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Your Ultimate Oahu Circle Island Tour Guide

If you're planning a trip to Oahu, a circle island tour is one of the best ways to experience the island's diverse landscapes and attractions. This full-day tour takes you on a journey around the entire island, allowing you to see iconic landmarks, the best Oahu beaches , and breathtaking natural beauty. In this guide, we'll delve into the details of the Oahu Circle Island Tour, highlighting the must-see stops, providing insider tips, and offering recommendations to make your tour unforgettable.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Why choose the Oahu Circle Island Tour? Must-see attractions on the Oahu Circle Island Tour Diamond Head Lookout

Koko Head Crater

Nu'uanu pali lookout, waimea valley and waterfall, byodo-in temple, north shore beaches, dole plantation.

Insider Tips for the Oahu Circle Island Tour Best times to visit the attractions on the Oahu Circle Island Tour How to plan your Oahu Circle Island Tour itinerary

Guide to Planning Your Oahu Circle Island Tour Itinerary

What to pack for the Oahu Circle Island Tour Safety Tips for the Oahu Circle Island Tour Recommended Transportation for the Oahu Circle Island Tour

Vehicle Rental in Oahu

Public transit on oahu, waikiki trolley, bicycles, moped and motorcycle rentals, taxis, uber, and lyft in honolulu.

Exploring Oahu Island In Summary...

Why choose the Oahu Circle Island Tour?

The Oahu Circle Island Tour is the perfect way to make the most of your time on the island. With a knowledgeable guide leading the way, you can sit back, relax, and let the beauty of Oahu unfold before your eyes. Compared to other tours that only focus on specific regions, the Circle Island Tour takes you on a comprehensive exploration of Oahu, ensuring you get all the island's top attractions.

Not only does the Oahu Circle Island Tour provide convenience and efficiency, but it also offers a unique perspective of the island. From the bustling city of Honolulu to the serene beaches of the North Shore, this tour allows you to experience the diverse landscapes and vibrant culture that make Oahu truly special.

The Oahu Circle Island Tour is a 10-hour adventure that takes you on a 120-mile sightseeing journey around the island. The tour typically departs from various locations on the island, including Ko Olina , North Shore , and Waikiki . You'll explore the best Oahu attractions , cultural sites, and hidden gems with an expert guide and a small group of fellow travelers.

Must-see attractions on the Oahu Circle Island Tour

As you visit some of Oahu's most iconic attractions on the Circle Island Tour, prepare to be amazed. The Oahu Circle Island Tour covers a wide range of attractions and landmarks. Here are some of the must-see attractions on the Oahu Circle Island you can expect to see during the tour:

Diamond Head Lookout

Start your tour with a visit to the famous Diamond Head Lookout, where you'll enjoy panoramic views of Waikiki and Honolulu.

Next, head to Koko Head Crater, known for its challenging hiking trail and stunning views of Hanauma Bay and the southeastern coastline.

Experience the breathtaking beauty of the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout, where you'll be treated to panoramic views of the Windward Coast and the Ko'olau Mountains.

Explore the lush Waimea Valley, home to over 5,000 species of tropical plants. Take a short hike to the enchanting Waimea Waterfall, one of the most scenic waterfalls on the island.

Marvel at the stunning architecture of the Byodo-In Temple, a replica of a 900-year-old Japanese temple nestled at the base of the Ko'olau Mountains.

Discover the world-famous North Shore beaches, such as Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay, known for their massive winter waves and vibrant surf culture.

End your tour at the historic Dole Plantation, where you can sample delicious pineapple treats and learn about the history of pineapple farming in Hawaii.

Insider Tips for the Oahu Circle Island Tour

Here are some insider tips to remember to make the most of your Oahu Circle Island Tour. Taking a circle island tour offers several benefits, especially for visitors who need more time or prefer to avoid driving themselves around the island. Here are a few reasons why the Oahu Circle Island Tour is worth considering:

• Convenience: The tour takes care of all the logistics, including transportation, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the sights without the stress of navigating or finding parking.
• Comprehensive Sightseeing: The tour covers many Oahu attractions , allowing you to see the best of Oahu in a single day. From stunning Oahu beaches to lush valleys, you'll get a taste of the island's diverse landscapes.
• Insider Knowledge: The Oahu tour guide provides valuable insights and information about each stop, sharing interesting facts, historical context, and local stories that enhance your understanding and appreciation of Oahu.
• Safety and Comfort: Traveling with a reputable Oahu tour company ensures your safety and comfort throughout the day. The vehicles are well-maintained, and the guides are trained to provide a smooth and enjoyable experience.

Best times to visit the attractions on the Oahu Circle Island Tour

Timing is everything when visiting the attractions on the Oahu Circle Island Tour. To avoid the crowds, starting your tour early in the morning is recommended, especially when visiting popular spots like Waikiki Beach and Hanauma Bay . By arriving early, you can secure a good spot on the beach and have a more peaceful and relaxed experience.

Similarly, visiting Pearl Harbor National Memorial in the morning allows you to avoid the peak tourist hours and have a more intimate and reflective visit. As for the Dole Plantation , it's a great attraction to visit in the afternoon when the sun is not as intense, and you can savor a refreshing Dole Whip while strolling through the pineapple gardens.

How to plan your Oahu Circle Island Tour itinerary

Start by mapping out the must-see attractions and then determine the most efficient route to cover them all.

Consider spending more time at the attractions that interest you the most and allocating shorter periods for those of lesser priority. It's also a good idea to factor in breaks for meals and rest, as the tour can be quite extensive.

Planning your Oahu Circle Island Tour itinerary requires careful consideration of the attractions you want to visit and the time you have available. Start by mapping out the must-see attractions and then determine the most efficient route to cover them all. Consider spending more time at the Oahu attractions that interest you the most and allocating shorter periods for those of lesser priority. It's also a good idea to factor in breaks for meals and rest, as the tour can be quite extensive.

To make the most of your adventure, we provide a well-crafted itinerary to help you plan an unforgettable Oahu Circle Island Tour.

Step 1: Research and List Down Key AttractionsNorth ShoreWindward Coast (East)South ShoreStep 2: Map Out Your Route

• Waimea Bay: Famous for its big wave surfing in the winter. It is a must-visit for surf enthusiasts or those wanting to witness the grandeur of the North Shore's waves.
• Shark's Cove: A paradise for snorkeling and diving enthusiasts, offering vibrant marine life during the summer months.
• Polynesian Cultural Center: Immerse yourself in the rich Polynesian culture through interactive exhibits and performances.
• Kualoa Ranch: A sprawling nature reserve offering a variety of activities such as horseback riding, ATV tours, and movie site tours.
• Lanikai Beach: A picturesque beach known for its soft white sand and clear turquoise waters, perfect for relaxation and photography.
• Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden: A tranquil garden showcasing the diverse flora of Hawaii, a haven for nature lovers.
• Diamond Head State Monument: Hike up to the summit for breathtaking panoramic views of Waikiki and the Pacific Ocean.
• Hanauma Bay: A nature preserve with a flourishing marine ecosystem, famous for snorkeling.
• Waikiki Beach: A bustling beachside area with numerous shops, restaurants, and entertainment options.

Once you have your list of attractions, it's time to map out a logical and efficient route. Consider starting your tour from the bustling city of Honolulu and moving clockwise or counterclockwise around the island, ensuring a scenic drive along the coastlines. Utilize tools like Google Maps to calculate distances and estimated travel times between locations.Step 3: Allocate Time Wisely

While some attractions may require a few hours to enjoy fully, others can be experienced in a shorter time frame. Here is a tentative time allocation for each attraction:Step 4: Plan Breaks for Meals and Rest

• Waimea Bay: 2-3 hours (particularly if you plan to swim or surf)
• Shark's Cove: 1-2 hours (for snorkeling)
• Polynesian Cultural Center: 3-4 hours (to explore thoroughly)
• Kualoa Ranch: 3-4 hours (depending on the activities chosen)
• Lanikai Beach: 2-3 hours (for relaxation and photography)
• Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden: 1-2 hours (for a leisurely walk)
• Diamond Head State Monument: 2-3 hours (including the hike)
• Hanauma Bay: 2-3 hours (for snorkeling)
• Waikiki Beach: 3-4 hours (to shop, dine, and enjoy the beach)

To keep your energy levels up, include breaks for meals and rest. Oahu offers many dining options, from luxurious restaurants to affordable food trucks offering local cuisines like poke bowls and shave ice. Also, account for short breaks to rest, particularly if you are traveling with children or elderly family members.Step 5: Book Accommodations and Transportation

Depending on the duration of your tour, you may need to book accommodations. Consider staying in locations central to the attractions you plan to visit to minimize travel time. Also, book a comfortable vehicle to get around the island, especially if you plan to bring beach or hiking gear.Step 6: Pack Appropriately

Remember to pack essentials such as sunscreen, swimwear, comfortable footwear, and a camera to capture the breathtaking sights. Also, carry enough water and snacks to keep you hydrated and energized during the tour.Step 7: Be Flexible

Lastly, be prepared to be flexible with your itinerary. Oahu's weather can be unpredictable, and it's good to have alternative plans in case of rain or other unforeseen circumstances.

By following this guide, you'll be well on your way to planning a fruitful and enjoyable Oahu Circle Island Tour. Remember to respect the local customs and natural habitats as you explore the stunning island of Oahu. 

What to pack for the Oahu Circle Island Tour

When packing for your Oahu Circle Island Tour, coming prepared is important. Here are some essentials to include in your packing list:

• Sunscreen: Protect your skin from the strong Hawaiian sun with a high-SPF sunscreen.
• Hat and sunglasses: Shield your face and eyes from the sun's rays.
• Comfortable clothing: Opt for lightweight, breathable fabrics to stay cool and comfortable throughout the day.
• Swimwear: Pack your swimsuit for a dip in the crystal-clear waters.
• Snacks and water: Stay energized and hydrated with snacks and bottled water.
• Camera: Capture the stunning landscapes and memorable moments of your tour.
• Cash or credit card: Some attractions require an entrance fee or offer souvenirs that you want to purchase.

Safety Tips for the Oahu Circle Island Tour

While the Oahu Circle Island Tour promises adventure and exploration, it's essential to prioritize safety during your journey. Here are some safety tips to keep in mind:

• Follow instructions: Listen to your guide's instructions and adhere to any safety guidelines provided.
• Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration.
• Respect the environment: Keep Oahu's natural beauty intact by not littering and respecting wildlife habitats.
• Be cautious near the water: Pay attention to ocean conditions and always swim in designated areas.
• Use sunscreen: Protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays by applying sunscreen regularly.
• Wear appropriate footwear: Choose sturdy, comfortable shoes to navigate various terrains.

Recommended Transportation for the Oahu Circle Island Tour

Choosing a reputable tour operator is important to ensure a memorable and enjoyable Oahu Circle Island Tour. 

When it comes to getting around the island, Oahu car rentals are the way to go! Public transportation is indeed top-notch, but a rental car provides a special kind of freedom that allows you to explore both the popular destinations in Honolulu and the more secluded spots.

Exploring the real Hawaii is easy with a discounted Oahu car rental from Discount Hawaii Car Rental . Get ready to take a journey around the island!

The bus system on Oahu is a great way to get around. The island's public transportation is operated by the Oahu Transit Services . Its routes cover major areas, allowing visitors to explore the island easily. Buses are a convenient and affordable way to get around the island.

If you have the luxury of taking your time, utilizing the bus system is a great way to check out Waikiki's diverse neighborhoods and attractions. Most bus lines that take you to places of interest run through this area.

Various other means of transportation can be easily taken to and from the Ala Moana Mall or the city center of Honolulu.

Discover details about the Oahu bus routes you plan to take, the cost of riding, and advice for navigating the island via bus.

The Waikiki Trolley is an efficient mode of transport for travelers who wish to explore the island of Oahu. It offers an extensive route network that takes tourists to many of the popular attractions in and around Honolulu. This economical way of getting around allows visitors to get to their desired destinations quickly and conveniently.

Originally, the trolley's route included some of Honolulu's most popular attractions, like the Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu Zoo, Waikiki Beach, and the Ala Moana Center.

Obtain your pass for the Waikiki Trolley here .

Travelers now can discover over 50 Waikiki Trolleys operating in Honolulu, Hawaii. There are four routes to choose from: Scenic Tour, Historic Tour, Shopping Tour, and Island Tour. Ticket prices vary, with a day pass for a child costing around $9 and a 7-day pass for an adult being $49.

If you're looking for a two-wheeled ride, you can easily rent one temporarily. You can find Beach Cruisers, Mountain Bike Tours , Choppers, Yamaha, Harley Davidson, BMW, Honda, sports bikes, and mopeds to rent in Waikiki.

If you're near Waikiki, you can enjoy some stunning sights on a bike ride. The route from Diamond Head to Hanauma Bay is especially beautiful.

Several businesses, such as Charley Taxi, provide island tours. It is also possible to take advantage of Uber and Lyft's presence in Honolulu for a more economical ride, which can be achieved by downloading their apps and enabling the service.

For any pertinent numbers, rates, and data that you will need to be aware of if you opt to visit the island, have a look for further information.

Taxi Companies in Oahu: Charley's Taxi (phone: 808-531-2333), The Cab (phone: 808-422-2222), Eco Cab (phone: 808-979-1010), and Royal Hawaiian Taxi (phone: 808-223-1773).

Exploring Oahu Island

Another great way to get around is to explore Oahu by taking a Segway tour. Zipping along the coast is a fun and unique experience you won't miss! Check out Segway tours for an unforgettable journey.

Taking a bus or minivan tour is an easy and cost-effective way to explore some major attractions. Another option is to go big and experience the sights of Waikiki, the North Shore, or even some of the secluded waterfalls by taking a helicopter ride!

In Summary...

Starting your Oahu Circle Island Tour is an adventure of a lifetime. From the stunning Oahu beaches and historical sites to the lush landscapes and vibrant culture, this tour allows you to uncover the hidden gems of Oahu. Following the insider tips, planning your itinerary, and packing accordingly, you can make the most of your tour and create lasting memories. So, get ready to explore the wonders of Oahu and let the Circle Island Tour guide you through this tropical paradise.

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What you need to know, support the monuments.

Since the 1980s, the nonprofit Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has partnered with the National Park Service to restore and preserve the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Click HERE to learn more and support our mission.

Before You Go

Visit the National Park Service and Statue City Cruises websites for the latest information about operating hours and ticket availability.

PLAN YOUR VOYAGE

How to purchase tickets.

Statue City Cruises is the ONLY vendor authorized to provide tickets and transportation to Liberty and Ellis Islands. No other ferry company can give you access to the Islands, monuments, and museums. Additional tickets are not needed to enter the Statue of Liberty Museum or Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.

• To purchase tickets in advance, Go to StatueCityCruises.com or call 1-877-523-9849 (877-LADY-TIX).
• Tickets can be purchased in person at the Statue City Cruises ticket booths located in Castle Clinton in Battery Park (NYC) or at the ferry departure point in Liberty State Park in New Jersey.

Ferry schedules change seasonally and during periods of high tourism. Up-to-date schedules are posted on the Statue City Cruises website. To guarantee entry, purchasing tickets in advance is recommended.

Check out our blog post “The ONLY Way to Liberty Island.”

What's Included With Your Ticket

• Round-trip ferry service with stops at Liberty Island and Ellis Island.
• Access to the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration and the Statue of Liberty Museum.
• Self-guided audio tours, which can be picked up on each Island. Content is available in 12 languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. A family-friendly tour is also available, as are an American Sign Language (ASL) version and an Audio Descriptive (AD) version.

Find the Ferry

The ferry at battery park new york, ny.

Link to map of Battery Park  

• Local 1 (7th Avenue Line) to the last stop – South Ferry
• Express 4 or 5 (Lexington Avenue Line) to Bowling Green
• Local R/W train from Brooklyn/Queens (Broadway Line) to Whitehall Street
• M1, M6 or M15 to South Ferry (last stop)
• From the East Side take the FDR Drive South to Exit 1, South Ferry/Battery Park
• From the West Side take the Westside Highway South (Route 9A) to Battery Park
• NOTE: Street and private garage parking is limited in the Battery Park neighborhood

The Ferry at Liberty State Park Jersey City, NJ

Link to map of Liberty State Park  

• Take exit 14-B off the New Jersey Turnpike; follow signs to Liberty State Park
• Ample parking is available in Liberty State Park, for a nominal fee

By Public Transportation:

• Take the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) to the Liberty State Park Station; walk or bike one mile along Audrey Zapp Drive to the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal in Liberty State Park
• The HBLR is accessible via PATH at the Hoboken Station or Newport (Jersey City) Station

WHAT TO EXPECT

Liberty island.

Liberty Island is home to a beautiful park, an innovative museum, and America’s most iconic symbol of promise and possibility. As you explore the grounds, take in Lady Liberty from different angles noting her design details and how her appearance changes with the light.

The Statue of Liberty Museum is an experience unto itself. Full of incredible exhibits, the Museum gives color and context to the Statue and houses her original torch. Before you depart Liberty Island, be sure to visit the Liberty Vista atop the Museum for breathtaking views of the Statue and New York Harbor.

No additional ticket is needed to visit the museum.

Visitors to Ellis Island are given a unique view of American history. Beautifully restored to its peak operating period, the main building allows park-goers to step into Ellis Island travelers’ shoes for a sense of the immigrant journey.

At the Ellis Island National Immigration Museum, voyages come to life through a stunning collection of artifacts. Exhibits chronicle America’s immigration history from the 1500s through to today.

Visit the American Family Immigration History Center , located on the first floor, to discover your connections to Ellis Island. And while walking the grounds, explore The American Immigrant Wall of Honor , which celebrates immigrants of all eras.

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The Ultimate Guide to Caribbean Island-Hopping

See recent posts by Lilly Graves

Ever dream of visiting multiple islands in the Caribbean on the same vacation, without sharing space with hundreds (er, thousands) of cruisers who are on the same ship and trip? You’re off to a good start. The close proximity of the Caribbean islands makes it the perfect base for a freedom-filled island-hopping adventure with various activities, cultures, and island vibes to choose from. From golden sandy beaches and water sports to barefoot restaurants and rum shops, this famously laid-back Caribbean lifestyle is ideal for a tailor-made trip—and there are several itineraries ranging from budget-friendly to splurge-worthy. Below we’ve listed four Caribbean island-hopping itinerary ideas, along with some tips and tricks. 

Caribbean Island-Hopping Itinerary #1: Use Public Ferries

Though not technically part of the Caribbean (it’s actually part of the North Atlantic), the Bahamas exudes everything you think of when dreaming of a Caribbean vacation. The island group is comprised of more than 700 stunning subtropical islands as well as thousands of cays. Of course, having your own boat or prop plane to explore the Bahamas is the best-case scenario, but if you’re not part of the one percent, we’ll give you a transportation option that is easy-peasy and won’t break the bank: the public ferry.

Nassau: Begin your adventure in the country’s capital, Nassau, 184 miles from Miami. This bustling capital city hub provides a nice mix of city and island life, as well as Bahamian culture and lifestyle. You can either stay a night or two on this island (New Providence) or head to neighboring Paradise Island—home of the Atlantis mega-resort and its gigantic waterpark, as well as a handful of other properties. If you don’t stay on Paradise Island, make sure to head across the bridge, which charges a nominal fee, and spend some time on Cabbage Beach. This is one of the world’s most famous stretches of sand for a reason.

