Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Farm
Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Farm, Oahu
Tropical Farms on Oahu’s windward (east) coast is a destination that’s off the beaten path. Most visitors to the island only get to see it if they take part in a greater circle island bus tour, which they usually book at a local tour operator. So if you don’t know about this place, you wouldn’t rent a car to get here. But it’s definitely worth a visit, not only for the many delicious goodies you can buy, but also because you can learn a great deal about Hawaiian culture.
They grow their macadamia nuts and other fruits right here and you can enjoy flavors that aren’t available in stores in Waikiki, such as cinnamon macadamias. They are freshly made on this farm. And the good thing is, you can try them for free. They even offer free samples of Kona coffee in their store. Besides macadamia nuts, they also sell jewelry, art, creams, aromatic oils and other souvenirs.
Besides browsing through the farm’s store, they also offer a tour of the farm, called the Alii Tour. The tour lasts about one hour and takes you to the plantation and fishpond. It also includes a demonstration on how the Hawaiians lived off the land. The tour comes complete with a super funny guide, aptly named “The Chief.”
He’ll first load everyone into an old bus and drive you through the farm, pointing out types of plants and what they are used for. Then you’ll head to a little amphitheater for a show, where you’ll learn more about Hawaiian foods and customs. Your guide will even show you how to make fire by rubbing sticks together and how to open a coconut. You can try yourself and get some of the good stuff out of the fruit and snack on it.
After that, your guide will take you on a short boat ride around the fishpond. He’ll tell you some more about the history of the area and include recent events, such as the filming of popular Hollywood movies. Quite a few movies and TV series have been filmed in this area, including Gilligan's Island, Fantasy Island, 50 First Dates, Lost, Tears of the Sun and Along Came Polly.
Back on land, you’ll enjoy a tour of the fruit trees. Now is your chance to try guavas and star fruits right off the tree. Nothing is better than a fruit that’s picked fully ripe from the tree and eaten right away. This completes the tour and back in the store you can then browse around some more.
Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Farm Overview
- Macadamia nut farm that's off the beaten path
- They have a wide variety of flavored macadamias
- Discover other unique gifts
- Take part in their Alii Tour of the plantation and learn about Hawaiian history, customs, fruits and plants
Vacation Rentals near Tropical Farms
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Reviews and Comments: | | | I bought several boxes of chocolate covered macadamia
nuts for gifts & myself, only to find all of them, upon
opening, had 'chocolate bloom' and basically
looked old & unappetizing. It was disappointing. I
was there early November 2015. The nuts I purchased
were great. The chocolate was poor. The store was fun
to go through and sample all the different flavored
nuts. Living in Wash. state, impossible to
return/exchange. | | Anna Morris, Mon Dec 28, 2015 |
 | | Visited the nut farm on December 26th 2015. This place
is a must visit for visitors. The nuts are
delicious!
We loved the tour! The chief has lots
of the Aloha spirit that made our visit complete.
Mahalo | | Ann, Mon Dec 28, 2015 |
| | | Just visited on July 12,2015 on a circle tour stop.
Great folks there, plus delicious samples. Bought
plenty of both of their Coffee's and
Macadamia's for return trip to Texas. Great place
to take kids, adults will love the delicious coffee and
flavored macadamia's. One heavenly estate. Would
recommend everyone stop if they get a chance. | | John Clements, Fri Jul 17, 2015 |
 | | | On your trip around the island this is a must stop. The
environment is friendly, the samples are abundant and
delicious. We were here Mar 2015. | | Brigitte Forbes, Thu Mar 26, 2015 |
| | | I visited in August 2013. Incredible food products,
wonderful sampling so you know exactly what you are
buying, friendly and helpful staff. I missed the tour
unfortunately but arranged for nuts and coffee to be
shipped home to Canada. It did take longer than I
anticipated to arrive (more than 4 or 5 weeks) so keep
that in mind if you're ordering for a birthday or
holiday. | | Tosh H., Wed Nov 06, 2013 |
| | | My sister and I absolutely loved this farm. The
macadamia nut Kona coffee is to die for. After spending
our time in Waikiki it was refreshing to explore a
farm. The backdrop to our pictures is gorgeous,
mountains like on Jurassic Park. Their gifts and
customer service were superb. -visited summer of 2009 | | Theresa, Sun Feb 12, 2012 |
| | | On your trip around the island this is a must stop. And
don't leave without doing the tour. You WILL NOT
get closer to a flame dancer and wild chickens (no
harm). Not to mention all you can eat fresh fruit right
off the tree. The boat trip on the pond will give you a
breath taking view. | | Heidy Burns, Sun Sep 25, 2011 |
| | | Had the best time here last December 2010 with my wife
and son. Went for the tour and learned how the Natives
make fire. Got to go out on Moli Pond and got some
great photos with Native Hawaiian's in traditional
dress with son and my wife. Enjoyed the store and
coffee and samples. Nice place on the stop on our 8
hour bus tour. Even stopped a day later as we also had
a rental car. | | Dave Joseph, Fri Jun 10, 2011 |
| | | As a director of a tour company, my partner and I were
evaluating all the stops in the islands for an add on
to our tour to Midway Atoll. During our
circumnavigation of Oahu, Tropical Farms seemed like
the perfect place to check out. The environment is
friendly, the samples are abundant and delicious (my
favorite is the caramel corn, salted macadamias and of
course the macadamia nut coffee... you'll drift in
on the smell alone!), and their is plenty to see and do
without it feeling too hokey or contrived. As much as I
loved what I saw and tasted, unfortunately, since it
was our first stop in a store like this we decided to
wait to buy our coffee and macadamias elsewhere. BIG
MISTAKE!!! First of all, Tropical Farms is one of the
only places that actually gives samples, and without a
doubt, after arriving home and sampling the rest of my
purchases, I discovered their products are far superior
to anything we purchased, to the extent that I had to
google them, because I wanted to order some coffee
(which then prompted me to leave this review). This
place is great and their prices are friendly. Forget
stops at other places like the Mauna loa factory
(factory tour is sub par, staff are not friendly,
prices are steep and its very commercialized) and
support a local place with better products. Last
comment, I also bought 3 different types of Macadamia
coffee (Hawaiian Isles, Royal Kona, and Lion) and
regretted every sip as compared to the one that I tried
at Tropical Farms. | | WANTexpeditions, Jan 22, 2011 |
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Location:
49-227 Kamehameha Hwy, Kaneohe HI 96744
Directions: It's about 8 miles up Kamehameha Highway heading toward the Polynesian Cultural Center from Kaneohe. It'll be on your right-hand side, before the park that looks out at Chinaman's Hat island. Watch for the sign - if you blink, you'll drive right by it. If you get to where you can see the open ocean and Chinaman's Hat island is behind you, or if you get to Kualoa Ranch, then you went too far.
Entrance to the Tropical Farms on Oahu
Island gifts
Hawaiian Coffee sampling
Store goodies
Hawaiian goodies
Different types of Macadamia nuts
Hawaiian jams
Tropical setting
Directions
Hawaiian royalty
