Mauna Loa is erupting! See here for information on viewing locations:
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park deserves more than one day BUT, sometimes that is all you have to experience this place. Here is how to do Volcanoes in one day from Kailua-Kona (West Hawaii).
Even if Kilauea isn’t erupting, you need to get yourself and your travel partners to this place. There is so much to see and do. Let us show you around, then check out our Big Island itinerary for more things to do on Hawaii!
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Whoa Whoa [Music] We’re doing a big drive today we’re Heading from kailua kona all the way Down to volcanoes national park around The southern tip of the island this is Called the southern route down to Volcanoes national park and we have the Southern tip of the big island right Behind us this is the most southern Point in the united states it’s a Beautiful view i’m jordan this is henry And this is my mom nancy And welcome to the hawaii vacation guide I got my dad too He likes to read plaques like me Dude why use volcano national park in One day this isn’t right for everybody Because let’s face it america’s majestic National parks need a couple days to Explore but if you’re short on time this Is how you can do it in one day There you go man thank you sir Some people come to big island for only Three or four days because it came from Another island totally okay you just Have to know what you can sacrifice at Volcanoes national park like what’s Worth going to for you so when you’re Driving here right if you’re leaving From the kohala coast or kailua kona It’s about 90 to 100 mile drive down South taking the southern route it’s a
Beautiful drive first it starts off in Kona coffee country you’re about 1500 Feet elevation driving along the Mountain beautiful views of the coast And the hardest part of that drive is All the great coffee shops along the way You’ll want to stop like places like the Coffee shack sacred grounds all these Great little coffee shops along the way Try to resist you have to leave early in The morning like 7 a.m so you’ll want to Stop for coffee and you can if you like Find a coffee shop that’s right for you For us we resisted stopping in kona Instead we made it to the kau district This is the southern tip of the big Island and we stopped at kau coffee this Is miranda’s coffee farm just grab some Coffee get a little more energy and grab A brownie for henry for lunch time 86 and order 87. if you’re gonna hit up The puna lu black sand beach hit up the Puna lu bake shop first this place is Legit it’s so good got malasadas donuts Sweet breads got deli sandwiches great Place to pick up lunch before you head Down there [Music] Daddy go Come on buddy So killaway is erupting right now so We’re going to stay late at the national Park at least to dusk to see if we can See it glowing from the volcano so on
Our drive to volcano’s national park We’re making a few stops the more stops You make the less time you have in the National park but we couldn’t help it i Had to stop at puna lu black sand beach This place this is my favorite black Sand beach the sand is black got little Tide pools to play in like henry’s Having fun back there with nana you got Turtles usually rusting on the short you Got lifeguards because it can be a rough Place to swim it’s gotten a little bit Of current and some high surf out there Today but it’s got shade they even have Some food down here too Okay let’s go see the turtles Henry where are we going next To away it’s 11 o’clock we’re making it To the park entrance the visitor center Hawaii’s volcano national park we had Quite a few stops we left at eight O’clock from kona coffee country should Take two hours took us three well worth It to make those stops for us We got here and there’s a little bit of A line to get in to get park tickets the National park service recommends having A plan b especially if you’re visiting The big island during the holiday season That’s your busiest time so they Recommend if it’s really busy here at The main park you go to the kahuku unit The kahuku unit that is just south of The main national park and is part of
The national park and it’s got beautiful Hiking trails and views and it’s never Busy so they’re trying to say hey people Go check that part of the park out too Are you guys ready for the national park We’re ready Last time we’re here is raining a lot And we stayed in that one over there it Was a lot of fun to stay Where did we stay last time buddy That one crater view there’s a few place For lunch in volcano volcano village was Just outside the gate it’s just busy Right now so we don’t want to leave the National park so we’re going to eat a Volcano house So volcano house melchio national park Is at 4 000 feet elevation so so it does Get chilly up here so bring warm clothes Especially if you’re staying to see the Crater at night it cools off a lot last Time we’re here got down to 52 degrees So for lunch we have the volcano house And we’re having lunch at the rim Restaurant which overlooks the crater Rim which is smoking right now henry’s Dream The fight wakes you up oh i think she’s Awake buddy haley is awake Okay guys we’re doing the crater rim Drive right now first stop is the steam Vents so we’re on the crater rim road Right now scenic drive i got a steam Vent behind me so
Hawaii volcanoes national park is Composed of two volcanoes kilauea and Mauna loa hence volcanoes national park So the caldera is kilauea kilauea Volcano monologue is not erupting right Now but boy she has been rumbling a lot Lately and wow it’s toasty in this steam Event i like it It’s only about in the 60s right now i Gotta warm up Oh Yeah sauna this kilauea lookout good Place to view the crater Okay henry wants to get a closer look at The lava lake we’re gonna get a little Closer there it is hannah’s power Walking our way up to the top You can’t keep up with there Go henry go see if you can be nana Oh and henry’s taking the lead over nana To the lava lake So we’re at kilauea lookout right now Check the national park service website For the best viewing location because on The website i’ll tell you the best place To view it based on how it’s erupting We’re going to come back tonight when we Can see it better that’s the plan so That’s mauna kea you can see the Observatories up at the top and then Over here buried in the clouds this is Mauna loa so that’s part of the national Park too and then kilauea is on the side Of the mountain pretty sweet huh i find