Harbour Island: Now that you’ve seen two of the country’s more popular islands, next, take a morning ferry from Nassau to Harbour Island, via BahamasFerries.com, where you’ll find small island charm and long stretches of soft pink sand. There are some wonderful boutique hotels here that offer easy access to the beach. You can also spend time wandering through the quiet streets looking for pastel-hued cottages and unique architecture with nothing more than the occasional chicken and golf cart in your path.

Eleuthera: Since Harbour Island is located just off a much bigger island—Eleuthera—you can head there next, by water taxi (a short and cheap ride) to finish the trip in the pineapple capital of the world. Locals say that the Gregory Town pineapple claims to be the sweetest on the planet, and it is believed that the Bahamas was the first country to produce the fruit. While here, visit the Glass Window Bridge—a thin pathway connecting the rough Atlantic Ocean and the calm waters of the Bight of Eleuthera for striking photo ops. From here, take the ferry back to Nassau.

Exuma: You can finish the trip in Nassau (that’s four key islands) or continue the journey (optional) through more remote areas of the Bahamas. For instance, take another ferry from Nassau to Georgetown (Exuma Island), or jump on a 40-minute commercial flight to Great Exuma, via Bahamasair . Either way, the Exumas consists of 365 islands and is known for swimming pigs, nurse sharks, colorful fish, coral reefs, and other marine life, as well as boating excursions, on-island tours, and miles of rarely-visited beaches—in other words, plenty of Caribbean activities to keep you busy for days.

Our Bahamas Hotel Pick : The Cove at Atlantis

Caribbean Island-Hopping Itinerary #3: Book Through a Tour Operator

For the easiest island-hopping itinerary, book through a tour operator. Sure, this alleviates some of the adventure factors of planning your own trip, but you’ll still be on your very own multi-island vacation without the cruise ship crowds. Check out companies like Abercrombie & Kent, G Adventures , or the U.K.-based company Tropic Breeze for various sailing excursions and options.

One affordable G Adventures sailing trip ($1699 at the time of publishing) buys an unforgettable eight-night trip sailing around St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Since resorts are generally so expensive year-round, sleeping on a catamaran keeps costs low AND allows easy access to hidden coves, isolated beaches, and snorkeling sites. Oh, and the cook makes fresh Creole cuisine for a taste of island life every night. Yum.

Our St. Lucia Hotel Pick: Sugar Beach, A Vicer oy Resort

Caribbean Island-Hopping Itinerary #3: Plan your Own One-Way Adventure

So you consider yourself a savvy trip planner and want to create your own Caribbean island-hopping itinerary? That can be tricky. Finding direct flights between Caribbean islands can either be difficult, expensive—or both, but there are options. This sample itinerary allows you to see four French Caribbean islands, accessed with affordable, direct, one-way flights—in one fell swoop.

St. Martin: You’ll arrive first at St. Martin, an island divided between the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. We recommend staying on the French side due to its romantic restaurants, charming boutiques, and sandy beaches (the Dutch side, where you’ll fly into, is known as the party side).

St. Barts: After a few days on St. Martin, hop aboard a quick 15-minute flight to St. Barts, where you’ll land on one of the shortest runways in commercial aviation. If this sounds scary, you can choose the efficient 45-minute ferry crossing from St. Martin instead. However you choose to travel, arriving at St. Barts (or St. Barths as the locals call it) will offer laid-back luxury and French refinement. Spend a few days exploring some of the 16 beaches, each with its own distinct personality, and of course chic boutiques and restaurants. (In other words, prepare to splurge a bit more on this leg of the trip.)

Guadeloupe: From St. Barts, take a one-way flight to Guadeloupe. This French territory with 12 islands offers plenty of deserted beaches and jungle hikes. The main two islands (joined by bridges) are Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, which form a butterfly shape from above.

And beyond: Depending on how much time you have, from Guadeloupe, you can access other islands like Martinique, St. Lucia, and Antigua by purchasing affordable, one-way flights on carriers like LIAT and Caribbean Airlines .

Our St. Barths Hotel Pick: Cheval Blanc Saint Barth

Caribbean Island-Hopping Itinerary #4: Charter a Private Boat

Chartering a private sailboat or yacht to enjoy a Caribbean island-hopping vacation for a small group or family is about as dream-worthy (and splurge-worthy) as it gets. Check out family operations like BlueFoot Travel for direct bookings, or Ritzy Charters , which acts as a community marketplace for yacht and sailboat charters. You can browse a dizzying array of options to choose your perfect boat and crew with photos and reviews. It’s like booking your own private cruise.

The British Virgin Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands are some of the top places to sail in the Caribbean, thanks to excellent trade winds, crystal-clear blue water, and intricate coral reef systems. The B.V.I. and U.S.V.I. are also a lot closer together than many other island destinations, with travel times often under an hour. Whichever locations you decide to add to your yacht charter itinerary there are plenty of exciting things to do on every island.

One eight-day sample itinerary sets sail from St. Thomas where you’ll cruise to a beach in Trunk Cay, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Offshore you can snorkel at the Coral Reef Underwater Park Trail, which has underwater signs explaining the types of sea life you may encounter. On land, hike trails leading to old sugar plantations, or visit the snack bar on the beach. From there, sail to a friendly marina in Tortola with cafes, bars, shops, and restaurants, and then continue to a chain of southern islands in the B.V.I. Peter Island, the largest of the seven, is a popular spot for yachts and has a number of beautiful beaches for water sports like kayaking, snorkeling, stand-up paddleboarding, and scuba-diving amongst the offshore reefs.

Your next stop is The Baths on Virgin Gorda, a beach full of fascinating geological formations where you can swim, snorkel, and explore until you work up an appetite. Later, on Jost Van Dyke, you’ll find some of the best places on the trip for nightlife and live music. You’ll then visit the lush landscapes of St. John’s Virgin Islands National Park, which covers nearly all of the island. Hiking trails wind their way through the vegetation and down to the pebble beaches. There are even ancient petroglyphs carved into the rocks along the Reef Bay Trail. Aside from its natural and historical attractions, you can also find nice shops for souvenirs and upscale restaurants. The trip culminates back in St. Thomas where you’ll bid your crew (and new friends) a final farewell.

Our U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel Pick: Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort

Additional Caribbean Island-Hopping Tips & Tricks

When planning your own Caribbean island-hopping itinerary, make sure to stay at least two nights at each destination. Though ambitious types might want to cross as many places (and Instagram posts) off their list as possible, you’ll be missing the point. Caribbean vacations are meant to be relaxing.

Once you get a price quote for any tour or private transfer, it’s worth the effort to call around and get additional quotes. Be sure to ask about extra charges like dock, airport, and takeoff fees.

Many flights between islands could be on a prop plane. When it comes to riding in a prop plane, don’t be shy to ask about safety. Any reputable operator should have safety information readily available, and won’t mind answering questions about their pilots. Fliers should ask if the pilot (especially if there is no co-pilot) has any health issues and if the operator (or the plane itself) has had any accidents or incidents in its history.

When chartering a boat or booking a tour, do ask about customizing the itinerary. Many companies will try to accommodate your preferences.

Pack smart! When it comes to multiple car transfers, ferries, and small planes, weight matters. Don’t expect to bring two weeks of stuff for a week of vacationing in the Caribbean. If need be, consider doing some laundry by hand while you’re in one place for a few nights. You’ll travel lighter and happier!

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E Noa Tours | Oahu's Best Tours | All Admissions Included

We offer the best value pearl harbor tour, the most 5-star rated tours on tripadvisor, oahu's top guided tours.

With 50 years of experience, E Noa has helped generations of visitors see the best of Oahu, learn about the culture, and enjoy a fantastic vacation.

50 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN HAWAII

For half a century E Noa Tours have helped generations of visitors see the best of Oahu, learn about the culture, and enjoy a fantastic vacation. Nobody knows the island like our master tour guides who will take you on an unforgettable and authentic Hawaiian voyage.

Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour

Elevate your Pearl Harbor experience with our Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour, the premium package that includes an immersive visit to the USS Missouri. Find yourself in history and honor those who served with…  MORE

• USS Arizona Memorial
• USS Missouri
• Downtown Honolulu City
• Duration: About 7h
• All Admissions Included
• Pick-up From Waikiki and Ko Olina

Majestic Circle Island Tour

From breathtaking natural landscapes to hidden gems, we make sure you get the most out of our Circle Island Oahu Tour. Join us to explore the wonders of the island in comfort, knowing you’re receiving top-notch value… MORE

Oahu's BEST VALUE Circle Island Tour!

• The Iconic Island Tour
• Knowledgeable Local Guides
• Duration: About 9h
• Lunch Included

Salute to Pearl Harbor Tour

We take pride in offering the island’s best value Pearl Harbor Tours. Our friendly guides are not just experts in history, but they’re also passionate about creating an unforgettable experience for you. A visit to this historic site… MORE

The BEST VALUE Pearl Harbor Tour in Honolulu!

• Duration: About 5h
• Pick-up From Waikiki & Ko Olina

Pearl Harbor City Tour

Embark on the Pearl Harbor City Tour, a captivating adventure that includes a narrated exploration of downtown Honolulu. Dive into the rich history of the city as you discover the profound significance of Pearl Harbor. Join us for a tour that… MORE

• Pick-up From Waikiki

E Noa Tours

– serving up aloha since 1974 –.

With almost 50 years of experience , E Noa Tours is your trusted partner for Oahu adventures that leave an enduring mark on your memory.

Our flagship experience, the Circle Island Tour , is an ode to Oahu’s beauty, from its stunning landscapes to its rich culture. Explore the island’s diverse terrain, from lush forests to pristine beaches, and immerse yourself in its unique heritage.

Join us and let E Noa Tours open the door to Oahu’s extraordinary world of wonder and discovery. Your adventure starts here!

Best Value Island Tours

Our tours offer the best value on Oahu by providing top-notch customer service, memorable tours, and carefully planned, well-organized tour itineraries.

Hawaii's Best Tour Guides

Ask around, our staff is the best! Our guides are knowledgeable, friendly, and experienced in making unforgettable island adventures.

Easy Booking

Historic pearl harbor tours.

Experience Pearl Harbor’s history with our guided tours. Our visits include monuments and exhibits honoring the USS Arizona, the Pacific Aviation Museum, and more. Our knowledgeable guides will help you understand the events before and after the attack, as well as the sacrifices made to protect the nation. Book your tour today for a meaningful experience.

Book your Oahu Adventure Today

Our local guides will show you the best of the island, from must-see destinations to hidden gems. Our tours offer unbeatable value, so you can see and do more without breaking the bank. Experience the beauty and diversity of Oahu like never before.

Private Tours & Charters​

Book our private charters for any occasion and create unforgettable memories! From tours to weddings, our experienced crew will make sure you and your guests receive the best service for a stress-free and enjoyable experience. Contact us now to learn more.

Hawaii Tours FAQ

The ideal stay on Oahu can vary, but a common recommendation is about 5 to 7 days. This allows you to explore the island’s major attractions, enjoy some beach time, and get a taste of its unique culture. Of course, the more time you have, the more you can discover!

Oahu is beautiful year-round, but the best time to visit for great weather and fewer crowds is typically from mid-April to early June and September to mid-December. These are the shoulder seasons, providing a more relaxed and pleasant experience.

It takes roughly 1.5 to 2 hours to drive around the entire island if you’re taking the scenic route without many stops. However, exploring the island thoroughly with stops at various attractions will take a full day or more. For reference, our Circle Island Tour lasts around 9 hours.

Guided tours offer you the expertise of local guides who can provide insights, take you to the best spots, and ensure you make the most of your visit. Whether it’s a historical tour, a hiking adventure, or a cultural exploration, guided tours can make your Oahu experience truly memorable.

Among the multitude of tours available on Oahu, the two most iconic and highly sought-after experiences are the Circle Island Tours and Pearl Harbor Tours. These tours have consistently garnered immense popularity among visitors, offering distinct and compelling attractions that captivate the hearts of tourists from around the world.

While several transportation options are available, guided bus tours stand out as the most comfortable and economical means of experiencing all that Hawaii has to offer. Guided bus tours provide an unbeatable combination of comfort, convenience, and affordability. They offer travelers a stress-free and leisurely way to explore Hawaii’s most famous attractions and hidden gems.

For your first visit to Hawaii, Oahu is an ideal choice due to its well-developed infrastructure, making it easy to explore the island. Oahu offers a wide range of accommodation options, from luxury resorts to budget-friendly choices, and is equipped with modern amenities. You can enjoy diverse activities, from relaxing on famous beaches like Waikiki to exploring cultural sites like Pearl Harbor. The island’s culinary scene and cultural experiences are rich and varied, providing a well-rounded introduction to Hawaii’s offerings. Whether you’re interested in relaxation, adventure, or cultural immersion, Oahu has something to offer every traveler.

Hawaii’s weather is characterized by a tropical climate, offering warm temperatures year-round. Coastal areas typically experience temperatures in the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit (20s to 30s Celsius) during the day, with relatively mild fluctuations between seasons. Trade winds provide a pleasant breeze, especially in the summer. While Hawaii does have wet and dry seasons, rain showers are common but brief, with the wetter season occurring from November to March. The leeward (west) sides of the islands tend to be drier, while the windward (east) sides receive more rainfall. Overall, Hawaii offers pleasant weather for outdoor activities and beach visits throughout the year.

Choosing the best Hawaiian island to visit depends on your preferences. Oahu is great for first-timers, offering a mix of culture, activities, and infrastructure. Maui is known for its natural beauty, including the Road to Hana and Haleakalā. The Big Island (Hawaii) is perfect for adventure seekers with its volcanoes and diverse landscapes. Kauai is a haven for nature lovers, famous for its lush, pristine scenery. Molokai and Lanai are quieter and less touristy, ideal for a more relaxed experience.

Like what you see? Book your trip today!

Have a question contact us.

Sharing the Aloha Spirit is an important part of what we do at E Noa, and that’s reflected in how we communicate with our guests and friends. If you have a question about our tours, drop us a note or give us a call! We’re happy to answer your questions.

• (800) 824-8804​
•         Toll-free within the United States
• +1 (808) 591-2561
•         International RSVP & tour inquiries
• [email protected]
•         Drop us a note and say Aloha!
• (808) 591-2561
• 3015 Koapaka St, Honolulu, HI 96819
• Open Daily, 6:30 AM - 6PM HST

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Find the perfect Circle Island Tour

Circle Island Tours

Embark on an unforgettable journey with our Circle Island Tours , where each Hawaiian island offers a story waiting to be discovered. Imagine yourself strolling along the sun-kissed beaches of Oahu , each step uncovering a new, breathtaking vista. Our tours are more than just sightseeing; they’re an invitation to immerse yourself in the vibrant heartbeat of the islands. Feel the spirit of adventure as you explore Samoa’s untamed beauty, where each rugged trail leads to a new discovery. We’ve designed our tours for those who crave a deeper connection with the places they visit. From tranquil coastal walks to thrilling explorations of hidden gems, we cater to all shades of adventure. Join us, and let’s weave together a tapestry of experiences that blend local charm, natural wonders, and unforgettable memories. Your dream island adventure awaits, and we’re here to make it a vibrant reality. Let’s create a vacation that you’ll look back on with a heart full of joy and stories to tell for years to come .

Private Oahu Tours

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Pearl Harbor & Oahu Tour

See Pearl Harbor and explore the fantastic sites of Oahu. If you... More

Oahu Grand Circle Island Tour

A tour of Oahu's most fascinating landmarks. Breathtaking views... More

Large Group Oahu Sightseeing Tour

Circle the entire island of Oahu while enjoying iconic... More

Sights & Bites Oahu Tour

This fun and informative tour will allow you to see Oahu, as well... More

Oahu Turtle Snorkel Tour

Experience the grandeur and beauty of Oahu’s North Shore. See... More

Highlights Of Oahu Circle Island Tour

Oahu's captivating beauty is on full display with our circle... More

Polynesian Cultural Center Circle Island Tour

This full day adventure starts early in the morning and concludes... More

Circle Island Tour Of Oahu & Pearl Harbor From Maui, Kauai, Or The Big Island

This is a full-day tour that captures the history, culture, and... More

Bamboo Forest Trek

A 4-mile trek down the path less traveled. Stunning views and... More

Exclusive Private Maui Tour

Explore the beauty and rich cultural heritage of Maui on an... More

Luxury Road To Hana Tour

Take on the legendary road to Hana in comfort and style. Enjoy an... More

90 Minute Maui Spectacular Helicopter Tour

Maui helicopter tour with touchdown on the slopes of Haleakala.... More

West Maui Private Sightseeing Adventure Tour

On an unforgettable private tour, experience the awe-inspiring... More

Big Island Private Tours

Make the most of a day on the Big Island! Customize your... More

Volcano Sightseeing From Kona Tour

Spend an afternoon enjoying the sites and flavors of the Big... More

Big Island Grand Sightseeing Tour

This adventure-filled day will allow you to explore numerous... More

Big Island Circle Discovery Tour

See the entirety of the Big Island in one epic flight! This... More

Spectacular Helicopter Tour of Big Island

Embark on an amazing exploration of Big Island’s unique... More

Amazing Kauai Helicopter Tour

See all the major sites and landmarks around Kauai in less than... More

Doors Off Kauai Helicopter Tour

Take your Kauai helicopter tour experience to the next level by... More

The Ultimate Kauai Helicopter Experience

Spend an hour circling the beautiful and mysterious island of... More

Kauai’s Ultimate Helicopter Tour

Explore Kauai from the sky! Be enthralled by the majesty of... More

Private Kauai Helicopter Tour

See the majestic beauty of Kauai with our private helicopter... More

Circle Island Sightseeing Vacations

There are islands all over the world that we love. We provide our own guided tours on Maui , Oahu , and Big Island from our home islands here in Hawaii. In addition, our close partners throughout Polynesia, all the way down to the South Island of New Zealand, can deliver exceptional one-day and multi-day island holidays. So circle our beautiful islands on your next vacation. You will love it!

Groups & Corporate Travel

We can handle all sizes of groups from 2 people to 2000. Our teams of guides and agents can organize conferences, events, parades, school bands, sports teams, and even support military exercises. We look forward to serving our client companies’ needs with retreats, team building space, or simply some great activities that everyone can bond over. We can make it happen!

Select an Island and Explore the Circle Island Routes

See all tours & activities.

Circle Island Tour Reviews

We loved our day exploring coffee farms, an active volcano, rainforest waterfalls and like everything about it. I had my head on a swivel, there was always something more to see!

We went down the road to Hana and then kept going. It was the best day we had on Maui. The stuff past Hana is absolutely awesome. The Best waterfalls, roadside cliff views, historic buildings and big open areas. It was cool.

The island has a lot of people but that means they have lots of great little places to eat at and check out. That is what we did all day long. New places, new tastes, new everything.  Each part of the island is different. Going all the way around allowed us to see it all.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are circle island tours, what are the vacation packages, why are helicopter tours included, why are some tours referred to as being “grand”, the best guides & customer service.

We create opportunities for wonderful memories with your family and friends at a great value. Each day is an important time investment. You won’t waste your time or money choosing us.

