Green Sand Explorer
The only Green Sand Beach!
(This tour is no longer available. Please visit our air tour pages for flights above the green sand beach.)
Highlights:
Southern most point and Green Sand Beach.
Description:
Visit the Green Sand Beach in Hawaii Our Green Sand Explorer is a perfect tour for the off-road and adventurous type! Depending on which side of the island your tour departs from) this adventure begins with a visit to the famous Punalu'u Black sand beach, home to many of our Green Sea Turtles. After a walk across the black sand and photo opportunity with the turtles, the tour then continues on to the southern-most tip of the United States, South Point ( Ka Lae ) of the Big Island of Hawaii. (This is where historians believe the first Polynesians landed in Hawaii). Today there is a wind farm that helps produce electricity for the Island of Hawaii, the south point sea-cliffs (a great fishing spot for the locals) and after a bumpy 4x4 drive across old lava formations, your tour arrives at the highlight of this trip; the Green Sand Beach, (or Papakolea Beach). The olive-like color of the sand comes from the presence of a greenish, semi-precious stone named, appropriately enough, olivine. The erosive force of the ocean washing into the base of Pu'u o Mahana cinder cone has extracted olivine out of the cinder. These are deposited on the sand, giving the sand a green tint. This secluded beach is shaped like a giant bowl; you have to climb down the side of the "bowl" to reach the beach. It's not easy to get to, but where else can you visit a Green Sand beach? Tour Length/Departure Times: Tour is approx. 6 - 7 hrs Tour picks up from location of stay. We pick up from your location of stay with in city limits.