Meh
I really like the idea of this kind of guide, but in the end I have mixed feelings about Shaka. We listened to all of the Volcano NP tour and part of the south coast tour. Here’s what I liked and what I didn’t.
The good: music selections and stories about the gods and legends were both highlights. Because the guide is keyed to gps, you do see things you might otherwise have missed. The turn by turn directions work great for some tricky intersections
The less good: for my taste, these guides are short on information. The Volcanoes guide was better in this regard than the south coast guide, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that these guides were pitched at too general an audience to really tell you very much. Vanishingly little history, not much Hawaiian cultural information beyond the mythology I mentioned above, and light on science and natural history. I get the sense that in an effort to make the guides accessible to all audiences, they’ve reduced the content to just the slimmest basics. Maybe if you’re traveling with small kids this is a bonus, but I found most of the entries too light on information to be very interesting. I bought the whole big island package, but after listening to one and a half tours I think I’ve had my fill. I like the (printed) Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed *much* better. But of course you can’t read that while you’re driving!
The good: music selections and stories about the gods and legends were both highlights. Because the guide is keyed to gps, you do see things you might otherwise have missed. The turn by turn directions work great for some tricky intersections
The less good: for my taste, these guides are short on information. The Volcanoes guide was better in this regard than the south coast guide, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that these guides were pitched at too general an audience to really tell you very much. Vanishingly little history, not much Hawaiian cultural information beyond the mythology I mentioned above, and light on science and natural history. I get the sense that in an effort to make the guides accessible to all audiences, they’ve reduced the content to just the slimmest basics. Maybe if you’re traveling with small kids this is a bonus, but I found most of the entries too light on information to be very interesting. I bought the whole big island package, but after listening to one and a half tours I think I’ve had my fill. I like the (printed) Hawaii: The Big Island Revealed *much* better. But of course you can’t read that while you’re driving!
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Response from developer
Aloha! Thank you for your kind feedback. We are reviewing this and several other suggestions for future updates.
Worth every penny
I don’t think I’ve ever written an App review until right now. We LOVED using the Shaka app on the Road to Hana. As someone who does her research and extensively prepares for adventures like the Road to Hana, I can honestly say that we would’ve been lost and confused without the Shaka guide. It provided us invaluable information throughout the day, like where to park for different sights, which spots had fees associated with them, which places we could skip and hit on the way back if time, which places had bathrooms, where to get food, what time certain sights close, etc. Seeing as you don’t have Internet access or service most of the drive to Hana and back, we never would’ve been able to access that level of info and detail without Shaka. Using Shaka let us prioritize the sights we wanted to see, skip the ones that were less important to us or would be more time consuming, and find the often shrouded entrances and parking areas necessary to actually see and enjoy the various waterfalls, natural pools, caves and arboretums. PLUS, we learned so much about Hawaii, its history and traditions, which was especially appreciated on the drive back from Hana, when we were done with our stops but needed the audio company. We were honestly sad to end our time with Shaka and our narrator for the Road to Hana. Will recommend to absolutely everyone going to Hawaii!!!
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Response from developer
So happy to hear you had an amazing time on your Shaka Guide tour. Hope to see you all again on more Shaka Guide adventures. 🤙😍🤙
Highly recommended!!!
The best 20 bucks you’ll spend in Oahu! If you have rented a car to tour Oahu, the Grand Circle Island Tour within the Shaka app is definitely the way to go as it guides you as you drive to all the locations with real time navigation (using the map of your choice), spoken and visual directions, and a complete history of each location visiting along with continuous Hawaiian music being played throughout the whole journey. It’s like having your own personal tour guide!
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Reliable Guide throughout our drive to Hanna and Back
This app was terrific!! We traveled on the road to Hanna with this app cueing us up to sites before we got there, giving some history or highlights for that spot. It even tells you where not to stop and where to stop and was spot on with the food options. So so helpful. Our favorite stop was swimming at Hamoa! We might have missed this beautiful spot to sun, swim and snorkel. Because we stopped there we ran a little late and headed back in the dark. This trusty companion made the curvy drive back entertaining and less stressful. Thanks so much for making this app!!! Highly recommend it!!
