“The Hawaii birding tour was one of the best, if not the very best, birding tours I've ever experienced. The pre-trip planning and communication by the company staff and all the planning by the tour guides that went into every island, every habitat, and every individual site we visited, all contributed to making a trip that went off without a hitch. I hoped to see a number of Hawaii-specific birds as well as the various habitats - but this trip exceeded all my expectations! I saw and experienced more of Hawaii than I imagined possible on one trip! If you want to experience the birds that Hawaii has to offer, I recommend you check out Eagle-Eye Tours for an experience of a lifetime.”

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Posted 2 months ago

Thank you so much for your glowing review! We're absolutely thrilled to hear that the Hawaii birding tour surpassed your expectations. The effort our team puts into planning each detail is aimed at providing memorable experiences, and it’s wonderful to know that you enjoyed every island, habitat, and sighting. We’re glad you were able to connect with Hawaii's unique avifauna and truly immerse yourself in its beauty. Your recommendation means the world to us, and we can't wait to welcome you back for another unforgettable adventure!

Posted 2 months ago

“Overall it was an excellent trip! Both Louie and Jeff are talented and successfull guides. We are thrilled that we visited three islands and the private tours at Volcanoe Park and on the big island were a bonus. Traveling in two vans with 9 participants (small group) was much better than being with a larger group. The first and last hotel were great, the second and third hotels could have been better. We ended up with 50 new life birds and some great photos!”

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Posted 2 months ago

Thank you for your fantastic review! Our guides are passionate experts who love sharing their knowledge, and we’re so happy to hear that Louie and Jeff helped make your trip memorable. We love hearing that the island hopping and traveling with a small group were highlights for you! We hope to go birding with you again!

Posted 2 months ago

Stumbling Birder

Verified Reviewer

“The Eagle-Eye birding tour in Hawaii in March 2024 was unsatisfactory. This was the guides first visit to the islands. He was disorganized and didn't know his way around. We spent extra hours driving around trying to find our hotels, restaurants, birding locations, etc.. He had hearing problems so he needed hearing aids (which he didn't wear) and he had tinnitus, so he was virtually no help birding by ear. This is not acceptable for a bird guide. Reflecting his lack of experience, he was unfamiliar with the pronunciation of some of the names of the birds and key plants, like the ʻŌhiʻa Lehua tree. Our meals were unsatisfactory. The meals that the company paid for were usually either motel-style continental breakfasts (one multi-night stay served just sugar/carbs like Twinkies and Ho-Hos, no fruit), or they were stuff we got from the grocery. When the guide shopped, he under-purchased key items - like one 8 oz package of lunchmeat and 4 bananas to split for lunch between 9 people. We supplemented the inadequate tour-provided meals with food we bought ourselves at the grocery store. Most of the dinners (which were not included in the cost of the tour) were at expensive, touristy-places, despite the nearby availability of good local/less-expensive restaurants. Example: At one touristy restaurant, some of us ordered the least expensive item, a $45 "chicken pot pie," which was less appetizing and less filling than a similar item from Swanson's frozen dinners. It appeared that the tour company/guide were cheap when it came to paying for meals but extravagant when we guests had to pay for them. The guide kept forgetting things, like leaving his credit card at an off-site rental counter, leaving the van headlights on overnight, forgetting to go to hotspots that he had promised, etc.. The group adjusted by going shopping for groceries with him, navigating in the van for him, reminding him of plans he had made, etc.. It's like we had to become "co-guides" in order to fix the tour. One of the reasons we went on this tour was because we knew the guide from prior positive encounters at a bird sanctuary and we really liked him as a person. Eagle-Eye was unaware of "TSA-Pre," the enhanced USA-based security access system, and had made no effort to get those of us who subscribed (most of the group) tickets marked as such. They say they will look into it. We did speak up to the guide at the time about the shortcomings of the experience, but he shrugged off our concerns. He was clearly overwhelmed by his role, so there was no point in badgering him about the issues beyond just informing him, which we did. I wholeheartedly recommend birding Hawaii as soon as possible due to active species loss, but with a local tour company and led by an experienced guide.”

