How to Best See the Volcano from Oahu

August 30, 2007 by Lisa
Filed under: Big Island, Big Island Activities, Big Island Areas, Oahu, Oahu Activities, Vacation Planning

Sign Up:  and get my free, 4-part Hawaii Vacation Mini Guide, and access to all guides and updates.
Name: Email:
I 100% respect your email privacy


answer
Thanks :) The volcano is on the Big Island, so the first thing you will need to do is get a flight to the big island – or you could look around for a tour company that would do an island tour for you, like this one.

However, you are correct that right now the best viewing is from the air. You might just want to catch an inter-island flight to the Hilo airport and just walk over to the helicopter and small plane departures and take one of them, like Hilo Wings.

If you do take a helicopter or small plane tour, here’s some pics of what you may see: my friend was up just last week and took these pictures.

Now, as for the park being closed – everything is currently open except for some pretty advanced hiking trails near the current flow. The closures only lasted for a short time after the earthquakes around mid-June. There’s lot’s of interesting stuff to see and a huge crater that is easy to get to, but the flowing lava is only visible from the air right now. Check the absolute latest information with the National Park or my volcano blog.

Have fun! Lisa

question
First, what a great website! I find the information very interesting. My wife and I are planning a trip to Oahu next week and wanted to include a tour of the Volcanoes National Park. With all the current activity going on and based on their website, it appears that a good portion of the park is closed. We were really hoping to see some neat things, including lava, etc. With these developments, does it make more sense to tour from the air instead of the ground? If we still elected to tour from the ground, what is still open that would be worth seeing?

Comments

6 Comments on How to Best See the Volcano from Oahu

  1. Nancy Zielenski on Mon, 28th Mar 2011 2:08 pm

    2. Is the Volcanoes National Park going to be open in the month of April?

  2. Lisa on Tue, 29th Mar 2011 8:54 pm

    3. It should be, most of the park is still open. see closures here http://www.nps.gov/havo/closed_areas.htm – but anything could happen :)

  3. lacriessa revia on Tue, 3rd May 2011 5:04 pm

    4. looking for best place in hawaii to take teenage boys to see volcano and surf

  4. Lisa on Thu, 5th May 2011 6:37 am

    5. Kailua-Kona

  5. Caroline on Fri, 6th May 2011 12:17 am

    6. Hi,

    We are staying in Oahu for the week and are trying to choose the best all round day/night tour. I’ve been trying to see which tour stays the latest for night lava viewing. What is the latest flight back to Oahu from the big island?

    With thanks
    Caroline & Steven, Australia

  6. Lisa on Fri, 6th May 2011 5:47 pm

    7. You can leave as late as about 8:45, but you need to be at the airport by about 8 at the latest, and it takes a good 45 minutes to get from the lava flow to the airport – so you need to leave the lava flow at 7 probably to be super safe.

    It gets dark around 7 in the summer, so you may not be getting what you want no matter what here, and most tours are not going to leave right when it gets dark.

    Here’s one to contact though

    http://www.bigislandvolcanotours.com/VolcanoFromOahu.htm

    Lisa

Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!