Big Island Audio Tour Guide

• Free to download
• In-app purchases

Last verified 28 Jul 2026

4.8 3972 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5Wish I found it sooner

   My boyfriend and I have been on vacation in Hawaii for the past week. We started in Oahu and ended on the Big Island. I wish we had found this app sooner on Oahu because it has given us such a fun and informative view of the Big Island and I’m sure the Oahu one is just as great! The narrator/tour guide is funny (in an extremely cheesy way, especially with the laugh), as well as knowledgeable with sharing the different legends and stories of the land and that go with the land scapes you’re seeing. On top of that, he also tells you when to turn, so you don’t have to be swapping between apps and trying to figure out where you’re going. We have done the tours of the Volcano National park, as well as the North Island Jungle loop and Shaka took us so many different places that we wouldn’t have even batted an eye at looking at, but we are so glad that we did! Another great thing about it is that it puts together an itinerary for what to see and do and what you shouldn’t miss without having to do the research yourself (if you’re lazy like us)! The only thing I can give criticism for is that the tour isn’t very “time-oriented”, meaning that some stops he mentions how it’s best viewed at night or that this beach is best at sunset, etc. it would be nice if the “start location” aligned more with the order you should visit them, according the time. Great app, overall, and we can’t wait to use it for the rest of our trip!

   Badivastar · 28 Jul 2026

2. 5/5Explore on your own and save money!!

   If you’re an adventurous person and don’t mind driving yourself from place to place, this app is a great buy and worth every penny. We used this app for the 2.5 days we spent on this Big Island before going to Kawaii and probably saw 90% of what we wanted to see. We simply ran out of time to see everything. Without the app, we would have stopped a lot more and seen a lot less. The app gives you the history/info about a location and then there were several areas we decided not to spend the time stopping. This allowed us to hear about the area and yet make our own decisions on where to stop. On a tour bus, you not only pay hundreds of dollars for a day trip, but you are on a schedule and don’t get to spend as much time as YOU WANT on YOUR vacation at each location. This is a great alternative to dropping a bunch of money to sit on a bus next to people you don’t know (or want to know) and be pressed for time and see things you’re not interested in (but happen to be part of the tour you paid for). I have recommended this app to several people already and will continue to do so! I would recommend bringing a car phone mount with you so you can easily see your phone and a charging cable for the car or you’re phone won’t last the day. CONS: There was one downside to the app. Occasionally GPS wouldn’t tell me the turn was coming up soon enough so I would pass the turn and had to turn around. It didn’t happen often, but there were a few cases where it did. Not enough to change my 5 star rating for this app! Enjoy exploring on your own!!

   Tcjohns · 28 Jul 2026

3. 5/5Better than an actual tour guide!

   My teenage son and I came to the Big Island and didn't want to be herded around like cattle on a tour nor did I want to spend $150+ per person to see the Volcanoes. We downloaded the App, rented a car and set out on our adventure. At first I didn't think my teenager would be listening to the stories or even be interested but he not only listened, he repeated them several times throughout the trip! One of the best things about the trip were the hidden secrets and the best places to stop or keep going. There was one stop called the Devils Throat with no signs and was the "best kept secret". We pulled over on the side of the road and someone following us pulled over too. When we got out and walked down a small dirt path, whoever was in the car behind us decided to keep going since there were no signs as to what we were visiting. Too bad for them! It was so exhilarating to see this crater ... even a little eerie and definitely the best view of all the views. Needless to say ... this was ABSOLUTELY the best tour App I've ever downloaded! Hopefully you will leave the Islands and travel around other places and create the same app!

   Tallo & Richie · 28 Jul 2026

4. 4/5Super fun, could be better

   We loved using this for our drives around the big island! Tons of good factoids and stories to fill the time while you drive for hours while exploring this amazing place. The only reason we did not give 5 stars are: 1. We really needed the speed limits posted in the app like google maps does. There are so many changes that happen quickly if you are trying to switch between the 2 it gets overwhelming and conflicting directions got us mixed up a few times. 2. The music is much louder than the narration so we had to adjust our volume back and forth a lot. If it was a bit quieter setting that the talking that would have been perfect. 3. Sometimes the directions would be exactly at the point where you were supposed to turn so we missed at least 5 where we had to do a turn around and go back. And then sometimes the directions would be very far out so we would slow down way too early. The map was very helpful but if we lost service it wouldn’t always put us in the right location for the narrator to be correct. Other than those things we greatly enjoyed our Shaka guide and are excited to try it on another island!!

   Tishket · 28 Jul 2026

5. 5/5Wonderful tour guide

   Stumbled on this little gem doing internet searches and found the app was well made and with great pricing. The narration was nicely done and our family learned a good deal on history of Hawaii and other interesting tidbits that I’m sure will come in handy as conversational topics. Linking the waypoints to gps location makes navigation easy and straightforward. The app ran smoothly with 0 hiccups and the intro to usage was simple to follow. The developers put in a lot of time and effort and it shows. I ended up getting all 5 tours because the price point was just right. My only recommendation on the next release of this 5 star app is to give the user some selection over the waypoints to fit into time allotted for the tour and that could be either through a menu to click and choose or pre-picks based on popularity. And personally I wouldn’t mind paying $10 for this premium feature. And if it so happens that the developer of this fine app finds this suggestion useful and decides to implement, I wouldn’t mind being a beta tester and free lifetime user ;-) Mahalo from J Chia in CA

   jacksonchia · 28 Jul 2026

Privacy

Accessibility

No accessibility labels collected yet.