Stress-Free Bookings & Changes

Book your tour now and make changes at no cost. Our team is here to make your trip exceptional. We will make sure you are taking the right tour on the right day (on the right island!).

We Provide Custom Island Tours

We are a full-service tour operator and travel agency based here in Hawaii. We provide small group shared and private sightseeing tours. Check out our tours or book a private to customize your day even more.

Tour Experience Full Of Aloha

We will never forget our roots and that is to deliver wonderful island experiences every day. Please reach out to us at any time by email, chat, and text. Or call us between 8 AM and 5 PM daily, Hawaiian time.

• 378 Aliiolani St., Pukalani, HI 96768
• 1-808-900-7253
• [email protected]
• Open Daily 5:00am to 9:00pm, HST

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• Oahu’s Top Rated
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Oahu Circle Island Tour

Circle Island Tour of Oahu

Looking to see The Island of Oahu's top Sights and Attractions all in one day? Our  Oahu Circle Island Tour is a 7-hour Guided Tour around the island of Oahu which includes an wide variety of stunning island views and the island's top attractions. What are you waiting for? Real Hawaii's  Circle Island Tour Oahu  awaits!

Tour Information

Need More Tour Information?

(Ages 2-12)

Tour Schedule

(7 Days A Week)

8 AM - 3 PM

Tour Inclusions

Transportation

Top Oahu Attractions

Still have a question?

WHAT IS CIRCLE ISLAND TOUR OF OAHU?

Looking to see Oahu's top sights and attractions all in one day? The Circle Island Tour is a 7 Hour round-trip guided tour around the island of Oahu. You will be able to sit back and enjoy the breathtaking views the island has to offer without having to pick up a Hawaii Travel guide! Our Oahu tour guides will also give you a glimpse into the old Oahu, HI with historical island facts throughout the circle island tour.   

WHAT DO YOU SEE ON AN OAHU CIRCLE ISLAND TOUR?

• Diamond Head Lookout
• Hanauma Bay Lookout
• Halona Blowhole
• Waimanalo Beach
• Macadamia Nut Farm
• China Man's Hat
• Kahuku Fruitstands
• Sunset Beach
• Historic Haleiwa Town
• Dole Plantation

What Should I take on an oahu circle island tour?

Please wear comfortable active wear

Snack & Water

Please bring cash as there is a no host lunch

how long does it take to drive The oahu circle island tour?

The total duration of Oahu's Circle Island Tour is roughly 7 hours.

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Shaka Guide's Oahu Grand Circle Island Tour Itinerary

February 26, 2024

Shaka Guide

On Shaka Guide’s Grand Circle Island Tour , you’ll make your way to Oahu’s North Shore stopping at cultural sites, famous beaches, a waterfall and some of the island’s most famous foodie spots along the way.

This tour has a total of 21 stops with 121 audio points sharing history and music throughout your journey.

This tour has two main starting points, depending on where you’re staying. These are:

• Waikiki and
• Ko Olina on Oahu’s west side

Just select the starting point that works best for you, and the tour will travel in a counter-clockwise loop around the island, returning where you began.

Please note, that this tour cannot be done in the opposite direction. If you are looking to take a tour that gets you to the North Shore earlier in the day, try our clockwise tour around the island,  Shaka Guide Legendary North Shore Loop .

*This sample itinerary starts and ends in Waikiki.*

This tour takes approximately 6-8 hours to complete. We recommend you start the tour early, by 9:00 a.m., if you’re looking to make it to every stop.

Leonard's Bakery

Approximate time: 20 minutes

It’s time to fuel up for the day ahead and what better way than a deep-fried, Portuguese donut, known as a malasada?

We’ll guide you to Leonard’s Bakery, one of O'ahu’s most famous spots for these delicious treats.

Leonard’s features eight different types of malasadas from its original that’s coated in sugar to custard-stuffed varieties filled with flavors like 

• haupia (coconut)
• macadamia nut

There’s usually a line, but don’t let that deter you -- it moves pretty fast.

Byodo-In Temple

Approximate time: 30 minutes

After you’ve grabbed a snack at Leonard’s you’ll begin traversing your way to the North Shore.

On the way, you can stop at Byodo-In Temple, a site that was built in 1968 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.

Nestled under the Ko'olau Mountains, the temple is a replica of a 950-year-old Japanese temple in Uji, Japan, that is listed as a United Nations World Heritage Site.

Please note:  Byodo-In is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. General admission is $5 per person, and they accept credit or debit card only.

Tropical Nut Farm

Approximate time: 10 minutes

Make a quick pit stop at The Tropical Nut Farm to try a wide variety of macadamia nuts from Maui Onion and Garlic to Kona Coffee Glazed.

The farm offers free coffee and nut samples so you can try them before you buy.

Mokoli'i (known locally as Chinaman’s Hat)

Pull into Kualoa Regional Park for a stunning view of Mokoli'i Island. Known for years by its nickname, Chinamans' Hat, the cone-shaped island is a well-recognized landmark on the Windward side. 

This is just a quick stop for the view, but if you’re looking for more adventure, you can come back another day with a kayak to explore the island.

Kualoa Ranch

Approximate time: 15 minutes - 2 hours (depending on activities)

Kualoa Ranch is a 4,000-acre private nature reserve with a working farm and adventure haven.

The ranch offers all sorts of adventures, tours and activities including the Hollywood Sites Movie Tour, Jurassic Adventure Tour, and UTV Raptor Tour, plus ziplining, kayaking, and horseback riding.

Feel free to make a quick stop at the gift shop, museum and restrooms today.

If you want to do one of their amazing adventures, we recommend you make reservations and come back another day.

Go for a quiet beach walk at Kahana Bay, a gorgeous spot without any crowds.

There’s also a public restroom if you need a bathroom break.

La'ie Beach Park (also known as Pounders Beach)

Locals call this beach “Pounders Beach” because of the relentless pounding shore break, making it an ideal spot for body surfing and boogie boarding.

Get out and have a look, but we don’t recommend swimming here.

If you’re getting a bit hungry, feel free to skip this spot to make your way to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a snack.

Polynesian Cultural Center

The Polynesian Cultural Center is one of O'ahu’s most visited attractions.

It features island villages that represent six Polynesian islands:

• Hawai'i
• Aotearoa (New Zealand)

The center also has a luau, night show and marketplace. Please note that a visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center is a full-day excursion. We recommend you stop by to check out the marketplace and come back another day if you’d like to do the activities.

Pro Tip! You’ll be tempted to grab lunch at the food trucks at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Grab a snack but save room for lunch in Kahuku, a spot with dozens of lunch options. Don’t worry, we’ll guide you there.

La'ie Point

Stop for a quick view of a breathtaking sea arch at La'ie Point. As waves crash below you’ll see just how this magnificent geologic wonder was formed!

See if you can spot the lizard from the story that the tour describes.

La'ie Temple

Approximate time: 5 minutes

On our way to the next stop, we’ll quickly drive by La'ie Temple.

No need to get out of the car, just listen as we tell you the story of this site that was designed after King Solomon’s temple described in the Bible.

With its gleaming white finish, the temple is dubbed the “Taj Mahal of the Pacific.”

Here you’ll find a visitor center with clean restrooms if you want to make a pit stop.

Kahuku Shrimp Trucks (and Food Trucks)

Known for its shrimp trucks, Kahuku is home to dozens of eateries serving up warm plates of garlic shrimp.

But, shrimp isn’t all you’ll find. Look out for pizza, plate lunches, burgers, yogurt and huli huli chicken -- another local favorite.

Please note:  Most of the food trucks in Kahuku are cash only.

Kahuku Fruit Stands

As you’re driving to the North Shore, you’ll pass a few fruit stands along the way.

One of our favorites, Kahuku Fruit Stands, is located just past Turtle Bay Resort.

Stop for some locally grown fruit that’s cut, chilled and ready to eat.

Ted’s Bakery

Approximate time: 15 minutes

At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, is this a food tour? And, in a way it is!

This tour has some of the best food stops on the island. We hope you saved room for dessert because you won’t want to miss Ted’s Bakery's famous cream pies.

The specialty is their chocolate haupia pie, but they also have strawberry guava, blueberry, and pineapple macadamia nut, just to name a few!

Sunset Beach

Even though this beach is a famous surf spot as its name suggests, it’s also a great place to watch the sunset.

At this point, it’s probably too early to stay for sunset without skipping all the awesome things that are left to do on the tour, but we recommend you come back another evening.

If you’re not staying for sunset, you might want to skip this spot and head to the next beach.

Pro Tip! This beach, as well as all the beaches along the North Shore, has large waves during the winter months of October to April. We recommend watching the surfers from the shore. Swimming is dangerous during this time.

Banzai Pipeline

Officially named Ehukai Beach, Banzai Pipeline is a surfer’s mecca. “Pipeline,” as surfers call it, is known for its quintessential barreling waves that curl like a pipe.

Each winter, surfers from all over the world test their might at “pipe” during the annual Billabong Pipeline Masters competition.

Hundreds of people flock to the beach to catch a glimpse of these athletes in action.

Even during the summer months, when waves have calmed and the surfers have relocated, parking is limited.

If you can’t find a spot, look for street parking. We recommend just admiring the surfers at this beach as it’s not safe for swimming, even in summer.

Shark's Cove

Approximate time: 1 hour

Shark’s Cove is a Marine Life Conservation District, known for some of the best snorkeling and diving because of its diversity of sea life just below the water.

If you’ve got kiddos with you, to the left of Shark’s Cove is an area of tidepools, perfect for children to wade through the water and paddle around.

A word of caution for all: The lava rocks here are very sharp.

We recommend wearing water shoes and being extremely careful as you enter and exit the water.

If you need snorkel gear, you can rent equipment across the street.

RELATED :  Shark's Cove: Your Guide to Snorkeling on Oahu's North Shore

Waimea Valley

Approximate time: 2 hours

This valley features a botanical garden and a one-and-a-half-mile hike to a 45-foot waterfall.

Once you reach the falls, you’ll have the option to swim in the pool below.

This is a great attraction that’s fit for the whole family.

Note:  There is an entrance fee to visit Waimea Valley.

Approximate time: 45 minutes

Waimea Bay is a gorgeous moon-shaped, white-sand beach. During winter, the shore break is fierce and not suitable for casual swimming.

However, when the water is calm, you can jump in the ocean for a dip, snorkel, and, if you’re feeling adventurous, try a 30-foot cliff jump off Da Big Rock. 

Note:  Parking in this area can be difficult at times, especially if the surf is up. If the main parking lot is full, look for street parking. Sometimes there is paid parking across the street at Waimea Valley.

Laniakea Beach

Also known as Turtle Beach, this little beach is a natural feeding ground for honu or sea turtles.

This beach tends to get crowded, and parking is extremely limited. If you can’t find a spot, just keep driving down the road to the next stop.

If you do visit the beach, be careful while crossing the road from the small parking area, and please be mindful to keep your distance from these protected animals.

Getting too close to sea turtles will result in a large fine.

Hale'iwa Town

Hale'iwa is a seaside town with a beach, river, mom-and-pop shops and loads of local eateries.

While you’re here, step into some of the one-of-a-kind art galleries, shop for unique souvenirs and grab a bite to eat.

You can also kayak, surf, stand-up paddle board and even go diving with sharks.

Matsumoto Shave Ice

Dating back to the early 1950’s, this dessert spot serves up Hawaiian shave ice in dozens of flavors! It’s a favorite spot for locals and visitors alike.

There will most likely be a long line, but don’t let that stop you -- it moves fast.

Or--cross the road and check out Aoki's Shave Ice, another local favorite.

Dole Plantation

Approximate time: 30-45 minutes

The Dole Plantation is a family-friendly spot with several activities, a sprawling gift shop, sweet treats like pineapple soft serve and the Instagram-famous Dole Whip.

While you’re there, you can go on the Pineapple Express -- a train ride through the plantation; weave your way out of a pineapple maze and go on a self-guided garden walking tour.

If you only have time for one activity, we recommend the train ride.

This spot is worth it to shop for a variety of pineapple-flavored treats -- from candies to pancake mix.

The plantation is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Note:  The activities at Dole Plantation require an entrance fee, but you can visit the gift shop and cafe (for a Dole Whip) without paying an entrance fee.

Drive Back to Waikiki

Now that you’ve had your final sweet treat for the day, it’s time to make your way back to Waikiki.

The drive will take about 45 minutes (if there’s no traffic), and we’ll tell you the history of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the attack on Pearl Harbor along the way.

Final Thoughts

When you’re in Hawai'i, we ask that you act respectfully toward the locals, land and wildlife.

Please pick up your trash; never touch any marine life, plants, or other animals; and avoid spots that are unsafe. Hawai'i’s natural resources are precious. It’s up to all of us to help preserve these resources.

We hope that we’ve given you all the information you need to make the most of your day. Your vacation is extremely important to us so if you have any questions feel free to reach out at [email protected] .

Shaka Guide recognizes the use of diacritics in the Hawaiian language including the okina or glottal stop and the kahako or macron. In some instances, these have been omitted on our site to ensure the best online experience for our users since not all online platforms recognize these marks. We understand the importance of these diacritics to preserve the language and culture of Hawaii.

Ready to take the Oahu Grand Circle Island Tour? Here's everything you need to know before you go!  

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• Visiting Pearl Harbor

USS Arizona Memorial

• Battleship Missouri Memorial
• The Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum
• USS Oklahoma Memorial
• Aviation Museum

Transportation

• Attack Timeline
• Heroes & Survivors

Guided Tours

Pearl harbor oahu circle island tour.

Embark on an enriching exploration of Oahu's history, culture, and natural splendor with our Pearl Harbor and Oahu Circle Island tour. This day long journey includes:

• Admission to the USS Arizona and Pearl Harbor Visitors Center
• Guided 120-mile adventure around Oahu with numerous stops
• Round-trip transportation from Waikiki, Cruise terminals, or Ko Olina

Daily tour with Waikiki pick ups

What’s Included

See the favorite sights including USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Visitors Center, & Oahu island tour including Numerous overlooks, towns, beaches, and parks await, including Punchbowl Cemetery, downtown Honolulu historic buildings and monuments, Nuuanu Pali Lookout, Macadamia Nut Farm, North Shore Beaches and so much more!

Boat tickets included to USS Arizona Memorial

Professional and entertaining tour with a certified tour guide. Your guide will also share tips for getting the most out of your time at Pearl Harbor and special insider knowledge about living in Hawaii.

Convenient round-trip transportation from Waikiki and Cruise terminals

Ko Olina/Airport pick ups are available for this tour.

$ 159 / Adult

Need help choosing the right tour for you, tour highlights.

Oahu Island Tour

Pearl Harbor Visitors Center

Scenic Overlooks

Legendary Beaches

Oahu's North Shore

Submit a review, frequently asked questions, what is the baggage policy.

No bags of any size are allowed anywhere at Pearl Harbor. This includes backpacks, camera bags, purses, luggage, and fanny packs must all be left at the baggage storage at the entrance to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. For diaper needs, we suggest parents and caregivers include these baby items in a clear sealable under the stroller seat for clear visibility and access.

Where can I pick up my audio tour headset?

You can pick up your headset for the audio tour near the Information Desk at the Visitors Center.

Can I bring a stroller, wheelchair, or mobility device?

Pearl Harbor is an accessible site, there are no hills, and the paths are mostly flat. Wheelchairs are not available for rent at the park. There are benches placed around the visitor center and there are wheelchair locks on the US Navy navy boats to and from the memorial that sport visitors back and forth to the Memorial.

Motorized mobility devices are welcome at the Visitor Center and on US Navy Vessels, and the USS Arizona Memorial.

Strollers are welcome on site but can only go so far as the USS Arizona Memorial pre-boarding area at the Park Theater. Strollers are not permitted on US Navy vessels or the USS Arizona Memorial, please bring a baby carrier as an alternate option in these areas.

Can I bring food and beverages?  

Due to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial's no-bag policy, only bring snacks and water bottles that you can carry. There is a small snack shop on site that carries various sundry snacks and cold beverages as well as restaurants throughout the area. There are water fountains located throughout the park to use or refill water bottles.

What is appropriate dress and attire?

We recommend that all visitors consider this site is for remembrance and reflection of the loss of life in service to the United States, therefore please plan for appropriate dress. Battle dress uniform is not allowed on the memorial, though it is allowed throughout the visitor center and at sites on Ford Island. Military visitors are welcome to wear civilian attire when visiting.

Come prepared with comfortable shoes as you will be on your feet throughout your visit, including a hat, sunglasses, and reef-safe sunscreen are recommended.

Find a Tour

Remember Pearl Harbor Tour from Waikiki

Guided Tour

The Complete Pearl Harbor Tour Experience With Lunch

Pearl Harbor & Honolulu City Tour from Waikiki

Official Passport to Pearl Harbor

In the event of cancellation or request change to your reservation, please note the following.  For tours originating from Oahu , there is no charge for date change or tour change based on tour availability, but it must be made 72 hours prior to the original tour day. No refunds are issued for any tours within the 72 hours prior to the start of your tour.

No stop is guaranteed to be operating on the day of your tour. We have no control of Navy and Army operations, which may result in the closure of Ford Island or the boats going to the Arizona Memorial without notice. In the event of this occurring, our guides will make up for it in a variety of ways, so your experience is always worthwhile.

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How To Visit Ellis Island in 2024: Tickets, Hours, Tours, and More

Emilie Murphy Last Updated: October 26, 2023

Around 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island, just off New York City, in search of a better life. Since then, it’s become a popular tourist destination for visitors and locals alike. But since it’s an island, you might need help understanding how to get there. Here’s how to plan a perfect visit to Ellis Island, plus all the important details about tickets, hours, and more!

Pro Tip: Planning your trip to NYC? Bookmark this post in your browser so you can easily find it when you’re in the city. See our guide to New York City for more planning resources, our best NYC tours for a memorable trip, and the top things to do in NYC .

Visiting Ellis Island: What We’ll Cover

Though it’s only 27.5 acres in size, Ellis Island has played a huge role in American history. During its time as the nation’s major immigration center on the East Coast (from 1892 to 1954), Ellis Island processed over 12 million immigrants, according to the National Park Service.

Many visitors have family members who passed through this famous island to begin their dream of living in America. Even if your family didn’t immigrate through Ellis Island, it’s a remarkable place to visit. Here’s what we’ll cover in this article that’s all about how to visit Ellis Island.

• Opening hours and tickets
• How long to budget for your visit
• How to get there
• What to see and do
• Guided tour options
• Facts and history of Ellis Island

Ellis Island Opening Hours and Tickets

Opening Hours:

Open Sunday – Monday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. The History Center on Ellis Island is also open during the day from 10 am to 3:30 pm. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are only closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

To purchase ferry tickets, you can buy them either in person at box offices located within Castle Garden at Battery Park, online, or by booking with a tour agency.

Pro Tip: Ferry tickets can be purchased up to 6 months in advance, so save yourself time waiting in line and make sure you can visit when you’re here!

Did you know tickets for admittance to Ellis Island or Liberty Island (and on-site attractions) are not required? Tickets are required, however, for the ferries that transport tourists to and from both sites. Ferries depart every 20 to 30 minutes, though timetables change depending on the season. 

