advice for travel to the Big Island and Kauai

[simple girl]

Yep, last time I was there it was fog and earth quakes. YMMV

Well, that puts it in perspective, lol! I guess I will just have to hope for the best and accept that my chances are iffy no matter what. It is what it is!

 

[meridiver]

We visited HVNP in May. If you want to see active lava, you should plan your visit around spending some time in the park after dark. The lava is visible within the main crater from a viewpoint about 4 miles from the park visitor center. You can see it faintly in the daytime, but it's much more impressive at night. Fog may interfere, but the weather can also change pretty quickly so it's worth waiting a bit to see if it clears.

Access is very easy, you park in a parking lot about a mile from the viewpoint then walk out on a paved road that's been closed off due to cracked pavement. Only the last 1/4 mile or so is on a gravel/lava path. It's a very easy walk out to the viewpoint, but you'll want at least one flashlight as there are no lights.

Quick tip - don't try to go right at sunset as that is when most people come and the parking lot fills quickly. Overflow parking is available farther away but it adds an extra mile or two to the walk. if you wait until at least 8-8:30 PM, the closest parking lot starts to empty out. The viewpoint is open all night. I went at 9:30 and there were still others there, but I was able to stand right at the front for as long as I wanted without feeling like I needed to make way for other people. Also, bring binoculars if you can. I was able to borrow a pair briefly, but was sad that I didn't have my own pair.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Now, I just hope that the two days I pick for Hilo end up being somewhat decent weather for visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park...no way to predict that! Fingers crossed!

The weather is usually pretty good in the park. You might get drizzle and clouds near the summit (Halema'uma'u crater) usually at night but possibly during the day. Ditto in Volcano Village if you choose to stay there. Chain of craters road and the hiking spots mentioned, I have never experienced significant rain on. But it is a rainforest so maybe I have just been lucky.

Also remember that even when it rains, it is relatively warm so barring any downpours, you will be fine. You might even welcome it if your hike has been in the sun so far. Pack emergency ponchos for downpours. It can be chilly at night in the park so bring a jacket unless you are from a northern state in which case you will probably say..."what, this guy thinks this is chilly"

 

[SecondAttempt]

Well, that puts it in perspective, lol! I guess I will just have to hope for the best and accept that my chances are iffy no matter what. It is what it is!

Assuming Koolau meant vog (volcanic fog), it has been bad in the past but is minimal right now. The current eruption seems to be producing very little vog on the Kona (or Hilo) side of the island. It was pretty bad in 2018 but not even detectable now. You will get some in the park of course. If you have respiratory conditions or are just curious you can compare the air "pollution" levels here to where you live at purpleair.com The trade winds send most vog to Kona rather than Hilo

We get earthquakes almost daily but you will not notice them for the most part. Most of them are about 3.5 magnitude centered at Pahala which is near South Point on the south side of the island on a flank of Mauna Loa and are not associated with the current Kilauea eruption. They are mostly very deep earthquakes happening either ~10 km deep (at the base of the island mass) or ~ 30 km deep at the bottom of the earth's crust where rocks are breaking under the weight of the island. At my house, which is probably about 25 miles as the crow flies from Pahala we typicall do not even feel the earthquakes downstairs but we do upstairs. (I'm not a geologist but when you live on the side of an active volcano you tend to pay attention and educate yourself!)

 

[SecondAttempt]

In May, our flight from Maui to Kauai was via Southwest. The downside was a change in Honolulu but it was cheaper (even more so when you consider the free checked bags) and a tad more convenient timing for us.

I am curious if your interisland flight was on a Southwest aircraft. I did not realize Southwest is doing interisland flights. If so that is great to give Hawaiian some competition!

 

[simple girl]

We visited HVNP in May. If you want to see active lava, you should plan your visit around spending some time in the park after dark. The lava is visible within the main crater from a viewpoint about 4 miles from the park visitor center. You can see it faintly in the daytime, but it's much more impressive at night. Fog may interfere, but the weather can also change pretty quickly so it's worth waiting a bit to see if it clears.

Access is very easy, you park in a parking lot about a mile from the viewpoint then walk out on a paved road that's been closed off due to cracked pavement. Only the last 1/4 mile or so is on a gravel/lava path. It's a very easy walk out to the viewpoint, but you'll want at least one flashlight as there are no lights.

Quick tip - don't try to go right at sunset as that is when most people come and the parking lot fills quickly. Overflow parking is available farther away but it adds an extra mile or two to the walk. if you wait until at least 8-8:30 PM, the closest parking lot starts to empty out. The viewpoint is open all night. I went at 9:30 and there were still others there, but I was able to stand right at the front for as long as I wanted without feeling like I needed to make way for other people. Also, bring binoculars if you can. I was able to borrow a pair briefly, but was sad that I didn't have my own pair.

