Hawaii's Endemics to Pelagics Multi-Day Tour

Experience the best of Hawaiʻi and its beautiful birds with an expert guide in a fun and informative environment across 9 days, while making new birding friends! After working for other top birding tour operators and with conservation groups in Hawaiʻi for years, Mandy has designed the ultimate all-inclusive Hawaiʻi birding tour! She’s ecstatic to get you off the beaten path so you can enjoy the real Hawaiʻi while supporting wildlife conservation initiatives and local businesses.

Book this tour and you’ll soon find yourself birding in paradise and on the trail with Hawaii’s premiere local guides in search of Hawaii’s endemic forest birds, majestic seabirds, native water birds, visiting shorebirds, and introduced species. We also provide you with scrumptious meals and oceanfront accommodations to ensure your birding vacation is comfortable and fulfilling. We can’t wait to share Hawaii’s best birds, wildlife, food, scenery, history and culture with you on this epic birding adventure.

Day 1: Arrival
Upon arrival in Honolulu (HNL), take a shuttle, or cab, to your hotel in Waikīkī, where Mandy will have already reserved a room in your name. Check in is any time after 3pm. We will gather in the lobby at 6pm to meet new friends before our welcome dinner together.

Night in Waikīkī

Day 2: Birding Oʻahu
This morning we start our day in Kapiʻolani Park, next to our hotel, to admire visiting Pacific Golden Plovers and Honolulu’s city bird, the beautiful White Tern. While exploring the park we are sure to encounter a myriad of introduced species among the banyan and rainbow shower trees, such as Common Myna, Red-crested Cardinal, Red-vented Bulbul, Yellow-fronted Canary, Java Sparrow, Common Waxbill, Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, and Rose-ringed Parakeet. After breakfast we will leave the city behind and enter the rainforests of the Koʻolau Mountains in pursuit of Oʻahu’s endemic honeycreeper, the Oʻahu ʻAmakihi, before we transcend down into the valleys to search for the endangered Oʻahu ʻElepaio. While on our endemic bird adventure we will most likely encounter Whtie-rumped Shama, noisy flocks of Red-billed Leiothrix, an occasional Red-whiskered Bulbul, and chattering Warbling White-eyes.

Night in Waikīkī

Day 3: Birding Oʻahu’s North Shore
Today we journey up the picturesque windward side to experience the serenity of Oʻahu’s North Shore in search of visiting shorebirds, such as the Wandering Tattler and sought-after Bristle-thighed Curlew. While cruising the coastline, famous for world class surf beaches and secluded coves with basking sea turtles, we are sure to find some flashy finches, such as the Saffron Finch and Chestnut Munia. The North Shore is also home to some of the last family farms on Oʻahu with crops of coffee, cacao, eggplant, papaya, pineapple, banana, and even scattered shrimp farms with Black-crowned Night Heron, the endemic Hawaiian Coot, Common Gallinule (endemic subspecies), and Black-necked Stilt (endemic subspecies).

Night in Waikīkī

Day 4: Flight to Kaua’i and Birding Kaua’i’s North Shore
After breakfast we fly to Līhuʻe and discover the beauty of Kaua’i’s north shore in pursuit of impressive seabirds along Kīlauea Lighthouse NWR’s stunning coastline and more endemic water birds amongst Hanalei’s historic loʻi ponds. While scanning the rugged cliffs of Kīlauea covered with Red-footed Boobies and surveying the skies for Brown Booby, spectacular tropicbirds, majestic Laysan Albatross, and soaring Great Frigatebirds, we will enjoy up close views of Hawaiʻi’s state bird, the Nene (Hawaiian Goose). We will then explore Hanalei valley’s lush important bird area for more of Hawaiʻi’s endangered water birds, such as the Hawaiian Duck.

Night in Kapaʻa

Day 5: Birding Kaua’i’s Native Forest
We embark on a rainforest adventure with astounding views of Waimea Canyon, the Pacific’s Grand Canyon, on our journey into Kōkeʻe State Park to find Kaua’i ‘s endemic Kaua’i ʻAmakihi, ʻApapane, ʻAnianiau, and Kaua’i ʻElepaio. Other forest birds we could encounter in Kōkeʻe include Red Junglefowl, the skulky Japanese Bush Warbler and melodious Chinese Hwamei.

Night in Kapaʻa

Day 6: Birding Kaua’i and Departure Day from Lihue, Kaua’i
On our last morning on Kaua’i we will search for the rare Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush and any of Kaua’i’s introduced specialty species we haven’t already found before we check out at 11am. After a local lunch stop, we’ll have time to search for Hawaii’s endemic and critically endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal and Hawaii’s threatened endemic subspecies of Green Sea Turtle; before our direct flight to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island.

Day 7: Birding Big Island’s Leeward side
After breakfast we will bird Saddle Road for Short-eared Owl (endemic subspecies), Eurasian Skylark, Chukar, California Quail, Wild Turkey, Erckel’s Spurfowl, Black, and Gray francolins and more. From the high elevations of Pu`u La`au along the slopes of Mauna Kea, we will drive through Waikoloa in search of more introduced species, like Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, African Silverbill and Red Avadavat; and make our best attempts at vagrants within reach.

Day 8: Birding Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Experience Hakalau aka Hawaiʻi’s honeycreeper heaven! Hakalau Forest NWR is a publicly restricted montane cloud forest refuge and is home to many of Hawaiʻi’s endangered plants, native arthropods, and endemic birds. We will search for the unique Hawaiʻi ‘Alawī (creeper), the gorgeous day glow orange Hawaiʻi ʻAkepa, the stunning long billed ʻAkiapōlāʻau, the ʻIo (Hawaiian Hawk), Hawaiʻi ʻElepaio, and ʻŌmaʻo (HawaiʻiIsland’s endemic thrush) with beautiful I’iwi, Hawaiʻi ʻAmakihi, and ʻApapane all over the blossoms of ancient ‘Ohi’a trees enshrouding us. We will obviously be birding our way all the way in and out of the refuge for any target species we haven’t already tracked down, but today we easily be one of the highlights of tour, despite off-roading for an hour in and out of the refuge.

Night in Kona

Day 9: Pelagic Birding off Big Island
We embark on a pelagic birding charter out of Honokohau Harbor with an experienced local captain for Black Noddy, Brown Noddy, Sooty Tern, Brown Booby, White-tailed Tropicbird, Great Frigatebird, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, and Bulwer’s Petrel with hopes of finding: Masked Booby, Hawaiian Petrel, Black-winged Petrel, Mottled Petrel, Juan Fernandez Petrel, White-necked Petrel, Kermadec Petrel, Newell’s Shearwater, Christmas Shearwater, Leach’s Storm Petrel, Band-rumped Storm Petrel, all three jaegar species, South Polar Skua, incidental cetacean sightings, and more!

Night in Kona

Day 10: Departure Day from Kona (KOA) OR Extend your adventure to Volcanoes NP
Today is your departure day from Kailua-Kona (KOA) on the Big Island BUT WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU EXTEND YOUR HAWAIIAN ADVENTURE WITH US!

Breakfast is at your leisure (from 6:30 -10:30am) at our ocean front hotel is included as part of your all inclusive experience with check out at 11am.

If Kīlauea Volcano in Volcanoes National Park is erupting like it was in 2025; we highly recommend you join our Hilo based guide, Sam, on an awesome birding adventure into the park today with a night in Hilo (ITO): VIEW OUR PACKAGES FOR MORE DETAILS