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Visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with youngsters can appear intimidating. You might have some trepidation over whether or not such a go to is harmful and easy methods to make it attention-grabbing for the entire household. If you do it proper, although, exploring volcanoes on Hawaii’s Big Island just isn’t solely secure but in addition tremendous enjoyable for households. Follow these 15 useful ideas for visiting volcanoes in Hawaii by helicopter and by land.
1. Choose the best helicopter tour.
A helicopter tour of Hawaii’s volcanoes has lengthy been a bucket listing merchandise for me. I nearly did not go, although. Mostly as a result of it is costly. You could also be tempted to decide out as effectively, nevertheless it’s value each cent for such a tremendous, once-in-a-lifetime expertise!
Typically, there isn’t any age restrict to fly in a helicopter (with doorways on) so even infants and toddlers can take part. Children ages 2+ have to be secured in their very own seats in a automotive seat or authorized security restraint.
Save cash whereas exploring volcanoes by air and land:
We, like most Big Island guests, spent the vast majority of our trip on the drier and extra populous Kona aspect of the island. Therefore, I used to be initially contemplating a helicopter flight from the Waikoloa Heliport to keep away from the 2-hour drive to Hilo.
After doing a little analysis, nonetheless, I discovered that I may save my household a whole lot of {dollars} by reserving a helicopter tour from the Hilo International Airport. If you wish to lower your expenses and also you’re keen on exploring Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park by land as effectively, then I like to recommend reserving a helicopter tour from Hilo.
Save time and splurge on helicopter expertise:
If time is of the essence and also you’re keen to splurge, then ebook this superb tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. It departs from Waikoloa on the Kohala Coast. Although you will not get the chance to hike previous the Kilauea Caldera on foot, you will note quite a lot of the island from above. You’ll even step out of the helicopter on the fringe of a freshwater pool, beside a thundering waterfall! (Ages 2+.)
2. Overcome movement illness.
A snorkeling and boating tour the day previous to our helicopter flight left my teen daughter and me apprehensive about movement illness. After a lot encouragement from our Facebook followers (thanks!), we determined to go for it. I’m so very glad we did. We felt a tad woozy afterward, nevertheless it was manageable and we each agreed effectively value it.
This was my second helicopter flight. (The first was in Sevierville, Tennessee.) Both instances, I used to be happy to expertise how a lot smoother and fewer nauseating a helicopter experience is in comparison with a small airplane flight.
Still, it is good to take precautions, particularly if somebody in your loved ones usually suffers from movement illness. Bring alongside a nausea-reducing medicine like Dramamine and browse these movement illness ideas earlier than you go.
3. Check the lava move.
During intervals of eruption, parts or all the nationwide park might shut and helicopter flights could also be grounded for security’s sake. Additionally, when lava is flowing and the park is open, anticipate lengthy delays.
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa is taken into account one of many world’s most lively volcanoes. Chances are, you’re going to get to see some molten lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Eruptions in 2021, 2022, and 2023 have created a lava lake in Halema’uma’u Crater.
There was no lava to be seen wherever on the Big Island throughout my household’s first go to to Volcano National Park. Once the biggest lava lake on the planet, Halemaumau Crater at Kilauea’s Caldera didn’t comprise any seen lava throughout our tour in 2018. That’s as a result of all of it poured out when a giant magma chamber collapsed, inflicting a 3-month-long lava move. This additionally precipitated the crater to develop considerably in measurement. Halemaumau Crater at Kilauea’s Caldera is now about thrice as massive because it was earlier than the collapse!
Check the National Park System web site to study volcanic exercise in Hawaii.
4. Appreciate present situations at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Even if you do not get to see lively lava move, the nationwide park nonetheless affords loads of pleasure for households.
Because lava was not flowing, our helicopter was in a position to circle Pu’u ‘O’o. This volcanic cone is a part of Kilauea’s jap rift zone. Until April 2018, Pu’u ‘O’o had been erupting since January 1983. This makes it the longest-lived rift-zone eruption on Earth over the previous 200 years.
We have been in a position to peer proper into Pu’u ‘O’o from our helicopter seats. This is actually one of the vital thrilling issues I’ve ever carried out and it is one thing my household will all the time keep in mind. View my YouTube video above to see what I imply!
During our helicopter tour, we additionally received an opportunity to see the most recent actual property on Earth, created by the 2018 large eruption and subsequent summit collapse. The decrease Puna eruption lasted 4 months. The lava cooled to type volcanic rock, creating 875 acres of latest land within the Pacific Ocean.
