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Top 10 Tours in Oahu, Hawaii

by t@aamp.agency | Aug 12, 2019 | Things To Do

Photographer: Channey | Source: Unsplash

Looking to head to the island of Oahu in Hawaii? We wish we could say the same (cough* Steve, give us time-off please cough*) Oahu is a major hub of Hawaii and one of the most visited islands. It’s home to a large amount of heritage and history, features some of the best bites of food you can find, pristine beaches, and even something for the adrenaline junkies. Oahu is small enough for you to get the beach town vibe everywhere you go, but also large enough to host a plethora of activities. We’ve picked out tours for everyone, so read on to find out the Top 10 Tours in Oahu!

For the Historian

1. Pearl Harbor & USS Arizona Memorial

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Empire had attacked Pearl Harbor, resulting in the United States declaring war against Japan. This 5-hour tour will pick you up from your hotel, skip the long lines, and explore the restored Pearl Harbor attraction with a small group. You will learn more about the events that led to the US joining WWII, see the famous USS Arizona Memorial, and visit a few of the most memorable museums.

Photographer: Ryan Parker | Source: Unsplash

2. Polynesian Culture Center

The Polynesian Cultural Center has been voted as Oahu’s #1 Tourist Destination. Here, you will get to immerse yourself in Polynesian culture and their history. From crafts, way of life, music, food, and even amazing shows, this is a spot you should never miss when visiting Oahu.

For the Adrenaline Junkie

3. Zipline and Farm Tour

Spend a day riding ATVs through the forest, and zip lining hundreds of feet over mountains and forests. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of some of Oahu’s best beaches, its lush jungles, and beautiful mountains. Once you’re done ziplining on its 8 different lines, you’ll be given a tour of the Keana Farms!

4. Swim with Sharks

Hawaii Shark Encounters allows you to get up close to a few species of sharks! You will get to equip a snorkel and dive down into a cage, while Sandbar sharks, tiger sharks, and more swim around you. Hawaii Shark Encounters wants to show its customers that sharks are friends, and they’re not all deadly like the animatronic in JAWS.

5. ATV Tour at Kualoa

Head to Kualoa to hop into an ATV and speed around all different terrains! From crossing streams, driving through mud, and seeing the “Jurassic” Valley up close, this tour is perfect for anyone looking to have an adventure!

For the Nature Lover

6. Whale Watching

Set sail early in the morning and witness these majestic creatures swimming (and hopefully jumping) in the waters of Oahu! While it’s never guaranteed that you’ll see a whale, it’s worth the shot if you’re in Oahu during whale season (January – April)!

Dive! Pacific humpback whale tail (flukes)... — Photographer: Andrew Bain | Source: Unsplash

7. Diamond Head Adventure Hike

Immerse yourself in the nature of Oahu by taking a 45-minute adventure hiking tour up to the top of Diamond Head, a volcanic formation. Once you reach the top, you’ll be rewarded with a stunning, 360-degree view of the island!

8. Kayak & Snorkel Eco-Adventure

With this self-guided kayak and snorkel discovery package, you can explore Kane’ohe Bay on your own, and go at a pace you’re comfortable with. If you would prefer, you can also join a group for a guided tour with their highly-trained & certified staff. This tour is perfect for nature-loving tourists, and what’s a trip to Hawaii without swimming with marine life?

Photo from Kayak & Snorkel Eco-Adventures

For the Foodie

9. Hole-in-the-Wall Foodie Tour

Taste, touch, and visit local & authentic Hawaiian spots! You will be bussed around in a luxury van, while an informative guide teaches you about all of the Hawaiian food. You’ll get a chance to try dishes like Poi, Lau-Lau, Kalua Pork, and so much more!

10. Hawaiian Style Cooking Classes

If you’re the ultimate foodie and want to take something back home with you, Hawaiian recipes and cooking knowledge are something that you’ll cherish forever! With Chef Linda guiding you, you will be provided with all of the ingredients and equipment you need. She’ll share delicious Hawaiian recipes and teach you how to cook them properly!

Photo from Hawaiian Style Cooking Classes

There you have it, our top 10 tours on the island of Oahu! Whether you’re looking for an adventure, wanting to learn about Hawaiian culture, or are wanting to stuff your face with delicious food, Hawaii has everything! There is more to do than just lounging on beautiful beaches, so book one of these (or several) tours and go explore!

How to be A Good Tour Guide

by t@aamp.agency | Aug 1, 2019 | Tourism Marketing

Photographer: Luke Porter | Source: Unsplash

So you’re in the tourism business or looking into it. With the rise of Air BnB experiences and the like – it’s easier now than ever to break into the industry. But do you know HOW to be a good tour guide or operator? If you want your tourism business or attraction to be successful, you must know how to be a great tour guide! Tour guides will break or make your business. You can’t just point and say “Thats a thing from this time and it did this thing.” Read on to learn how to be the very best tour guide you can be!