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Posted 9 months ago

Hi, Thank you for your review. We appreciate you taking the time to write your feedback. We have addressed your comments privately in an email to you sent in April 2024, but we will post a response here as well. You are right that it was the guide's first time visiting Hawaii. For this purpose, we sent them on a week-long scouting trip before the tour started to get more familiarized with the tour locations. This is the first time we have heard negative feedback about this guide and we have discussed your feedback with him. Feedback from other participants on this tour did not share your views of our guide. Given the challenging circumstances that our guide had to manage, (including your own decision to abruptly leave the group, whilst in a remote area), we believe our guide handled many difficult situations with professionalism and skill. The local guides we hired to help out on two days of the tour also received high marks from other particpants on this tour. With regards to meals - after we received your feedback earlier this year we created a picnic shopping list document for our guides to follow to give them clearer direction about the standard of lunches that we expect. We are grateful for your feedback to be able to improve our internal systems. For North American tours, where the cost of dinner is not included in the tour price, our groups usually dine together, and this is often when checklists are completed. However, participants are welcome to dine on their own if they prefer. We’ve asked our guides to check for different restaurant options in Hawaii, but it’s important to keep in mind that prices in Hawaii tend to be higher. The hotel in question had temporarily changed its breakfast offering without informing us, but has since returned to serving their regular breakfast that includes healthier choices. Regarding TSA PreCheck, we have not received this feedback in the past, but we have now added a line requesting this information to our Pre-Tour Survey, asking clients to add their information if they have it. Again, we are grateful for your feedback to be able to improve our internal systems. Thank you again for your feedback, because of it, we have made a number of improvements to how we run this tour and others. We appreciate your comments.

Posted 6 months ago

Louise Crosby

Verified Reviewer

“Chris and Jakob were very knowledgeable about the birds and plants on the three islands (Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island and their joy in sharing their knowledge was clear! They took excellent care of the group and were very responsive to questions. Visiting 3 islands was a good trip plan as we saw a great variety of environments and birds. I'd suggest reversing the order by going to the Big Island first and Oahu last. The endemic birds were the big draw on the Big Island, along with Volcano National Park. The accommodation in Kona was the least desirable of the trip (common area and pool were minimal and the closest beaches were small and crowded). The other accommodations were a step or two above the Kona hotel.”

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Posted 2 years ago

“I do like the small groups that Eagle Eye has.this was a trip of a Life time. Very bird oriented.covered a variety of habitats, searching for native birds above the mosquito line and interlopers at lower levels..Expert guide with local contacts made sure we got into rarely visited areas. I think everyone got their target birds. Well worth the long drive from Canada”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Tom What a way to get a cohort of birds you can only get in Hawaii! On our trip we got all the Hawaiian Endemics while birding in some of the most scenic locations in the world. The seven birders and our guide quickly formed a very cohesive group that enjoyed everything together from birding, to viewing active volcanoes, to experiencing a spectacular flora and and and two weeks of delightful Hawaiian cuisine. And for me I had the added bonus of visiting my 50th state! I highly recommend this Eagle-Eye birding tour.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Great leader although a bit more laid-back than I had anticipated. I would get up long before the trip started and bird the parks or areas around the lodging. Also, since Hawaii was recently added to the ABA area, I would have liked to get more of the ABA-acceptable but introduced birds, which the leader didn't really care about since an easy-to-get munia or waxbill counts as much as something harder to get. We spent a few hours at a water treatment plant so the leader could check off western sandpiper on his Hawaii list although i would have rather spent the time looking for some of the introduced species I needed for the ABA area. Great trip though. Loved the nesting Laysan's and the tropicbirds at the lighthouse.”

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Posted 4 years ago

Paul Prappas

Verified Reviewer

“We'd wanted to bird Hawai'i for quite a few years, so when Eagle-eye offered their Hawai'i tour, we jumped at the chance. The tour covers the Big Island, Kauai'i and O'ahu. The logistics of the tour were well coordinated, focusing on as many endemic Hawaiian birds as possible, not to mention the many introduced species. The endemics are not easy to find, as many are seriously threatened. The guides are sensitive to these threats and coordinate with local environmentalists and researches to minimize any negative impact during the visit, which includes visits to restricted areas. In addition to the birds, you get to stay at some very nice places, and visit an active volcano.”

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Posted 4 years ago

Hawaii Reviews