Big Island Bees

This place is well worth a visit. Our tour guide from Idaho was fantastic, her knowledge and expertise with handling the bees and hives was amazing! She was more than happy to answer any questions and repeat showing the bees, queen, nursery and even held a drone bee for us all to see up close. ***** Stars to her ! The honey tasting was good too, plenty of variety, which made it difficult to choose only a few to take back with us, we had the ice cream and that was divine. Loved this place. We were a group of 8 and we all agree with this review.

Our tour at Big Island Bees was absolutely amazing! It was incredibly informative, and we learned so much about the bees, the honey-making process, myths about “saving the bees”, how to actually make a positive difference, and the history behind it all. Our guide was hilarious — truly some of the best bee jokes I’ve ever heard — and made the whole experience fun from start to finish. The honey tasting was a highlight too; every flavor was so delicious. I absolutely recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Big Island! 🐝🍯

Amazing!! As beekeepers in Canada we took this tour to learn (always learning!) about the various differences in being a producer on the big Island vs being a producer in western Canada. We were able to watch a hive inspection, locate the queen, watch some babies emerge from their cells, and even saw a little lizard enjoy a honey treat fresh from the hive. The tour guide (I can't recall her name I'm sorry!) was originally from Idaho and had the best experience from both the cooler USA climate and the Hawaii island, which was so awesome. We were able to finish the tour with a tasting and purchased some treats for home. We highly, highly recommend this tour!! We will be back on our next visit for sure! Mahalo!

Absolutely delicious products. Cute shop. Free shipping for purchases over $100- which I utilized! Quick in shop education and samples. I purchased a little bit of everything. I also enjoy honey ice cream that they sold in store for $4. Highly suggest!!!!

This tour was my favorite activity that I did while on the Big Island, and that’s saying a lot considering I also went snorkeling with the manta rays and visited the volcano national park during an eruption. As someone who considers saving the bees to be of significant importance, I can’t believe how little I knew about them and how much I learned from just this one tour. Some highlights from our tour were trying all the delicious honey, seeing the queen bee in her hive, and witnessing a bee birth!

Great and reasonably priced tour. Nice shop for honey and gifts. Our tour guide was very fun and knowledgeable and the other staff were friendly and helpful.

We did not do the full effect honey tour, but we did get to taste some honey and tried honey soft serve ice cream which was delicious. If you aren’t mailing any of your purchased honey, make sure to get the smallest jars so they get through security. Kona airport also has this honey in different sizes at their airport gift shop which is after you go through security. 🙌

4.5 stars. A nice establishment for educating the masses about bees. Didn’t realize so many types of bees and their work in life. Informed speaker. Above and Beyond. Even went out of his way to get us a sprig of herbs. Nice . We liked the vanilla bean and I liked the fragrance honey. So we got a few packs in the variety. ….As always, post where ever u end up. So other vacationers can choose to visit or not.

Very interesting Honey us deliciousdifferent flowers really do make different taste!

I.ve been to the bee farm several times. I live here and always take my guests. It is an informative entertaining experience. The beekeeper is engaging and extremely well versed in the profession. The store has a wonderful selection of products. I even purchased the 3 pack of honey for my daughters' wedding reception favors, they were shipped to the mainland for free which was an added bonus. I highly recommend Big Island Bees be part of your vacation itinerary!

A fun little store where you can sample all the honey they make, see the history of honey collecting, take a quick tour, or order your honey to ship home. The staff feels like family and are very knowledgeable. Parking is limited. When you pull up on the gravel road, it looks like a barn. Once inside, it looks like a museum/gift shop. Try the honey! Find your favorite!

We love the honey from here, especially the Lehua honey. There was quite a bit of selection of different unique honey at this store. The prices are reasonable.. There is a little museum inside with artwork of hives. You can sample the different types of honey. They also give tours at 10am and 1 pm for A fee.

