Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers!) About Aloha Teen Tours
Hawaii is a dream destination for everyone. If you have questions before signing up for your grad tip with us, please read these FAQs, join us for an online meet and greet, or reach out for more information today.
Tour Information, Itinerary and Details
What is Aloha Teen Tours?
Aloha Teen Tours has been called the best high school summer graduation gift parents can give their kids. It's the perfect way to celebrate successful completion of your high school career before heading off to college. Join us this summer for weeklong adventure trip to the majestic Big Island of Hawaii. Enjoy outstanding service, scenery, activities, food and the spectacular Hawaiian lifestyle at every turn.
What are the Dates?
Unlike other grad trips consisting of many different tour types and itineraries that can cause confusion over which to choose, we make choosing your grad trip easy. We offer two weeklong tour dates on the Big Island of Hawaii so you can choose the one that works best you. (You can also stay both weeks if one week in paradise isn't enough!)
Aloha Teen Tour Dates for Summer 2022 (Both weeks take place on the Big Island of Hawaii)
- Tour A: Sunday, July 3 to Saturday, July 9 (6 nights & 7 days)
- Tour B: Sunday, July 10 to Saturday, July 16 (6 nights & 7 days)
Which Island Will We Visit?
Teens will experience the spectacular Big Island of Hawaii. Hawaii's Big Island provides incredible land and ocean activities you won't find on other islands. Soak up the island sun and glorious beaches, enjoy the clear blue and warm Pacific Ocean, experience lush tropical rain forests and waterfalls, stand in awe of spectacular volcanic peaks, and enjoy first class food, amenities and accommodations. Surfing, snorkeling, hiking, and boating are just the beginning as you bask in true Hawaiian culture, traditions, and experiences on the Big Island!
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What is the Tour Itinerary?
u Get ready to enjoy your grad trip on the Big Island of Hawaii for 4 days and 4 nights each. When our arrive in Hawaii, our guides will greet you at the airport, help you with your luggage, and then we'll all board our tour buses together and head to your hotel. After a brief orientation of what to expect in the days ahead, it's time to enjoy some amazing activities right on your very first day. Abby Barber, our owner, along with our tour guides, will share suggestions, options and information for what to see and do. We will give you many options from kayaking, to surfing, to snorkeling, to just hanging out at the hotel pool with your friends. You can choose activities from our prearranged itinerary or create your own.
How a Typical Day Works
Each day we will provide for you an itinerary detailing the day's pre-planned activity schedule. Every day of your weeklong grad trip will be spent exploring and enjoying the natural beauty, culture, and history of Hawaii while enjoying safe and fun activities, adventures, and excursions with your friends. Here's a typical itinerary schedule you can expect to enjoy for a single day of your tour. (The following itinerary is for example purposes only, but all the activities will be offered/available).
Each day we will provide for you an itinerary detailing the day's pre-planned activity schedule. Every day of your weeklong grad trip will be spent exploring and enjoying the natural beauty, culture, and history of Hawaii while enjoying safe and fun activities, adventures, and excursions with your friends. Here's a typical itinerary schedule you can expect to enjoy for a single day of your tour. (The following itinerary is for example purposes only, but all the activities will be offered/available).
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7:30 am: Breakfast
8:30 am: Daily Orientation/Tour Information 8:45 am: Board tour bus 9:30 am: Surfing at Kahuluʻu Beach Park 12:00 pm: Lunch 12:45 pm: Shopping in Kailua-Kona town 2:30 pm: Hawaiian Shaved Ice snack 4:30 pm: Board tour bus, return to hotel/resort 5:00 pm: Free time 6:30 pm: Authentic Hawaiian Luau (dinner, hula and fire dancing show) 9:30 pm: Nighttime pool party / Evening activities Midnight: Bed time! (Nah, just kidding...NO CURFEWS!! :) |
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How Do We Get to the Daily Activities, Tours, Events and Attractions?
You'll travel by luxury bus to and from the daily activities, events, excursions. shopping, food and site-seeing locations. The bus will pick you up in front of your hotel each morning. Once everyone boards the bus, we head to the day's preset tour location(s). The tour bus will return you to the hotel at the end of each day.