5. Respect the facility of Hawaii’s volcanoes.
Over 700 homes have been destroyed by the 2018 volcanic exercise on Hawaii. Our helicopter pilot, Darryl, informed us that many of the homes that have been destroyed are in a Zone 1 space, essentially the most harmful lively volcanic zone.
There are 9 lava-flow zones on the islands, with Zone 9 being the least prone to expertise volcanic harm. Darryl mentioned that homes within the first zone have a 90 % probability of volcanic devastation.
Although Zone 1 residents are unable to buy insurance coverage for his or her properties as a result of excessive threat of volcanic destruction, they’ll purchase Hawaiian actual property at a discount fee.
Some of the homes that survived the eruption are second-generation properties. That means the unique properties have been annihilated years in the past and have been rebuilt by the proprietor’s kids or grandchildren.
6. Stay secure whereas exploring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Is it secure to discover lively volcanoes in Hawaii with youngsters?
Jim Bendt, CEO of Pique Travel Design, a journey company specializing in Hawaii, says in this CNBC article, “Big Island is over 4,000 square miles. The area of the latest eruption covers 10 square miles. Travelers should have no worries visiting.”
Additionally, volcanologists carefully monitor exercise to supply warnings to residents and guests. The University of Hawaii Hilo’s web site explains, “scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) have instruments that monitor the rift zones 24 hours a day. Before an eruption, the ground inflates rapidly and seismographs record volcanic tremor (underground magma flowing up towards the surface).”
Still, in case you’re staying in Zone 1, it’s best to take heed. The University of Hawaii Hilo continues, “Although there is usually an increase in seismic activity and ground deformation for several hours prior to an eruptive outbreak, residents living in remote areas may have little warning and less time to evacuate themselves and their possessions prior to a fast-moving lava flow.”
Most essential is to remain on marked trails and overlooks, and swiftly comply with any evacuation directions.
7. Beware of poor air high quality.
Due to gases and ash launched by volcanoes, air high quality in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park can attain harmful ranges. Poor air high quality from volcanic sulfur dioxide gasoline and particulate matter may be detrimental to everybody.
Those with lung situations, nonetheless, ought to be particularly cautious. Don’t neglect to deliver alongside an inhaler for bronchial asthma victims (like my son).
With these air high quality risks, pregnant ladies and oldsters of infants and younger kids might wish to contemplate visiting Hawaii’s volcanoes at a later date, particularly throughout eruptions. Elderly guests and people with coronary heart issues must also take heed.
Check the NPS’s Air Quality Alert to find out the very best time to go to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with youngsters.
8. Book a Kilauea strolling tour with youngsters.
It is unimaginable to see Hawaii’s volcanoes from the seat of a helicopter, nevertheless it’s additionally superb to discover Kilauea on foot.
To get essentially the most out of visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with youngsters, I extremely suggest reserving a Private Tour with Kilauea EcoGuide. Owner and lead information, Erik Storm, guarantees that all the firm’s guides modify their excursions to satisfy their viewers’s wants. This means preserving issues attention-grabbing for kids and teenagers, too.
Using easy-to-follow graphics, Erik defined how volcanoes type, why they erupt, and the reason for current lava flows on the island. He blended classes in regards to the historical past and tradition of the Hawaiian Islands with science to maintain us all captivated. Plus, since it is a personal tour, we may additionally ask all of the questions we wished.
Our household took in views of Kilauea’s Caldera and walked previous steam vents, with clouds arising from the earth’s molten middle. We additionally discovered about Hawaii’s strongest god, Pele, the god of Mauna Loa and all volcanic exercise on the island.
It was a lot extra significant to discover this World Heritage Site with an knowledgeable in Hawaiian tradition and geology than it could have been to wander round on our personal. This is very true because the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum closed resulting from instability from the hundreds of seismic occasions that occurred in 2018. This museum as soon as housed geological and cultural displays centered on the research of volcanoes and Hawaii. It is ready to be demolished.
9. Break up explorations to maintain youngsters .
Kilauea EcoGuides is joyful to interrupt the tour into extra simply digestible chunks for households with youngsters. So, in case you’ll be staying on the Hilo aspect of the island for a couple of days, I like to recommend asking if you are able to do half of the tour someday and the opposite half the subsequent day.
Choose both a 3-hour or a 6-hour tour. Unless your youngsters are loopy about volcanoes, the shorter tour might be ample for households.
Book your personal Volcanoes National Park tour now!
