We are going to Kaui and the weekend before we do my son is DYING to see the volcanoes. Does anyone have any suggestions on the park? Take a guided tour, do it ourselves? We only have one day before we have to fly to Kaui.

You can do it yourself. It's an easy drive from the airport. There is an information center at the park itself. Things are quite organized. The only difficult part may be if you want to hike into the area where the lava goes into the ocean. Unless you are strong hikers, it can be quite tedious. The lava is best seen at dusk, but be aware that the "walk" in entails travelling over rocks. You need to wear long pants, take water and gloves, and bring along a flashlight. I did the hike myself several months ago, and saw a hiker coming out battered and bloodied. We started in at 3 p.m. and came out at 11:30 p.m. with just a short 20 minute stop to see the lava -- travelling the entire rest of the time! Granted, we are not the best hikers. Still, you need to be prepared if you do this.

Rent a car and drive there yourself. It's a 45 minute drive from Hilo about 2 hours from Kona. Stop at the Visitor Center, watch the video, drive around Halemaumau Crater or hike to the bottom of the crater, go through Thurston Lava Tube. There's lots to see, you won't be disappointed. Last I heard, after the 12 acre bench collapsed about a month ago the hike out to the actual lava is closed so find out at the visitor's center before driving all the way down just to see red lava, though there is plenty of sights to see on the way down. You could see it all in 1 day and enjoy lunch at the lodge.

A few years ago when we spent 10 days visiting cousins in Honolulu, I felt just the way your son does: I'm not traveling all this way and getting this close to real volcanoes without seeing them.

You can definitely have a worthwhile one-day trip to the BI; we did. Surprisingly, my kids (ages 11 and 13) were most fascinated by the stinky sulfur vents!

We spent two half-days there and it was really neat! Definitely do it yourself! The only guided tours I saw while we were there were full of Japanese tourists... The signs and visitor pamphlets are very informative. Go on one of the Ranger Walks if you want to learn even more.

Oh, be sure and bring plenty of water for everyone. There aren't many places at all in the park where you can buy water, and all of that black lava gets pretty hot.

The park rangers offer mini hikes to interesting areas with a narrative and they are included with your park admission.