What if We'd Rather Do Our Own Thing than the Pre-planned Tour Schedule?
Whether you choose to participate in each day's preset schedule is up to you. You're invited to experience Hawaii the way YOU want according to a timeline and schedule you set by yourself. Each day, your tour guides will have a pre-planned tour schedule loaded with fun activities, events and excursions for those who want to join us. But if you'd rather explore the island on your own or just hang out at the hotel pool with your friends, that's absolutely fine. Your tour guides will gladly offer alternative suggestions. Our resort location is perfectly located within walking distance of numerous activities and excursions so even if you want to create your own schedule, you'll never run out of things to do.
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Aloha Teen Tours Staff
Our staff is excited to share with you their love and knowledge of the islands while delivering you an awe-inspiring trip you'll never forget. Our tour guides are funny, competent, mature, organized, and ready to show you the Hawaiian island tour experience of a lifetime. They will go overboard to make sure you and your friends experience paradise in style with an expertly planned, coordinated, and organized trip. They'll show you exactly how the majestic Hawaiian islands are meant to be enjoyed. After all, you deserve nothing less after successfully completing your high school career. Now is the time to celebrate in Hawaii!
Who is the Owner?
Aloha Teen Tours is owned by Abby Barber, who has been a camp director at Aloha Beach Camp, a summer day camp in Los Angeles and sleep away camp in Hawaii, for the past five years. She is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara and looks forward to hosting your teen in Hawaii this summer.
Lead Tour Guides and Program Directors
Josh Naftulin and Kiana Kim |
Owner and Founder
Abby Barber |
Lead Tour Guide and Head Surf Instructor
Noah Naftulin |
Who are the Tour Guides?
Josh Naftulin, Noah Naftulin, Kiana Kim and Abby Barber are here to make sure you have the time of your life in Hawaii! We have lots of support staff, too. Their jobs are to enhance your tour experience so it becomes much more than just a graduation trip to enjoy this summer. It will also become one of your most cherished memories. When you return home from your tour, you will not only recall the unforgettable experiences, activities, and excursions you enjoyed, but you will look back and smile as you recall all your experiences you shared with your tour guides and friends.
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Accommodations
Where Do We Stay?
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Where you stay will be a meaningful part of your grad trip experience. Our partner property, the Royal Kona Resort, is guaranteed to exceed your teen's expectations for ideal oceanfront accommodations with awe-inspiring beaches, beautifully-designed pools, fresh-air balconies with incredible amazing views, and always just moments away from top activities, attractions, sight-seeing locations and shopping opportunities.
Can We Stay in a Room With Our Friends?
Of course! Up to 4 participants can share the same room. There's space on your teen's registration form where you can indicate roommate preferences. We will be sure to accommodate your request.
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Big Island Resort: Royal Kona Resort |
Restaurants, Meals, and Dining
The Hawaiian Islands offer some of the best food, restaurants, and dining experiences in the world. At Aloha Teen Tours, your teenager will enjoy healthy and nutritious meals every day. Food sensitivities and restrictions and always accommodated. Gluten-free and vegan options are available for those who require them.
Is Food Included in the Price of the Tour?
In some cases, food will be included. For example, on the last night of each tour we will all eat together at a traditional Hawaiian luau. Oceanfront breakfast is also included FREE most days. For the most part, however -- and in the interest of maximizing your time and providing you with the greatest degree of flexibility -- your teen will generally be on their own to eat and experience meals with their friends.
Group Luau Events and Meals
Each leg of your child's tour culminates with an island-specific traditional luau feast where all group participants gather together before moving on to the next leg of our tour. From delicious deep fried pork legs and lettuce wraps to garlic ginger chicken wings to fresh island fruit, there is nothing better than enjoying a festive Hawaiian luau party with food and friends before moving on to the next leg of your tour where new mouth-watering meals await.
Enjoy Meals on Your Own Schedule
As we all know, some of the best parts of life include spending time with your friends while enjoying a nice meal. This is even more true in Hawaii, which offers some of the most incredible food, drinks, beachfront restaurants, desserts, and ocean-view seating and sunsets in the world.
