Explore Oahu with Circle Island Tour in 24

Dan at Circle Island Tour in 24

I often use the #luckywelivehawaii hashtag on social media whenever I posts photos from our family's adventures around the island, since after all, Hawaii is blessed with gorgeous beaches, lush mountains, and a rich history.  Thanks to our Custom Tour with Circle Island Tour in 24, we were able to explore several places around Oahu for the first time, making me appreciate the #luckywelivehawaii sentiment even more.

Circle Island Tour in 24, owned by Dan Scroggins, offers both Specialty and Custom Tours (in 4-, 8- , 16- and 24-hour packages) in his Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, allowing both kama`aina and visitors to see what they want to see, and do what they want to do.

No sitting on crowded tour buses and no being herded like cattle.

No having to rent a car.

No driving!

Dan will take you to only the stops you are interested in.

If you want to visit a certain beach, hike a certain trail, or view a specific attraction, Dan can make it happen (as long as it's legal!).

If you have no idea what you want to do, simply provide Dan with your interests, and he can come up with suggestions.

For our Custom Full Day Tour, Dan provided us with a list of 5 hikes and 6 attractions, and I narrowed the list down to 2 hikes and 5 attractions.  A lot of factors, such as weather, traffic, and crowds, would determine how many of those places we'd actually be able to get to, but I was very excited for our tour, since all of the places I had picked were places my kids haven't gone to yet.

Included in the tour is pick-up at your location of choice (home, hotel, etc.). He likes to pick his clients up early to avoid the crowds, so we made plans to get picked up at a park-and-ride at 7am. Despite a mix-up with the pick-up location and getting off to a slightly late start, as well as the poor weather, we were able to stop at several places during our Custom Tour:  

Kukaniloko Birth Site

Pu`u o Mahuka Heiau

Kawela Bay

Kualoa Regional Park

Byodo-In Temple

Likeke Falls

I've wanted to visit the Kukaniloko Birth Site and Byodo-In Temple for a while now, and we were able to visit both on our tour.  I've been to the Pu`u o Mahuka Heiau before, but I had no idea there was a little trail that led to gorgeous views of Waimea Bay until we went on the tour with Circle Island Tour in 24.  Kawela Bay was a spontaneous stop, and I'm glad we stopped there, since it was the first time our family has been there, and it was cool to see the famous Banyan Tree that has been used in many movies and television shows.  A hike to a waterfall was the perfect way to end our Custom Tour.

Kalua Pork Nachos from Hapa Haole Kitchen

Any admission fees (e.g. Byodo-In Temple), as well as any meals, are the responsibility of the client. You are not obligated to pay for Dan's lunch (or even have him eat with you), but we happily paid for Dan's lunch and welcomed his company.

As a father of three kids, Dan was great with our own kids (and he was also wonderful with our oldest son, who has an autism spectrum disorder, and often asked Dan off-topic questions). He had fun activity sheets for the kids to do in the Jeep if they started getting restless, and at different stops he had "surprises" to keep them engaged.

Kids Activity Page

At the end of hiking the short trail at the Pu`u o Mahuka Heiau, Dan brought out a conch shell, which the boys got a kick out out of trying to blow.

At Kawela Bay, he opened up a coconut so the kids could try fresh coconut water for the first time.

At Kualoa Regional Park, in the pouring rain and gusty wind, the kids played what was probably their most memorable Hawaiiana match game ever.

Although it rained for most of our tour, we still had a lot of fun, and Dan was so flexible in adapting the tour so we could make the most of our time with him.

The safety and comfort of his clients are the most important, so if Dan feels strongly against going somewhere or doing something, he will offer his opinion.  For instance, since it was pouring rain on the day of our tour, he suggested against one of the hikes we had planned on doing since it probably would have been too muddy and unsafe for the kids.

Both kama`aina and visitors will love a private Custom Tour with Circle Island Tour in 24.  Yes, it's a little on the pricey side, but considering that the tour is customized just for you and your party (his Jeep comfortably sat our party of 5) and you don't have to deal with strangers on a tour bus, adhere to a strict tour schedule, rent a car, or even drive, it is so worth it!  It was great being able to just relax on the ride, and the fact that our family was able to visit four new places and hike a new trail in a single day was fantastic.

Dan was an awesome tour guide.  An avid adventurer, he is very knowledgable about all of the different places, whether it be a popular tourist attraction or a lesser-known spot, and he'll provide interesting tidbits of history or trivia at each stop.   His knowledge of the island is quite impressive!

Dan will drive you, guide you, inform you, and even enlighten you.  His love and eagerness to learn and explore all that he can in order to share his knowledge with others was obvious, and it really opened my eyes as well.

To see someone, with only a few years of island residency, have so much passion for Hawaii made me feel even more #luckytolivehawaii, and I feel so fortunate that our family was able to experience new adventures and create so many new memories all in a single day, thanks to Circle Island Tour in 24.

For more information on Circle Island Tour in 24, click here.

Mahalo to Circle Island Tour in 24 for the hosted tour.  Gratuity was paid on our own.