It was an early start to the day but definitely worth it. The volcano sunrise viewing was spectacular. The ride down the volcano was exhilarating but we rode with caution as it is pretty steep with some hairpin turns. The tour guide drummed safety into us which was necessary. Dress warm in layers and oack some breakfast food. Overall, it was very well organised and a great experience.

Weather wasn't our friend that morning and didn't see the Sunrise. We had raincoats and pants that kept us dry. Once we got started down the mountain we had much better weather. We felt safe and Russell was a wealth of information! He gave helpful advise. We got to the relocation stop and they said it was raining on the next leg so they took us back up for a second run instead. Beautiful rainbows and views. Well worth getting up very early! Thanks everyone. Friends from IL and CO

Great trip with great guides. Pickup and drop off from hotel was key. Equipment was top notch. Made the most of a rainy day.

Best guides and bike ride was fantastic!! We had a beautiful sunrise. We had SO MUCH FUN! We will do this next time we come.

TL;DR: - View was great - Gear was in good condition and felt safe. - First leg of ride was awesome. - Tour guide was good. - Last leg of ride was hard and not explained well. - Company seems to be disorganized. - A few things could be done differently for a better experience. The good: The tour guide that drove the bus up the mountain (Dan or Dave [don't quite remember his name]) was awesome. He was knowledgeable about the area and history. He was engaging and funny and tried to set decent expectations for the trip. He did his best on the ride up to use a flashlight to point out local flora and fauna while it was dark out. He was able to answer questions people had and was frank about the state of tourism in Maui (I appreciated this, though others might not). The experience of the sunrise on the mountain was fantastic. We got lucky and there was no fog and great views of the sun coming up over the clouds. Breathtaking. Definitely a must do at least once while on Maui. After the sunrise the bus driver/guide took us to another spot on the mountain and helped us take a really cool picture that made it look like we were skydiving. Just kind of a little extra thing that was nice. He also knew where the best places to stop for bathroom breaks were and provided that along with a heads up that there wouldn't be other opportunities for a while. The downhill bike ride was exhilarating. Lots of fun to go downhill (no effort other than steering and stability. Woo!!) and some great views to see along the way. Doing the self guided option allowed me to go as fast as I wanted and allowed my wife to go at a slightly slower pace. The gear provided was in great condition, and I felt completely safe on the bike provided. Great braking ability, smooth shifting when needed, and a comfortable ride. The full face helmet provided was comfortable and added to the feeling of safety. For the first part of the trip (the sunrise and the first section of downhill biking) we were able to keep any extra stuff we had with us on the bus, which was nice as we had a lot of layers (BRING LAYERS, it's cold up on the mountain). The less good: The company as a whole didn't seem to have their stuff together. When we arrived at check in someone on the team (one of the drivers) had not shown up for work and the gentleman who was checking people in was short tempered and almost rude to the people trying to check in while he dealt with trying to find another driver. This was also the same person who had gone around picking people up from their hotels to do the driving only tour. So when everyone was there it was a room of about 30 people all not knowing what to do as the one employee was running around trying to find another driver. I don't blame him, but the company should have had someone else on site to help direct traffic, check people in, hand out gear, and answer questions. Even if everything had gone well, one more person might have been nice to help with getting started. The late driver meant that we were a little late getting up the mountain, and that mean that it was already fairly full of people at the observation area. My wife and I got a great spot to watch the sunrise, but not everyone on the trip did. The downhill ride started of course didn't start in the park (its not allowed by the park, and that was explained ahead of time) but it seemed to start farther down the mountain than it seemed like was necessary. Maybe that was just the best pull out there was, but i had seen others outside of the park before the one we used. The next disappointment was in the section of the road that is no longer allowed to be biked by commercial tour companies. This again was explained in advance and was expected, unfortunately we had to wait a significant amount of time for the guided group to join us with the trailer that had carried the bikes. There was little communication about how long we would be waiting, and it also seemed like the guide for that group did not know there was another group waiting for him. The end of the ride was not presented or handled well. For the last leg of the ride we were told we had to take anything we had with us on the bikes. Being as it had started about 35 degrees on the mountain, we had lots of layers. The website had said they would provide backpacks, but they were not handed out in the morning. My wife and I happened to see them when we checked in and so we grabbed them but not everyone did. Additionally, they were fairly small so shoving everything into them was difficult. We were told that we would go through Makawao and turn right at the stop sign (fine). But we were also told that it would be a great place to stop for a brunch or some shopping or whatever, but very little information was given about where those things might be, or how long we could take to explore before it was problematic for the service. Just outside of Makawao we were told to meet someone to check in for the very last portion, but she was not there when we got to the designated spot. Again we were waiting. And, while I am sure they need to have that check in for insurance purposes or whatever, it was kind of a waste as we did not get any new information and just had to wait in the heat for them to show up. The last portion of the trip was in a high traffic area and was more uphill than downhill, and we were not quite prepared for that. The first part of the ride was fun, but the last part was just work. Things that could be done differently by the company: Reviews of another company said that when getting to the first stopping point, they would go back up the mountain to the start of the down hill section and do that over. My wife and I both agree that the last section of the ride being work made it much less fun, and that we would have rather done the top part twice and not done the last part at all. Another thing that might have been better for us, would have been to have the tour guide in Makawao to explain were things were, what shops would be good to go to, and to provide more of an experience with the town as an official stop. I would suggest that the tour do the upper leg of the bike ride twice, then the whole tour stop in Makawao with the tour guide and then bussed back to the shop. In addition, better clarity on timing and expectations should be set out. If we had know, that we would be waiting for the guided tour, we might have just done the guided tour instead or stopped more often to take pictures. Also it may be worthwhile to have a second truck and/or trailer for the self guided vs the guided tours to not create that wait time. Having the timing better explained and having more people in the right places would also be helpful.