It pretty cool We’re at step number seven the crater Rim drive right behind me is the kilauea Icky crater kilauea eco rubbed in 1959. We came here because this parking was Full of other places like thurston lava Tubes in the kilauea ike overlook but That’s okay because we’re at the Devastation trail two of my favorite Trails at volcanoes national park is Kilauea which is down there in the Devastation trail devastation trail is Easier for kids because it’s paved it Takes you to an old cinder cone give This when kilauea icky erupted in 1959 It had fountains of lava erupting up to 1900 feet high and as the lava fell it Cooled creating cinders and you get this Big mound of cinders that’s why they Call it cinder cone what eric and i love About national parks is there’s so many Hikes right i’m only mentioning two Killer whale icky trail on the Devastation trail there’s hikes all over The place here and there’s also illegal Hikes there’s a lot of places you Shouldn’t hike especially to get closer To the view of the volcano you don’t Want to be that guy or girl who has to Get rescued out there so stick to all The trails thanks a lot [Music] All of my friends [Music]
Nice part about these trails is you can Go to the tippy top up there or like We’re doing is taking our time and going As far as we want to go Hello on to the next stop Okay it’s 2 30 right now we just Finished devastation trail so we decided To sneak in chain of craters road we’re Not going to stop at all the craters Along it the main thing you want to Check out is the petroglyphs and the sea Arch which is towards the bottom of the Road So let’s go Field is almost 50 years old It’s a baby yeah they’re gonna have a 50th anniversary Baby lava field now you can make this Last six hours if you like there’s tons Of craters lining the road you can just Pull over look at craters or go on hikes There’s even campsites off this so we’re Just pulling over looking at a few Craters but our main goal is hit up the Petroglyphs and then see the sea arch at The bottom so from the visitor center Down to the sea arch is 30 minutes if You go non-stop we’re making a couple Stops because it’s hard not to stop and Look at these really cool craters we’re At the chain of craters road when the Last stops is the pu’u loa petroglyphs Means hill of long life this place is Home to 23 000 petroglyphs and so these
Are rock carvings done by the ancient Hawaiians this is a sacred spot for the Ancient hawaiians It’s a trail it’s 1.4 miles out and back Small incline but you do go over lava so Be tough we’re going to see if we can do It with henry and the grandparents but i Love seeing petroglyphs i just love to See that history In the rock you don’t walk on them There’s a boardwalk to walk over the top Of them but i’m excited to see these 23 000 petroglyphs can you imagine that That’s a lot of history all right here Comes the sales pitch if you enjoy this Day out on the big island check out our Big island wayfinder itinerary we got a Link in the description below to learn More we take you all over the island Where to eat where to park what to do All that good stuff so you have a great Trip to hawaii and you don’t have to Worry about planning we got all taken Care of for you click the link in the Description below for more information Okay Here we go under the sea arch right now The end of chain of craters road [Music] [Music] I long for you so much i can find my way [Music] So where the kilauea icky overlooked the Kilauea icky craters right below us this
Was full earlier today so is the Thurston lava tube so right now we’re Going back to the thrifts and lava tubes Because there’s parking to check it out Plus it’s like nightfall so when you’re Inside a cave so it’s a good time to go Just a warning they do get parking Tickets the rangers over there giving Them right now welcome to nahuku there’s A thurston lava tube this is a must stop We’re at volcanoes national park Is a massive lava tube that you can walk Through it’s got lights and to even get To it you go down to this like fern Gully area it’s really cool Look at that body these are just giant Ferns Whoa Whoa Henry how could we miss this i know Exactly you can’t miss this when you Come here welcome to nahuku Thurston lava tubes it’s super dark let Me try to change the iso flashlights Pretty cool huh buddy it doesn’t go all The way to the ocean does it no this is A short little tunnel but it’s a big Tunnel huh Pretty cool huh buddy look at that Was that pretty cool Yeah it was pretty cool I can’t imagine how much lava going Through that thing you know do you know That under here with the lava too
So with the thirst and lava tubes Parking is tough but it’s only 30 minute Parking because they want people to park And you do a nice little loop you’re Going through the lava tube come out Back into the firm for us and then You’re off again so that’s why it’s 30 Minute parking we are back on the rim of The kilauea crater right now Sun is setting in 10 minutes it’s cold But it’s not freezing it’s springtime It’s like 64 degrees right now Everyone’s bundled up though and we’re Going to see if we can see it glowing i Don’t think we’ll stay that long we Weren’t able to get dinner in volcano Village And i’m not saying henry’s going to be Cold because he’s being a trooper today Aren’t you buddy he’s excited to see This volcano but daddy might get a Little cold and like i said earlier Check the national park service website For their recommendation on where to View the volcano the best viewing Location for seeing the glow of the Volcano because it does change let’s go Hide all because i know right we got to Be able to look down into it as we’re Getting cold over here click the link in The description below to learn more About our hawaiian island itinerary Especially visiting the big island we Have so many good adventures for you
Great excursion days like this one plus More leisurely pace to this side of the Island visit volcanoes and maybe stay in Hilo it would be nice Cozy warm huh all right Let’s go Because we aren’t looking inside get Higher you’re right you’re getting Higher Oh my gosh there you can see the rock’s Gone towards us oh it’s a video oh look At how close it is yeah i know like 100 Feet or so it was hitting the top of the Boat and he’s like okay It’s well after sunset and we’re not Getting a glow out of the kilauea Caldera tonight sorry about that but the Hawaii vacation guy newsletter community Have shared these pictures when they’re Visiting this year of the caldera Glowing so check these out Thanks so much for watching it’s been a Big day out on a volcano we had a lot of Fun we hope you did too did you have fun Today buddy [Music] A little bit like we said we got a great Itinerary for you click the link Description below and thanks so much for Watching ten Nine Eight Seven Six
Five Four Three Two One [Music] Henry pour some water Whoa henry has the biggest explosion This is bigger than kilauea This is huge More to the volcano Keep it in the water so reacting [Music] [Music]