Thank you so very much for this detailed information - extremely helpful! I'm so excited to do this!

 

[simple girl]

I am curious if your interisland flight was on a Southwest aircraft. I did not realize Southwest is doing interisland flights. If so that is great to give Hawaiian some competition!

Oh yes, they are doing interisland flights. We are flying Southwest from Hilo to Lihue. We have to connect via Honololu though.

Here's the route planner - just hover over the airport. https://www.southwest.com/destinations/hawaii

 

[Koolau]

Oh yes, they are doing interisland flights. We are flying Southwest from Hilo to Lihue. We have to connect via Honololu though.

Here's the route planner - just hover over the airport. https://www.southwest.com/destinations/hawaii

Let's hope the competition with Hawaiian Air brings prices down. Last we flew inter island, cost was outrageous. YMMV

 

[SecondAttempt]

Let's hope the competition with Hawaiian Air brings prices down. Last we flew inter island, cost was outrageous. YMMV

Yes, most of my flights have been outrageous. But I flew Kona to HNL in mid June for $10 one way and $60 back. I was stunned. Usually it is about $200 RT but can be higher.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Let's hope the competition with Hawaiian Air brings prices down. Last we flew inter island, cost was outrageous. YMMV

Yes, most of my flights have been outrageous. But I flew Kona to HNL in mid June for $10 one way and $60 back. I was stunned. Usually it is about $200 RT but can be higher.

 

[Koolau]

Yes, most of my flights have been outrageous. But I flew Kona to HNL in mid June for $10 one way and $60 back. I was stunned. Usually it is about $200 RT but can be higher.

Yeah, we flew HNL to Hilo a few times in 2020 (to visit friends and introduction to our first Grand Daughter!) I was shocked that it was in the $200 RT range as well. At the time, it was a $Grand to fly to the East coast of the USA.

Maybe the competition will eventually smooth out the prices to something a bit more reasonable. Let us hope! I still would like to play tourist every once in a while.

 

[explanade]

I was looking at Kauai last year, as well as Oahu or Maui or the Big Island.

Prices were so ridiculous, because everyone was rushing to go there as soon as they loosened the travel restrictions.

Hundreds of dollars a night for condos with '80s decor and equipment -- old appliances, bathroom fixtures, etc. Then a couple hundred a day for car rentals.

This wasn't even in the summer months. I thought it might be reasonable like in February or March but people said you will just get a lot of rain in Kauai and not be able to travel from say Poipu to the north shore or vice versa because the roads often close down with heavy rain.

I calculated that it would have been cheaper to pay much higher airfare to fly to Australia or to SE Asia but pay far less for accommodations.

I don't know if the situation has calmed down since people have more places to go to this year.

 

[Koolau]

I was looking at Kauai last year, as well as Oahu or Maui or the Big Island.

Prices were so ridiculous, because everyone was rushing to go there as soon as they loosened the travel restrictions.

Hundreds of dollars a night for condos with '80s decor and equipment -- old appliances, bathroom fixtures, etc. Then a couple hundred a day for car rentals.

This wasn't even in the summer months. I thought it might be reasonable like in February or March but people said you will just get a lot of rain in Kauai and not be able to travel from say Poipu to the north shore or vice versa because the roads often close down with heavy rain.

I calculated that it would have been cheaper to pay much higher airfare to fly to Australia or to SE Asia but pay far less for accommodations.

I don't know if the situation has calmed down since people have more places to go to this year.

Not an expert, but we do hear that tourism is almost back to peak levels. I believe prices have gone up quite a bit, though, of course, we never stay in a local hotel. I notice that there are no longer enticements to kama'aina to stay for $150/night or so. They don't need us to fill up the rooms, I guess. YMMV

 

[simple girl]

Hello everyone!

I wanted to thank you all for your very helpful advice! We returned from our Hawaii vacation to the Big Island and Kauai a few weeks ago. It was AMAZING!!!!!!

We were totally blown away. There were sooooooooo many incredible things we did and places we saw!

The Big Island: night snorkeling with the manta rays (just - WOW), our stay at this BnB (incredible!), picnic lunches at Keokea, Punaluu Black Sand and Laupahoehoe beach parks, the whole HVNP including our stay at this adorable cottage but especially the Chain of Craters Road with Holei Sea Arch AND actually hiking in before sunrise to be able to see lava - it started erupting the day before we left!, Pololu Valley and Waipi'o Valley Lookouts, plate lunches - amazing ono fish and laulau, Akaka Falls.

On Kauai: our amazing townhouse we had at Poipu Shores, lunch at Kapaa Block with shaved ice with macadamia nut icecream on the bottom for desert (YUM!), our incredible helicopter tour of the island with Blue Hawaiian (just - wow), all of Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park (fabulous!), the north coast - Hanalei village for lunch, watching surfers at Waikoko Beach, Tunnels Beach, Anini Beach scenic drive and Kilauea Lighthouse (stunning!), seeing monk seals sunning themselves on the rocks and green sea turtles coming up to rest for the night at Poipu Beach, endless whale watching and sunsets from our townhouse.