General Admission: $24.50 per adult, $12 for Children 4-12, $18 for seniors (62+)

Other ticket options that offer special tours are also available at a higher price. These include a hard hat tour of Ellis Island and access to the Statue of Liberty pedestal. 

Departure address: Castle Clinton National Monument, Battery Park – Liberty Island, New York, NY 

Not ready to book a tour? Check out our  New York Guide for more resources.

How Much Time To Budget For Ellis Island

Short Answer:   2 to 4 hours for both islands and their museums. This includes the ferry ride and time spent on the island.

Pro Tip: If you have the time, you should see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty together. The ferry lines and scheduling make it easier to group the two together, and the history of the two places comes alive when seen as a pair. If you opt for both, we advise you budget at least 3 hours for the entire round-trip experience. Of course, if you’ve bought tickets ahead of time that let you skip the line, you’ll save time on the front end too!

Most Popular New York Tours

Best Selling Tour

Before the Crowds Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour

Join us on an epic journey through American history! On this tour you will visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with roundtrip ferry transport included all with a local guide who will describe the city’s amazing history as you visit the picturesque monument.

Top Rated Tour

The New York Met Unveiled: Guided Tour

Visit the most visited art museum in America! You will find artwork from all the world from amazing sculptures to emotional paintings. Your local tour guide will also unveil the secrets of the artists themselves!

Not ready to book a tour? Check out how to spend 3 days in New York .

How To Get to Ellis Island From New York City

As its name might suggest, Ellis Island is only available by ferry. There are two ferries that transport visitors to and from both Liberty and Ellis islands, one leaving from Jersey City, NJ, the other from Battery Park in downtown NYC. However, getting to the ferry also takes advance planning, and there are several ways to do so. 

There are multiple trains that can take visitors down to Battery Park to grab the ferry. Options include taking Local 1 (7th Avenue Line on New York’s West Side) to the last stop, which is South Ferry; grabbing the Express 4 or 5 trains (Lexington Avenue Line on the East Side) to Bowling Green; or the Local R/W train from Brooklyn/Queens (Broadway Line) to Whitehall Street.

Take the M1, M6 or M15 bus lines to South Ferry. It’s the last stop on all three routes, so you can’t miss it!

If you’re coming from the east side, take the FDR Drive South to Exit 1, South Ferry/Battery Park. If coming from the west side, take the Westside Highway South (Route 9A) to Battery Park.

Pro Tip: Parking is always a challenge in NYC. Save yourself the headache and opt for public transportation to and from the ferry docks.

What to See and Do At Ellis Island

Once you’re on Ellis Island, there are a few must-visit sites. For more in-depth descriptions, history, and images, check out our article on the top things to see at Ellis Island.

• Ellis Island Immigration Museum
• The Wall of Honor
• The Family History Center
• Contagious Infectious Disease Hospital of Ellis Island
• Enjoy views of downtown NYC & Liberty Island

Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty Tour Options

If you’re planning a trip to Ellis Island, you should consider one of our guided tours. This is an easy solution when considering how to visit Ellis Island. As the island is one of the more popular tourist spots in New York City, lines can get very long.

We offer skip-the-line rides at the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island ferry line. Our local guides will not only illuminate the history of the place but make the trip smooth and easy.

Join us on an epic journey through American history! On this tour you’ll visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with roundtrip ferry transport included all with a local guide who will describe the city’s amazing history as you visit the picturesque monument.

See tour itinerary, price, and description

Facts and History Of Ellis Island

To get you excited about your trip, here are some interesting facts about Ellis Island and its history, thanks to the official Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island website. You can also read more about the important history of Ellis Island in our article.

• Ellis Island was originally only 3 acres in size but was expanded through land reclamation projects to its current area of 27.5 acres. 
• Ellis Island is named for Manhattan merchant Samuel Ellis who was the original owner in the 1770s.
• The island was owned by the state of New York until 1808 when it was sold to the federal government for immigration purposes.
• During its 62 years of operation, Ellis Island welcomed more than 12 million immigrants into the United States.
• A massive fire in June of 1897 burned the immigration station to the ground. No lives were lost, but immigration records dating back to 1855 were lost. 
• Contrary to popular belief, only 2% of arriving immigrants were denied entry to the U.S. at Ellis Island. The main reasons for exclusion were contagious disease diagnoses or concern about an immigrant’s likelihood of becoming a public charge.
• Ellis Island’s busiest year was 1907 when it processed 1.25 million immigrants.
• After World War I, Ellis Island became used as a detainment center for displaced persons, war refugees, or immigrants with paperwork issues.
• In 1954, the US government officially closed Ellis Island after the release of the last remaining detainee, a Norwegian merchant seaman named Arne Peterssen.

Where to Stay in NYC

New York City is the center of the universe to those who adore this iconic city. Choose the best neighborhood to stay in as you plan your upcoming trip to the Big Apple.

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• Mario Party: Island Tour

Mario Party: Island Tour is a game for the Nintendo 3DS , released first in the Americas in November 22, 2013, and the second Mario Party game to be developed by NDcube . It is the twelfth main installment (nineteenth overall) in the Mario Party series, the third installment for a handheld console, and the first Mario Party to be developed for the Nintendo 3DS. Mario Party: Island Tour has gameplay objectives unique to it compared to other entries in the Mario Party series. Rather than traveling around a board to obtain the most quantity of a particular item, either separately or together on a vehicle, players need to race their opponents to the finish in a linear, one-way board, with certain objectives in the race differing depending on the board played on. The game additionally retains several key elements from other Mario Party titles — namely, obtaining and using items to gain an advantage over opponents, and playing a wide variety of minigames .

Due to the platform being the Nintendo 3DS, some of the minigames take advantage of the system's features, such as the stereoscopic 3D, gyroscope, mic, augmented reality (AR), and the touch screen. The game additionally uses StreetPass, where players can play minigames if their system has picked up signals from other Nintendo 3DS systems that also have the game and unlock special items from doing so. Up to four people can play together either with local multiplayer or Download Play using only one game cartridge, similar to how Mario Party DS and later Mario Party installments for the Nintendo 3DS handle multiplayer.

The game was eventually released as a Nintendo Selects title in multiple regions including the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, being one of the best-selling titles for the Nintendo 3DS.

• 2.1.1 Party
• 2.1.2 Minigames
• 2.1.3 StreetPass Minigames
• 2.1.4 Bowser's Tower
• 2.1.5 Collectables
• 3.1 Playable
• 5.1 Dice Blocks
• 5.3.1 Perilous Palace Path
• 5.3.2 Star-Crossed Skyway
• 5.3.3 Rocket Road
• 6 Minigames
• 7 Regional differences
• 9 Nintendo 3DS eShop description
• 10.1 Critical reception
• 11 Pre-release and unused content
• 12.1 Invisible Player Lucky Space Glitch
• 15 References to other games
• 16 References in later games
• 17 Names in other languages
• 19 References
• 20 External links

After a relaxing day around Peach's Castle , Mario and the gang notice a strange letter in a bubble saying they are happily invited to the Party Islands . The gang then cheers about it but then the letter suddenly traps the gang in bubbles to carry them though the sky to the Party Islands.

While Mario and the gang are partying and playing games, Bowser shows up, feeling jealous about why Mario and his friends are invited and he wasn't, so he builds Bowser's Tower , saying that anyone can join him at his evil party. He begins locking all the fun from the Party Islands in bubbles. He also puts evil magic in the bubbles made by the bubble machine to make bubble clones of the gang to guard the tower. The player's selected character and a green Toad advance up the tower and defeat the bubble clones as well as various bosses. After defeating Bowser in Bowser's Sky Scuffle , the player's character then defeats the Mario bubble clones guarding the bubble machine and then destroys the bubble machine with a ground pound. Shortly afterward, Bowser reappears and boots the player's character and the green Toad out of the tower, inviting them to challenge him any time and that he won't be done.

Unlike the direct preceding game, Mario Party 9 , where all four players travel together through a vehicle and aim to obtain the most Mini Stars , Mario Party: Island Tour uses the traditional independent four-player gameplay as seen in previous Mario Party entries. The ultimate goal of the game in most of the boards is to race opponents on a linear-designed board to the finish line, unlike other Mario Party games, where players are required to amass the most amount of a certain item to win in all boards. In order to advance through the board, players roll a Dice Block numbered from 1 to 6 to dictate their movement. Each board has its own play style with different rules from another: one board, Star-Crossed Skyway , requires players to amass the most Mini Stars, while Kamek's Carpet Ride requires players to land exactly on a particular space, called a Just-Right Space , by using numbered cards. Another feature of these boards is to replace the "6" on the Dice Block with another feature, such as a Banzai Bill icon on Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain that causes players to fall back to the halfway point or the start of the board or a 0 in Rocket Road , meaning the player cannot move at all. Prior to starting out, a yellow Toad explains the board's play style, and after players are done viewing the rules, they roll a Dice Block to determine their turn order; players who roll a higher number than others will move earlier. In this game, a Round, similar to turns from earlier Mario Party titles, is taken once every player has rolled a Dice Block and moved accordingly, and while in earlier Mario Party titles had a limited amount of turns to take until the game ends, Mario Party: Island Tour proceeds until someone (or everyone, in the case of Star-Crossed Skyway) has reached the end goal. When starting their own round, players can either opt to use an item if an item is available for use or look around the map to plan out movement. If players end the game in a tie, a Dice Block roll determines who wins the game. At the end of the game, various stats are recorded such as how many spaces a player has landed on, a line graph depicting the players' progress, and other recordings depending on the board the players were playing on.

When players land on a Space , an event occurs depending on the type of space landed. Their function and design appears to be based off Mario Party 9 ; for example, if players land on a Green Space , nothing occurs while if a player lands on an Item Space on a specific type of board, they receive an item from a pool of randomized items. These items can either benefit the player directly or obstruct opponents. Players can carry up to two items, and players can use only one item per round. Only a few boards have an item system, however, and the type of items players receive varies on the board selected.

Some boards have players participating in minigames, either after every turn or if a Minigame Space is landed on. These minigames are small, short activities that have players competing against each other in defined, simple rules, most of them within a time limit. Some minigames involve players surviving a horde of enemies, some involve players racing against one another, some require the player to obtain the most points within a time limit, etc. If the player performs the best in the minigame, depending on the board played on, they receive priority when deciding which prize item to take or how much items are rewarded to them. The lower the rank players are, the lower the priority for selecting items and the less of a reward they receive, with last place players either receiving nothing or the worst rewards. If minigames end in a tie, a Dice Block is used to break the tie.

Mario Party: Island Tour supports local multiplayer if players have multiple cartridges or Download Play if there is only one cartridge. Up to four players can play the game, and they can participate with the player in Party Mode and Minigames Mode.

There are five different play modes in the game.

Party Mode, hosted by a yellow Toad , is the main mode of Mario Party: Island Tour , which uses the default gameplay as described above. Up to four players can participate in this mode, and the mode allows a minimum of two players participating. Players first pick from a selection of available boards, all of which play differently from each other in terms of mechanics and goals. After that, players choose their character out of a cast of 10 playable characters, with 9 default characters and one unlockable. If there are not enough players, players can fill in empty slots with selected computer-controlled players from the remaining characters. Players can then select the difficulty of each individual CPU player, as well as the type of minigames that will be played with. Character settings are then saved the next time players access the mode, including those of CPU opponents.

Hosted by a blue Toad , players can play in one of the many minigames in Mario Party: Island Tour through this mode. Unlike most Mario Party installments, all minigames are available from the start. Minigames Mode has three ways to play: Free Play, Time Attack, and Hot-Air Hijinks. Free Play allows up to four players to participate, and like Free Play from previous installments, players have a free choice to decide which minigame to play in. Once a minigame is played on, players have the option to play the minigame again, go to a randomly selected different minigame, go back to the minigame menu, or go back to the main menu. Time Attack is a single-player mode whose objective is to clear a set amount of ten minigames the quickest. Each minigame also contains optional objectives to meet if players want to further lessen the time it takes to complete them. Once all minigames are played on, the record time is saved. These are the minigames played in Time Attack:

No-Traction Action

Gyro for the Gold

Quickest Cricket

Color Me Fast

Blown Hover

Mad Ladders

Sub Trouble

The last mode is Hot-Air Hijinks (Balloon Race in British English), where up to four players can participate in. Players ride a hot air balloon, and in order to rise, they must clear minigames that are randomly selected through a roulette. For settings, players can use either All or Easy minigames and if their minigames require the Mic or not. Prior to starting out, players can set their objective to win 3, 5, or 7 minigames. If a player reaches past a certain level, the last place players get to stop the roulette wheel. Whichever player reaches the mark set first wins the mode.

StreetPass Minigames

StreetPass Minigames mode takes advantage of the Nintendo 3DS's StreetPass feature. Prior to setting up, players select their character to use in the mode and the choice to turn it on. If turned on, players who own Mario Party: Island Tour can pick up tags from other players who also own Mario Party: Island Tour and have it activated. When a tag is received, the Nintendo 3DS's LED light glows green, and a green dot notification is shown on the main menu on the StreetPass Minigames tab. When the mode is selected when a StreetPass tag is active, players see the other players' characters and their skill level, which dictates how difficult the CPU opponent controlling that character will be in the minigame. Players can participate against that character only once, unless the Nintendo 3DS is tagged with the same person the next day.

Bowser's Tower

Bowser's Tower is the sole single-player-focused mode of Mario Party: Island Tour and where the main story takes place. Players need to progress up a tower, and to progress, they need to win a gauntlet of minigames. Bowser's Tower contains 30 floors, where the opponents get progressively harder the more players progress up the tower. At every fifth floor, a boss-type minigame is played. A green Toad tags along with the player character on the way, and the player faces off against bubble clones , bubble copies of the playable characters. Players beat the game when they clear Bowser's Sky Scuffle , and they unlock Bowser Jr. as a playable character.

Collectables

Much like Mario Party DS and Mario Party 9 , players can earn Mario Party Points by playing boards, completing Bowser's Tower , or playing Minigames . This points can be used to buy "Bubbles" and "Memories", respectively voice recordings or music from the various characters, boards, or minigames. These bubbles need to be bought from the gallery with various points, and not all bubbles are unlocked initially: the bubbles are unlocked when players first encounter them by simply playing the different modes and boards.

There are a total of 10 playable characters in Mario Party: Island Tour . Bowser Jr. is both the sole unlockable character and the only character newly playable to the Mario Party series, unlocked after the Bowser's Tower mode is completed for the first time. In addition, Boo is playable in the series for the first time since Mario Party 8 , as well as for the first time in a Mario Party game for a handheld console.

As the title suggests, the boards are split between various themed islands. Seven gameboards are included in the game. Of these boards, one is unlocked by playing through every other board except for Shy Guy's Shuffle City due to the necessity for three or more players ( Bowser's Peculiar Peak ), and the other six are available from the start of the game. Names in italics indicate a British English name, if different from the American English name.

1 - As Extra-Move Spaces. 2 - The Switch Space subsequently becomes this after a player lands on it.

Dice Blocks

Dice Blocks can be won from minigames in Perilous Palace Path and Bowser's Peculiar Peak.

In Kamek's Carpet Ride and Shy Guy's Shuffle City , cards are used to make the player move and have different effects on the character.

Board-specific items

Perilous palace path, star-crossed skyway, rocket road.

Mario Party: Island Tour contains 81 minigames, the most minigames for a handheld installment, barring the remastered minigames in Mario Party: The Top 100 . Minigames are split into four categories: General minigames, Boss minigames, Puzzle minigames, and Extra minigames. General minigames play similarily to 4-player or Free-for-All minigames from previous installments: up to 4 players compete against one another to best the minigame, though players can compete against less players if they choose so. Boss minigames, first introduced in Mario Party 9 , return in Mario Party: Island Tour . These involve players facing up against a particular boss enemy, and the objective is to take out the boss's HP first before they deplete the players' HP. Unlike their appearance in Mario Party 9 , Boss minigames involve only one player. Puzzle minigames are self-explanatory: players solve minigames in a traditional puzzle game format either against themselves to set a new record or competitive against opponents. Finally, Extra minigames take advantage of the Nintendo 3DS hardware to play minigames, with The Choicest Voice using the mic and Ka-Goomba! and Sinking Feeling requiring AR Cards to play.

Minigames are sorted into two types of categories: minigames can be classified as "Easy", which are usually simpler minigames than the others. Players can toggle to play only "Easy" type minigames in Party Mode or Hot-Air Hijinks. Another type is whether the minigame uses a mic or not, and players can exclude the sole minigame that uses the mic, Utter Nonsense , from the set of minigames in the aforementioned modes.

Mario Party: Island Tour does not feature 2-vs-2, 1-vs-3, or 1-vs-Rivals minigames, making it one of the few Mario Party installments not to feature these categories of minigames. Additionally, this game is the only Mario Party game that has a minigame that cannot be accessed by a single player. In this case, the minigame Utter Nonsense requires two or more human players to play.

Regional differences

• Unlike any Mario Party game released before or since, with the exception of Mario Party 10 , the game's descriptions for minigames, boards, and features, as well as the naming scheme for minigames, is different in British English than it is in American English. For example, Perilous Palace Path 's description in the American English version reads as " Power yourself up and knock opponents out of the way with special items as you race to the finish! ", while the British English version reads as " Race to the castle and use items to help you along the way! ". Minigames can have drastically different titles; for example, a minigame named Garden of Eatin' in American English is called Blooming Nuisance in British English. In one case, a minigame's British title coincidentally shares its title with another unrelated, American minigame: Cheepers Keepers in American English refers to a button masher minigame, called Hook, Line and Cheep Cheep in the British English version of the game, while Cheepers Keepers in the British English version refers to a minigame counting diamonds in a Cheep Chomp 's mouth, called Cheep Diamonds in the American English version of the game.
• The European Spanish announcer has a different voice actor than the Latin American Spanish announcer.
• The Dutch, European Portuguese, and Russian minigame announcers are female. All other language options have a male announcer.

Mario Party: Island Tour was developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo . This is the second Mario Party game NDcube has worked on, after Mario Party 9 , and the first handheld installment that they developed for. The game was directed by Yukio Umematsu, who would later work under planning for the next Mario Party installment, Mario Party 10 . The game's sound was directed by Ichiro Shimakura , known for directing the sound in other Mario Party installments, while the soundtrack was directed by Rei Kondoh, who would later compose music for Mario Party 10 .

Nintendo 3DS eShop description

In this ultimate showdown you can take on the road blaze through the 7 new game boards, some of which take just minutes to play. Wrangle goombas and blast out of cannons as you tilt, tap, and draw through new minigames harnessing the unique functionality of Nintendo 3DS™. Compete in new multiplayer modes including mind bending puzzles, minigame challenges, or enter a whole new reality with AR Card play for up to 4 players. Whether in single or multiplayer, this is a portable party that never ends.

Are you prepared for the ultimate portable party? Join Mario and his friends as they head off into the clouds for not just the most exciting instalment of the Mario Party series yet, but the first to appear on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems! And with with this being a Mario Party game, don't forget that the focus is firmly on bringing your friends into the action! Mario Party: Island Tour offers multiplayer hijinks through Download Play, meaning you only need one Game Card to enjoy four-player fun in nearly all of the game's modes.

