Manoa Chocolate Factory Tour (Oahu)

I told my son that chocolate grows on trees. He seemed a little skeptical...so here we are! The Manoa Chocolate Factory Tour in Kailua has been on my activity to-do list for months. We finally went this week! Here's everything to know before you go ^_^

Booking

They offer tours Mondays to Fridays (not on weekends), at multiple times throughout the day. The tour is indoors. Just book for the time that's most convenient. No need to worry about sun/heat/outdoors.

You can book online or over the phone. Once your booking is confirmed they send an email with details on the meeting spot and an online waiver form.

Cost

Tickets are $45 per person (prices are for June 2026). Kids 4 and under are free! The ticket cost includes the self-guided tour, lots of chocolate to taste, a golden spoon, and mystery chocolate bar to take home. I also bought treats at the gift shop at the end.

Note: if you subscribe to their monthly chocolate club (which I do), it's 20% off tour tickets and retail products. I paid $37.70 for myself (with the 20% off and including tax) and my son (free because he's under 4 years old).

Shuttle / Meeting Point

Manoa Chocolate Factory Tour meeting point.

There's no parking at the chocolate factory so everyone has to park and meet at a nearby shuttle stop. They email detailed parking instructions after book the tickets. Best to arrive 15 minutes before your tour start time. The shuttle bus leaves 10 minutes before the tour start time.

The meeting spot was easy to find, and there was plenty of parking. We got there on the early side. Thankfully there were plenty of construction vehicles onsite to keep my kid entertained!

Here is the shuttle! And off we go. The factory is only a 2-3 minute drive from the meeting spot. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was next door to one of my favorite coffee shops in Kailua! I was planning to get coffee here after the tour so this ended up working out really well.

Tour

The shuttle drops you off at the factory doors and you enter into this room. First you get a brief introduction to the company and...

...a taste of roasted cacao...

Manoa Chocolate Factory Tour movie room.

...and then off to the movie room where you learn more about Manoa Chocolate as a brand, and the chocolate making process.

Manoa Chocolate Factory Tour golden spoon.

All the guests are given a golden tasting spoon at the end of the video (I didn't expect them to give my son a spoon, but they did and he was so happy)...

...and from there it's a self-guided tour along the catwalk to learn more about chocolate making. And most importantly, to taste chocolate!

There are three chocolate fountains: dark chocolate, cacao liquor (no sugar), and milk chocolate. There's also white chocolate you can taste. It's self-serve and man it was fun to taste and compare. Just push the button down and have your golden spoon ready to catch the liquid chocolate.

Dark chocolate was our group favorite! The cacao liquor was very intense, but we loved it when enjoyed half-half with the milk chocolate.

A little notice for the cacao liquor!

The catwalk overlooks the chocolate production line which was neat to see.

Did you know Hawaii is the only US state that grows cacao on a commercial level? We can even grow cacao in Mililani! Lucky we live Hawaii ^_^

There's a bar with scent boxes where you can guess and learn more about key aroma and flavors notes in chocolate. While we were guessing the flavors someone came out from the production room and offered us a taste of (more!) chocolate...they had extra from the assembly line production. Cool ^_^

Completely random but we loved seeing the gecko lead us each step of the tour. My son had a lot of fun pointing out the gecko in room and even the gecko footprints on the factory floor. Small but thoughtful touches.

Factory Tour Gift Shop

You get 45 minutes for the tour portion, and then it finishes at the gift shop where you can sample their cacao tea, try pretty much all of their chocolates and buy more chocolate. They also give you a free mystery chocolate bar at the end of the tour...ours was a puffed rice chocolate bar!

I bought a bag of chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies (I think these are a new product because I haven't seen them at the retail store before). They're excellent and made by Keith's Cookies, a popular local cookie company.

I also bought a cooler bag because it was a hot day and we planned to be out for a few more hours. Cute design! Pictured above is the front and back of the bag. Love the little car. I've been wanting this bag for awhile. The have two sizes (both same price, $5). This is the larger bag. I'll get the smaller bag next time, it's an ideal size to hold car snacks.

I didn't buy more chocolate bars because I joined the subscription club which gets you 3 bars each month for $25. The bars are ready on the 15th of each month. I'll stop by their Kailua retail shop next week to pick up my bars. I also want to check out the new coffee bar they opened inside the retail shop...heard the chocolate chai is tasty! I imagine it would be great post-dosa lunch.

After the gift shop, you get on the shuttle which brings everyone back to the parking/meeting spot. Fast drive, just 2-3 minutes. My son loved the shuttle ride as much as he did the chocolate tour. It was an exciting adventure for him.

After the shuttle drop off, we got into our car and drove back in the direction of the chocolate factory and Tradition Coffee Roasters. Time for coffee and lunch. So funny the coffee shop is right next door to the chocolate factory. A cortado for myself...

...and tacos to share with my son. There's usually a food truck parked in front of Tradition during lunch hours. Today it was Voyage by Chef Amin. Hooray for the cheesy chicken tacos!

We ate the tacos inside Tradition (order at the food truck and Chef will bring the food to your coffee table). I like how Tradition keeps a basket of toys for kids to play...we always look for the magnetic coffee cup game. It was a good day ^_^