Dl'ed the Shaka Guide app and purchased the Kona Big Kahuna Tour. It's like a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus tour in your own car. This place was on the tour. It was so cute! They offered free taste testings of their different flavor honeys. Plenty of parking next to the farm and offered outside handwashing and port-a potties. Never would have seen this place where we were going. So glad we stopped. They had their PHDs in bees and honey. Make sure you check out their store.

We've been coming to Kona for several years. We do the occasional tour, and have to say, this one stands out on many levels -- higher. Why? When you arrive, you are greeted with tea and a wonderful tart, while you watch a very well done video. Then one of the best people we have met in a long time - Joe, takes you out to a colony and explains everything you want to know about bees, honey, sustainability, Hawaii, and life! It's safe - the bees are behind a screen. Joe makes you laugh, but you learn as much as you chuckle. After that you have a tasting of several types of honey, then you walk through a wonderfully curated gift shop - no pressure to buy. One of the owners was also there, and she was just as pleasant, but maybe not as funny, as Joe (look out for the ice cream stash). Seriously good, very fun, and amazingly informative. One of the members in our group was kind of reluctant to go ("I don't want to get stung"). You won't! Afterwords, he agreed, it was an exceptional tour. In a world of endless tour options in Kona for coffee, salt, chocolate, etc., Big Island Bees has moved far and above to the top of the list.

Joe O'Brien gave the best tour of anything we've toured. He was so entertaining and witty, so knowledgeable, answered all questions thoroughly and immediately, and served us all delicious honey graciously and with a big smile. Thank you so much for a great day, we've been wanting to do this for a couple of years! Well worth the wait.

We had a beeeautful afternoon at Big Island Bees, and you will too!! We were met with the warmest welcome and the hospitality continued on for an informative and super enjoyable afternoon. Joe was immensely knowledgeable, his delivery clever and fun! There was no shortage of some good belly laughs! The gift shop , although small, has plenty to choose from, we walked out with a bag full. Not to be missed while visiting Kona

THIS WAS THE BEST TOUR WE TOOK ALL WEEK I love bees... I love honey. But even if you don't, go anyway. They are so dang friendly, even the farm dogs are sweet as can be (shout out to Stella and Mate). Joe goes above and beyond to give you as much information as your brains can handle We really felt like he has a love for his job, it's not just a way to make money, he genuinely loves what he does. The drive to the farm is beautiful and the views from the property are stunning. We bought honey and lip balms. I would visit again in a few years, it was that awesome!!

What an amazing place to visit! My mom and I loved Big Island Bees so much that we ended up coming here twice while on our trip! There is plenty of parking available, and the shop has several friendly staff members working there. We were offered samples of the different kinds of honey- I ended up buying one of each! If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Hawaiian Chili Honey, though. They offer many different-sized options of honey, so I ended up buying some little ones to give as gifts to friends and family! It made it easy to bring home with me. In addition to honey, they have a plethora of skincare options, home decor, greeting cards, tea, macadamia nuts, and more. I also tried the lilikoi spritz and the honey vanilla ice cream during our visits here. Both were delicious, but I especially loved the spritz; it wasn't overly sweet. I enjoyed reading about the history of the farm from all of the stuff they had on the walls. This place is truly magical. I would recommend stopping by here on your visit to Kona.

We had an amazing experience with the tour. We learned so much about the bees they raise and how they create all their own products and honey from their own bees! The tour started off with some treats and refreshments, then we learned all about the bees and then we were able to do a taste test! We didn't just learn about their bees but also learned so much about other bees, different practices in place for bees, bee breeding and more. And of course I bought some stuff to take home: honey samplers, chapsticks and a salve. Very impressed and totally recommend this as a stop on your trip to the Island of Hawaii ! You can tell they really truly care about the bees and what they are creating.

Unless you book a private tour they will completely ignore you. Run down old shop was probably nice years ago but not worth visiting now.