Critical reception

Mario Party: Island Tour has received generally mixed reviews. The game currently averages a 59% based on 28 reviews on GameRankings [5] and a 57 based on 47 reviews on Metacritic [6] . As with most Mario Party games, Mario Party: Island Tour was praised for being fun to play with other people rather than playing alone and some of its mechanics were praised for being innovative, though general criticisms of the game include its short length, poorly implemented gimmicks, as well as the lack of online play.

Scott Thompson of IGN gave Mario Party: Island Tour a 5.5 out of 10, criticizing its motion control, "uninventive" minigames, and its "poor" single-player campaign unlike Mario Party 9 , but praising its unique board rules and use of Download Play. [7] While expecting this game to perform around the same level as the console Mario Party games due to the inventive touchscreen implementation and unique, new rules for the seven game boards compared to previous Mario Party games, Thompson felt that the "lackluster single player experience", Bowser's Tower, was a slow-paced repetitive grind, and the "bland minigame design" was a step back, due to the similarity of the minigames from the past entries in the Mario Party series and the only category of minigames being Free-for-All type minigames. Caitlin Cooke of Destructoid gave the game a 4 out of 10, [8] disappointed that the game's board gameplay did not play as the original titles did and that the boards felt like chopped up variations of a single mode from previous Mario Party games. She additionally pointed out that the game has a too heavy hand with hand-holding players. She, however, enjoyed the single player mode of Bowser's Tower, the minigames, and the single-cartridge local mulitplayer, though criticized the lack of online play.

On the other hand, Kimberly Keller of Nintendo World Report gave the game the highest critic review, an 8.5 out of 10. [9] She has praised the innovation of the boards, which has each their unique play styles, the usage of the Nintendo 3DS capabilities in minigames, as well as noting that the single player modes Bowser's Tower, StreetPass Minigames, and Collectables being engaging, with Bowser's Tower being the best of the single player modes, though she had criticized the lack of setting a difficulty setting for Bowser's Tower. She also praised the Download Play multiplayer, though criticized the lack of online multiplayer.

Mario Party: Island Tour is the 20th best selling game for the Nintendo 3DS , selling 1.14 million copies worldwide, as of March 31, 2014. [10] It has become a Nintendo Selects title in various regions, including North America, Europe, and Oceania.

Pre-release and unused content

Mario Party: Island Tour 's changes from the pre-release version to the final version range from minor aesthetic details to gameplay tweaks. Perilous Palace Path originally did not contain Moo Moos as ambient characters or a Whomp blocking the path. Originally, characters also used cards rather than regular items in Perilous Palace Path. In Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain , multiple Banzai Bills could get launched at once as opposed to only one in the final version of the game. In Rocket Road , more varieties of Lumas were added rather than just one type of Luma, the Yellow Luma. The game was tentatively called simply Mario Party before the subtitle, Island Tour , was decided upon.

Invisible Player Lucky Space Glitch

In order to perform this glitch, the player must land on a Lucky Space in the board Bowser's Peculiar Peak . If they happen to be blasted to a space that another player is currently on, then the two players clip through each other.

References to other games

• Super Mario Bros. : The main theme is rearranged in the minigames Xylophone Home and Goomba Tower Takedown . A rearrangement of the underground theme plays for the Amp My Style minigame. In Perilous Palace Path, while in the Bowser Zone, a rearrangement of the castle theme appears. Also, the Super Star theme is used for the Perilous Palace Path board whenever a player uses a Super Star item.
• Super Mario Bros. 3 : The "Slowly bubble up..." music sounds similar to the Card Game/Spade Bonus music. Part of the athletic theme is remixed into "Hurry Up", the theme that plays for Hop Till You Drop .
• Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS : The "Koopa's Road" theme is rearranged for parts of Bowser's Peculiar Peak. King Bob-omb appears as a boss in this game as he did here, and in the American English version, Bowser makes a reference to his interest with his moustache from the remake saying, "My next guard has an even more formidable mustache than Mario!"
• Mario Party : Mario's artwork is based on his artwork from this game.
• Mario Party 6 : Daisy and Waluigi's artworks are recycled from this game.
• Mario Party 7 : Luigi and Boo's artworks are recycled from this game.
• New Super Mario Bros. : Dry Bowser returns with his ability to throw bones.
• Super Mario Galaxy : Rocket Road is based on this game, and Rosalina appears as a cameo along with the Lumas and the Comet Observatory . Additionally, the theme of Good Egg Galaxy is rearranged in a part of Rocket Road's music and Toad and Bowser Jr.'s artworks are recycled from this game.
• Mario Party DS : Wario's artwork is recycled from this game.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii : Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain is based on World 6 from this game. Additionally, Peach's artwork is recycled from this game.
• Super Mario 3D Land : The minigame Blown Hover features Flip Panels and the square mountains from World 4-5 from this game. Dry Bowser's voice clips are reused from this game. Para-Biddybuds also make some cameos. The background of Fuel Me Once is very similar to World 1-1 .
• Mario Party 9 : The voices of the characters and minigame announcer are reused from this game. Music such as the minigame intro and results screen are rearranged from this game. Mini Stars and Mini Ztars return in Star-Crossed Skyway.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 : Bone Goombas and Bone Piranha Plants return.
• New Super Mario Bros. U : Waddlewings make some cameos.

References in later games

• Super Mario Party : Bowser Jr.'s and Boo's victory and losing animations are reused in this game.

Names in other languages

• For a time, the Nintendo 3DS eShop mistakenly stated Mario Party: Island Tour to be a title on the Nintendo Entertainment System .
• A female announcer is used for minigames in the Dutch, Portuguese, and Russian versions, a practice that had not been seen in non-Japanese versions since Mario Party 5 , and would not be seen again until Super Mario Party .
• ^ Nintendo. 能夠下載的軟體 . Nintendo . Retrieved April 17, 2017.
• ^ http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=news&nid=3075&pageID=6
• ^ GameRankings score for Mario Party: Island Tour . GameRankings . Retrieved December 5, 2017.
• ^ Metacritic score for Mario Party: Island Tour . Metacritic . Retrieved December 5, 2017.
• ^ Thompson, Scott. (November 22, 2013) Mario Party: Island Tour Review . IGN . Retrieved December 5, 2017.
• ^ Cooke, Caitlin. (November 27, 2013). Review: Mario Party: Island Tour . Destructoid . Retrieved December 5, 2017.
• ^ Keller, Kimberly. (November 22, 2013). Mario Party: Island Tour Review Nintendo World Report . Retrieved December 5, 2017.
• ^ "Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2014 (Briefing Date: 5/8/2014) Supplementary Information" . (May 8, 2014). Nintendo . Retrieved December 5, 2017.
• ^ Official Chinese website for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary . Retrieved October 23, 2020.

External links

• Official North American website
• Official Japanese website
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• Nintendo 3DS games
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Immigration | Stories of Yesterday and Today

A new land 1492-1790.

Expanding America 1790-1880

The american dream 1880-1930, a place of refuge 1930-1965.

Building a Modern America 1965-Today

The beautiful land of the New World amazed the European explorers who arrived on North American shores around 1500. They realized the economic possibilities of the fertile soil and many natural resources. In the 17th century, Europeans established successful permanent settlements in what is now the United States. The European settlers soon dominated the Native American civilizations, which had existed for thousands of years. The major European powers (including England, Spain, and France) established colonies,

which are lands controlled by a faraway government. The people who lived in the colonies were called colonists. Enduring great hardship, the colonists built new communities in the New World

The Explorers

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer and excellent sailor, crossed the Atlantic Ocean in search of a shorter trade route to Asia. After more than two months at sea, he landed in the Bahamas in the Caribbean islands. Although Columbus never reached the mainland of North America, he had discovered the gateway to a vast continent unexplored by Europeans. Columbus returned to Europe believing he had reached previously unknown islands in Asia. Word of the new route spread in Europe. Over the next few decades, other explorers followed in Columbus's wake, hoping to take advantage of the shortcut to Asia. It would be another Italian explorer, named Amerigo Vespucci, who realized that what had actually been discovered was a continent unknown to Europeans. He called it the New World.

New Settlements

European nations—including Spain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and England—vied to claim pieces of the new land. In the 1600s, England founded colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, from what is now New Hampshire to Georgia. These original 13 colonies would eventually become the United States of America. Spain founded a colony at Saint Augustine, Florida, as early as 1565 and would go on to claim parts of what are now the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. France established colonies along the Saint Lawrence River, in what is now Canada; and also in the southern part of North America, in the region that is now Louisiana. The Dutch began the settlement of New Amersterdam on the southern tip of what is now Manhattan Island, home to part of New York City. The European countries often fought each over ownership of the new land; more land meant more power and economic opportunity.

Jamestown Succeeds

In 1607, England sent 100 men to America to found a new colony. The colony was named Jamestown after King James I and was located on the coast of what is now Virginia. It would become the first English colony to succeed in America, but its beginning was exceptionally difficult. The colonists were hoping to find gold easily, but didn't. And tragically, they hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to survive in the New World. More than half of the settlers died in the first year because of the harsh winters, poor planning, and disease. But under the leadership of the colonist John Smith, the colony began to succeed. They grew tobacco, which was sent back to England and sold for profit. With the profit, the colonists had the money to plant other crops, such as wheat, grapes, and corn, which is a food native to North America. By 1620, Jamestown plus other settlements that sprang up nearby had a population of about 4,000. The colony was thriving. This economic success gave England a powerful interest in protecting its foothold in the New World.

Slavery Begins

Africans first arrived in North America in 1619. In that year, 20 African people were brought to the Jamestown colony aboard a Dutch warship. They were slaves. They had been taken from their homes in Africa by force. They were beaten and enchained by men carrying weapons. Over the next almost 200 years, hundreds of thousands of Africans would be brought to America as slaves to work on plantations, especially to grow tobacco. By the end of the colonial period, Africans numbered about 500,000 and formed about 20 percent of the population of the United States.

The Pilgrims

Some colonies were formed because people wanted to escape religious persecution in Europe. In 17th century England, two groups of Christians, the Catholics and the Anglicans, were arguing over what religion and church should be the true church of England. Some of the Anglicans, called Puritans, thought that there should be more distinction between their Church of England and the Catholic Church. Some Puritans, called the Separatists, didn't want to belong to the Church of England at all anymore. King James, who was the head of the Church of England, would not allow the Separatists to practice religion on their own. To escape the situation in England, a small group of Separatists left Europe on the Mayflower ship. In 1620, the ship landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, carrying 102 passengers. Many were Separatists, who became known as the Pilgrims. They established Plymouth Colony. After the Pilgrims, many more people flocked to the new colonies for religious reasons: About 200,000 Puritans emigrated from England during the years 1620 to 1641.

Religious Freedom

After the Pilgrims, many other immigrants came to America for the religious freedom it offered. The colony of Maryland was founded in 1634 as a refuge for Catholics, who were persecuted in England in the 17th century. In 1681, William Penn began a Quaker colony in the land that was later named after him: Pennsylvania. The main settlement was Philadelphia, which prospered through farming and commerce. In 1685, 14,000 Huguenots who were persecuted in France also joined the growing English colonies.

Expanding Colonies

Early immigrants to America settled up and down the East Coast. Farming was difficult in the rocky soil of New England, so people grew only enough food for their families to live on. This is called subsistence farming. They also became fishermen, fishing cod in the Atlantic Ocean and selling it to the European markets. As they needed good ships for fishing, they started making them, becoming successful shipbuilders. In the South, where farming was easier, colonists started large plantations to grow crops, such as tobacco, rice, and indigo. Indigo was a rich blue dye, mainly used for dyeing textiles. Plantations depended on the free labor of the slaves. Many more slaves were forced to come to America to meet the demand for labor. By the time of the Revolutionary War, about 2.5 million people lived in the colonies, including approximately 450,000 Africans; 200,000 Irish; 500,000 Scottish and Scotch-Irish; 140,000 Germans; and 12,000 French.

As the colonies grew, people began to look past the natural barrier of the Appalachian Mountains. They moved west into the frontier lands, in what is now Ohio, and beyond.

A New Nation

The colonies grew prosperous and the population increased. Between the time of the first settlements and the Revolutionary War, about seven generations of people were born in America. Many of them no longer wanted to be ruled by the English throne. And they didn't want to pay taxes to the English government when they had no colonial representation in the Parliament. They became known as Patriots, or Whigs, and they included Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. The Loyalists were colonists who wanted to remain part of England. The Patriots and Loyalists were bitterly divided on the issue. In 1776, the Continental Congress, a group of leaders from each of the 13 colonies, issued the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration stated that the United States of America was its own country. The Patriots fought England in the Revolutionary War to gain independence for the colonies.

In 1783, with the help of the French, who had joined their side, the colonists won the war. The United States of America was a new nation. The new government conducted a census, or count, of everyone living in the United States. At the time of the first census in 1790, nearly 700,00 Africans and 3 million Europeans lived in the new United States.

• The Americas

In the decades after the Revolutionary War, the 13 original colonies grew to include states stretching from Maine in the north to Louisiana in the south; from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to Illinois in the west. As a new nation, the United States of America thrived. By 1820, the population had grown to nearly 10 million people. The quality of life for ordinary people was improving. People were moving west, creating towns along the route of the Transcontinental Railroad, which connected the entire country by rail, east to west, for the first time.

The prosperous young country lured Europeans who were struggling with population growth, land redistribution, and industrialization, which had changed the traditional way of life for peasants. These people wanted to escape poverty and hardship in their home countries. More than 8 million would come to the United States from 1820 to 1880.

Slavery Continues

At the turn of the 19th century, more than 1 million African Americans lived in the United States. As slaves, they were not considered citizens. Large farms and plantations depended on the free labor they provided in fields and homes. It was difficult, backbreaking work. In 1808, the United States government banned the importation of enslaved people into the country, although the practice did continue illegally. Slavery, however, was not abolished for nearly 60 more years.

The Irish and Germans

In the early and mid-19th century, nearly all of the immigrants coming to the United States arrived from northern and western Europe. In 1860, seven out of 10 foreign-born people in the United States were Irish or German. Most of the Irish were coming from poor circumstances. With little money to travel any further, they stayed in the cities where they arrived, such as Boston and New York City. More than 2,335,000 Irish arrived between 1820 and 1870. The Germans who came during the time period were often better off than the Irish were. They had enough money to journey to the Midwestern cities, such as Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, or to claim farmland. More than 2,200,000 Germans arrived between 1820 and 1870.

The Irish Potato Famine

In 1845, a famine began in Ireland. A potato fungus, also called blight, ruined the potato crop for several years in a row. Potatoes were a central part of the Irish diet, so hundreds of thousands of people now didn't have enough to eat. At the same time of the famine, diseases, such as cholera, were spreading. Starvation and disease killed more than a million people. These extreme conditions caused mass immigration of Irish people to the United States. Between 1846 and 1852, more than a million Irish are estimated to have arrived in America. The men found jobs building railroads, digging canals, and working in factories; they also became policemen and firemen. Irish women often worked as domestic servants. Even after the famine ended, Irish people continued to come to America in search of a better life. More than 3.5 million Irish in total had arrived by 1880.

Civil War and the End of Slavery

In the early 1860s, the United States was in crisis. The Northern states and Southern states could not agree on the issue of slavery. Most people in the Northern states thought slavery was wrong. People in South, where the plantations depended on slavery, wanted to continue the practice. In 1861, the Civil War began between the North and South. It would be an extremely bloody war; over 600,000 people would die in the fighting. Many immigrants fought in the war. Since immigrants had settled mostly in the North, where factories provided jobs and small farms were available, hundreds of thousands of foreign-born men fought for the Union. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all the slaves in the rebelling Southern states were free. It was the beginning of the end of slavery.

To ensure that the abolishment of slavery was permanent, Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which outlawed slavery throughout the United States. The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, declared that African Americans were citizens of the United States. In 1870, African Americans numbered almost 5 million and made up 12.7 percent of the U.S. population.

The Homestead Act

In the late 19th century, America was looking west. People began moving away from the now crowded Eastern cities. Some were motivated by the Homestead Act of 1862, which offered free land from the government. The government offered to give 160 acres of land—considered a good size for a single family to farm—in areas including Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Homesteaders were required to stay on the land, build a home, and farm the land for five years. The offer attracted migrants from inside the country—and waves of more immigrants from Europe. For example, many people from Sweden, where land was extremely scarce, were drawn to come to the United States. These brave settlers worked hard to start a new life on the frontier. Though life was difficult, many succeeded.

The Transcontinental Railroad

The Transcontinental Railroad was a massive construction project that linked the country by rail from east to west. The railway was built entirely by hand during a six-year period, with construction often continuing around the clock. Chinese and Irish immigrants were vital to the project. In 1868, Chinese immigrants made up about 80 percent of the workforce of the Central Pacific Railroad, one of the companies building the railway. The workers of the Union Pacific Railroad, another company that built the railroad, were mostly Irish immigrants. These railroad workers labored under dangerous conditions, often risking their lives. After the Transatlantic Railroad was completed, cities and towns sprung up all along its path, and immigrants moved to these new communities. The Transcontinental Railroad was a radical improvement in travel in the United States; after its completion, the trip from East Coast to West Coast, which once took months, could be made in five days.

By 1880, America was booming. The image of America as a land of promise attracted people from all over the world. On the East Coast, Ellis Island welcomed new immigrants, largely from Europe. America was "the golden door," a metaphor for a prosperous society that welcomed immigrants. Asian immigrants, however, didn't have the same experience as European immigrants. They were the focus of one of the first major pieces of legislation on immigration. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 severely restricted immigration from China.

And the 1907 "Gentlemen's Agreement" between Japan and the United States was an informal agreement that limited immigration from Japan. Despite those limitations, nearly 30 million immigrants arrived from around the world during this great wave of immigration, more than at any time before.

Ellis Island

In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison designated Ellis Island in New York Harbor as the nation's first immigration station. At the time, people traveled across the Atlantic Ocean by steamship to the bustling port of New York City. The trip took one to two weeks, much faster than in the past (when sailing ships were the mode of transportation), a fact that helped fuel the major wave of immigration. For many immigrants, one of their first sights in America was the welcoming beacon of the Statue of Liberty, which was dedicated in 1886. Immigrants were taken from their ships to be processed at Ellis Island before they could enter the country. About 12 million immigrants would pass through Ellis Island during the time of its operation, from 1892 to 1954. Many of them were from Southern and Eastern Europe. They included Russians, Italians, Slavs, Jews, Greeks, Poles, Serbs, and Turks. Explore the Ellis Island Interactive Tour

Bursting Cities

New immigrants flooded into cities. In places like New York and Chicago, groups of immigrants chose to live and work near others from their home countries. Whole neighborhoods or blocks could be populated with people from the same country. Small pockets of America would be nicknamed "Little Italy" or "Chinatown." Immigrants often lived in poor areas of the city. In New York, for example, whole families crowded into tiny apartments in tenement buildings on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Many organizations were formed to try to help the new immigrants adjust to life in America. Settlement houses, such as Hull House in Chicago, and religious-based organizations worked to help the immigrants learn English and life skills, such as cooking and sewing.

