The Big Island is a blast, pretty much no matter what you’re doing. However, if you really want an authentic Hawaiian experience, we highly recommend checking out a luau.

However, not all luaus are the same – some incorporate more activities into them and some have better quality that end up being more highly-rated than others.

If you’re looking for one of the top luaus on the Big Island available, check this out!

Be sure to see our reviews of Big Island helicopter tours, Big Island volcano tours and Big Island snorkel tours.

Best Luaus on the Big Island

	Voyagers of the Pacific Luau w/ Buffet	Island Breeze Luau on the Big Island	Pilikana - A Kona Inn Luau Polynesian Show
	Best Luau Dinner	Best Luau Show	Best Budget Luau
Location:	Royal Kona Resort	King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel	Kona Inn, 75-5744 Alii Dr Ste 286, Kailua-Kona
Start:	Contact resort	5:30 pm	4:30 pm
Duration:	3 hours	3 hours	3.5 hours
Includes:	All-inclusive island-style buffet, complimentary cocktails, Polynesian Show, Samoan fire knife dance	Alcoholic beverages, dinner, Luau show, shell lei	Dinner, alcoholic beverages, Luau show, shell lei, Hula lesson, Hawaiian games
	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking	Tour Information & Booking

Quick Answer: The 3 Best Rated Big Island Luaus For 2026

1. Best Luau Dinner: Voyagers of the Pacific Luau with Buffet
2. Best Luau Show: Island Breeze Luau on the Big Island
3. Best Budget Luau: Pilikana – A Kona Inn Luau Polynesian Show

Big Island Luau Reviews

1. Best Luau Dinner: Voyagers of the Pacific Luau with Buffet on the Big Island

Let’s start things off on the right foot, with the Big Island: Voyagers of the Pacific Luau with Buffet Tour! This 3-hour excursion is a wonderful way to get insight into Polynesian culture and more of the traditional side of Hawaii that’s not to be missed.

Located on a gorgeous oceanfront setting on Kailua Bay, you’ll get to try some amazing food while watching these amazing shows.

Head over to the Royal Kona Resort, where you’ll be escorted to where the luau show is held. You’ll be welcomed with an aloha shell lei, which is the best way to start out any adventure on the Hawaiian islands.

Next up, they’ll show you craft demonstrations, which are very interesting. As this is an interactive experience, you will get to partake in much of it, learning how to make some yourself. After learning, everyone will begin to head over to a juicy, all-you-can-eat feast!

This buffet consists of flavorful, traditional Hawaiian dishes all made with locally-sourced ingredients. These include, but are not limited to, coconut rolls, Hawaiian sweet potatoes, macaroni, Lomi Lomi salmon salad, stir-fried veggies, Kaluah-style pork, and more.

Oh, and you do have complimentary cocktails included, such as Mai Tais, wine, beer, as well as plenty of soft drinks. Don’t forget the dessert! Hawaiian Haupia pudding and coconut cake are there for the taking.

Enjoy it all as you listen to the pounding drums, watching the Voyagers of the Pacific Luau show, including live song and dance, along with Samoan fire knife dancers!

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

Other Experiences You May Enjoy:

2. Best Luau Show: Island Breeze Luau on the Big Island

Next up, we bring you yet another incredible 3-hour luau adventure that you have to fit into your schedule! If you’re looking for an exciting time for the entire family, this is a great option.

The Island Breeze Luau on the Big Island is a wonderful value, and is one of those things you just have to do if you’re on the Big Island.

Your Luau starts out at the Kamakahonu, which offers some amazing views of the water. You’ll be welcomed with a shell lei, but also with friendly demeanors and incredibly knowledgeable staff. This is something that makes a big difference – the welcoming attitude of everyone.

Take a seat under the stars, settle in, and get comfortable because you’re going to be entertained by some world-class dancers and musicians. Enjoy complimentary drinks, which include tropical-inspired cocktails, wine, beer, and many soft drink options.

The food is also amazing, and comes from one of the best restaurants in all of Hawaii.

The traditional performances are exhilarating to watch, and tell the story of Pele, the fire goddess. She travels through Polynesia, and the dance tells all about her experiences – namely her meeting the demigod, Kamapua’a.

There are hula lessons, which are so much fun for kids all the way to grown adults. It’s a great way to bond with your loved ones, get out of your comfort zone, and learn more about Polynesian culture, history, and cuisine.

