Mauna Kea Stargazing Experience + Photos

Would not recommend this tour. Save yourself the money and drive up to Mauna Kea on your own. To be fair, the staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and did a good job getting everyone safely to the viewing location. We also lucked out with excellent weather. Unfortunately, those were the highlights. The experience itself was surprisingly chaotic. While the lead astronomer, Dylan, was trying to give his presentation, the photographer was constantly lining groups up for Milky Way photos just a few feet away. Between the photography, people talking, and others getting up for pictures, it was difficult to hear or stay engaged. If you're expecting a peaceful evening learning about the night sky, this isn't it. Dylan was clearly knowledgeable, but his presentation felt more like a stand-up comedy routine with astronomy mixed in than an actual guided stargazing experience. Instead of focusing on the stars and constellations we were actually looking at, much of the discussion revolved around black holes, nebulas, and other astronomy topics that had little connection to what was visible in the sky that night. It was entertaining at times, but not what we signed up for. The telescope felt especially misleading. The website advertises that one is provided, but guests never actually get to use it. Instead, we were shown images on an iPhone that were presented as if they had just been captured, only to later discover they had been taken weeks earlier. That left a bad taste and felt unnecessarily deceptive. By the end of the night, we genuinely couldn't figure out what our nearly $300 per person had paid for. The viewing location was on public land just minutes off the highway with no special access, we never looked through the telescope, and the astronomy portion rarely focused on the sky above us. In the end, it felt like we paid hundreds of dollars for hot chocolate, a folding chair, and two professionally taken Milky Way photos. Mauna Kea is breathtaking and absolutely worth experiencing. This tour, however, added very little value and actually detracted from what should have been a memorable, peaceful night under the stars.

The tour can be Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa- tour guides decides day before. We were assigned Mauna Loa. The guide was very well versed and the photographer was generous with photo opportunities. The tour started an hour late, which for some traveler's (us) made starting at 10 pm very difficult to stay awake and we had a 2 hour drive home. The telescope transfers photos to the guides phone for viewing. Was hoping for some planets- but galaxy- nebula and deep space was the theme. We are educated but not astronomers— felt it was a little beyond our needs. I prefer Mauna Kea- and old fashion star gazing.

An amazing experience where you are able to get an unobstructed view of the stars. We took so may great pictures and our guide was very good.

The stars were beyond words! Our guides were fabulous, We learned all lot and had a great time. Once in a lifetime experience, don't miss this.

This was the best choice for us. An astronomer from U of Hawaii lead it. We had our photo taken with the brilliant Milky Way in the background: amazing. They made sure we were going to see the stars by adjusting the start time for us. Their telescope was for taking photographs of deep space.

This is a great experience. The tour guide was an actual astronomer from the University of Hawaii in Hilo. Chairs and parka coats were provided. They also took a photograph of you with with the Milky Way in the background. It turned out wonderful. The tour was shorter and more focused, which was good. They waited until the clouds moved by and focused your time on the lecture and looking at galaxies and nebulas in deep space. They used a telescope that was perfect; it took actual photos of galaxies. This is better than looking through a telescope eyepiece. And you can purchase these photos! They kept me informed all the way to make sure we were going to actually have a good night to view the stars.

Our guides included an astrophysicist who made the entire evening fascinating, engaging, and easy to follow. You could immediately tell how knowledgeable and passionate he was, but what really stood out was his ability to explain complex concepts in a way that felt exciting and approachable for everyone in our group from the youngest to the oldest. James made sure we received updates on weather, ensuring maximum views adjusting our time and location to make sure we had thoughtful and meaningful experiences and photographs we will treasure. There were chairs of varying sizes, heights and recline levels, parkas as needed and refreshments: things we wouldn’t have thought of that show just how professional this operation is. The tour was not only educational, but genuinely memorable. Between the stunning night sky, the thoughtful explanations, and the guide’s enthusiasm, it turned into one of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommend this experience to anyone visiting Hawaii — whether you already love astronomy or are just curious about the stars.

Dress warm. It’s pretty chilly. The parkas they give you are great but the stars! It was so beautiful!

Honestly, I could go on this tour every night. The guides were knowledgable and fun to be around. Our evening was a little cloudy, but they worked around it and taught us about the constellations, and the photos are amazing!

Although we've been fortunate enough to visit the Big Island a dozen times over the past 16 years, this was our first time doing an early morning Stargazing event on the slopes of Mauna Kea. While we needed to have a 'decently early' departure from Kailua-Kona to make our 3:30 AM start time, the views of the Milky Way, along with several galaxies, nebulae, and a special bonus of seeing 6 shooting stars!  Although the temps were in the mid 40's, this Epic group provided huge parkas, chairs and some snacks, ensuring everyone was comfortable. Since we knew we were taking this special tour, I highly recommend bringing stocking hats and gloves from home. Both the photographer and the astronomer were great to work with. The special telescope Dylan the astronomer was using provided stunning views, and the substantial information he shared during the two hour event helped us much better understand what we were observing. In advance of our tour James did a great job communicating with us. We needed to reschedule this event multiple times because we were on the island during the historic mid-March 2026 'Kona low' weather system, so we needed to reschedule this event multiple times. I highly recommend this tour; the beauty of the heavens here is simply incredible! Since this is also one of the very darkest places on the entire planet, observing the absolutely magnificent heavens from about 7,000 feet was a truly unforgettable sight.