What an amazing place and vacation! It was beyond our expectations. Happy to help with tips for anyone else planning a vacation.

 

[Montecfo]

Hello everyone!



I wanted to thank you all for your very helpful advice! We returned from our Hawaii vacation to the Big Island and Kauai a few weeks ago. It was AMAZING!!!!!!



We were totally blown away. There were sooooooooo many incredible things we did and places we saw!



The Big Island: night snorkeling with the manta rays (just - WOW), our stay at this BnB (incredible!), picnic lunches at Keokea, Punaluu Black Sand and Laupahoehoe beach parks, the whole HVNP including our stay at this adorable cottage but especially the Chain of Craters Road with Holei Sea Arch AND actually hiking in before sunrise to be able to see lava - it started erupting the day before we left!, Pololu Valley and Waipi'o Valley Lookouts, plate lunches - amazing ono fish and laulau, Akaka Falls.



On Kauai: our amazing townhouse we had at Poipu Shores, lunch at Kapaa Block with shaved ice with macadamia nut icecream on the bottom for desert (YUM!), our incredible helicopter tour of the island with Blue Hawaiian (just - wow), all of Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park (fabulous!), the north coast - Hanalei village for lunch, watching surfers at Waikoko Beach, Tunnels Beach, Anini Beach scenic drive and Kilauea Lighthouse (stunning!), seeing monk seals sunning themselves on the rocks and green sea turtles coming up to rest for the night at Poipu Beach, endless whale watching and sunsets from our townhouse.



What an amazing place and vacation! It was beyond our expectations. Happy to help with tips for anyone else planning a vacation.

Wow great report.

Especially since we are heading to Kauai and Oahu in 3 days!

Looking forward to it even more now.

 

[simple girl]

Wow great report.

Especially since we are heading to Kauai and Oahu in 3 days!

Looking forward to it even more now.

Oh, I am SOOOOOO excited for you!!!! You are going to LOVE it!!!

 

[simple girl]

Wow great report.

Especially since we are heading to Kauai and Oahu in 3 days!

Looking forward to it even more now.

P.S.

*HIGHLY recommend you download this GPS driving app (Gypsy Guide) for each island (we just did the two we went to, not the bundle) -
AMAZING resource and totally made our trip!!!! INCREDIBLE! He gives you insider tips on where to park, where to turn, local history of the islands, etc.

 

[pacergal]

Beautiful pictures!
We have always had a wonderful time in Hawaii.

 

[Montecfo]

P.S.



*HIGHLY recommend you download this GPS driving app (Gypsy Guide) for each island (we just did the two we went to, not the bundle) -

AMAZING resource and totally made our trip!!!! INCREDIBLE! He gives you insider tips on where to park, where to turn, local history of the islands, etc.

Do you know if this is comparable to Shaka? My wife had identified that and seems similar and also highly rated if I am understanding.

 

[simple girl]

Do you know if this is comparable to Shaka? My wife had identified that and seems similar and also highly rated if I am understanding.

I also heard the Shaka app is excellent. I decided to go with the Gypsy app because we used it in Yellowstone, and it was fantastic there, too. So, I went with what we knew. I have no idea if one is better than the other.

 

[Koolau]

Great pictures and wonderful report, simple girl. Much appreciated. Aloha.

 

[Love This Community]

@Montecfo…I haven’t read the complete thread and apologize if this is already covered. I would highly recommend a Jack Harter helicopter ride in Kauai. One of those experiences that’ll stay with you for a very long time.

 

[Koolau]

@Montecfo…I haven’t read the complete thread and apologize if this is already covered. I would highly recommend a Jack Harter helicopter ride in Kauai. One of those experiences that’ll stay with you for a very long time.

If you do a helicopter, I'd also spring for the video (of YOUR ride IIRC). DO consider all this a BTD experience as it ain't cheap! In fact, it's really expensive though YMMV.

 

[Ian S]

If you do a helicopter, I'd also spring for the video (of YOUR ride IIRC). DO consider all this a BTD experience as it ain't cheap! In fact, it's really expensive though YMMV.

+1! Not all helicopter tours have that capability. Blue Hawaiian did for our tour of the Big Island but our helicopter tour of Kauai - not Blue Hawaiian - did not. The Kauai helicopter tour was a last minute decision after our catamaran sunset tour of the Na Pali coast was canceled. As it turned out, the helicopter was unable to fly up the Na Pali coast due to bad weather so I guess we'll have to go back to Kauai sometime!

 

[audreyh1]

Did you see any whales?