Take a Personal Interest in Your Guest

Everybody hates small talk to begin with. It’s awkward, it’s forced, and makes most people uncomfortable. But do it anyways. Ask your guests where they’re from, what brought them to your area, and so forth. Get to know them, have a conversation, and it’ll help them build a relationship & fond memories of your tour.

What’s the Story

Don’t be the boring tour guide that just spits out historical facts left and right. Tell a story! A good story has an intro, a body that weaves in interesting facts, and a conclusion. When telling your guests about a certain place where a big event had happened, include why and how it happened. Find the interesting tid bits and include that in your narrative. It helps your guests visualize themselves in the scene, and provides them with context.

Find Your Funny Bone

Not literally, but have fun with it! You don’t need to be a stand up comedian to make a tour stand out, but being a boring stickler won’t help either. Add some of your humor into the tour, add interesting and crazy stories, puns, dad jokes, whatever you can as long as it’s not offensive (obviously).

Be A Drama Queen

We’re not asking you to be an Oscar nominated actor here, but add some drama and flair to the tour! Ask your guests to close their eyes and visualize the story you’re telling them. If you’re talking about history, create a character to talk about how they would have lived during that time. The best tour guides are the ones that help their guests see something in a different light!

It’s All About the Details

Adding small touches to your tour will bring it a long way. A cooler full of water, packets of sun screen, a variety of free snacks. Show them you are a human being who cares about their guests, and not just some guide herding people from place to place.

Be Flexible

No one likes a stick in the mud. The best tours are the ones where the guide can show each person something they are interested, which will help them connect to the your attraction more.

No tour guide or operator is perfect, but by utilizing some of our tips you can get pretty darn close.

At AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros, we eat, breathe, and live tourism & destination marketing. If your tourism business has great tour guides but needs help getting customers through the door, that’s where we come in. Contact us today to start getting more customers to your attraction or business!

10 Extreme Tours In Las Vegas Every Adrenaline Junkie Needs To Do

by t@aamp.agency | May 20, 2019 | Things To Do

During a vacation some of us like to lounge by the pool with a cocktail, and others like to get their adrenaline pumping (or a healthy mix of both). If you’re headed to Vegas and are looking to do something other than clubbing and gambling, check out these 10 extreme Las Vegas tours!

1. Shoot a Machine Gun

Head out into the desert and shoot a machine gun and a variety of fire arms at Bullets and Burgers Las Vegas. From Desert Eagle pistols to the M249 Saw, Bullets and Burgers has a huge variety of firearms for you to play with at their outdoor shooting range. Not only that, but they have an insane amount of adrenaline pumping tour packages. Hit off-road trails in a dune buggy, or book a private helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon!

2. Cruise in a Polaris Slingshot

Explore Las Vegas in your own bat mobile! Book a tour or rental with SinCity Moto and spend hours driving on the roads through Valley of Fire State Park, Mt. Charleston, and even the infamous Las Vegas strip.

3. Dive with Sharks

No one wants to sleep with the fishes, but at Mandalay Bay you can swim with them! Well, sharks specifically. Certified divers 18 years of age and older can swim among 30 sharks, schools of fish, and sea turtles in a 1.3 million gallon exhibit

4. Take Flight at Sky Combat Ace

Take a seat in a plane designed for acrobatics, as the skilled pilot zooms, zips, and rolls through the air! Sky Combat Ace has a flying package for everyone and some of the packages even allow you to fly the plane yourself! Yes – it’s absolutely terrifying, but most awesome things in life are, aren’t they?

5. Be A Rally Racer for the Day

Vegas Rally is the only place in Vegas where you can drift and drive a professional rally car on a dirt track. You’ll be trained and guided by a professional racer, and then will be able to speed around the track in a modded Subaru or chevy sonic!

6. Explore Sights from a Jeep

Looking for something low-key but still a great adventure? Vegas Jeep Tours is your perfect match! Rent a fully kitted Jeep from Vegas Jeep tours and go on a tour of the Hoover Dam, or even hit some of the trails available at Valley of Fire State Park and Red Rock Canyon!

7. Go SkyDiving

SkyDive Las Vegas as well as other companies around Las Vegas will escort you from your hotel on the strip, out to their location! From there you’ll be trained on tandem skydiving, get in the plane, and jump from over 15,000 ft! A bit much for you? Try the Indoor Skydiving experience!

8. Get Hooked Up

Las Vegas is an adult playground – and it wouldn’t be complete without a couple of zip lines! Soar through Fremont Street, Bootleg Canyon, Linq Promenade, or on top of the Rio Hotel!

9. Get Wet

While you could lounge at a hotel pool, why not kick It up a notch with tubing, wake boarding, and water sports on gorgeous Lake Mead! Las Vegas Water Sports has packages that can fit any group of people!

10. Shooting Packages at American Shooters

Just minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, American Shooters offers an array of shooting packages. Perfect for groups looking to make a bang during their vacation, American shooters has everything you need! Not only are they a fire arm store, but they also have two ranges for you to try out some of the best guns in the world.

Which of these Las Vegas tours will you be doing? Are you crazy enough to do all 10? Let us know in the comments!