You can drive as far as the old Jagger Museum and get out to look over the crater to but there is so much more to the Kilauea Volcano. Expect to spend at least most of the day exploring the area and driving the Chain of Craters Road.
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The world's most active volcano never fails to put on a show, and if you're looking to learn more about volcanoes and what causes them, Kilauea is the best place to go. In general, there are two ways to see Kilauea when you're in Hawaii. You can book a tour or you can go on your own and see it for yourself.
Self tour it is! Just allow plenty of time - there is so much to see there! Our first visit to the Big island we spent part of 2 days, and it really wasn't enough, so our next visit, we stayed in Volcano for 2 nights, so had almost 3 days to explore - was great! :) Good decision !
Crater Rim Drive is an 11-mile road that skirts the edge of the Kilauea Caldera in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and contains several scenic views and hiking opportunities. If you had to choose only one thing to do in HVNP (may that never occur!), this drive would be it.
You can drive as far as the old Jagger Museum and get out to look over the crater to but there is so much more to the Kilauea Volcano. Expect to spend at least most of the day exploring the area and driving the Chain of Craters Road.
But even without an active volcanic eruption, this is still a great park to visit. If you are planning to visit Hawaii, it's still worth visiting Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, even without an active lava flow.
All visitors at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park are required to pay an entrance fee. If you already have a valid, America the Beautiful—National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass or Hawai?i Annual Tri-Park Pass, you are not required to purchase a digital pass through Recreation.gov.
Lava is best seen at night along the south rim. There are three main viewing locations: Kupina?i Pali (Waldron Ledge) from Crater Rim Trail, Kilauea Overlook, and Keanakako?i Crater. Keanakako?i Crater is the closest eruption viewpoint - here you'll see a lava lake that emits a reddish-orange glow at night!
If you want to visit lava up close and personal, then you should allow at least TWO full days for visiting Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. If you don't plan to view lava up close, you can fit in the highlights of the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in one day, but you could also easily spend 3+ days in the park.
If the park determines that access to the flow is safe you can go on a hike to see the lava. Because viewing conditions change on a daily basis you should look up the most recent information about the active surface flows shortly before you plan to see the lava yourself.
For the most part, the answer to the question of is it safe to travel to Hawaii during a volcanic eruption is yes. This may not sound totally reassuring, especially in light of the recent media buzz about it. But the 1.4 million people who live and work in Hawaii are mostly unaffected by the volcanic eruption.
Visiting the park by car is easy to do. The two main roads visitors will travel are Crater Rim Drive and Chain of Craters Road. All roads in the park are two-wheel drive roadways and do not require four-wheel drive vehicles.
You can pack a lot of the Big Island in a short time, and don't need to spend an entire day in the park to enjoy the main sights. If you're trying to decide the when to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park instead of spending a full day, the best time of day to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is in the morning.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is open 24 hours a day, so your chance to see glowing lava (from near or far) is pretty good when the volcano is actively erupting (it's periodically erupting only at the summit in Halemaumau currently), especially when it's dark.
The public (Hele-on) bus service is an alternative if you have plenty of time and want to avoid renting a car. The cheapest way to get around the Big Island after walking yourself is the public bus (Hele-on-Bus). This bus will get you to most places on the island, but transit times are long and connections infrequent.
A 4WD vehicle is a must for this Big Island adventure! 4WD is the only way you'll be able to access all the best “off the grid” spots. Besides taking a day for Hawaii Volcanoes National park or a few in Kona/Kohala, here are some of our other favorite places to go, with Volcano Village as your home base…
Allow a minimum of two hours (including sight-seeing stops) to circumnavigate the lake by car or motorcycle, and longer if you are driving a larger vehicle or towing.
Check out this 2.1-mile out-and-back trail near Volcano, Hawaii. Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 50 min to complete. This is a very popular area for walking, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring.