Photo Tour: Hawaiian Sunset and Astrophotography

This tour is currently unavailable. See our other recommended photography tours.

Capture the brilliant colors of a Hawaiian sunset on this guided photo tour of the Kohala Coast. See ancient sites, breathtaking lookouts, hidden coves, and of course the sunset. The tour ends at a secluded astrophotography location near Waimea.

Photography tips and guide credentials:

This tour is led by a photographer guide who gives photography tips which means you will have the best possible chance of getting frame-worthy vacation photos. Beginner friendly and also suited for people who bring smartphone cameras.

Most tours are supervised by Ehitu Keeling, who is a part time professional photographer with published work in e.g. National Geographic, Surfer magazine, Red Bull, and X-Games. Guests will learn:

• The best angles and locations to take pictures at various scenic and off the beaten path places.
• How to use different ISO, exposure, and shutter speed settings to capture the environment and surroundings during different time of the day and in various lighting conditions.
• If you bring a smartphone, we can also show them features, software and hardware tools on their phones that allow them to take better pictures.

A tripod, especially handy for low-light conditions and longer exposure photos of e.g. waterfalls, is also available for you.

Typical itinerary for the kohala sunset and astrophotography tour

Most of this tour takes place on the most northern tip of the Big Island, on the ancient Kohala volcano. After pickup our first stop is the Lapakahi State Park where we can get a glimpse of old Hawaii. This coastal park is one of the most well-preserved settlements on the island and will bring a historic value to your photo collection.

Our next stop is the original King Kamehameha I Statue in the quaint town of Hawi. King Kamehamea the 1st was the founder and first rules of the kingdom of Hawaii,  and one of the most famous people in Hawaiian history.

Close to Hawi is the stunning Pololu valley carved into the Kohala Volcano. From the lookout you get great shots of the black sand beach on the valley floor and the many valleys and cliffs stretching all the way out to Waipi’o valley.

Visit the breathtaking scenic overlook at Pololu Valley. Image credit: Wasabi Tours

As sunset draws near we head out the the Kohala mountain road which is a perfect place to photograph the sunset. Our location gives you a panoramic overview of the Kohala coast with the Hualalai and Mauna Loa volcanoes in the background. Have a look at the following picture to see how beautiful our sunsets regularly get:

Our sunset photo location is GREAT for sweeping panoramas of the Kohala coast. Image credit: Wasabi Tours

After the sun has set we head out to Waimea to have dinner and to wait for darkness.  The we head to a secluded and dark location where you test out your photo settings against the twinkling stars and the milky way in the Hawaiian night sky.

Astrophotography beginner tips:

Getting excited? You can start by having a look at this beginners guide to astrophotograpy to start learning about astrophotography.

Wasabi Tours is a locally owned and operated company specialize in guided small group tours on the Big Island. Their multilingual guides (speaking English, Chinese, and Spanish) are all park ranger trained with years of experience guiding fully narrated tours on the island. They have a wealth of knowledge about the history, cultures, geography, wildlife and botany of Hawaii.

They proudly supports the sustainable tourism tenets of the Sustainable Tourism of Hawaii Association. In accordance with these values they maintain an ongoing commitment in the areas of environmental preservation, interpretive training for staff, and guest relationship management.

Wasabi Tours has been in business since 2006 and strives to create tours that allow guests to not only discover highlights of the island, but also to explore off the beaten paths. They receive consistent stellar reviews both for the content of their tours and for their professional and knowledgeable tour guides, and we are confident you will be in capable hands with them.

We are affiliate partners with Wasabi Tours and any booking on this page you make is made directly with Wasabi Tours. We receive a percentage from the activity provider for each successful booking made through our website but this happens without any additional charge to you. (read more on the use of those links on our website here).

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