Hi- heading to Aulani in Sept, and am considering a day trip over to the big island to do the volcano tour. Is this too much to do in one day?
is this unrealistic? I am flying from NY, and this is most likely the only time I will be in Hawaii... but I don't want to overdo it, and come home so exhausted and wiped out that I can't remember what I saw!
All I really want to see on the big island is Volcano Nat'l park. and hopefully lava flow... but I understand that may not happen.. so I am torn as to what to do.. advice?
We just got back from spending a week at Aulani followed by three days/two nights on the Big Island. We flew from the East Coast to Honolulu, purchased one way airfare to Hilo, and then flew from Hilo back home. We stayed at the Volcano House right in the volcano park. It is super easy to rent a car and find the park. The lava flow differs from day to day, and we definitely noticed this during our stay. When we arrived on Saturday, we were able to catch glimpses of "orange" during the day from the observation point in the park, and even more that night. The next day - not so much, although the glow was still there at night, just not as good as the first day. I would definitely recommend a full day in the park, as well as seeing the crater at night. Seeing the crater at night is incredible.
There are a few different options for seeing the lava flow into the ocean. You can do a helicopter or boat tour. We were told that the boat tour costs $199 per person, so we passed on that. By land, there are two access points - one within the park and another through county land. Access through the park is an approx. 11 mile hike on partly paved, partly lava rock (uneven) terrain. Access through the county is an approx. 4 mile hike (or you can rent a bike for $20 per person) on a lightly graveled path. It is also an approx. one hour drive to get to this point, but it is very easy to drive. My 8 year old isn't good with a bike, so we chose to hike the 4 miles. It was also very windy when we were there, and we heard some people on bikes complain that it was difficult conditions for biking. Anyway, halfway through the hike, you reach a barrier which designates the line between the county and national park lands. You just keep hiking or biking through this barrier until you reach the path through the hardened lava that the park has designated as an observation point. I also want to mention that we noticed taxis and vans from the bike rental place driving up to the barrier and dropping people off. When we reached the barrier, one of the van drivers stopped us and told us she could take us back down for $20. We ended up taking advantage of this when we were done because our kids were spent from a full day hiking in the park followed by this hike. I heard another family say that they were charged way more to do the round trip drive so just something to be aware of...
As for the actual lava flow into the ocean, it looks like a giant plume of steam from the observation point, but we were able to zoom in for a pretty good view through our camera lens. Again, I'm sure this could be different depending on when you go. Also, note that the county access is only from 3pm to 9pm. And as with everything else, all of this could change by the time you go!
In addition to the park, we also drove out to the black sand beach (20 mins from park) where we saw a sea turtle on the beach. We drove to Hilo as well to see the waterfall at Akaka Falls park, and we went to the botanical garden.
The volcano park does get cold as well, especially at night. I would recommend taking sweatshirts.
I hope that helps! I'm happy to answer any questions you may have about our experience at the park or on the island.