Angel Island

On the West Coast, Asian immigrants were processed at Angel Island, often called the "Ellis Island of the West." Angel Island, which lies off the coast of San Francisco, opened in 1910. Although the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted immigration, 175,000 Chinese came through Angel Island over a period of three decades. They were overwhelmingly the main group processed here: In fact, 97 percent of the immigrants who passed through Angel Island were from China. Explore the Angel Island Activity

Building America

Many of the immigrants who arrived in the early 20th century were poor and hardworking. They took jobs paving streets, laying gas lines, digging subway tunnels, and building bridges and skyscrapers. They also got jobs in America's new factories, where conditions could be dangerous, making shoes, clothing, and glass products. Immigrants fueled the lumber industry in the Pacific Northwest, the mining industry in the West, and steel manufacturing in the Midwest. They went to the territory of Hawaii to work on sugar cane plantations. Eventually, they bargained for better wages and improved worker safety. They were on the road to becoming America's middle class.

By the 1920s, America had absorbed millions of new immigrants. The country had just fought in the "Great War", as World War I was known then. People became suspicious of foreigners' motivations. Some native-born Americans started to express their dislike of foreign-born people. They were fearful that immigrants would take the available jobs. Some Americans weren't used to interacting with people who spoke different languages, practiced a different religion, or were a different race. Racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia (fear and hatred of foreigners) were the unfortunate result. In 1924, Congress passed the National Origins Act. It placed restrictions and quotas on who could enter the country. The annual quotas limited immigration from any country to 3 percent of the number of people from that country who were living in the United States in 1890. The effect was to exclude Asians, Jews, blacks, and non-English speakers.

The Great Depression and War in Europe

In the 1930s, the country was going through the Great Depression, a terrible period of economic hardship. People were out of work, hungry, and extremely poor. Few immigrants came during this period; in fact, many people returned to their home countries. Half a million Mexicans left, for example, in what was known as the Mexican Repatriation. Unfortunately, many of those Mexicans were forced to leave by the U.S. government. In 1933, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was formed. It still exists today. In 1938, World War II started in Europe. America was again concerned about protecting itself. Fears about foreign-born people continued to grow. As a result of the turmoil in the 1930s, immigration figures dropped dramatically from where they had been in previous decades. In the 1920s, approximately 4,300,000 immigrants came to the United States; in the 1930s, fewer than 700,000 arrived.

World War II and the Postwar Period

The United States entered World War II in 1942. During the war, immigration decreased. There was fighting in Europe, transportation was interrupted, and the American consulates weren't open. Fewer than 10 percent of the immigration quotas from Europe were used from 1942 to 1945. In many ways, the country was still fearful of the influence of foreign-born people. The United States was fighting Germany, Italy, and Japan (also known as the Axis Powers), and the U.S. government decided it would detain certain resident aliens of those countries. (Resident aliens are people who are living permanently in the United States but are not citizens.) Oftentimes, there was no reason for these people to be detained, other than fear and racism. Beginning in 1942, the government even detained American citizens who were ethnically Japanese. The government did this despite the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which says "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without the due process of law."

Also because of the war, the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943. China had quickly become an important ally of the United States against Japan; therefore, the U.S. government did away with the offensive law. Chinese immigrants could once again legally enter the country, although they did so only in small numbers for the next couple of decades. After World War II, the economy began to improve in the United States. Many people wanted to leave war-torn Europe and come to America. President Harry S. Truman urged the government to help the "appalling dislocation" of hundreds of thousands of Europeans. In 1945, Truman said, "everything possible should be done at once to facilitate the entrance of some of these displaced persons and refugees into the United States. " On January 7, 1948, Truman urged Congress to "pass suitable legislation at once so that this Nation may do its share in caring for homeless and suffering refugees of all faiths.

I believe that the admission of these persons will add to the strength and energy of the Nation." Congress passed the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. It allowed for refugees to come to the United States who otherwise wouldn't have been allowed to enter under existing immigration law. The Act marked the beginning of a period of refugee immigration.

The Cold War Begins

In 1953, the Refugee Relief Act was passed to replace the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which had expired. It also allowed non-Europeans to come to the United States as refugees. The Refugee Relief Act also reflected the U.S. government's concern with Communism, a political ideology that was gaining popularity in the world, particularly in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was also controlling the governments of other countries. The Act allowed people fleeing from those countries to enter the United States. When he signed the Act, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "This action demonstrates again America's traditional concern for the homeless, the persecuted, and the less fortunate of other lands. It is a dramatic contrast to the tragic events taking place in East Germany and in other captive nations." By "captive nations," Eisenhower meant countries being dominated by the Soviet Union.

In 1956, there was a revolution in Hungary in which the people protested the Soviet-controlled government. Many people fled the country during the short revolution. They were known as "fifty-sixers". About 36,000 Hungarians came to the United States during this time. Some of their countrymen also moved to Canada. In 1959, Cuba experienced a revolution, and Fidel Castro took over the government. His dictatorship aligned itself with the Soviet Union. More than 200,000 Cubans left their country in the years after the revolution; many of them settled in Florida.

Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act, also known as the Hart-Celler Act. This act repealed the quota system based on national origins that had been in place since 1921. This was the most significant change to immigration policy in decades. Instead of quotas, immigration policy was now based on a preference for reuniting families and bringing highly skilled workers to the United States. This was a change because in the past, many immigrants were less skilled and less educated than the average American worker. In the modern period, many immigrants would be doctors, scientists, and high-tech workers. Because Europe was recovering from the war, fewer Europeans were deciding to move to America. But people from the rest of world were eager to move here. Asians and Latin Americans, in particular, were significant groups in the new wave of immigration. Within five years after the act was signed, for example, Asian immigration had doubled.

Vietnamese Immigration and the Refugee Act

During the 1960s and 1970s, America was involved in a war in Vietnam. Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia, on the Indochina peninsula. From the 1950s into the 1970s there was a great deal of conflict in the area. After the war, Vietnamese refugees started coming to the United States. During the 1970s, about 120,000 Vietnamese came, and hundreds of thousands more continued to arrive during the next two decades. In 1980, the government passed the Refugee Act, a law that was meant specifically to help refugees who needed to come to the country. Refugees come because they fear persecution due to their race, religion, political beliefs, or other reasons. The United States and other countries signed treaties, or legal agreements, that said they should help refugees. The Refugee Act protected this type of immigrant's right to come to America.

Latin American Immigration

During the 1980s, waves of immigrants arrived from Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Hundreds of thousands of people came just from Cuba, fleeing the oppressive dictatorship of Fidel Castro. This was a significant new wave of immigrants: During the 1980s, 8 million immigrants came from Latin America, a number nearly equal to the total figure of European immigrants who came to the United States from 1900 to 1910, when European immigration was at a high point. The new immigrants changed the makeup of America: By 1990, Latinos in the United States were about 11.2 percent of the total population.

A Multicultural America

Since 1990, immigration has been increasing. It is at its highest point in America's history. In both the 1990s and 2000s, around 10 million new immigrants came to the United States. The previous record was from 1900 to 1910, when around 8 million immigrants arrived. In 2000, the foreign-born population of the United States was 28.4 million people. Also in that year, California became the first state in which no one ethnic group made up a majority. Today, more than 80 percent of immigrants in the United States are Latin American or Asian. By comparison, as recently as the 1950s, two-thirds of all immigrants to the United States came from Europe or Canada.

The main countries of origin for immigrants today are Mexico, the Philippines, China, Cuba, and India. About 1 in 10 residents of the United States is foreign-born. Today, the United States is a truly multicultural society.

• Explore Ellis Island
• Meet Young Immigrants
• Immigration Data
• Virtual Field Trip To Ellis Island

Interactive Tour of Ellis Island

The Passage

The long, difficult journey to America begins.

The Arrival

The Statue of Liberty greets tired travelers.

The Baggage Room

Passengers check their precious possessions.

The immigration process begins.

The Registry Room

People await inspection in long winding lines.

The Medical Exam

Chalk marks identify those who are ill.

The Legal Inspection

Each person must answer 29 questions—with no mistakes.

For some, Ellis Island was the "Isle of Tears".

The Stairs of Separation

Immigrants file out based on their final destinations.

The Kissing Post

Families are reunited at the end of the long journey.

Welcome to Ellis Island! More than 12 million immigrants made their first stop in America at the Ellis Island Immigration Station between 1892 and 1954. In fact, more than 40 percent of Americans can trace their family history back to Ellis Island.

Follow in the immigrants' footsteps by taking this tour. You'll hear first-hand stories told by people who came through Ellis Island; see historical photographs and films; read fascinating facts; and discover the central role this station played in the story of American immigration. Learn More about Ellis Island

Did You Know

• Ellis Island is a small island in New York Harbor, near Manhattan. The federal government owns the island.
• The largest building on Ellis Island, made of red brick, opened in 1900 and became a famous symbol of American immigration.
• In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison established the nation's first immigration station on Ellis Island.
• The Immigration Station closed in 1954. Ellis Island became a museum in 1965 and is now a part of the U.S. National Park Service.

Statue of Liberty Tickets

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• Statue of Liberty
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Did You Know?

All vessels are wheelchair accessible. Personnel are available to assist visitors that require the use of a wheelchair. Learn More: Things To Know Before You Visit the Statue of Liberty  

Statue of Liberty tours are self-guided, and can last between three to five hours, depending on your pace when you visit both Ellis and Liberty Island.

Hard Hat Tour of Ellis Island

Service Advisory for New York Departures: As of Thursday, February 8th, 2024, the Security Screening Facility will shift to a new location within Battery Park, 300 yards south of the current location behind the Castle Clinton National Monument. The new Security Screening Facility location is next to the View restaurant within Battery Park. Visitors who purchase tickets in advance before arrival to Battery Park can bypass the Ticket Office and proceed directly to the Security Screening Facility. Crown ticket holders must check in at the Ticket Office inside the Castle Clinton National Monument before entering the Security Screening Facility.

Service Advisory - Saturday, March 9, 2024 - Pedestal Elevator Temporarily Out of Service: The main elevator is out of service until further notice. To access the top of the pedestal, a 215 stair climb is required. The elevator in the main lobby of the Statue of Liberty can be used to access the museum and restrooms.

Availability: Daily, Starting March 1

• All participants must be 13 years of age or older.
• Participants should expect to be on their feet for 90 minutes.
• Your reservation assigns you to a scheduled tour, and the departure and start times will be printed on your ticket. Your Hard Hat tour begins 90 minutes after departure. You must check in at the Save Ellis Island Information Desk on the ground floor of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum when you arrive on the island and again at the start time for your tour. The reservation is non-transferrable. If you miss your scheduled Hard Hat Tour, you will not be able to join anoother Hard Hat Tour.
• Tour participants must stay with a Save Ellis Island guide at all times. Unauthorized entry of areas off the guided tour will be considered trespassing. Violators will be subject to arrest and prosecution.
• Each participant must wear a hard hat, which will be provided by Save Ellis Island for use during the tour.
• Tours will be held regardless of the weather, and the buildings are not climate controlled. Participants must be properly dressed for weather conditions in New York Harbor on the day of their tour. This may include rain, snow or wind. In extreme weather, the National Park Service may close the island early or for the entire day, requiring cancellation of the tours.
• There are no working bathrooms on the south side of Ellis Island. Please make use of the facilities in the Immigration Museum before reporting for the tour.
• Wear comfortable, closed-toe shoes. Sandals, flip-flops, open-toed shoes and high heels are not permitted.
• Participants understand that they will enter unrestored buildings containing potential hazards including broken glass, uneven walking surfaces, dust, cracks and loose fixtures. Participants will exercise care to avoid all hazards.
• These unrestored building do not comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Participants must be able to climb stairs. We regret that visitors with wheelchairs or scooters are not permitted on the tour.
• Per National Park Service regulations, removal or disturbance of historic artifacts on Ellis Island is prohibited. Participants will not touch anything in the hospital buildings unless specifically permitted by the Save Ellis Island tour guide.
• Still photography is allowed as long as it does not delay the tour, at the Save Ellis Island tour guide's discretion. Additional camera gear such as tripods, unipods and additional lighting is not permitted.
• For your safety, visitors are not allowed to take video while walking.

Duration: Approx. 3 hours

Thank you for visiting www.statueoflibertytickets.com . Reservations and E-tickets are genuine for the tour which includes the ferry service. We also provide extended around-the-clock customer care seven days a week, including holidays. This website is not affiliated with any government entity and is not the official box office. Ticket price exceeds face value. We are a private Customer Service and Booking company. Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction. Please share your experience with us at: Customer Care .  

• Statue of Liberty Tour
• Ellis Island Tour
• Alcatraz Island Tours
• Frequenty Asked Questions

Hard Hat Tours

7 days a week, daily tour schedule

March to December:

11:30 am to 1 pm 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm 12:30 pm to 2 pm 1:30 pm to 3 pm 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm 2:30 pm to 4 pm

January and February:

11:30 am to 1 pm 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm 1:30 pm to 3 pm 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Hard Hat Tour Tickets are sold by  Statue Cruises

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Need assistance? Please call Qraig at  201-332-8485 or send an  email

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11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Learn More / Register

Closed for over 60 years, the historic Ellis Island Hospital Complex is now open for guided tours. The 90-minute tour takes you through select buildings and grounds of the hospital.

BUY TICKETS STATUE CRUISES BUY TICKETS SAVE ELLIS ISLAND

Tickets purchased for our Hard Hat Tours in our shop are Tour Tickets only, to travel to Ellis Island, Ferry Tickets are sold separately on  Statue City Cruises’ website ,  under ticket option, select:  General Admission

Contagion sometimes found a home in the crowded third class sections of ocean liners, with new immigrants arriving on Ellis Island with measles, tuberculosis, influenza, and a variety of other ailments.  Others left their ports of departure with any number of health or medical conditions ranging from pregnancy to injuries to mental illness.

Anyone identified by the medical inspectors as unhealthy upon arrival would not be allowed to enter the country and would find themselves in the hospital complex.  Here they were cared for in what was, in its day, a state-of-the-art complex.

In a place full of hope for a better life, the hospital buildings were islands of both sorrow and redemption.

A sense of both is evoked in the remarkable images pasted in the rooms and hallways, part of the current exhibit by French artist JR, titled Unframed—Ellis Island . The images draw visitors into a world that no longer exists. Rooms filled with quiet anticipation, the massive steel doors of the long silent autoclave, broken windows, half-open walls capture the stories of the Ellis Island Hospital, and the 1.2 million immigrants treated there.

“Fantastic tour - Our guide Barbara was really passionate and really good at sharing her knowledge - So amazing to discover all the JR art pieces along the visit as well - Thanks for this great experience!” ~ J. Dumas  

Alcatraz Island and the Alcatraz Tour

Alcatraz Tour Fascinates Visitors to Alcatraz Island

Matteo Colombo / Getty Images

It's a former federal prison on a rocky island in the middle of the bay, steeped in legend and a popular tourist stop.

Spanish Explorer Manuel de Ayala named this barren rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay Isla de los Alcatraces (Island of the Pelicans). The island called Alcatraz has been used as a Civil War fort, a Federal prison and a symbol of Native American plight. Today, the National Park Service runs Alcatraz Island as a tourist attraction.

Things to Do on Alcatraz

You can get a look at what you'll see on the Alcatraz tour by visiting the Alcatraz slideshow.

The National Park Service schedules activities to help you learn about Alcatraz Island, including lectures and special tours. The schedule board at the ferry landing gives the times. The only guided tour is the audio tour, but you can also pick up a self-guided tour book near the boat dock.

Barracks from Alcatraz Island's stint as a military base, the cell house, lighthouse, and a few others remain. Many of the Alcatraz Island prison buildings are gone. Some burned during the American Indian Alcatraz occupation in the 1960s. The guard's residences, deteriorated beyond repair, were torn down in the 1970s. 

If the hospital area is open during your visit, don't miss it. It's a fascinating look at medical care during the prison's heyday.

To see two San Francisco Bay islands in one day, take the Alcatraz & Angel Island Tour which will also take you to Angel Island .

Alcatraz Island Tickets

The only way to tour Alcatraz is with the company called Alcatraz Cruises, leaving from San Francisco. Other bay cruise companies can take you by, but can't stop.  Find all the details and buy tickets at the Alcatraz Cruises website . Anyone else selling an Alcatraz Island tour is re-selling tickets and may charge a processing fee.

Alcatraz tour tickets sell out fast. The official brochures say tickets sell out as early as a week in advance in the summer and on holiday weekends. When checked on a July Friday, they were sold out until the following Tuesday. 

Tickets not used by hotels are released to the Alcatraz ticket booth just before it opens. Be first in line you may get a same-day tour ticket. Your hotel's concierge or front desk may have tickets. Or consider taking the Alcatraz and Angel Island tour, which doesn't fill up as fast.

The boat ride to Alcatraz takes about 15 minutes each way from San Francisco. Your tour can last as long as you like (or until the last boat leaves).

The Day Tour is the most popular. It includes round-trip transportation to the island and the audio tour.

The Night Tour includes extra activities — and is slightly more expensive. Taking it allows more time to visit other sights that close earlier, maximizing your sightseeing time. The only downside is that a few areas that are open during the day close after dark.

Get Ready to Visit Alcatraz

Most visitors spend at least a few hours on Alcatraz. Snacks and water are essential to keep everyone from getting "hangry" or thirsty.

If you don't know much about Alcatraz, stop to see the 17-minute introductory video before you go up the hill. You can also read up on these interesting facts about Alcatraz before you go and  explore the fascinating history of the Alcatraz lighthouse .

Watch the Clint Eastwood movie "Escape from Alcatraz" for a glimpse of how the prison operated during its busiest period.

Tips for Visiting Alcatraz

Pick up an audio tour and use it. You'll get a lot more out of what you're seeing. Pay attention to the audio directions. Otherwise, you could end up gabbing away with your friends and not able to figure out where you should be going. If that happens, ask a ranger or tour guide for help.

If you miss your boat, don't despair. The ticket office can direct you to the standby line for the next one.

To see Alcatraz, you'll walk — a lot. It's easy enough if you're in reasonably good shape. They offer a tram to get you up the hill, but you still have to walk after you get there. 

The boats are quiet, clean and smooth riding. The trip is short. But if you need a Dramamine just to sit on the dock and watch a boat bobbing up and down, take your favorite remedy. 

Those white spots all over the island aren't paint. Rangers say several people a day acquire a "white badge of honor" as a gift from a seagull. DON'T look up if you hear birds. Also, watch where you put your hands to avoid touching those same white splotches of yucky stuff.

The gift shop has some very stylish and clever souvenir items. They also sell the book "Hollywood Alcatraz" which details all the films made at Alcatraz and where their scenes were filmed.

Alcatraz Tour Review

In a poll, more than 2,000 Tripsavvy readers rated Alcatraz, 48% rated it awesome and 10% great. However, 26% gave it the lowest rating.

Alcatraz is likely to bore children under the age of five and is more fun for kids who are old enough to understand what it is.

On the plus side, the views of San Francisco and the bay are eye-popping. History buffs enjoy Alcatraz. So does anyone who's seen the movies about it and feel like it's a must-see. The audio tour is one of the best anywhere, using voices of actual guards and prisoners to tell the prison's story.

On the downside, it takes almost half a day to go there and back. If your trip to San Francisco is short, that may be more time than you want to spend on one activity. And it smells like bird poop during spring seagull nesting season.