We arrived a smidge early for our morning tour. At first a little timid to enter, but once we did we were welcomed by our tour guide who was both whimsical and knowledgeable about all things bee. We were given some insight about the grounds, some quick bee knowledge and then some treats to tide us over before the tour started. An open air enclosure, the lobby/meeting area is a delightful area to explore the history of the grounds, bee submerged in literature, tools, art and get a glimpse of the items for purchase. If the weather is indeed always that delightful, I could see how the staff might bee the happiest on the island. The tour was awesome. We were given real world facts to how to help our local bees, whats really at stake and how we need to think about things in our gardens to help our local natives. Would I do it again? Oh yes. Would I recommend? Check the star count. Could I bee more specific?? Go and see for yourselves!! A delightful experience, we look forward to headed back one day!

This was probably one of my favorite tours we did. Not only is the place just beautiful, but Joe the tour guide and bee expert was so knowledgeable and interesting to listen to. We were actually in a group that was several members of a family and us (a couple), so the family had to tendency to talk over everyone and it was hard to get in a question, but Joe always got to us and answered all the questions. Learning about and seeing the bees was truly eye opening (and those cute little pesky geckos wanting honey added their own entertainment). Beautiful drive up to the property, wonderful honey and just an interesting place. Highly recommend.

I was bee-dazzled by our tour guide's breadth, depth, and width of knowledge! Joe's expertise is astonishing. I wish I had taped his talk, since his mind is so fast that I couldn't keep up with all the fascinating information. Very fun and impressive.

The information provided on the tour was beyond great. I learned so much about bees, their honey, the queen, mating and more. We actually got to see the queen up close. The beekeeper certainly knew his stuff and kept us entertained. On occasion, some of the jokes could have been seen as off putting. The honey tasting was interesting. You could taste the difference between honeys. There were great explanations of each. The gift shop was quaint and perfect. Honeycomb art was on display. The staff was friendly and helpful.

The Shaka Big Isle tour app we used suggested we stop here. We didn't do the tour as we weren't there for a convenient start time. The gift shop was kinda boring, the staff (while nice and friendly) wasn't engaging and we had to ask for samples. There are some interesting pictures and artifacts to check out, and I'm sure the tour might have Ben ok, but I wouldn't make a special trip to this place.

After our Kayak adventure to the Captain Cook monument, we stopped by to check out the gift shop. We received an educational overview on the types of honey available and were provided samples outside in the picnic area. Reservations are reccomended for the tour, but visiting the gift store and museum can also be educational. The gift shop alone had really cool carvings out of wax and an active beehive is also visible.

Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area. Free honey tasting - all were delicious. We ended up getting the one with vanilla.

So much fun. We "discovered" this place when we were watching Hawai'i Life on HGTV (?) and decided to take a tour while on vacation. So much fun, so delicious, and very informative. We have an addictive peanut butter bar recipe that uses 1/2 c. honey so we go through quite a bit of honey.

Great place, friendly with a very informative and enjoyable "Bee Tour", hosted by Joe. He knows his bees, and loves to talk about them. Every time I have visitors from the Mainland, I recommend Big Island Bees, and no one has ever been disappointed. More often than not, I accompany them -- always fun and I always learn something new. And the honey! Absolutely delicious. Bee sure to take a detour to Big Island Bees and the Bee Tour!

Our family of 5 (3 boys 4-12) thoroughly enjoyed this tour! We learned so much about bees and honey. Our tour guide was phenomenal! He was funny, engaging and you could tell he lives and breathes bees! His love for this topic is infectious!

I would give this experience 10 stars if could. It was a phenomenal experience. Joe was the perfect guide/narrator: funny, smart, informative, and deeply committed to his job. He was absolutely great. You start with a short film about bees and bee raising in Hawaii in general. You then go outside and spend about 50 minutes exploring the nuances of bee raising. Joe shows all kinds of different things about the hives that only an expert would know. It was fascinating. At the end you taste test about 6-7 different types and flavors of honey. You can then buy the kind or kinds you like in the gift store. Everything they do is organic and healthy for the bees, people, and the environment. The tour is not expensive, about $50 for two adults and a kid. I highly recommend this tour. It's a bit of drive from Kona but well worth the time and effort. The tour is kid and family friendly.

