We head off to the BI on November 10th. We will be staying at the Mauna Loa Village from Nov 10 to 17 then onto Ohau for Nov 17 to 22. We have never been to Hawaii so everything is new to us.

We are debating on how to see Volcano Naitonal Park - do in one day? Since we are already booked into the Mauna Loa that is how we would like to do it. Does this make sense

When we went, the lava flow was still visible, and we wanted to see it at night, so we stayed one night at the Kilauea Lodge and hiked out; it was really amazing. Now that the flow has changed, I think you could easily see the park in one day. Staying overnight is nice because it eliminates the driving, but it's not necessary.

I would say that it depends on what all you want to do at VNP. Personally, I would spend the night. We were there for 1 day/1 night in August and unfortunately there were no accessible hikes to see lava flowing. We drove from Kona and did the lava tube and Kialuea Iki hike after lunch and then drove down Chain of Craters to the bottom. After dinner (at Thai Thai which was awesome), we returned to see the red glow from the lava, and I have to say it was pretty amazing. It was so quiet, the stars were amazing, and the red glow left us speechless. I am so jealous of those who have actually gotten to see it up close!

I highly recommend Kilauea Lodge as well if you decide to spend the night.

Can you fly to Oahu from Hilo, or have you already booked the flights?

W have already booked our flights. Thank you for the feed back it is very useful to us.

How did you like Mauna Loa Village? I am thinking of staying there in July,2008