Hi all -- We have been planning a trip to the Big Island in February/March. A friend who currently lives there suggested that we might want to re-think our plans because a new steam vent that opened near the volcano in Feb. '08. She indicates this has caused a huge problem with vog (volcano fog) and reduced tourism appeal. Any input about this from recent travelers? N

We just spent a few days in Kailua-Kona and called for updates on the lava viewing which happened to be closed the days we were there.
We were aware that may happen so we had several other things to do and still had a great visit. While seeing the flow would have been the icing on the cake if it keeps going it's another reason for us to return.
The fog does make for some interesting sunsets and we hope to get some pics up before long.

First, no one could possibly guess what the conditions will be at the time of your visit. They could be better, they could be worse. Overall, the skies on the Kona side have been cloudier than before the new vents opened. I flew to Kona from Honolulu where there were clear sunny skies, and I noticed the persistent cloudy skies.

There are several other posts on this board about this issue. You can search for them, or google VOG. Or check on the park website:
http://www.nps.gov/havo/

I just moved from Hawaii and agree that you really don't know what the conditions are going to be like. There has been a lot of vog lately, and since the volcanic flow changed within the past year, you can't walk right up to the lava flow anymore. You can still walk through the volcano park, which is simply amazing, but you're not going to see the flow at this time. I don't have the site off-hand, but you can actually check on the status of the volcano by daily updates, if you're in the position to be able to jump on a plane at short notice.

Try the Hawai`ian Volcano Observatory (HVO) website. The put out daily reports and information on the volcano and any associated earthquakes. There is a lot of other information in there as well.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/

];')

Thanks all...I realize that the volcano conditions at the time of our visit can't be predicted. Our friend seems to be saying, however, that the entire Kona coast is quite foggy and unpleasant because of it. Just curious if others have experienced it as an issue, or if residents have higher expectations for air quality!

The vog concerns have been a big issue on the big island an to a lesser extent on the smaller islands. Because Kona is on the lee of the big volcanoes, it almost never has strong trade winds to blow away the vog. So the vog is blown in with the afternoon sea breezes. Occasionally, southeast winds have been bringing the vog all the way up to kauai! However the trade winds usually keep the smaller islands air crystal clear. Hopefully the vent will stop releasing the smoke, but it doesnt seem like that it going to happen anytime soon! On a bright note, the vog right now is not as bad as it was earlier in the year, when Hawaii Volcano National park was closed for several days due to the bad air.

It was cloudy and overcast, but never foggy.

You may be confusing Vog with Fog. They are different.

Also, not sure if you're planning to stay with your friends who live on BI -- but if you have flexibility in where you stay, you're more likely to avoid VOG if you stay in the Waikoloa area.

hi
we were there in may of this year and stayed on both sides of the island.I have chronic bronchsis and had no problems.We couldn,t get as far as we wanted to go in the park,but still had a great time.maybe just lucky.

We were in south Kona last week and the vog was much, much less than it was when we were there in April. Mornings were clear with clouds moving in during the afternoon. The vog seemed to be on mostly on the upper slopes of Mauna Loa and a ways off the coast which interefered with watching the sun drop into the ocean at sunset on several days. Though we also had several perfect sunsets--even one with a green flash.

Even with the vog, we had a wonderful relaxing time on both trips. We'll be back in late February-early March. Love the BI!