An amazing experience. Yes, you will wake up early but it’s worth it! Definitely have layers as it’s freezing at the top even with no wind. You can leave your layers in the van & pick it up when you check out. Loved stoping in town on the way down for brunch, coffee and some amazing convos with locals. Take the first half slow & take pictures! Even though you’re in the road, you feel safe. Everyone looks for bikers. It’s so friendly. The tour guide/driver Javier was awesome too! Would highly recommend.

My wife and I are in Hawaii celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary and went on this tour the first night we were on Maui to take advantage of our body clocks being used to the Eastern Time Zone. Our guide was Mike and he was terrific. We gathered with approximately 25 other riders, some on the guided tour, some, like ourselves, on the self-guided tour at 3:30 am at the Haleakala Bike Company in Haiku. We were supplied with bike helmets, rain jackets and pants, and watched a safety video. We then loaded onto a comfy touring van for the 2 hour drive to the top of the mountain. Along the way Mike gave an expansive and interesting narration about the mountain, upcountry (the agricultural region though which we were passing), and Hawaiian history and ecology. We passed into Haleakala NP and proceeded to an area several hundred feet below the summit (tour vehicles aren't allowed to the very top) to watch the sunrise. As we exited the van we experienced cold temperatures (roughly 40 degrees) and wind. We gathered in a observation area and were able to see a beautiful sunrise. We were well above the clouds but there was a cloud layer to the east and we watched as the sun blazed up through that layer. Spectacluar. After watching the sun come up we got back in the van and were transported several thousand feet down the mountain where we got on the sturdy Kona mountain bikes for the ride down the mountain. The ride was exhilirating and we were glad we had on layers of clothing. The only downer is the need to get back on the bus to drive through the town of Kula. The residents of Kula got an ordinance passed several years ago prohibiting bike tours from riding through town so we rode in the van through Kula, got back on the bikes below the town and finished the ride back to Haiku. Most of our group stopped in the little town of Makawao for refreshments and then completed the ride. Mike was a fantastic guide, sharing his knowledge and obvious love for Hawaii as well as great photos he had previously taken of the area. We highly recommend this tour.

