Self-Guided GPS Audio E-Bike Tour Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

It was a bit more tough than we expected. We are over 60 and if you ride often it shouldn’t be a problem. We had not been on a bike in about 4 years. Overall it was a great experience.

The best way to see all the points of interest in Volcano NP! We never had to worry if there were parking spots left at all the points of interest. GPS narration/navigation was very helpful. We did not use the “info” feature as we had to go through several screens to get to it. The one time we did use the info narration button it was informative. We did not like the case that held our phones. It was difficult to see the screen and our phones were not protected from the sun, which caused our phones to overheat. Once we moved our phones to our pockets we were able to listen to prompts for navigation. We would definitely do this tour again and highly recommend. It was fantastic to feel the breeze as we rode. Walking was too hot! Bike battery was great as well. I used mine a lot and never ran out. Take your own small backpack to carry sunblock and water.

Best adventure ever! We tagged along with another couple who had scheduled this e-bike tour! Fortunately, a volcano started erupting that morning! We were helpfully prepared and cautioned where to go and how to stay safe and still see this magnificent phenomenon! We had the most amazing sights and enjoyed the ride immensely! A bucket list item for sure!

We booked this bike ride online, a week or 2 before our visit to the Big Island. There were other e-bike tour companies, but what we really wanted was use of an e-bike without a formal tour guide. We wanted to do the park on our own. When we arrived, we were surprised there were probably 15 people already there. I had no idea this was such a popular activity. The team that checked us in was very helpful. They had us watch a video and sign the paperwork. Then they reviewed the bike and how to use the gears and motor (e-bikes usually are pedal-assist or have throttles - these bikes have a throttle), made sure the bike was the right height, gave us a helmet and bike lock, helped us download the route app and sent us on our way. I was a bit worried, as I haven't ridden a bike in 25 years, but it really does just come back to you. Thankfully, most of the ride is on fairly flat roads...but there are a few hills to climb. And that is where the motor is very useful. You also need to ride a short distance on gravel, which can be a bit slippery, so they don't recommend using the motor on gravel. I followed their instructions and I was just fine. The rental is for 4 hours. You decide where you want to go (based on the route in the app). The time flew by and before we knew it, it was almost time to return the bikes. We had saved Devastation Trail for the end of our ride, so we were rushing to get there in time before we had to return the bikes. Although the path to the viewpoint at Devastation Trail is about 1 mile long (from the parking lot), it only took us a short time of peddling to get there. Everyone we passed that was walking was jealous of our e-bike. There had been many reports from USGS that an eruption was immanent, so we were super hopeful that Pele would give us a show during our visit. Unfortunately, we only saw a bit of bubbling lava and smoke during this visit. Even still, this was an a really fun activity and gave us the opportunity to see the park in a whole new way. Highly recommended!! But the story doesn't end there....the VERY NEXT DAY, Kilauea erupted!! As soon as we heard the news, we called Gwen at Bike Volcano and asked if we could rent the e-bikes to visit the park again. She said sure (she was so accommodating), so we headed right over. We were well versed with the bike this time, so all we needed to do was get our helmet and hit the road. Tephra was falling from the sky, but we were so excited we could barely contain ourselves. We decided to head directly for Devastation Trail, but the park had closed off the area to visitors. So we then headed over to Crater Rim trail and got the show of a lifetime. It was truly amazing. Thank you Pele and Bike Volcano!!

This was an excellent tour! You truly have access to everything, the directions were very clear, and the views were absolutely amazing. Be sure to read everything that is sent to you in advance and watch the tip video—it’s very helpful. I also recommend arriving a little early so you don’t cut into your riding time. The team did a fantastic job making everyone feel comfortable on the bikes, which made the experience even better. I also highly recommend The Rim restaurant—such a wonderful experience and a perfect way to finish the day.

Make sure you arrive early to get set up on bike. The bikes were great and the trip was so fun. If you are tall make sure they know so you get a large frame.

We had an awesome experience doing a self guided app-directed e-bike ride through the Volcano national park! I bike a lot back home but had some trepidation around how intense it may be for my two teens. Happy to say the bikes were a breeze to ride, the route never got too strenuous or intense, and we didn’t really have to deal with too many passing cars overall. They also had multiple sized bikes perfectly suited to their size. The bikes worked great. I was barely down one bar of my battery and only had to go up to 4 or 5 power like twice the whole ride. My lighter kids ended the ride with the full battery charge intact. All told we covered just shy of 18 miles, opting to skip the final point of interest as the kids were getting a little tired and we were nearing the end of our rental. 4 hours really did fly by. My wife drove into the park, explored a bit in the car, and hung out at the lodge where we all met up for a great lunch. It was very sunny, we never had any clouds or inclement weather. We did agree that we were very happy to be on bikes as we rode past pedestrians walking along very long, hot, paved paths. Alas we didn’t see any lava, but there was an eruption at 3am before we arrived so there was a lot of smoke and steam activity. The safety briefing and instructions were clear and friendly, The app worked perfectly. Overall we just really enjoyed exploring at our own pace and not being tied to a tour. The only flag I will share is there are stretches where you will be riding on the edge of the road with little to no shoulder. We had a lot of cars coming the other direction passing by us, but luckily very few cars passing around from behind us. But I imagine if it’s really busy, there could be a lot of traffic to contend with. All drivers were courteous, I never felt unsafe, but it’s something to be aware of (was one of the reasons my wife chose to not ride). There are some great paths for biking - including some fun bits in the lush forest. I highly recommend this experience. Bring a pack, bring some water and a light jacket in case, make sure your phone is full charged (we didn’t bother with the audio portion) — bonus to stick a go pro on your helm!

The prep, bike, GPS and all other aspects of the ride were very satisfactory. What wasn’t right at all is how we were charged an extra $30 for a phone holder bag that broke with a faulty zipper on the first try. The owner warned about the poor quality of the bag before we started the ride, but that’s no excuse for charging the customer when her equipment broke so easily. It’s unfortunate that such a great experience is turned into frustration at the end of the ride.

This was a great experience! The person who was running it was very friendly and got us settled into our bikes and GPS/audio tour with such ease. The bikes were really easy to manage, and the audio tour was informative and easy to use. The park was interesting, and I really enjoyed the freedom of being on a bike to visit all of the places throughout the Volcano National Park (compared to being limited to a car/bus with the traffic). This experience was a decent combination of riding on roads and riding on trails (both paved and unpaved).

We had a great time. It was our first time on ebikes. A very good way to explore the volcano. I highly recommend.