The information you are provided about bees and their importance is terrific. The tasting is fun as well. Not sure how many beekeepers do the tours but ours was fairly annoying. Lots of weird jokes that weren't kid-appropriate, interrupted one attendee who was trying to ask a question before she even finished, etc. Again - very much worth the cost and time. And the honey. OMG so so delicious! Opportunity to shop as well. Have a greater appreciation of bees for sure!!

Love this place !!! Forgot our second visit when we did a honey tasting and decided to buy a couple jars of honey. My hubby fell in love with the honey with the chilis, and I fell in love with the Wilelaki honey and we both loved the honey with the cinnamon So what was one yo do but buy all three? So we did. And, they ship free when you reach a certain amount which we had. Well, the honey beat us home. And now we are enjoying their most wonderful Hawaiian honeys at home. Looking forward to our next connect year to replenish our honey which is quickly being enjoyed. Check this wonderful place out. A little off the beaten path, but worth the trip!!

Just to be clear we did not go on the tour, so this is just for the store and the honey... What a cute little store! And they sit you down and give you samples and explain each one! And each one is very different believe it or not! A lot of cute things in the shop, lots of self-care stuff or great things to bring back for family and friends as souvenirs! And all of the honey is delicious!

My wife and I, and our 4-year old went on the tour. The guide, Joe, is very knowledgeable and funny. I was initially concerned because you have to sign a waiver to register for the tour. I understand the practicality of the waiver. The beehives are behind a screen. Joe, was in shorts and a t-shirt (no protective gear) and expertly handled the bees. We were not, at any point, worried about our safety. Joe told us about beekeeping, but also had interesting points about "local" honey and beekeeping for enthusiast. The tour ends with samples of the honey they have to offer. I also learned about pollen-flavored honey versus infused honey. I definitely recommend!

Time in Hawaii is precious so my family wasn't too excited to go check this place out when they would rather be at the beach. It was my son's birthday and he loves honey, so we went anyways and we are so glad we did! The drive there takes you out of the lava coast of Kona into the plush hills of Captain Cook, which is worth the drive alone. The Museum is tiny, but very quaint and interesting. The bee keeper knows tons about his trade and is excited to share it! The displays are cool and easy to take in info quickly. The best part is the Honey. I can take or leave honey, and honestly with a good biscuit I'd probably go with jams instead, but this honey was CRAZY GOOD! They give you samples of several types and of course the stuff from local Hawaiian flowers is the most exotic and delicious. We ended up buying several jars of different variations and ate most of it before our flight back home. The Vanilla honey was so good we just ate spoonfuls straight out of the jar! There was some talk about driving back out there to get more, but then we found a little boutique in Kona selling it and bought another jar :)

Definitely recommend booking a tour ahead of time! I forgot our bee keepers name but he was so fun, friendly and knowledgeable about all things related to bees. At the end of the tour you get to sample lots of different honeys while overlooking the ocean

This review is for the store as we didn't go on a tour. When we got there it was very quiet, but we were greeted and offered samples. It did get busy after a short time as a tour was starting. Appreciated that you can really taste the different flavors in each type of honey they make. We got to try three and we honestly couldn't choose one, so we bought all three. I actually liked the thicker one that had a little crystallization in it. They also sell products made of beeswax. Everyone was really nice and friendly from the samples to checkout. Will have to come back next time to try the tour and buy more honey.

This place was great! Fun tasting, impressive learning about bees and honey, and good for the kids as they learned to not be afraid of bees, and how to handle it if they get stung! Our poor "guide" got stung in his nose during our presentation, and the way he continued talking despite his eyes watering and nose running was impressive! May I have such composure when I get hurt. Haha. I definitely recommend for a nice family outing.