Do not waste your hard earned $300ish unless... - You want to spend a lot of time in the very early morning listening to a groggy guide explain the many dangers of the bike ride you signed up for. - Followed by a ride in a bus with the cheesiest jokes you've ever heard and forced sing along. Come prepared with a fun fact about yourself to share with the group of strangers at 4am before heading out of the bike company parking lot. - The sunrise is fabulous, but don't expect to be able to stick around and enjoy the view. It is freezing up there, just as advertised, so definitely head the warm layers instructions because you will be standing around in the cold wind for about an hour with over a hundred people. Don't be fooled by the photos that show a romantic sunrise in solitude. - If you thought you'd be cycling down from from the summit, you were wrong. Pile back in the bus to head down to the visitor center 4 miles down the hill to use the restroom and listen to another round of safety instructions that will get you inside your head wondering what death trap you might have signed up for and whether it's actually a good idea. - It's still not time to hop on a bike. Head down another half mile or so to get dumped off on the side of the road where the bicycle guide is waiting for another round of scare the crap out of everyone horror stories of past participant accidents coupled with more safety instructions and another "it's way too freaking early in the morning for this" round of share your names and feelings with the group session. - Bike time. Oh, you thought you were going to ride all the way down into town and enjoy a lovely jaunt around Kula? WRONG. Just as the going gets good, you are forced to stop at mile marker 3 to get back into the van and be driven through Kula while your guide yammers on with the SAME DUMB JOKES as the guy who took you up to see the sunrise. You can't even enjoy the scenery in silent contemplation. There was a law passed in February 2023 that prohibits tours from going down this section of the road due to too many accidents. They don't exactly tell you that, but google will. - After about 10 minutes in the van, they finally pull over to let you back on the bikes but not before once again telling you how terrible the next part will be with traffic and "agony hills." The next portion of the ride is a series of speed humps before you hit the little town, maybe a grand total of 7 minutes of biking. - After you exit the town, you're stopped once again within a few moments, by another tour employee to check in and exaggerate the length and intensity of the next less than 4 miles back to the bike shop. Some tips that they do not clearly explain on the website: - The difference between guided and self-guided is not simply the price and hotel pickup vs driving into the bike shop at Haiku. The guided tour allows you to have the added safety of the van and trailer behind you to block oncoming and overtaking traffic while riding with the guide. This is helpful for anyone uncomfortable riding in traffic, though seasoned road bikers will be frustrated by the pace since the guide puts the slowest or most tentative riders up front to set the pace. - If you are not comfortable riding in traffic, either do not do this or pay for the guided ride. - The bikes seem fancy, but are actually pretty beat up and out of balance and that with the insanely large helmets that obstruct your view and change your center of gravity make for an unwieldy ride. There is a very brief gear shifting instruction that is glossed over at 4am at the shop, but never mentioned again, so practice shifting gear before heading down if you want to have any chance of making it up a hill. - There were some interesting facts about ecology and history, but the interspersed dad jokes that were again repeated by the second guide were too much. - It's not that this experience is terrible, it's just that it does not live up to the price tag. I would maybe pay $100 max with taxes and fees (of which there are a lot). At $300ish all in, they should at least provide water and a granola bar or hot coffee after the sunrise and update the website to explain very clearly what to expect. At this price, the guides should be compensated fairly so they don't have to ask for tips.

Cory was great! 10/10 - only con was waking up EARLY… but sunrise and the ride after was well worth it! Would do again and do self guided to be able to explore more!

We have a great time! Our guide Russell was organized, fun, informative, and provided us with all the safety and guidance needed. We even had some rain but it did not deter enjoying the ride down!

Vendor canceled the tour by phone about 1 1/2 hours before departure time. An afternoon evening tour, so impossible to book anything else. Guy told me that we were the only folks signed up so financially not practice to run the tour. Bad form. Day in Hawaii WASTED. The vendor should have called in the AM.

Best tour ever! Corey was the best tour guide!! He was very informative, has a great sense of humor, made sure that our small group of 14 was well taken care of. We even made a stop on the way up the mountain to look at the Magnificent night sky- the Milky Way was brilliant. We have a great time, learned so much about the culture and the community. We definitely recommend the tour and Corey!

Overall the trip was good but we did feel a bit mislead, the bike ride doesn’t start at the summit, it starts outside of the national park after all of the switchback that were mentioned in description and then you have to get on the bus to drive down more before riding again, just significantly less biking than expected. The speaker on the bus was broken so we didn’t get nearly as much guided narration up as others said in previous reviews. It also would have been nice to know sunrise view is heavily impacted by season so for September it was very cloudy and missed the sunrise. The parts we did were cool we just felt it wasn’t worth the price.

Great trip. The guide had great advice for the best places to view the sunrise. We had great weather which made for amazing pictures. We way underestimated the cold. Gloves and hand warmers would have be great.

Way exceeded expectations. The drive up to the top was very information and the driver way great! We felt totally safe and cared for on the way down. A great experience even for someone not super comfortable with biking.