Events Calendar

Highlights

Explore Hawaii's natural beauty and abundant sunshine as you hike in Volcanoes National Park, discover green and black sand beaches, stroll through botanical gardens, visit a coffee plantation, and more. Itinerary highlights:

• Punalu’u Black Sand Beach
• Volcano House Hotel in Volcanoes National Park
• Kīlauea Iki crater walk
• Chain of Craters Road
• Mauna Ulu crater
• Hilo Farmers’ Market
• Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden
• Akaka Falls
• Greenwell Farms coffee plantation

This unique trip to the Big Island of Hawaii will impress new and repeat visitors alike. See photos from the 2021 Hawaii: Volcanoes in the Sun tour for a peek at what this destination offers!

Tour Host: Gerry Van Kooten

With your expert tour host, you’ll gain much deeper appreciation of the geology, history, and culture of Hawaii than traveling as a general tourist!

Gerry Van Kooten, Calvin professor of geology emeritus, spent 20+ years as a petroleum geologist in Alaska followed by 13 years of teaching at Calvin. He has led three alumni/CALL tours to Hawaii along with multiple student Interim trips there. He has also led tours to his summer home of Alaska and his winter home of Sedona, Arizona.

Activity Level

Passengers should be able to keep pace with a group for the walking portions of this tour, which including walking a couple miles on uneven surfaces and some elevation gain (400 feet for one hike). The group will walk at a steady pace but will also stop periodically for observations and explanations.

Pricing

This tour is expected to cost around $6,500, which includes flights from Grand Rapids (alternate cities available on request). This reflects current pricing in that region. Tour size is limited to 20-22 passengers.

More Information

Interested in learning more? Join the Hawaii interest list, and we’ll keep you updated as our plans develop. Email alumni@calvin.edu if you have additional question about the tour.

Reviews from Past Passengers

Gerry is very knowledgeable and an excellent teacher, conveying his expertise and enthusiasm in a way that helped us learn in an engaging and fun way. ~ 2023 passenger

This was an amazing trip led by a guy who really knew volcanoes and was able to present his knowledge in an interesting way. The scenery, the people, the places we visited were all excellent. I am telling others all about my trip! ~ 2021 passenger
 

Calvin tours are open to any friends of CALL and the Calvin Alumni Association who wish to travel with us. Explore other Calvin-sponsored tours, too!