Great little tour if you ever are interested in how honey is made... Joe is a animated instructor answered all my questions about queen bees... nice stop on way to City if Refuge or Two-Step beach... great honey too

This was such a cool experience. Greg gave us our tour and he was so excited about the bees that it really came through in his talk. I was so amazed to learn about the bees and how critical they are to us and how communal they are. They really are extraordinary. We got to see a queen bee who just laid her eggs. Of course the store is cute and the honey samples were great. I really liked the macadamia nut one. They make great souvenirs and gifts for family who didn't get to join us. With the prices of excursions/tours, etc. so expensive, this one is a bargain!

Love this place! The location has wonderful view. The ladies who are running the business are friendly, courteous, and great with kids. We tried their honey after the tour, and the honey ice cream. It was delicious. My son said, it is the very yummy ice cream. Their honey tart is incredible tasty. The honey collection is high quality. We love this place.

Very very nice place to relax and enjoy the time in big island. While learning more about the different types of honey, I could pick my perfect souvenirs for my friends and families! The lady who explained everything to us and walk us thru the tasting is very nice and friendly! Love the vibe!

Super fun place to take the kids also the honey is amazing . When you're done drive to the bottom of the road and check out the beach it's amazing

This was my favorite gift shop experience since we've been in Hawaii. Every little detail was accounted for, from the planters outside made from bee boxes, to the handmade wallpaper covered in beeswax. Even if you don't have a tour- this place is a destination worth the drive. There are plenty of quality gifts at reasonable prices- small honey jars for $8 per 3-pack make beautiful gifts. Canvas totes for $15, and delicious home made ice-cream. I've been eating the honey all week, and it's superb. We even watched paragliders from outside.

This was such an interesting visit at the Bee Farm. We learned a lot about how important the bees are and how hard they have to work to make the honey and keep the eco system healthy. Joe was such a great educator for this, it's so great when you experience knowledgeable people with a huge passion for their work.

Omg I can't recommend a tour with Joe enough! The honey and food were wonderful. We bought one of each flavor

For my 600th review I wanted it to be special, and it was a close tie between the Manta Ray night snorkel or the Big Island Bees. Bees won. Did you know the bee hives are on the back of a big truck and driven around to old lehua groves, Mac nut farms and other single-flower groves to get the purest honey? They stay there for months then drive home. Did you know it takes a million flowers to make a pound of honey? How about the life span of a European honey bee? Only 3 to 6 weeks. Queen bees are made depending on what she's being fed. Male bees just mate, only the females work and gather pollen. Too funny! How about this: a worker bee only makes a 1/4 tsp of honey in her entire life time. Did you know some bees don't even make honey? Some bees live in coral on the beach, and they are not the ones you see in your yard buzzing around your Zinnias! It's trivia like this I love an crave as an overly-inquisitive person. I also brought the kids here because I didn't want them to be afraid of bees, and this tour worked because Joe, the bee-keeper grabbed a scoop of bees right up into his naked, unprotected hand and they formed a crazy looking BEE CHAIN off his finger tips without getting stung! Highly recommend this one-hour tour for about $15 adults and $8 for kids, Kama'aina rate (Mainland tourists will pay more but there were none to be found due to Covid and travel restrictions outside of the state of Hawaii). You'll need to make reservations online in advance. GETTING THERE: - follow their Youtube video or written directions on their website that says "do not follow GPS" but we followed Waze anyway and had a blast of a time weaving through the crazy, winding roads through some picturesque scenery. There were fruit stands and even an honor-lei stand, where you can put money in a box and get a fresh lei. That's what I call local flavor! My neighbor did get a bit car-sick from all the weaving and winding, though...just a warning in case you decide to follow the GPS! PARKING: Dirt lot with grass. TOILETS: Porta Potty. SHOP: Small shop but a ton of goodies. I wish I bought more things. Lovely honey of course (you get a sampling taster at the end of your tour). Soaps, cosmetics, beeswax, postcards, the amazing Mac Nut honey brittle tart, T-shirts, dish towels, totes and all manner of things to take home. They will even ship your items if you can't pack it in your luggage. TASTING: Before your tour you get a welcome sample of the most amazing Mac nut tart infused with honey and a non-sweet tea that was curiously scented with honey but was not sweet. I should have purchased that amazing tea but forgot. After the tour, you get another sampling of different honeys; 3 single-flower honey and 3 infused honeys. My favorites were the Vanilla Bean Honey and the hot Chili Pepper Honey - blow the mind delicious! Thank you Lisa for being such an amazing hostess! TOUR: Incredible tour with tons of information about everything bees! I'm a gardener so I found it super fascinating but even the kids had an amazing time. My son loved the Day Gecko that came out immediately to slurp at the honey that Joe dripped out of the hive inadvertently. Joe is a very passionate guy who loves what he does and it shows. It was very informative and I wish it was longer; I could have asked him questions about bees all day long! Plan to spend a magical 1.5 to 2 hours here. It's a tour you won't likely forget!