Getting to Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island San Francisco, CA National Park Website

Alcatraz Cruises leave from Pier 33. If you've been to San Francisco before, be aware that the ticket booth and departure dock moved several years ago.

To drive, follow signs for Pier 39. Pier 33 is a few blocks east. You can find more than a dozen commercial parking lots within a five-block radius. Street parking isn't practical because the meters have a two-hour limit and you'll be gone longer than that.

If you're staying in San Francisco, take a taxi, use a ride-sharing service or public transit. Muni's F Line runs past Pier 33 and the Powell-Mason cable car stops nearby. Find more ways to get around San Francisco .

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San Francisco Tourist Tips

Vistors Center (912) 437-3224

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Visit Sapelo Island

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There are no roads going to Sapelo Island, therefore access to the island is restricted to pre-registered visitors only. Access can be acquired by:

• Participating in one of the tours offered by the Reserve/State (schedule below)
• Arrange a private day trip or overnight stay through one of the Hog Hammock community residents
• Make reservations for a group to stay at either the Reynolds mansion or Cabretta campground
• Have work or business to attend to with the Reserve, DNR, the Marine Institute, or a private resident of the Hog Hammock community

Public Tours

Regular Tours: Wednesdays (8:30am – 12:30pm) Saturdays (9:00am – 1:00pm)

There are no Seasonal Tours at this time.

Public tour reservations can be made by calling: (912) 437-3224.

Costs (cash or checks): Adults (13 and up): $15.00 Children (6-12): $10.00 Ages 5 and under: Free

Regular Tours: (Groups of 10-40 people) Tuesday (8:30am – 3:00pm) Thursday (8:30am – 3:00pm)

Seasonal Tours: Friday (8:30am – 12:30pm): Labor Day 2021 – End of May 2022

Group tours can be arranged by calling the Education Office at (912) 485-2300.

• Detailed Group Tour Information

Tuesday & Thursday

Download Ferry Schedule Ferry Holidays The Sapelo Ferry does not run on the following holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• M.L. King’s Birthday
• Memorial Day
• 4th of July
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
• Lawn/Beach Chairs
• Oversized boxes
• Oversized coolers
• Folding tables and chairs
• Liquid and flammable fuel (propane is ok)
• Ladder Stands
• Other items at the discretion of the ferry staff

Tickets for public and group tours of Sapelo Island can be purchased at the Visitor Center. T-shirts, books, and videos are also available for purchase.

Notes on Visiting:

• Parking: Ferry parking is at the Visitor Center, handicap parking can be found at the dock.
• Public & group tour participants check in at the Visitor Center.
• Reservations will only be held 15 minutes prior to the Ferry departure for tours offered by the State.
• Guests will have a 20-30 minute ferry ride to get to the island.
• Private tour guests check in with the ferry staff.
• Pets are not allowed on Public Tours.
• Click for more details on what to expect.

Visitor Center

The Sapelo Island Visitors Center is located at 1766 Landing Road Southeast, Darien, GA 31305 , the mainland ferry dock in Meridian, and serves as a key distribution point for information about how coastal ecosystems link to Research & monitoring, Educational opportunities, and tourism activities such as Public and Group Tours.

Interpretive exhibits at the Center highlight Sapelo Island’s rich cultural history:

• Hog Hammock Community
• University of Georgia Marine Institute
• Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary
• National Estuarine Research Reserve System
• Estuarine, barrier island, and shoreline habitats

The Center also offers a wide variety of books related to local and regional history, ecology, and other interests. T-shirts, caps, postcards, and other souvenirs are available to make your visit to the Visitors Center and Sapelo Island a trip to remember. There is something for everyone!

NYC 5 Boro Bike Tour 2024: What cyclists need to know about riding the Staten Island Ferry

• Published: May. 01, 2024, 7:36 a.m.

The annual NYC TD Five Boro Bike Tour is set for Sunday. The Staten Island Ferry will provide 30-minute service from 6 to 11 a.m. After that, the boat will run on a 15-minute schedule from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Staten Island Advance/Bill Lyons) Staten Island Advance/Bill Lyons

• Mike Matteo | [email protected]

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- On Sunday, May 5, the Staten Island Ferry will once again be called upon to bring cyclists back to Manhattan after the TD NYC Five Boro Bike Tour.

Last year, over 30,000 cyclists participated in the event, with many of them opting to take the ferry back home.

The 40-mile bike tour spans the city’s five boroughs, beginning in Lower Manhattan and traveling briefly into the Bronx, before heading to Queens, Brooklyn and finally crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to conclude near the St. George Ferry Terminal.

Ferry crews are in for a busy day as the big orange boat offers the quickest way for Staten Islanders to reach the starting line and for everyone else to return to other parts of the city after completing the course.

The Staten Island Ferry will provide 30-minute service from 6 to 11 a.m. on Sunday. After that, the boat will run on a 15-minute schedule from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The ferry will then return to its regularly scheduled 30-minute service from 6 p.m. onward.

Bike New York, organizers of the Five Boro Bike Tour, noted that lines to take the ferry back to Manhattan could be long starting from the the early afternoon.

All cyclists must board the boat on the lower level at both the Whitehall Terminal in Manhattan and the St. George Terminal, located at 1 Bay St. on Staten Island.

Riders must dismount and walk their bicycle while in the waiting area and when boarding and departing the boat. Riding on and off the boat is prohibited.

All bicycles must be stored in the designated area on the lower level of each vessel.

The Staten Island Ferry is free of charge for all passengers and bicycles.

The Department of Transportation, the agency that operates the Staten Island Ferry, is not responsible for any stolen or damaged bicycles.

Riders may be subject to security screenings at the terminal.

NYC Five Boro Bike Tour 2024

• NYC Five Boro Bike Tour 2024: Are e-bikes allowed on the route?
• NYC 5 Boro Bike Tour 2024: Everything you need to know about parking on Staten Island

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Ultimate Coron Island Hopping Tours Guide

By: Author MC Miller

Posted on Last updated: October 23, 2022

Categories Philippines , Travel Blog Post

Wondering which are the best Coron Island Hopping Tours to spend your money on? We know the feeling!

Having tried and tested the tours we can help you pick the right tour for you.

After experiencing all there was to offer in  El Nido , we moved on to Coron (only a short boat ride away).

Like El Nido, Coron is an area where boat tours whisk you to jaw-dropping lagoons, reefs and white sand beaches.

Which Coron Tour should I take? 4 Coron Tours which Rocked!

We did the 4 main tours in Coron with JY Travel & Tours . They were all absolutely amazing!

Know which tour you’re interested in? Jump right to it here:

• Ultimate Tour
• Coron Escapade
• Calauit Safari

Coron Town Tour

Or keep reading to see what each tour has to offer to help you decide what is the best for you.

The Ultimate Tour – For those who only want 1 Tour

The Ultimate Tour is exactly as the name suggests – it showcases the best & most iconic areas Coron has to offer.

If we had time for only one tour in Coron, this would be it. The stunning lagoons and amazing landscapes are unique to Coron and something you do not see everyday.

The Ultimate Tour costs 1200 PHP per person ($22 USD).

The tour includes: hotel transfers, an experienced guide & lunch. It does not include the use of kayaks (1000 PHP per kayak).

Tips for the Ultimate Tour:

• Unlike the El Nido tours, hiring/buying reef shoes is not really a necessity. We did not hire the reef shoes and were perfectly fine;
• Bringing or hiring a snorkel is worthwhile as part of the tour involves viewing of an underwater ship wreck;
• Hiring a kayak is advantageous but not essential. You can also enjoy the Twin Lakes by swimming.

Kayangan Lake

The first destination of the day is Kayangan Lake. This is perhaps the attraction we were most excited to see in Coron due to the perfect turquoise water.

To reach this attraction, it involves a 367 step climb.

Luckily half way up, you will find an absolutely stunning view of Coron.

As this is one of the most iconic views of Coron, there was quite a line up to get this shot. Well worthwhile for a beautiful memory though!

And yes, the hike is completely worth every agonising step up as at the bottom you are rewarded with some of the clearest water in Asia with absolutely stunning natural rock formations.

The water is in fact so clear that you can see garfish swimming around you in the lake.

You are not allowed to swim in Kayangan Lake without a life jacket so make sure you bring one with you from the boat!

Barracuda Lake

Our next stop was Barracuda Lake. This was an unexpected stop and a “bonus stop” of our tour.

We thoroughly enjoyed Barracuda Lake and would recommend trying to book a tour which includes it.

If anyone is also interested in the best place to free dive in Coron – this is the place to do it! The underwater rock formations at Barracuda Lake are absolutely unreal.

We did not free dive but we had an opportunity to snorkel at Barracuda Lake and were very happy with the opportunity to be able to swim & snorkel in one of Coron’s most iconic locations.

We could also see the beautiful underwater rock formations just by snorkeling as the water is SO clear in Barracuda Lake. The visibility is unparalleled anywhere else we visited in Palawan.

Following Barracuda Lake is one spot we were eagerly awaiting. It’s one of the most iconic spots of Coron – the Twin Lake.

Twin Lake is known for the beautiful colour of water & stunning rock formations.

Here you have the opportunity to use rented kayaks. It is advisable but not absolutely necessary to kayak at Twin Lake.

After a fun time swimming & kayaking in the lake, we enjoyed a delicious lunch aboard the boat. This consisted of grilled fish, rice, vegetables, chicken & fruit.

Japanese Ship Wreck

The next stop is a Japanese ship wreck. It was very cool seeing a Japanese ship wreck from WW2 submerged underwater.

As stated above, it is advisable to hire or buy snorkel gear for this tour as it is fascinating to see the ship wreck.

The final stop of the day was CYC beach.

You can swim or use your kayak to access the beach.

Interestingly, we met a French tourist camping overnight on CYC beach. He had actually come on a day trip and asked if he could be collected the next day.

An option for anyone who wants to get back to nature for a night. Ask your tour if this is possible in advance. The tourist brought all his own supplies.

As we got back on the boat, we were treated to “Turon” a Filipino specialty which is banana wrapped in spring roll paper and fried.

Turon was one of the extra perks on our tour with JY Travel and Tours and one of the many reasons why we love them!

Coron Escapade Tour

The next tour we took of Coron was the Escapade Tour . We choose this tour as we wanted to see some spots further away from Coron where fewer tours (and tourists) go.

We recommend this tour for those looking for beautiful beaches further away from Coron.

There are less stops included in this tour as the first stop is 1.5 hours boat ride from Coron.

Tips for the Escapade Tour:

• Hiring/buying reef shoes is not really a necessity. We did not hire the reef shoes and were perfectly fine;
• Bringing or hiring a snorkel is worthwhile as the snorkeling on this tour is amazing;
• Hiring a kayak on this tour is not necessary.

Malcapuya Island

The first stop was Malcapuya Island. This Island is absolutely beautiful – white sand beaches & crystal clear water.

What we also loved about this beach was that there are plenty of tables & chairs to sit on at the beach to keep shaded in the hot weather in the Philippines.

This island is also great for off shore snorkeling so if you have brought or hired a snorkel, this is a great opportunity to see some beautiful reef life.

Banana Island

After enjoying snorkeling and swimming at Malcapuya Island, it was time to stop for lunch at Banana Island.

The JY crew prepared the most delicious lunch at Banana Island consisting of grilled fish, chicken, rice & fresh fruit.

Banana Island is also a great place to snorkel. If you feel energised after lunch we highly recommend snorkeling at Banana Island as it was one of the best snorkeling spots we experienced in the Philippines.

Metres from shore Mike found a huge school of fish on a feeding frenzy – check out our Instagram story highlights for more about this!

Bulog Dos Island

The island we were most excited about visiting for the day was Bulog Dos Island , which features a stunning white sandbar which protrudes from the beach.

Alas, we are not very lucky with sandbars. Just like our visit to Snake Island, El Nido – we visited at high tide so the ocean covered most of the sandbar.

Even though the full sandbar was not visible Bulog Dos was still an absolutely beautiful island. The snorkeling on this island is also fabulous.

There is also a viewpoint on this Island where you can get some pretty cool Instagram shots.

View this post on Instagram Paradise found ????️ Where is your happy place? . . . . . . @jytravelandtourscoron A post shared by Travel Couple ✈︎ (@coupletraveltheworld) on Nov 18, 2018 at 7:47am PST

Calauit Safari Tour

One of the reasons we were excited to visit Coron was to see African animals at the Calauit Safari.

We had seen this safari park on Instagram and were amazed that there was really African animals living in the Philippines. I mean, how cool is that?

Coron Safari

This tour starts even earlier than regular El Nido and Coron tours. The pickup time for the Coron Safari tour is 5am.

We actually didn’t realise this and managed to miss our tour one morning. Not recommended. All of the island tours in Coron start at around 8am. This is different – be prepared.

The first stop is for a local breakfast for those who want it. Breakfast is 100 pesos per person and includes 2 eggs, Filipino sausages & rice.

From here, it takes around 30 minutes to reach the entry to the safari park.

The safari park is a very interesting experience and definitely not be missed if you are in Coron.

A cool quirk of the park is that it’s located on an island reachable only by boat. It really felt like we were visiting Jurassic Park as our boat trundled up to this densely green island where rare animals awaited.

We found the boat ride over to the island to be pretty fun in itself.

When you first arrive, you get to feed the giraffes. It was so fun to be able to feed these animals. They were quite cheeky too so hold on to your branch or they will take it in one bite!

From there the rangers take you around the park to have a longer look at the animals and take photographs.

You can get fairly close to the giraffes and zebras in order to take a beautiful photo. The rangers don’t like you getting closer than 3-4 metres.

On the safari, the ranger also took us to see turtles, monkeys & a large snake.

It was a great experience and we would highly recommend it to anyone who loves animals.

After the safari, we had a quick pitstop at a local beach before heading back to the same restaurant as breakfast for lunch.

Black Island

After lunch the group split into two: those who wanted to see a waterfall & those who wanted to see Black Island.

We choose to skip the waterfall in favour of Black Island, an absolutely beautiful island off the north coast of Coron.

There is also an amazing cave on the island with a natural swimming hole. If you feel like an icey cold dip, you can even take a swim in the cave.

We arrived in Coron after a ferry ride from El Nido. The boat from El Nido arrrives at around 10am in the morning. This means it is too late to do a boat tour.

However, we didn’t need to waste any time as we were able to join the Coron Town Tour! This tour starts at 4pm in the afternoon.

Admittedly, we are not usually fans of town tours. We would rather DIY. However, as this tour requires an after dark transfer to the hot springs 30 minutes from town, we think it’s good value and more convenient than taking a tuk tuk.

We would highly recommend it if you have an extra afternoon spare while you are in Coron.

Lualhati Park

The first stop on the Coron Town Tour is Lualhati Park.

This was our least favourite spot of the tour but it was only a short stop for 10 minutes.

Basically, it is a nice river view walk/dock boat. Locals sell various souvenirs here and if you haggle, you can get a great price!

Mt Tapyas View Deck

The highlight of the Tour in our opinion was what came next – Tapyas View Deck.

The view and scenery at the View Deck is sublime.

We were not expecting this kind of countryside in the fisherman village of Coron and we were totally blown away.

In order to access the view deck, it is around a 20 minute stair climb to the top. We found it reasonably tiring (we were quite exhausted at the top).

Our guide told us that older people still manage to make it so it is definitely a doable hike!

From on side of the mountain a view deck with a beautiful vista of Coron town. On the other side is beautiful yellow rolling countryside like the one pictured below.

Mt Tapyas View Deck is the perfect place to enjoy a beautiful sunset.

One of the reasons for the late start of this tour is so you can sit down and enjoy the sun set over Coron.

Maquinit Hot spring

After a steep climb uphill, what is better than relaxing tired muscles under the stars?

We weren’t sure what to expect of Maquinit Hot Spring but we were pleasantly surprised.

The hot spring was so relaxing. It is extremely hot though and hard to stay in longer than 20-30 minutes at a time.

Luckily, there is a little cafe where you can buy cheap drinks and relax around the hot springs while you steam off.

Our group preferred to stay longer at the bigger attractions. There were a few attractions we missed in this tour: Town Plaza, Souvenir Shops, St Augustine Church & the cashew harvest.

What is great about JY Travel & Tours – they listen to the needs of the group and their preferences.

We loved that the tour is adaptable to individuals interests.

Which Tour Company? JY Travel & Tour

All Tours of Coron we did with JY Travel & Tours. We couldn’t recommend this company highly enough.

The staff were fun, professional and looked after our safety the entire time. They were also very helpful with information about the surrounds.

Not only are the staff fabulous but they serve a fabulous lunch consisting of grilled fish, chicken, pork, prawns, grilled vegetables, rich & fruit.

If you are looking for a tour in Coron, we would highly recommend this company.

You can find more information on  JY Travel & Tour   website . You can also them on Facebook &  Instagram .

Where to Stay in Coron

There are so many great places to stay in Coron to suit all budgets.

Click here to search all accommodation in Coron during your dates.

We would recommend staying in town rather than outside of town as there tends to be better access to internet! We stayed in a very clean & comfortable place in town with a great view.

To see where we stayed in Coron click here !

We were guests at JY Travel & Tour as part of these tours. However, as always, all opinions are our own.

We hope this helped you plan your Coron tour! If you have anything to add or need some advice, leave a comment below!

Save this ‘Coron Tour Guide’ to Pinterest so you can find it again later!

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://coupletraveltheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/What-to-do-in-Coron-Philippines.png” alt=”What to do in Coron Philippines” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://coupletraveltheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/The-Best-Tours-Coron.png” alt=”The Best Tours Coron” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://coupletraveltheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Things-to-do-in-Coron-and-what-tour-to-take.png” alt=”Things-to-do-in-Coron-and-what-tour-to-take” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

MC Miller is a travel blogger and writer who has travelled America extensively and abroad to over 80 countries. He founded Couple Travel The World in 2017. Since then, he has spent over 6 years on the road as a full time travel couple. When he not traveling he likes to spend quality time with his partner Bett, planning our their next date or romantic getaway!

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Thursday 27th of February 2020

OMG! I have been to Palawan at least 5 times and just falls in love with the place even more each time.

coupletraveltheworld

Saturday 29th of February 2020

Palawan is truly amazing. Did you take any of the tours in Coron? Between visiting the islands and meeting the friendly locals we fell in love too

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Tour this couple's incredible renovation of an abandoned island

Posted: 20 March 2024 | Last updated: 20 March 2024

Living large in a tiny private paradise

Imagine waking up every day in a cute cabin on your very own private island in the middle of a beautiful lake. Now imagine that it costs less than your average family home.

This is the story of how an enterprising young couple opted out of the traditional route to homeownership to take on a rundown piece of land in Florida and transform it into their very own tiny living oasis.

 Click or scroll on to discover their remarkable journey and take a tour of the island, which they've now opened up to the public...

Thinking differently

For many first-time buyers, getting a foot on the property ladder is a daunting – and expensive – process. Instead of committing to decades of mortgage payments and hefty household bills, first-time buyers Tim Davidson and Sam Cosner decided to downsize to achieve their dreams of homeownership. 

Their incredible adventure took them from fitting out their first tiny home to building a private tiny house island off the west coast of Florida. 