Instead of going to a restaurant, try this experience instead! Leave with your stomach happy, a smile on your face, and new skills acquired.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

Other Experiences You May Enjoy

3. Best Budget Luau: Pilikana – A Kona Inn Luau Polynesian Show

This next tour is one of the most unique in all of the island. This Polynesian show is very intense, in terms of the world-class quality of entertainment.

However, the Pilikana – A Kona Inn Luau Polynesian Show tour is one of the best choices for couples, or for the entire family! This one is a great choice if you’re on a tight budget, but really want to learn more about the local culture.

It’s also a bit longer than the others we’ve covered, and we felt like you do have some more activities available to participate in. Like the other two, you’re welcomed with a shell lei which sets the mood off to a great start. As everyone sits down, they’ll be offered a beverage of their choice.

Plenty of soft drinks and juices are available, however, alcoholic beverages like cocktails and wine are also included for the adults. Try out a hula lesson before the entertainment starts!

We found the instructors to be super welcoming, friendly, and knowledgeable. Kids especially tend to love these lessons, and it’s hard to get them to sit down afterward!

The excitement is contagious, and continues building as the show starts! This special Polynesian show is made to honor and remit the ancient stories that have been passed down for centuries through the form of original compositions and unique choreography only found here.

As you watch fire performers and dancers, enjoy a delicious dinner composed of traditional Hawaiian dishes like Kalua pork, coconut rolls, and all kinds of desserts. The ocean view in the background just makes it that much more enjoyable, and offers the perfect background to this majestic scene.

More Information & Tour Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

The Honest Guide to Big Island Luaus

You came to Hawaii and someone told you that you have to do a luau. That someone was probably a tourism ad, and the real story is more complicated and more useful.

A luau on the Big Island is a buffet, an open bar, and a Polynesian dance show, run on a resort lawn for a few hundred people a night. Some are a genuinely good time, and some are an overpriced wedding reception with fire dancers.

I’ll tell you which is which.

What a Luau Actually Is

Strip away the marketing and a commercial luau is a dinner show. You get a shell lei at the door, a couple of hours of open bar and buffet, and a stage production that runs through hula, Tahitian drumming, a Maori haka, and a Samoan fire-knife finale.

The food is the part people oversell. It is a buffet with kalua pork pulled from an underground oven called an imu, plus poke, lomi salmon, poi, rice, and haupia for dessert.

It’s usually good. It is rarely the best Hawaiian food you will eat on the trip.

The open bar is mostly mai tais, beer, well cocktails, and wine, and it is included at most shows but not all. Mauna Kea is the notable holdout with no open bar, so if free-flowing drinks matter to you, check that line before you book.

Here is the honest math. You’re paying somewhere between $165 and $240 a head to share a buffet with strangers at a resort that may also charge you to park.

If your only goal is great Hawaiian food, skip the luau and hit Da Poke Shack or Kaaloa’s Super J’s in Kona for a fraction of the price. If you want the whole package, a warm night, ocean behind the stage, a drink in hand, fire spinning at the end, a good luau delivers exactly that and it is a fun night out.

Do one, not three. One luau is a great Big Island evening, and by the second you’ve already seen the show.

Where They Are and Which Nights

Every luau on the Big Island runs on the west side, along the Kona and Kohala coasts. The Hilo side is greener, rainier, and has basically none, so if you are staying east you are making a drive.

There are three near Kona and five up the Kohala Coast, which sits about 30 to 45 minutes north of downtown Kailua-Kona. Where you sleep should decide where you book, because nobody wants to drive 45 minutes back to the resort after four mai tais.

The bigger filter is the calendar. Each show runs only certain nights, usually two or three a week, so your travel dates will knock out half the list before you even compare them.

Book ahead. The good ones sell out days or weeks out in high season, and showing up hoping for a walk-in seat is how you end up at the one nobody recommends.

One more practical note. You will be drinking, so either build the drive into your plan with a sober driver, budget for a ride, or pick a luau within striking distance of where you sleep.

The Shows Worth Booking

I’m not going to list all eight. Here are the ones worth your money, sorted by what you actually care about.

Best Bang for the Buck

Voyagers of the Pacific at the Royal Kona Resort is the value pick in Kona. The stage sits right on the lava at the edge of Kailua Bay, the price runs lower than the Kohala shows, and the ocean view does a lot of the work.

