miley and Matt and could not be happier unless the trip had been an overnight camping excursion. Their knowledge of plants, trees, animals was so entertaining and their competence and individual care made it a highlight of our Hawaii adventure.

This was hands down one of the best experiences we have had on the big island! The guides were fun and friendly, with great experience and knowledge of the area, and the horses were awesome! It had been awhile since I had ridden and I was afraid I might struggle to remember, but the guides offered great tutoring and the horses were sweet and personable. They did have a lot of personality and had to be controlled closely. Lol
I would rate this a 5 for the guides and horses alone… but the scenery and views were awesome!!! This is truly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been. I feel absolutely blessed to have experienced this. I highly recommend the tour!

The horseback ringing was great! The horses were very happy.

Had a great time! We had a group of 8 of all varying skill levels (one guy had never been on a horse before and we had one girl who had just visited her horse on the mainland that week) and I think they adapted pretty well to our needs.
We really only had issues with 2 horses — 1 was pretty aggressive. It always had to be at the lead (named Care Bear) and would kick and bite any other horse that tried to edge up. The other was Lilliana (?), which, to be fair we were warned was a «mellow horse». Mellow to say the last — this horse was asleep while mounting, asleep during the ride and really only came alive during feeding time after the ride.
My husband had the slow one and he was trying to do everything in his power to get her to go short of abusing her. He’s only been on a horse once before but I did see him trying his best — still, no go. Lilliana could not be bothered LOL. The only thing I didn’t like was how Sherry the owner apparently chastised my husband when he was falling behind… «I can’t ride the horse for you!» Again, not saying my husband is an expert but scolding your paying customers isn’t a wise move.
The ride was very nice — you really do get to see a version of the island no one else does and they don’t make you bunch up all the time in a straight line. Plus, there are times when the more advanced riders can trot and canter ahead of the rest of the group.
On the whole, the guides were nice and knowledgable… not overly nice (I guess I’m talking about the owner) but she was pleasant enough and seemed to know about the area enough to educate us tourists.
Oh, they have boots, jackets and helmets you can borrow free of charge. I had forgotten my sneakers and just had flats and they loaned me some adorable pink cowboy boots that did just the trick. And if you think you don’t need a jacket — holy crap it’s cold up there!
Also, I read a review that says you can’t get up to the stables without 4WD — totally untrue. We were driving in a slow Nissan Altima rental and we made it up just fine. All roads were paved except for the driveaway into the stables.