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Enhanced our trip in Maui and Kauai
We used the Shaka guide in both Maui and Kauai and are so happy we did! We love learning about the history of the land we were visiting and seeing stops we wouldn’t have otherwise known about. We felt much more connected to all of our stops after learning the history, and it was a fun way to explore a TON of amazing places in a short period of time. Realistically both of our tours could have been 2 day trips instead of one, as we couldn’t stop at every location - we had to miss some awesome places as it got dark! We will have to come back and use our Shaka tour again and visit all the spots we missed.
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Great Island Guide
Wonderful guide that allows you to stop as much or as little as you like. It is entertaining and informative. The only reason I gave it 4/5 is because I think the app needs to be updated. Some of the locations were run down and not very interesting, but for the most part it was great. There were also a couple of spots where directions were confusing or just incorrect (said left instead of right, etc.). We used the same app in Kauai, and I’m sure we will use it again!
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App did not work for 2/3rds of the trip
We purchased the Road to Hana app. It worked fine for the first portion of our trip that day and followed the route as described. But each time we stopped, the GPS signal had to be reconnected and after about 1/3 of the way there was no connection. We then had to try to follow the app manually and it was extremely frustrating. We missed stops and sights because of the problem and never saw some of the described landmarks. Do not attempt to use this app if you are driving solo, it will require a passenger to manage the app. We are better than average tech users and it just didn’t work as described. (And yes we had downloaded the app ahead of time as instructed) There was no way to contact support as there was no cell reception on most of the road. Better directions could have been provided about food options in Paia at the beginning of the trip. In our opinion, the choice of going left at the fork in Hana was the wrong choice. We had to find our way on our own that going to the right takes you to the business district where you’ll find the farmers market and some good food truck options for food. Driving the road to Hana is difficult enough itself without the frustration we experienced with this app.
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Response from developer
Mahalo for your feedback. We are continuously updating the app based on user feedback to make the experience better and your input is greatly appreciated as it is very helpful to us. If you have further suggestions or comments, please email us at aloha@shakaguide.com 🤙😍🤙
Great experience!
One of our friends told us to download this app for our trip to Maui. They have multiple tours for the road to Hana, but we chose to do the reverse loop. It was so much fun! You can hear the personality through the guide’s voice. We learned some cool tidbits about the history of the islands along the way. There are areas without cell reception, but you can download the tour and that really helped us through the areas we didn’t have service. I would definitely use this again!
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Great day!!
Whole family enjoyed the break down of the circle island tour.
Well done. Very informative and fun to use!
Well done. Very informative and fun to use!
What a great guide!!
My family took a last minute trip to Kauai and didn’t make any reservations for anywhere so instead we bought the Kauai package and did all the driving tours. Wow! What a vacation saver!! We saw places that we would have totally missed and we could view everything at our leisure which is great when you want to spend a week on aloha time.
The GPS navigation worked perfectly and we really enjoyed the educational stories and even the jokes. 😊
Of note, I had trouble downloading my guides to my iPad after purchasing on my phone so I sent a FB message to the guide and they answered within minutes. They worked with me until we got it resolved and couldn’t have been nicer and more helpful! Customer service was top notch! Bonus, I can use the guides again on my next trip as they never expire!
The GPS navigation worked perfectly and we really enjoyed the educational stories and even the jokes. 😊
Of note, I had trouble downloading my guides to my iPad after purchasing on my phone so I sent a FB message to the guide and they answered within minutes. They worked with me until we got it resolved and couldn’t have been nicer and more helpful! Customer service was top notch! Bonus, I can use the guides again on my next trip as they never expire!
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Response from developer
We're very happy to hear we've helped you enjoy your Hawaii vacation. Mahalo for your 5 star review! 🤙😍🤙