Where it all started

Back in 2017, Sam and Tim began house-hunting for their first home together in Florida. "Sam’s lease was up and I was ready to buy and wanted to invest in something", Tim explains.

While they were aware of tiny houses before, they'd never really considered them a practical option. But as he did the math, Tim realised that living tiny made real financial sense, while the pair were drawn in by the promise of a simpler, more meaningful lifestyle.

An unexpected find

They stumbled upon Tiffany, their first tiny home together, in an unlikely place: Craigslist. At first, Tim was incredulous: "It’s a beautiful house and I was looking on Craigslist thinking this has to be a scam or something”.

Built by Adam from A New Beginning Tiny Homes, the couple purchased the immaculate 270-square-foot tiny house on wheels for $72,000 (£58.5k).

Architectural masterpiece

Named after legendary stained-glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, the tiny home's design is based on a 1920s Craftsman-style bungalow. The iconic artist's influence is clear to see, from the exquisite coloured glass windows to the wall sconces, light fixtures and intricate woodwork. 

"With the stained glass, when the light comes in in the morning it casts a shadow of light across the ceiling and it’s pretty crazy”, adds Tim.

Decisive downsizing

Remarkably, Tim and Sam moved into Tiffany with just four boxes of belongings. While letting go of sentimental items was hard, Tim digitised cherished photographs and bought a digital picture frame. "I actually see them more now than I did before”, he confesses.

In a bid to downsize their wardrobes prior to the move, they turned all of their clothes hanger hooks in the same direction. When they wore items and washed them, the hooks were turned in the opposite direction. After 90 days, any clothes that remained unturned were thrown out.

Purrfecting the design

While Tiffany came beautifully fitted out, Tim and Sam made a couple of functional changes when they moved in, including creating a built-in litterbox under the stairs for Oliver, their cat.

Tim says the tiny home's decorative touches turned out to be a big hit with their feline family member: “There’s wooden beams in Tiffany so he can climb up high and scope everything out”.

Cosy kitchen

Nestled by the entrance, the home's kitchen has been carefully planned out, with enough room to fit a fridge-freezer, propane stove and deep farmhouse-style sink. Tiffany pendant lights hang over the workspace, while a large energy-efficient window allows light to pour into the petite property.

When it comes to amenities, a compact combined washer-dyer proved to be one of Sam and Tim's star buys, saving them both space and time when laundry day rolls around.

Bijou bathroom

Situated at the rear of the tiny house, what the bathroom lacks in size, it more than makes up for in style. Lined with tumbled Italian marble tiles, the walk-in rainfall shower takes centre stage, while nifty design details like the corner vanity make the best use of the available space. 

Indulgent extras

One of Sam's favourite features in the small bathroom is the magnificent Japanese-style soaking tub made from salvaged wood.

"It was originally an old telephone pole, so it was cut into blocks and glued and then a polyurethane coat was added”, says Tim. When it's not in use, the beautiful tub can be slotted over the toilet to free up floor space.

Secret storage

In a pocket-sized property, utilising every available inch is essential, especially the redundant spaces that are often taken for granted in traditional homes.

Tiffany's most ingenious storage hack has to be the built-in drawers underneath the stair treads – home to Tim's clothes. As well as Oliver's enclosed litter box, the staircase also conceals the hot water tank and a cubby hole for storing toothbrushes and toiletries.

Beautiful loft bedroom

On the tiny home's upper level, a handy storage loft or guest space sits over the kitchen, while opposite it at the rear of the property is the master loft – Tim and Sam's bedroom.

Remarkably, the snug area comfortably accommodates a queen-sized bed, flanked by two beautiful Tiffany-style sconces on either side. A creative addition, the deep, custom headboard is actually home to handy storage cupboards that help keep clutter at bay.

Upping sticks

Sitting on a Tumbleweed 24-foot-long trailer, Tim and Sam pitched Tiffany up at a campground by Florida's Tampa Bay, a spot they called home sweet home for over year. 

“The idea of her being on wheels gives us so much more flexibility –  if jobs change I can just haul her up to a different location”, says Tim. This proved especially useful when the pair made their next real estate purchase...

A promising parcel

Scrolling through Zillow, Sam and Tim came across an intriguing investment prospect: a 1.5-acre island for sale in Sarasota, Florida, which had been on the market for two years. With no utilities in place, the same family had owned the isle since 1918 and it had become a dumping ground for contractors' surplus materials.

In search of a more permanent spot to call home, Tim paid the owner a visit, negotiating the price down and securing the island for $200,000 (£162k) in 2018.

Diamond in the rough

Nestled in the middle of a 12-acre lake, only a few rundown storage buildings stood on the property, now known as Shellmate Island. But with its idyllic surroundings and bountiful fruit trees, the location, pictured here after the overhaul, was undoubtedly special. “It took a lot of work –  it was rusty gold –  so you take the rust off and you’ve got gold”, Tim explains. 

A learning curve

With Tiffany still at the old campground, the couple started construction work on the island and embarked on what would be their second tiny home – this time built from scratch on a foundation.

However, after a brush with a bad general contractor, Tim was forced to learn the ropes himself, from construction basics to planning codes and regulations, to ensure the work was up to par. Luckily, the Sarasota County planning department proved to be an invaluable resource in helping him navigate the process. 

Small but mighty

Designed by Deltec Homes, known for their hurricane-enduring houses, the octagonal shell cost between $30,000 (£24k) and $40,000 (£32k).

“We got the shell and we customised the layout – we’re actually Deltec’s first tiny house dwellers in this size model. Lots of people use them for studios and sheds, but we’re the first people to live in one... arguably it could be the strongest tiny home ever built because of its design”, says Tim.

Low running costs

Measuring 320 square feet, the couple say the Shellmate Island tiny home feels significantly larger than the 270-square-foot Tiffany. The stylish, airy interior is easy on the eye and even easier on the pocket.

The Deltec house costs $30 (£24) a month in electricity, much lower than the US average of $117 (£95), as reported by the US Energy Information Administration. In the future, Sam and Tim have plans to add a battery pack to the house to enable the whole property to run off electric.

Space to stretch out

Featuring mint green cupboards, butcher's block countertops and stylish white tiling, the colourful kitchen is a real change from Tiffany's snug culinary corner. The peninsula island can even be folded down to open up the zone when needed. "It being an octagon, we're able to utilise the space way better than a square, so we have more counter space and cabinets", Tim adds.

Turning to Craigslist again, the thrifty pair even managed to source a second-hand Whirlpool fridge, worth $500 (£406), for a mere $100 (£81)  –  bargain!

Smart lighting system

A wholesale lighting rep, Tim's favourite feature in the new tiny house is the adaptable lights set into the wooden beams overhead: "I have about seven million different colour options to choose from. The cool part is that I can choose different Kelvin (colour) temperatures, whether it’s a warm light or a very white light. I can have that change throughout the day to match the natural colour of the sun outside, which helps with sleep patterns and energy levels”.

Welcome privacy

One of the biggest changes for Sam and Tim in the Shellmate Island tiny house is the partition wall and the sliding pocket door between the living room and their sleeping space. With the loft in Tiffany open to the living areas, having a solid separation between the rooms was a big deal. “I can go in the bedroom and close the door and it's private”, says Tim. 

Bright and airy bedroom

Featuring a large picture window framing views across the island, the couple's bedroom feels bright and spacious. While it was important to pack storage into every redundant void in Tiffany, the new tiny home didn't require the same space-saving solutions –  all of Tim and Sam's clothes fit under the queen-sized storage bed. 

Second-hand steals

The modern bathroom is home to yet more thrifty finds, from a high-end toilet, complete with wave-activated flush, bagged for free from Craigslist, to the $15 (£12) mirrored door, worth $300 (£243), picked up from Habitat for Humanity. 

“We had a leftover butcher's block countertop from the kitchen, so I was able to take a scrap of that and create a counter space on top of the washer-dryer so you can fold clothes and what not”, Tim adds.

Intricate tiling

Dealing with an octagonal structure did have its challenges though. As the shower was an unusual shape, the pair couldn't just put a standard insert into the space, leading Tim to tackle the project himself: “I did all the tile work  –  that was a good learning experience. Everyone says it looks good but I know where all the mistakes are!”

Living tiny during lockdown

Before lockdown hit Florida, Sam worked from home in her role as a personal trainer and health coach, however, when restrictions were brought in, Tim too found himself working in their tiny house. "I sit on the couch and work at the coffee table, Sam works in the bedroom with a foldable table”, Tim explained when he spoke to us back in 2020.

For the most part, they count themselves lucky to have had their own private paradise in the midst of the pandemic, though with fewer trips out for groceries, storing food for longer periods was initially a struggle.

Island renovations

When they purchased the property, Shellmate Island was home to a rundown storage shed and a dilapidated boat port. After completing their new tiny house and moving Tiffany to the island in June 2020, Tim and Sam decided it was time to give the rickety port a facelift.

“I figured out how to add structural support to it, sealed the roof, painted it, added a door and a couple of beams, added siding and mosquito nets", says Tim. Given a new lease of life, it's now a stylish outdoor living area for the couple and their friends and family –  talk about a bargain backyard makeover!

Outdoor living space

Inside, the renovated boat port is the perfect hangout spot, home to two hammocks, armchairs, a couch, cooler, fairy lights and even giant Jenga.

Hosting guests in a tiny home can be a squeeze, so this extra outside area has made a real difference, says Tim: “It allows us to have a nice outdoor living space where we can entertain”.

Fruits of their labour

As well as the incredible tiny residences, the island is bountiful with natural resources. There's an array of tasty fruit trees, including mango, avocado, lychee, fig, mulberry and banana trees, and even pineapple plants.

The couple is trying hard to make the island as self-sufficient as possible, and they've even installed an aeroponics tower to grow fresh fruit and vegetables. Ingeniously, the system will save 90% more water than traditional cultivation methods. 

Opening up the island

For anyone looking to live out their own paradise island dream, Tim and Sam have decided to open up their special corner of the world to the public. Both Tiffany the Tiny Home and the octagonal tiny home are now available to rent on Airbnb.

The pocket-sized homes share the island's beautiful backyard, as well as benefitting from access to a firepit, barbeque, free bikes, kayaks and beach gear, guaranteeing guests a fun-filled stay.

Financial freedom

Reflecting on their journey, their unusual road to homeownership proved a great move for Tim and Sam financially. Impressively, Tiffany's mortgage was paid off in 2020 – only three years after it was taken out.

“We built this lifestyle to have financial freedom and less stress and anxiety and to focus on the right things", says Tim. The pair have since started a consulting business to help other aspiring tiny home dwellers navigate their own projects.

The future is tiny

With the financial and emotional freedom that tiny living offers, Tim and Sam can't see themselves trading in their island for a traditional home anytime soon. As for the future, they're mulling over the options.

They've already made the island available for short-term lets, and they're even considering adding a third tiny house. "Right now we’re enjoying it  –  it’s a cool experiment but it’s definitely not going to stay stagnate”, Tim says.  You can follow Tim and Sam's journey on  Instagram  and  Facebook . 

Now take a look at  amazing pieces of wilderness across every US state

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Rory mcilroy sings boozy karaoke with shane lowry after dramatic pga tour win.

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Rory McIlroy knows how to party. 

The Northern Irish golf star celebrated a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event on Sunday by chugging a Michelob ULTRA and belting out the lyrics to “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey with a live band in front of a rocking audience of golf fans. 

The PGA Tour posted the video to its social media channels following the tournament win for McIlroy and his teammate Shane Lowry at TPC Louisiana. 

JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL pic.twitter.com/NefSbCQjAk — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 29, 2024

The duo defeated ​​Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer in a playoff to capture the Zurich Classic and McIlroy won his 25th PGA Tour title and first of the season. 

McIlroy hit a brilliant pitch on the 72nd hole to set up a short Lowry birdie putt to force a playoff in what is the PGA Tour’s lone team event of the season.

Trainer missed a six-foot par putt that allowed McIlroy and Lowry the win and set off a boozy celebration on Sunday. 

“To win any PGA Tour event is very cool, but to do it with one of your closest friends — we’ve known each other for a long, long time, probably like over 20 years,” McIlroy said, per the Associated Press. “To think about where we met and where we’ve come from, to be on this stage and do this together — really, really cool journey that we’ve been a part of.”

In another video posted by the PGA Tour, the two are seen walking through a parking lot after the victory led by a New Orleans-style brass band after the win. 

A separate video shows McIlroy on a stage chugging a beer in front of a large gathering of golf fans. 

“People have come out in the thousands to support us. It’s not lost on me how cool that is,” McIlroy said about the crowds that followed during the tournament. “Every time I get to play in front of thousands of people, the little boy in me just thinks it’s so cool and so exciting.”

Cheers @McIlroyRory 🍻 pic.twitter.com/MH4mPxHvnU — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 29, 2024

It was a fitting celebration given McIlroy previously told Claire Rogers of Golf.com that he asked Lowry to partner together at a “really drunken lunch” after the Ryder Cup.

Lowry had previously teamed with Padraig Harrington, who now plays on the Champions Tour.

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• Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide

Animal Crossing: New Horizons May Day maze 2024 walkthrough

Head to a special island to see a familiar friend

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons players can celebrate May Day from April 29 until May 7 in 2024.

To participate, head over to Resident Services and talk to Tom Nook. He’ll give you a May Day Ticket to go out on a limited-time May Day Island Tour. Take the ticket to the airport and you’ll fly to an island with a hedge maze.

How does the May Day maze tour work?

There will be tools, crafting material, and fruit hidden around the maze. To get through the maze, you’ll have to craft more tools and eat the fruit at the right times to get rid of obstacles like rocks and trees. To make the challenge a little trickier, you can’t bring anything with you. You can only use the stuff you find in the maze to complete it.

The maze is pretty straightforward if you’re careful, but still possible to mess up, so it’s worth keeping these important tips in mind:

• You can break rocks and lift trees with your shovel once you’ve eaten a piece of fruit.
• There’s a crafting station mid-way through the maze. You’ll need enough materials to make tools like Ladders (which you can find in the maze).
• The small pits only allow you to jump directly across them, but there’s always a way to get to the other side of them.
• If you mess up or get stuck, use your NookPhone and use the Rescue Service app to get escorted back to the beginning and reset the island. (If you leave the island, you will not be able to come back!)

With some persistence, you should be able to make it through in just a few minutes. If you want to earn some extra money, make sure you grab the Bell Vouchers scattered around the maze. They’re worth 3,000 Bells each. (But if 3,000 Bells isn’t that appealing to you, feel free to skip them and head straight for the end.)

ACNH May Day maze solution

There are two possible mazes you can get and they swap out depending on the year. Once maze appears when the year is an even number and one appears when the year is an odd number.

ACNH May Day 2024 maze walkthrough

This is the 2024, 2026, 2028, and so forth maze solution, since this maze will show up during even-numbered years:

• Pick up the shovel in front of you. Use it to dig out the bush on the left and grab the fruit .
• Eat the fruit and use your new fruit power to help you dig out the tree that blocks the straight path.
• Explore the only open pathways, jumping over the holes in the ground to pick up four tree branches , three pieces of wood , and the worn axe .
• Go to the top left of the maze and use the axe to chop down the tree blocking the path from another tree branch and two fruit . The axe will break, but don’t worry.
• Head to the middle-left part of the maze to see a rock protecting an iron nugget . Eat a fruit and use your fruit power to break the rock and grab the nugget.
• Go to the rock that blocks a fruit on the right edge of the hedge maze. Eat a fruit and use that fruit power to break the rock . Pick up the fruit and the two DIY recipes.
• Eat the last fruit in your inventory to get the strength to dig up the tree blocking the DIY workbench.
• Craft the flimsy axe and then use the flimsy axe to craft the regular axe .
• Head back to the middle of the maze and chop the tree on the left side to get two more fruit .
• Backtrack to where the iron nugget was to chop down the tree there. Pick up the fruit and head straight down the newly opened path.
• Cut down the last three trees (and dig up the stumps) to get to Rover . He’ll mail you your reward later.
• Dig up the bush to the left of Rover to get four Bell Vouchers .
• Dig up the bushes above those Bell Vouchers so you can run around the outer rim of the island .
• Loop around the left side to the front of the island to see three rocks protecting five more Bell Vouchers . Eat the three fruit you collected earlier to break these rocks and claim these vouchers.
• Dig up the bushes to the right of where the rocks were to head back to Wilbur and go home.

What rewards do I get for finishing the May Day maze?

At the very end of the maze, Rover — a cat character who has made appearances in previous Animal Crossing games — will be waiting for you. He’ll give you Rover’s Briefcase , a furnishing item covered in travel stickers. If you’ve completed the event in previous years, you’ll get Rover’s Photo instead. The reward gets mailed to you once you head back to your island.

The ticket and tour is only redeemable once your get your loot, and that’s all there is to do. Even if there’s only one thing to do for this event, it’s nice to see a familiar face. We don’t know what this means for Rover, or if he’ll return in a future event.

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'I thought I was done': Jordan Spieth nearly withdrew during first round of RBC Heritage after aggravating wrist injury

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Jordan Spieth nearly withdrew during the first round of the RBC Heritage after a tendon in his wrist “popped out” while hitting a greenside bunker shot on the 13th hole Thursday.

Spieth “jammed” his left wrist into the bunker bulkhead during his follow-through, which caused his ECU (extensor carpi ulnaris) tendon to pop out.

“It’s a thing that’s recurring,” Spieth told PGATOUR.COM on Friday at Harbour Town Golf Links. “I was lucky because most times it comes out, and I can’t turn it (left), and so I would have been screwed. It’s the ECU (extensor carpi ulnaris) tendon. It came out and came right back in its groove.

“On (hole) 14 yesterday, I thought I was done for the week,” Spieth continued. “Then (the tendon) came back in, and I was like, ‘alright I’m good.’”

Jordan Spieth executes difficult bunker shot at RBC Heritage

Spieth said the incident was a byproduct of his ongoing ulnar nerve injury, which has plagued him since last year. The injury kept Spieth out of last year’s PGA Championship. He aggravated the wrist in October and again during the Valero Texas Open earlier this month.

Spieth spent the rest of Thursday’s round trying to keep the tendon from popping back out. After bogeying the 13th, he finished with five straight pars to card 1-under 70. Spieth received treatment on the wrist between rounds and had it wrapped before his Friday afternoon tee time to ensure the tendon stayed in place.

“Because my (wrist) sheath is torn, it doesn’t really hold (the tendon) in as well,” Spieth said. ”It’s one of those things, like it’s not affecting speed, anything like that. It’s just– managing it. So today it was just, with the tape the way it’s on, it’s going to inhibit (the tendon’s) ability to create any issues.

Spieth said the wrist “felt good” on Friday. He played without issue, shooting 4-under 67. At 5-under overall, Spieth is tied for 23rd heading into the week. Spieth plans to keep the wrist tapped through the weekend.

“I may as well keep doing it," he said. "I don’t really like wearing tape, just because, I don’t know, I feel like I’m going to play racquetball or something. I’ll do it the rest of the week, I’m sure, just to be sure.”

Spieth wasn’t concerned about the injury outlook moving forward.

“I know what the issue is, the problem is I’m not giving it any time to heal right now,” he said.

Spieth is not in the field for next week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.