Susan

My husband and I are going to Hawaii in April. We are not really the hiking type of people. My question is, in order to see volcanic activity, would we be better of taking the helicopter tour or driving into the park on our own? Thanks for your feedback.

Sarah

I can't imagine not going at night. I don't recall ever going when the hike was that long though. Some times you can almost drive right up to the flow other times you have to hike a bit. It changes every day. Sometimes there is a bench you can even sit on watch the flow into the ocean the following weekend the bench might get swallowed up by the flow. It is such an incredible experience. I took my hint from Queen Lilioukilani’s autobiography see the volcano at midnight. Well 9-10 is close enough for me.

kim

Do both!! We were just there in October. The drive is about 45 mins down to the flow from the park entrance. Its a short walk to where the lava is flowing, but it changes every day. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes. Definitely go at night also. Its a completely different experience. You must have sturdy shoes and a flashlight for each person for this. The rangers mark where you can walk and where you can't. The helicopter ride was also great. I recommend Blue Hawaiian for the best experience.

Susan`

What time did you take the helicopter at? Does it fly at night?

Sue

We were on the Big Island a few years ago and decided to treat ourselves to a helicopter ride. It was so worth it and seeing the lava flow right into the ocean was an incredible experience-you are literally watching the earth re-create itself. Our view from our daytime heli ride was awesome-I felt like I could reach down and touch the lava. I suspect there are not too many helicopters that go at night but perhaps you could do the hike at night and view from a helicopter flight by day.I am sure that lava by night is an entirely different experience and well worth the effort! Keep in mind that you can get helicopter tours that will go all over the island allowing you to see things that you cannot reach by car or by foot, like incredible waterfalls, valleys and coastlines. Have a great time!

Russell Farquer

Susan...couple of thoughts....

Are you going to stay close to the volcano? Hilo,or surrounding. As the night is the time to really view the lava ...as others have stated.

Depending on the area of activity(lava
flow)...sometimes it is closer from the "Kalapana" side; just below the city of Pahoa. But this usually take four wheel drive. (ask the locals)

Another alternative is to view the lava fields from a fixed wing aircraft.
It was suggested to me by a local...I tried it. Flew in a "Maule" from Hilo airport. Great views...only two passengers..one in front, one in rear.
Rear seat had plexiglass on both sides giving a very clear view.

mar

Just want to second the suggestion for sturdy walking shoes and a flashlight. We didn't know to bring the flashlight but as luck would have it a tour of nuns were there with their flashlights and they shared with us! Also was windy. I'd also recommend binoculars as the actual flow location was quite a distance.

evelyntrav

We will be in the Volcanoes Nat'l Park around March 6. Does anyone know what time it gets dark during that time of year? I'm wondering what time we should be at the end of Chain of Craters Rd. Any ideas?

Rachel

was at the volcano Aug 2002. Hiked right up to lava flow, like a foot away. Awesome Awesome Awesome! Then, was there Dec 28th 2002. Lava now hitting sea. Couldn't get to within 1/2 mile, 1 mile of it. Too far away, too long of a hike to get to lava flow and too dangerous as well (bench keeps collapsing into the sea. Bench is the area of new lava that got hard,and it collapses because it's "hollow" underneath if I understand correctly). Our flashlights from CVS cheapie brand went out when we reached the end of the 45 min hike...had to hike 45 min back in PITCH DARKNESS!, Thank god a girl with a heavy duty flashlight came to our aid, otherwise we would have been cold and crying the whole night-you're helpless without a good flashlight, forget CVS brands-I'll never do that again! Also went on heli tour with Blue Hawaiian and saw lava back in August. It was great, but beware of 2 things. #1, often times the flights get cancelled or postponed due to rain etc., and #2, you could easily get nauseas like our whole helicopter did. The pilot, trying to get us great views of fresh lava flows, kept circling and circling like a mad hornet-arrghhh! My God! So take your medicine...whatever it's called. We got great pictures at least! Oh, that girl with the trusty flashlight? She got to within a FOOT of where the lava was hitting the ocean! You CAN hike out to it, but at this time it's a 1 1/2 hour hike at least over old cracked fissured uneven lava flow and it is highly not recommended. I don't know if she knew how dangereous it was, but I'm jealous! She saw something she'll nEVER forget. Oh, and we all got headaches a day and a half later. I heard from someone after I got back home that that's a common thing? We didn't in August, but we did this December...much depend on which way the wind is blowing...our ponchos from CVS were a big help though...as we got caught in big downpours while there. They didn't last long, but we thanked God we had our ponchos for the torrents that did come along...