Mauna Kea Stargazing Experience + Free Photos

Since our tours won’t be going to extreme altitudes, any age can join. Our max altitude is around 9k feet. Doctors recommend staying below that altitude to minimize any potential altitude sickness. It is extremely rare that anyone ever feels sick on our tours.

We use a star-tracker and an astro-modified (IR sensitive) camera with a scope on the end that takes long-exposure, tracked photos of galaxies, star clusters and nebulae..it’s pretty epic!

Yes! Everyone gets a few epic photos of them with the night sky taken complimentary by a professional astro-photographer. This will be part of a “basic” photo package. The photos will be just fine for small prints and social media posts. We will also take photos of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. Those photos are also included in the price of the tour. Upgrades are available if you’re wanting to have high resolution photos.

Our tours don’t visit the summit, that area is closed after sunset and only telescope operators are allowed up there. All tour companies and private individuals drive down after sunset and stargaze from the same general area at lower elevations…Except us. 🙂

We go to a remote location miles away from everyone else to get you the best stargazing experience possible. The Mauna Kea access road was once a great stargazing spot after sunset until it became too touristy. The summit access road is gravel and vehicles kick up a lot of dust when driving down after sunset. People trying to stargaze on the side of that road aren’t greeted to the best stargazing experience. The bright headlights and traffic take away from the stargazing experience as well. Unlike everyone else, we won’t be going there. We have other spots on the mountain that we go to…Whew!!

Our tours start at least an hour after sunset to make sure you get the best stargazing experience possible. Feel free to watch the sunset on your own and join us afterwards. You’ll have plenty of time to get to the meeting spot after sunset. For stargazing tours that end an hour before sunrise, you’ll be able to watch sunrise on your own as well.

Not typically. James will get up in the mountains a few hours before your tour start time and check for the best possible location to stargaze from to avoid the clouds. If the clouds don’t seem to disappear in time for your tour, James will let you know 90 minutes before the start time if the tour needs to be cancelled or postponed. That way you don’t have to drive in the mountains and waste valuable vacation time. 🙂

You’ll receive a 100% refund if we need to cancel because of weather.

Most nights the clouds start to clear up after sunset or James will find the best spot to avoid the clouds. It’s difficult to give more than a 90 minute heads up about weather conditions for the spots we go to since the clouds typically start to clear up after sunset. However, the spot we go to has the clearest section of skies on Mauna Kea.

Any time slot available through the online calendar will be an epic time to do the tour.  The dates and times are hand-selected to avoid the bright moon.

Upgrades can be placed before the tour or anytime afterwards.  The high-resolution files will be saved, indefinitely.

In the winter and spring months the temperatures can be around 40°F. In summer and fall months, it can be just over 45°F. That doesn’t sound too bad unless you’re standing outside for over an hour and a half. 🙂 So it’s recommended to dress accordingly. We also have parka jackets that have pockets and a hood to help keep you warmer.

Some brave individuals wear red dresses because they look pretty awesome in photos and they will wear a big coat over the dress during the stargazing portion of the tour to keep warm.

Here’s the short answer: 100% refund or come back again free.

As discussed in a previous question. James will get up in the mountains a few hours before your tour start time and check for the best possible location to stargaze from to avoid the clouds. If the clouds don’t seem to disappear in time for your tour, James will let you know 90 minutes before the start time if the tour needs to be cancelled or postponed. That way you don’t have to drive in the mountains and waste valuable vacation time. 🙂
You’ll receive a 100% refund if we need to cancel because of weather.

Most nights the clouds start to clear up after sunset or James will find the best spot to avoid the clouds. It’s difficult to give more than a 90 minute heads up about weather conditions for the spots we go to since the clouds typically start to clear up after sunset. However, the spot we go to has the clearest section of skies on Mauna Kea.

The tour is two hours total. We meet you near the stargazing area for a number of reasons.

Your tour guide will be up in the mountain a few hours in advance of your tour to check the weather and find the most optimal location for stargazing. If the weather turns cloudy, we will cancel/refund the tour 90 minutes before the tour start time. We are the only tour company that refunds for bad weather and avoids the bright moon.

Other tour companies will pick you up, but if the weather turns bad, they will say that “they can’t control the weather and are unable to offer a refund.