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Frequently Asked QuestionsWhere are you based? Do you pick up from the Kona side?
We are based in Volcano, on Hawai'i Island (also known as the Big Island). We include tour pick-ups in the Volcano to Hilo area (including the Port of Hilo and Hilo Airport - ITO) in our quoted prices and tour lengths.
We DO also offer pick-up from ANYWHERE on the Kona side, but we must extend the tour time to include an additional 2 hrs each way for the guided cross-island commute, PLUS a surcharge to cover the drive to and from Kona before and after the tour. Some of our clients are on a budget and prefer driving a rental car to meet us in Hilo or Volcano, while others prefer us to do the driving.
Let us know what works for you!
What if I can't or don't want to hike? Is the hiking difficult?
No problem, let us know and we'll customize your tour to include only short walks or roadside stops, to your preference. We can advise you on an appropriate length of tour based on your interests and adjust the level of difficulty to your request. Some hikes can be difficult for some people, so let us know with what you're comfortable! Seeing the most remote parts of the volcano do require a bit of hiking, but there is lots to see which is easily accessible and spectacular as well.
How much time do I need to see the volcano? Can I do it all in one day?
That depends how much you want to see! Our shortest tours, 4 hours, barely cover the basics, but are better suited to our clients who are short on time or in the company of small children. We think that 6 hours is a better length to see the top highlights, or 8 hours to see the best of what ONE of the two main geographic areas Kīlauea volcano has to offer:
First, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the summit of the volcano at 4000' / 1200m elevation, is the site of many recent and one ongoing eruption, and host to the native rainforest, lava tube, and frozen lava trees, fissures, ponds, and lakes. We offer shorter, road-based tours of the park, and longer tours which see more volcanic features, more of the park, and can include longer hikes (to your preference). In the evening it's often possible to see GLOW from a hidden lava lake, a fantastic, beautiful & easily accessible experience of the active eruption.
Second is the coastal area of the volcano near Kalapana, a lava-buried village (1990 & 2010) in an area of black sand beaches, warm ponds, and scenic forested coastline all the way to the ruins of Kapoho town, buried by lava in 1960. We offer shorter road-based tours of the highlights of the area, or longer tours including hikes off-the-beaten path, or to the active lava (see below).
If you'd like to see BOTH areas, then the top highlights are possible within 8 hrs, but if you don't want to miss anything spectacular, 10 hrs is better. If you'd like to include a longer hike in either area and don't want to leave anything out, then consider a longer tour which can even be split over multiple days (to your preference).
Our longest tour focusing exclusively on the volcano runs for 5 days, for the in-depth explorer who wants to see everything from every angle!
Where's the lava? How close can I get? Can I make it on my own?
Many of our clients have read guidebooks referring to active lava flows in the coastal areas of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park which were present from 1992-2007. While a change in the eruption could return lava flows back into the park with little notice, at present the active and accessible lava flows are near the lava-buried coastal village of Kalapana.
In Kalapana, there are two lava-view options at present, and either can be included in your custom tour. First, the County of Hawai'i has set up a Public Viewing Area at the end of Highway 130 in Kalapana, operating from 12-10pm "as long as conditions remain safe to the public." Lava flows are often visible at least from a distance from this location, and sometimes close-up, as lava has crossed the viewing area multiple times in 2010. This may require a half-mile walk on the paved road, but is a much easier option than what follows.
Second, we (and others) offer a hike as close as SAFELY possible to the active eruption. WE WILL NOT take you onto the lava delta ("the bench") with risk of death even if others are there viewing the eruption from closer. Our tours are different in offering you a PRIVATE GUIDE who puts safety first but still gets you AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE and provides cultural & scientific context to enhance your experience. Whenever there are active breakouts inland we can literally come CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH them, if you can overcome the intense heat! We view the lava ocean entry from a safe & enjoyable distance, and are usually treated to quite a show!
Hiking to the active lava currently requires crossing private land, and for that reason independent travelers are not allowed across. These landowners have arrangements with a few tour companies (including ours) to allow access, which other companies do with groups of 10-30 people. Our offering, "The Lava Proximity Hike" is LEGAL & PRIVATE, with at most 6 people per guide (10 per group), and we carry extra safety gear and other equipment to give you the best possible experience, and on top of that we still CONTRIBUTE to the local Hawaiian community who have made this arrangement possible. You can get there another way, but if safety, group size & personal service are what's important to you then you've found the right match!
What will I see on your tour that I won't see in the National Park and around the island on my own?
Many of our clients are repeat visitors to the island and to the National Park, and most had fantastic first visits and memorable experiences on their time here on their own. What we offer is to enhance your experience by sharing cultural and scientific stories, pictures & presentations that bring alive the landscape and its inhabitants. Think of us as Private Park Rangers tailoring a custom experience for you. Most of our repeat visitors left with an appreciation of the park's beauty but also some unanswered questions, and returned to visit again with us for a completely new and eye-opening experience! Don't take our word for it, read their reviews for yourself! If you'd still like time to explore on your own, consider one of our shorter tours as an orientation which will enhance your whole visit to the park!
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