10. Go to the Kilauea Visitor Center.
Thankfully, immediately you possibly can go to the Kīlauea Visitor Center close to the park entrance. Especially if visiting the nationwide park by yourself, then the guests middle ought to be your first cease. It’s situated on the best aspect close to the park entrance.
Park rangers and volunteers shall be joyful to supply ideas for the easiest way to discover the park. They will give suggestions for climbing trails, scenic drives, and different foremost sights.
Plus, the customer’s middle affords a present store, one thing my youngsters all the time wish to peruse at nationwide parks. This is an effective place to select up souvenirs like plush toys, academic video games, and collectibles. Best of all, gross sales profit the National Park System.
11. Participate within the Junior Ranger Program.
Make Hawaii Volcanoes National Park extra enjoyable for youths with the Junior Ranger Program. Pick up your Junior Ranger Booklets on the guests middle. Activities embody a scavenger hunt, coloring ebook, and arrowhead-making craft. Kids ages 7 to 12 can present their accomplished workbooks to earn a Junior Ranger sticker.
12. Dress appropriately to discover volcanoes.
Dress in layers because the temperature on the high of Kilauea may be 12 to fifteen levels decrease than at sea stage. You must also put on snug strolling or climbing footwear with tread for exploring trails.
Bring alongside rain gear, too, like ponchos and umbrellas. My household was fortunate to go to Volcanoes National Park on an unusually dry and clear day. Keep in thoughts, although, that it sometimes rains 300 days per 12 months within the park.
13. Plan forward for meals and snacks.
Keep in thoughts, there aren’t quite a lot of eating choices inside Hawaii Volcano National Park. Therefore, you could wish to pack snacks and a meal on your go to. Packing meals and drinks additionally saves cash on this costly island.
My household picnicked at Queen Liliuokalani Gardens in Hilo earlier than our helicopter experience. With plenty of picnic tables and nil entry charges, this Japanese-style botanic backyard makes a ravishing and handy spot for a meal.
Erik, our strolling tour information, recommends the next eating places in Volcano, Hawaii for households earlier than or after exploring the nationwide park.
14. Drive throughout daylight.
Be certain to time your go to to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in order that your drive takes place throughout daylight. This gives you the very best visibility throughout the journey.
The island is dwelling to Mauna Kea, the world’s largest area observatory. Therefore, to allow good star gazing, the island doesn’t have many avenue lights. Additionally, the journey from Hilo may be fairly foggy.
Check the time of sundown in Hawaii on your journey dates to create an inexpensive schedule on your go to. Give your self loads of cushion to make the trek, too, particularly if you might want to drive again to the Kona aspect of the island after your volcanic adventures.
After driving the 2 hours with white knuckles gripped on my rental Jeep steering wheel, I want I’d adopted my very own recommendation!
15. Stay on the Hilo aspect of the Big Island.
Better but, I like to recommend spending a couple of days on the Hilo aspect of the island as a substitute of doing a day journey.
I anticipated Hilo to be rather more like sleepy little Hana on Maui, dwelling to lower than 1,000 residents. Instead, we discovered a vibrant metropolis, dwelling to 45,000+ residents.
Plus, Hilo boasts some spectacular websites. Enjoy waterfalls like Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls. Explore the celebs at Imaloa Astronomy Center. Enjoy plentiful black sand seashores. And Hilo is dwelling to the one tropical zoo within the U.S. — Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo.
To keep the evening inside Volcanoes National Park, you will have two decisions — At the Crater’s Edge (for adults solely) or Volcano House (kids below 17 keep free).
Explore extra of Hawaii.
Hawaii is the sixth Hawaiian island I’ve visited. I beloved the Big Island a lot, I’d even say it’s the greatest island to go to in Hawaii.
Discover all of the superb issues to do in Maui with youngsters.
Check out this listing of the greatest resort swimming pools in Hawaii, advisable by journey specialists.
Ready to expertise conventional Hawaiian tradition, volcanoes, and different pure wonders of Hawaii? Take a take a look at flight costs with Hawaiian Airlines now! When you fly with Hawaiian, your trip and the spirit of aloha begin the minute you board the airplane.
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A Note from The Travel Mama: I acquired a small media low cost on our helicopter tour from TripAdvisor and our strolling tour was hosted by Kilauea EcoGuide. We paid full worth for every thing else throughout our go to to the Big Island. All opinions are mine, as all the time. This story was initially written in 2018 and was up to date in 2023 to replicate modifications to the nationwide park.