Group Luau Events and Meals
Each leg of your child's tour culminates with an island-specific traditional luau feast where all group participants gather together before moving on to the next leg of our tour. From delicious deep fried pork legs and lettuce wraps to garlic ginger chicken wings to fresh island fruit, there is nothing better than enjoying a festive Hawaiian luau party with food and friends before moving on to the next leg of your tour where new mouth-watering meals await.
Enjoy Meals on Your Own Schedule
As we all know, some of the best parts of life include spending time with your friends while enjoying a nice meal. This is even more true in Hawaii, which offers some of the most incredible food, drinks, beachfront restaurants, desserts, and ocean-view seating and sunsets in the world.
Universally considered one of the best trip and travel destinations in the world, Hawaii's an especially fun place to celebrate your high school graduation with your friends for one final bash before before college. From luxury hotel resorts to high-action adventure activities like surfing, snorkeling, kayaking and cliff jumping, our expert tour guides are here to fill you with the Aloha spirit and help you enjoy the best experience of your lifetime.
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Experience has taught us that everyone has individual tastes, appetite, and consumption preferences ... not to mention the desire to eat on their own schedule. We realize you are in Hawaii to maximize your time and do what you want to do, WHEN you want to do it...and this includes eating. If you are enjoying a surfing activity or watching a volcano erupt on the Big Island, the last thing we'd want to do is interrupt your experience with a mandatory group lunch date at some pre-arranged time and place. We do NOT want you to feel rushed or interrupt your trip because you feel like you need to meet us. We know you'd prefer riding the waves, soaking up the sun, feasting on a slab of Hawaiian short ribs, or sucking down a refreshing mango-strawberry shaved-ice snow cone when YOU decide you want to, NOT when we tell you when or where.
Why Aren't Most Meals Included on the Trip? We are here to maximize your enjoyment of the Hawaiian Islands, not limit it. Rather than us requiring you to meet us for lunch or dinner at a specified time or place, it's YOUR CHOICE when and where you enjoy the meals you eat together with your friends. If you need help or suggestions finding the ideal spot, our guides will be available 24/7 to provide recommendations. And be sure to order lots of different plates when going out with your friends; sharing plates is the best to plates and try many types of food at once! |
Flights to Hawaii, Plane Tickets, and Airfare
As soon as your child registers for Aloha Teen Tours you'll want to start arranging their transportation to and from Hawaii. If your child is traveling from the mainland or other parts of the world, he or she will travel by plane. Please note your child's Aloha Teen Tours tuition does not include airfare. Our office staff is constantly monitoring airfare prices. When we find a great deal, we will share it with you. Currently, two of the the lowest prices we've found are through SunCountry Airlines and Alaska Airlines. If your teenager wants to fly in luxury, Hawaiian Airlines offers fantastic service to and from most airports but can be pricier than other airlines.
Will You Meet My Child at the Airport When They Arrive in Hawaii and Bring them Back to the Airport When the Tour is Over?
Of course! We gladly offer free shuttle service to and from the airports and hotels on each island your child's tour originates and concludes.
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When you arrive in Hawaii, our tour guides will greet your teenager at the Oahu airport with true Hawaiian hospitality. This includes authentic fresh flower lei necklace and warm "ALOHA!" greeting.
After picking up your luggage at baggage claim, we'll ll board our luxury tour bus together, then head to our Oahu hotel or resort to begin the first leg of your tour. Here are the airports we serve:
Please note: We do not offer pick-up or drop off service at any other island. If your child would like to experience other Hawaiian islands before or after their trip with us, namely Oahu, Maui or Kauai, we can help them/you coordinate this. Let us know and we'll gladly assist with inter-island flight arrangements. |
IMPORTANT: We will only pick-up tour participants who are fully vaccinated! Your child is considered are fully vaccinated two weeks after their 2nd dose of Pfizer and Moderna or two weeks after their 1st dose of Johnson & Johnson. Participants must provide proof of vaccination. Masks will be required when riding in vehicles.
What Time Should My Teenager Arrive in Hawaii?
Please make sure your child's flight is scheduled to arrive in Kona between 6 a.m. and noon on the opening day of their scheduled tour. Our tour guides will meet your child at the airport when they land. Arrival is an exciting and busy day!