This place is awesome!! I bought so much honey it's all delicious! My husband and I had the best iced cream we have every had here. You must try it! We did not do the tour but we just might still!! The staff was so friendly and accommodating.

Our Big Island Bees tour was fantastic! The tour started off with some local tea sweetened with their honey and a macadamia nut dessert. Then we watched a short video with the history of Big Island Bees, which was helpful to set the stage for the rest of the tour. Then was the fun part - seeing the bees! Our tour guide was great-he explained the process very well and showed us many different hives. He even found the queen and showed her to us! Most importantly though... their honey is delicious! We had a tasting at the end with 6 of their different honeys, including a few flavored ones (cinnamon, vanilla, and a spicy pepper one). They were all so good! We ended up buying a little bit of everything to take home. This tour is a must while visiting the Big Island!

This was such a fun visit. The location provides an educational component with a presentation on honey production, then there is a tour of the grounds. There were a number of varieties of honey for tasting. Best part is the selection of easy to pack gift sets. The Hawaiian Honey Sampler was such a great stocking stuffer, and they also had tea and cooking blends. We spend an hour here and it was worth the stop.

We stopped by just to take a look, and left with a wonderful experience. Folks there were incredibly friendly and we had a great chat. They gave us a sampler of the 3 different kinds of honey that they're known for, and they were all delicious. They also have honey ice cream that was divine. Purchases over $100 get free shipping :)

The bee farm is cute. Worth a visit. The bee tour was interesting and there is a tasting at the end. A cool use of an hour and some great honey. The people working here are great and super nice. Also a good spot to pick up other local gifts. They have one porta potty, so plan accordingly. There is a parking lot on site. The sign behind the register is confusing regarding honey and TSA. You can buy and carry home in your checked bag as much honey as you want. But if you are doing only carry on it counts towards your liquids 3oz rule.

We were looking for things to do while we were on the island, and remembered that Big Island Bees is well, on the big island! We booked a last minute tour for the next day and it was such a fun experience. Our tour guide, Greg, (I think!?) was super knowledgable about bees and the bee keeping process. It was really cool to see up close. Unfortunately, I got stung by one, which is not their fault. I didn't realize there was a bee on my arm and startled it. The tasting was the next best part. The honey is so good! Too bad it's so heavy, otherwise I definitely would've bought the giant jar to bring home!

They are friendly. We saw a bee hive, walked around the garden, and bought some honey. Lovely view!

We had just the best bee tour with Joe today. It was so fun, informative, hilarious and enjoyable. We highly recommend. My husband kindly went with me but was so surprised to thoroughly enjoy every bit of it! It's a beautiful drive to the farm and beautiful at the farm.

I had an excellent time at Big Island Bees. My friends and I visited despite not having a reservation for a tour. On the site, it says they have a free museum - which was basically a museum/store combo. For the museum half, they had a lot of interesting sculptures made of beeswax made by (I think?) the owner. Their walls were also decorated with other bee-related things, like art, poetry, and some descriptive cards that go through the lifecycle of a bee. Fun stuff! The people working there were super friendly and answered questions we had about bees even though we didn't go on the tour. (Shoutout to Joe and his amazing rants and facts). I learned so much. We ended up buying their honey ice cream and other various honey products.