How we compare island excursions

What this site does

Island Day Trips compares day excursions on eight islands: Maui, Kauai, Oahu and the Big Island in Hawaii, Aruba and Jamaica in the Caribbean, and Tenerife and Crete in Europe. We do not run tours and we do not sell tickets. We show the tours that are offered on Viator and GetYourGuide side by side, so you can choose without opening twenty tabs.

How we choose the trips

We search both platforms with several search terms for every island and every type of trip. A trip only makes it onto a page if its title names the island or a place on it and the activity of that section. Airport transfers, car rentals and trips from other islands are removed.

We then sort what is left by price times number of reviews. A trip that thousands of travellers have booked at a fair price comes first. A new trip with a handful of reviews does not. Private and premium tours stay in the list, so you also see the trips that cost more but are booked often.

We look at every photo before it goes on a page. Photos with advertising text, collages or logos are left out. A tour photo only appears next to the tour it shows. The large pictures at the top of each page are our own illustrations.

What we check, and how often

Prices, ratings and reviews come straight from the partner programmes of Viator and GetYourGuide. Every page shows the date of the last check. We refresh the data every month.

Facts about places, permits and seasons are checked against official sources such as the US National Park Service, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, the national park of Teide and the tourism boards of Aruba and Jamaica. When rules change, for example after a storm or with a new permit fee, we update the page and say so.

Some numbers on this site are our own calculations, for example the sunset times for Waikiki or the price bands of all Oahu trips. We explain on each page how they were made.

How we earn money

The buttons on this site are affiliate links. If you book through one, Viator or GetYourGuide pays us a commission. Your price stays exactly the same as when you book directly on the platform.

No tour operator can pay to be listed or to rank higher. The order of the trips comes only from the method above.

Who is behind Island Day Trips

Island Day Trips is published by Rauch Media in Berlin, a small publisher of travel guides. You can reach us at editorial@islanddaytrips.com. If you find a mistake, please tell us and we will correct it.