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With checking in, meeting your roommates and tour guides, unpacking your stuff, eating lunch, having an orientation and heading-off to activities and attractions, all the fun and excitement begins the moment your teenager gets to Hawaii. We don’t want them to miss a single minute, so please honor our timing request exactly!
What Time Should My Teenager's Flight Home be Scheduled For? On closing day, please schedule your son or daughter's departure flight within the same time frame (6 a.m. to noon) as their arrival because we will close down the tour shortly after they leave to prepare for the next group of excited teenagers coming in. Your teen's flight home should be scheduled to leave from the Kona International Airport. IMPORTANT: All flights must be confirmed with our office before purchase. We want to make sure we'll be able to pick up your child at the correct time, date and location and avoid any misunderstandings or travel snags later. This also helps ensure that delays, flight changes or cancellations do not adversely affect your child’s Hawaii teen tour experience with us in any way. |
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My Child Would Like to Visit Additional Islands. Can you help?
Our tours take place on the Big Island of Hawaii. If your child would like to experience other Hawaiian islands before or after their trip with us, namely Oahu, Maui or Kauai, we can help them/you coordinate this. Let us know and we'll gladly assist with inter-island flight arrangements. How Will COVID-19 Factor into My Child's Flight(s)?
COVID-19 travel and test requirement options and regulations can vary by state, country, and county. Your airline of choice will provide specific requirements and travel tips for travel to, from, and within the Hawaiian Islands. Moreover, the Hawaii Safe Travels website is should be on your "go-to" list to help you navigate specific requirements and information. Please note your child may be required to wear a face-covering and maintain social distancing when possible during travel. |
What if My Child is a Minor Flying Alone?
Booking a flight for a minor can be tricky at times and involve pre-planning. You generally won't need to worry about this assuming your child is 18 or older, but each airline could have different rules to follow if your teenager is younger than a certain age. Each airline typically has different rules. We recommend contacting your individual airline for specific instructions. We are happy to assist you if you need further help.
Can You Provide any Additional Travel Tips or Suggestions?
Booking a flight for a minor can be tricky at times and involve pre-planning. You generally won't need to worry about this assuming your child is 18 or older, but each airline could have different rules to follow if your teenager is younger than a certain age. Each airline typically has different rules. We recommend contacting your individual airline for specific instructions. We are happy to assist you if you need further help.
Can You Provide any Additional Travel Tips or Suggestions?
- Pack lightly! Laundry facilities will be available, but you won't need to much stuff other than a few bathing suits and towels anyway. (We provide a packing list here.)
- Use mileage credit or airline points to book your flights and save money!
- When booking flights, talk with your friends and book together at the same time so you can be on the same flight(s) together!
- Join us for an upcoming online Open House to meet our staff and learn everything there is to know about your teenager's grad trip to Hawaii
- Airfare pricing and availability can change daily. Join our airfare watch list and we'll do the heavy lifting for you! We monitor the internet twice a week to find you the best airline prices. Join our list and we'll let you know when we find one that suits you.
Need More Info? Let's Get Together!
How Can We Get More Information?
There's many ways to reach us if you have questions about our tours and programs. You can:
1. Fill out this contact form and we'll get right back to you right away; or
2. Call or text us at (818) 919-0833
We are easy to reach, quick to respond, and looking forward to speaking with you!
1. Fill out this contact form and we'll get right back to you right away; or
2. Call or text us at (818) 919-0833
We are easy to reach, quick to respond, and looking forward to speaking with you!
Can We Meet You In Person Prior to Signing Up?
Of course! We will have several online pre-tour orientation and open house events hosted by our company owner, Abby Barber, and other members of our staff where you can meet us in person (virtually), ask questions, and get to know current and prospective Aloha Teen Tour participants. Open House dates, details and RSVP information for these informative online events is available now. If you would like to receive an invitation to our next upcoming event, please fill out this information form to be added to our mailing list.
When is the Deadline to Sign Up?
There is no particular registration deadline to sign up for our tours. However, we only have room for a limited number of participants -- 50 per tour -- and when the last spot is gone, it's gone for good. We are also contending with capacity restrictions due to COVID, so we anticipate filling up sooner rather than later for summer 2022. Sign up today so you don't miss out!
