The Real Hawaii

You will see two other companies with similar names to this one, but they are not the same as this one. Make sure you are booking with Dan! Dan is the guy who runs The Real Hawaii. I found him through TripAdvisor when I was seaching for a private circle tour. We were a group of two, and I wanted something small, custom and personal, over an impersonal group tour. If you are looking for the same, Dan is your man. Booking through the external sites is easy, but I recommend calling Dan and booking through him directly. He is polite and prompt in his service. He has a fleet of three vehicles: two jeeps and a van. We took a tour in one of his Jeeps. We scheduled a pickup at our Waikiki Beach hotel the day before. He picked us up promptly at 7am for our tour on the scheduled day. He was very professional, fun and a great conversationalist. He took us to some very beautiful spots of places with names I have trouble pronouncing. He will point out the spots of simple beauty, but also take you to places you never knew you needed to visit. Every place he goes, he has a story or experience there. He seems to know everyone, which makes your tour very efficient. He also adjusts your tour's pace to you, and you will never feel rushed. Some of the lookouts and beaches were so breathtaking. The Pipeline Beach area is a must. You would think places like that do not exist, but WOW. Even if you are not a surf fan, you will appreciate a stop there. The restaurants he takes you to are great! We stopped at Fumi's and Aoki's and I was impressed by both. The shopping area we went to on the North Shore was nice. Lots of photo ops, and Dan will even show you some filming locations from movies and tv shows. We got lucky and even saw quite a few whales during our tour!Overall, this is probably one of the best private tours I have been on in all my years of traveling. Dan knows his stuff, and we were super happy with our experience. Customer service, excellent. Driving, excellent. Tour stops, excellent. And Dan, excellent. Thank you, Dan!

Shannon who was are driver was awesome. We had a great time and showed us a lot of local things had real knowledge of the island he is a local and grew up there. Also he did a awesome job of staying ahead of other groups so basically at all our stops we where the only ones around. I booked 3 different activities while I staying in Hawaii and The Real Hawaii by far blew the other groups out of the water. I will recommend this tour group for anyone visiting and I have friends coming soon who I recommend to you. Wish you nothing but the best and hope to see you again. If you are planning on going to the north shore book through this guy and save your self the headaches he knows his stuff. Mahalo my friend.

Dan from The Real Hawaii is a great tour guide. He took me and my family out on an awesome adventure today. One of my kids main request was to see turtles and he delivered! We were able to see about 7 turtles out in the ocean and close to shore. My kids were so happy we were able to see them. The plus was that we were far away from the crowds at turtle bay. We also saw sights that normal big tours don't get to see. Mahalo to The Real Hawaii for showing us such a great time at a relaxed pace! We'll be seeing you on the Big Island in a few years!

I booked this tour after having done the big bus tours looking for a more intimate, local's view of the island. I am so glad that I did! I booked directly with Dan which I recommend you do, not through TripAdvisor/Expedia or any of those websites because there is flexibility in the tours and schedules that they doesn't provide, only Dan and his website can. He was quick to respond and very professional. Our communication was great before the tour so I knew just what to expect. The day of he picked me up out front of the hotel and off we went for a great adventure. Dan was so knowledgable about the island's history, culture, politics, etc. It was fascinating talking to him. Because it's a smaller tour, you get to adjust the sites that you get to see. What I liked was his local insight into where to go when and what things were must sees. There are several places I had no idea about but he was able to go because of living there. We were able to go to smaller sites because of not being in a big bus. The weather was a bit off (drizzle and wind) that day but it didn't take away from anything. If anything, it made it so that many of the sites were almost empty so we had it all to ourselves. Dan was also very nice and helpful in suggesting and taking photos of me to prove I was there! We had a great lunch on the beach watching the waves and a bit of shopping in a small town of Haleiwa which was awesome. Honestly the day flew by so quickly and it was made all the better by great company. If you're looking for a local's view of the island in a smaller setting, you can't miss this group. I can't wait to come back with friends and have them experience it too. One of the best things I've done in Hawai'i! Thanks Dan!

I recently went on a full day tour with Dan at Circle Island Tour in 24 and it was the best day! We crammed so many adventures into one day and got to experience a lot of what the island has to offer from cultural sites, to hiking, to swimming, to kayaking. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend doing a tour with them if you want to get away from the crowds and explore this beautiful island.

One Day in "The Real Hawai'i"One of our best experiences during our vacation in Oahu was the private day tour we booked with "The Real Hawai'i."The fee of $149.00 a person for six hours was a great deal, especially considering how most tours lasting more then 3 hours will cost you over $100.00 a person. The difference is that "most" tours are going to pile as many people as possible into a bus and take you on a regimented tour with no thought to the individuals.With "The Real Hawai'i" plan to spend a day with a private tour guide who assists you in coming up with a custom day of places and experiences with your interest in mind. They do all the driving, worry about the parking and even know the best "local" places to get fresh delicious food. Oahu is a beautiful Island with many cultural and scenic gems that easily could be missed. The people from "The Real Hawai'i" know the Island and all the fascinating beautiful locations that are not found in tourist pamphlets.What I loved about our tour is that we wanted to take a path less travelled, so Dan our tour guide took us to check out the beautiful views from Pu'u o Mahuka Heiau State Historic Site.Hiked through Waimea Park up to the falls.Watched in amazement as the huge waves crashed onto the shore at Ehukai Beach (AKA The Bonzai Pipeline).Walked through a magnificent Banyan Tree, that was used in filming Lost and Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle.And ate delicious farm raised, fresh caught shrimp.Dan the owner paired us with a terrific tour guide who took pictures for us, gave us some great history of the island, and taught us about local traditions.Our day with Real Hawai'i was by far the highlight of our vacation!If your not sure what you want to see then check out their website www.therealhawaiitours.com where you can find a variety of ideas and prices to help you come up with your perfect day in "The Real Hawaii"You can also check out their FB page @therealhawaiitours.Or find them on YouTube @ The Real Hawaii

Dan and his services are fantastic! He puts intricate detail into everything! His main goal is to make his customers happy at the same time as keeping them safe! Currently living on the Big Island as a travel RN, I visited Oahu for the first time. I had found Dan through blogs and decided to take a tour. Being a solo traveler, it is usually impossible to have a private tour, most companies would turn you away or make you join other tour groups, not Dan. He happily accepted and immediately asked my interests. On the day of our tour Dan had incorporated all of the things I had asked to do, and let me be honest in saying they were not easy! It was so great to have someone plan and drive me to amazing sites, some of which only locals know how to find. I felt very safe and had an amazing time! He had everything you would need during the tour. Dan was very knowledgeable about the island. I had an amazing time and plan on taking another tour when I take my friends and family to explore Oahu!

I purchased this tour for my parents. They loved their experience. The tour is fully customized based upon what you want to see! Daniel is a wonderful guide and they enjoyed very much!

My husband, my 18 year old grand daughter and I took the 8 hour tour with Dan and thoroughly enjoyed our day. We got an early (7 AM) start at his suggestion. He picked us up at our rental condo. We stopped at the "Here to Eternity" beach and got to see an active blowhole. We visited a beautiful peaceful Japanese temple and macadamia nut store, ate at a shrimp truck, saw a couple of turtles snoozing on the beach, snorkeled and had our first shaved ice. All the time Dan was fun and informative. Our day was very flexible and he worked hard to be sure we did and saw some great spots on our drive to the North Shore. He had his brother in law Matt along and both guys were fun and helpful. My family would highly recommend this tour.