On the Kohala side, the Sunset Luau at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott sits on A-Bay with an open bar and a price that undercuts its neighbors. Neither of these is the fanciest night out, and both are solid.

Best Food

The Mauna Kea Luau, up at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on Kauna’oa Beach, is the one people point to for the food. It’s the furthest north, the setting on the beach is the best on the island, and the tradeoff is a higher price and no open bar.

If you want great food and a full bar, the Hawaii Loa Luau at the Fairmont Orchid is the move. The poke station alone justifies a chunk of the ticket, and it is the one I would book with kids.

Best Show

The Legends of Hawaii Luau at the Hilton Waikoloa Village has the highest production value on the island. It is the big, polished, high-energy version, and they fold in a little Hawaiian language and a hula lesson before the show.

If you care more about the performance than the buffet, this is your pick. It is a Vegas-grade revue in the best sense.

Most Cultural

Feast and Fire at the Outrigger Kona Resort on Keauhou Bay is performed by the Lim Family of Kohala. They trace their lineage to Alapai Nui, a former ruler of Hawaii, so when they tell stories through hula they are telling their own family history.

That’s not a marketing line, it’s real, and it is rare. The one catch worth knowing is that this is the luau that moves indoors if it rains, so check the forecast.

Best for History

Island Breeze Luau runs at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, right on Kamakahonu Bay in downtown Kona. You are next to Ahuena Heiau, the restored temple on the grounds where Kamehameha the Great spent his final years, which is about as loaded a piece of ground as a luau gets.

The show and food here are solid rather than spectacular, and the setting is the reason to pick it. It runs several nights a week, which also makes it the easiest one to slot into a tight schedule.

What It Costs and How to Book

Plan on $165 to $240 per adult before tax, tip, and parking. Kids run roughly half, and most places let the little ones under five or six in free.

Premium seating costs more and mostly buys you a closer table and sometimes a real open bar instead of one welcome cocktail. Read the fine print, because at a couple of venues the open bar is a paid upgrade, not a given.

Book direct with the resort or through a tour platform like Viator, and do it before you fly out. Bring a card for parking and cash for the bartenders and servers, who work hard and usually aren’t getting the gratuity baked in.

A few luaus that used to run, like the Kona Inn show and an older Waikoloa one, have shut down. Cross-check the night and the venue against a current source before you pay, because the lineup shifts year to year.

Check the cancellation policy too. Most are rain or shine since the Kona side rarely gets weather, and a no-show usually means no refund, so lock in a date you are sure about.

How to Make the Night Good

Arrive when the doors open. The first half hour is the imu ceremony, where they unearth the pig from the underground oven, plus crafts and a hula lesson, and it is the most genuinely cultural part of the evening.

Eat with a plan. It is a buffet, so do a lap before you commit, hit the poke and the kalua pork first, and don’t fill up on dinner rolls.

Bring bug spray and a light layer. These are outdoor lawns near the water, the mosquitoes find you around sunset, and the breeze picks up once the sun drops.

Get a drink early, before the bar line builds. Don’t stress the assigned-seating shuffle either, because there is not a truly bad seat at most of these.

Aim for a show that starts near sunset if you get the choice. The light over the water during the early dances is the best photo you will take all night, and it is gone by the time the fire comes out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Big Island luaus worth the money?

For one night, yes, as long as you go in knowing it is a dinner show and not a fine-dining experience. If you are on a tight budget or you only care about the food, your money goes further at a local poke shop and a sunset on the beach.

Which Big Island luau is the best?

There is no single best, it depends on what you want. Legends of Hawaii has the best show, Mauna Kea and Hawaii Loa have the best food, and Feast and Fire has the most real cultural weight.

How far ahead do I need to book?

A few days in low season, a week or two in summer and around the holidays. The smaller, better-rated shows sell out first, so book those as soon as you have your dates locked.

Are luaus good for kids?

Yes, most are family-friendly and the fire-knife finale tends to be a hit. The Hawaii Loa Luau at the Fairmont Orchid is the one most often called the best for families, with a kids buffet and activities.

Is there a luau on the Hilo side of the island?

Not really. The commercial luaus are all on the dry Kona and Kohala coasts, so plan on driving over or booking your luau for a night you are already on the west side.

What should I wear?

Whatever is comfortable and a little festive, an aloha shirt or a sundress works. Bring a light jacket for after dark and skip the heels, since you are walking on grass.