Big Island Day Trip: Volcanoes National Park from Oahu

Oahu, United States of America

Take a Big Island volcano tour from Oahu on a day trip to Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. The recent eruptions of Kilauea Volcano have captured the world's imagination, so see the extraordinary landscape for yourself on this Oahu volcano tour.

This fully narrated volcano adventure is a great way to explore and learn about the Big Island's volatile geology first-hand. The Oahu volcano tour features a hike over the lava flow that covered the village of Kalapana and Kaimu Black Sand Beach in the 1980s. A short walk out to the newest accessible black sand beach takes you over an area that was once the ocean! Look to the east and see the slopes of Volcanoes National Park. If there is any surface lava flow, you may see steam or lava flowing downstream towards the sea.

This trip takes you exploring in Volcanoes National Park, to the Jaggar Museum and Volcano House, Thurston Lava Tube, Kilauea Iki Crater and a visit to a colorful anthurium and orchid nursery to see these exotic blooms. You'll also drive through the town of Hilo along Banyan Drive.

 Visits along the way include the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory and a Kona Coffee shop.

Another highlight of this Big Island volcano tour is your visit to the legendary Rainbow Falls, where you might be lucky enough to see the rushing water mix with sunlight to form beautiful rainbows.

USD $334.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by: sharon j	April 2012
I was expecting to see active Lava flows maybe I booked the wrong tour. The day was very wet

Review by: Toni J	April 2012
Really enjoyed our day and our driver/guide John was so entertaining and informative.

Review by: daneita j	March 2012
I really enjoyed this tour. Our tour guide, Rob, provided non stop info on the big isalnd and the volcanos. It was fascinating. The transport, pickups, flights ect both to and from the big island all went really smoothly. I'd recomend this tour._br/_ thanks,_br/_ Daneita

Review by: Dragon Lady	March 2012
The excursion was excellent. We were picked up 15 minutes later than schedule which seems longer because of having to wake up in the early hours. This was due to the fault of other travellers booked on this excursion. We also had to wait for three other people at the Big Island due to the fact they were booked on a later flight, also ending our outting a little earlier because they were booked on an earlier flight back. They guide, cousin John was excellent and very passionate about the history of his island. He tried to bring us to as many sites as possible, and we missed a behind the scene site because some people returned to the bus too late. The excursion was very well organized, its the consideration of the people who travel with you that can ruin an otherwise, a great outting.

Review by: Michael C	March 2012
Good to get away from the developed and touristy Honolulu to see another side of Hawaii. The volcano was interesting but not what we expected.

Review by: Alex C	February 2012
This trip was amazing. It was well run and organized. We'd recommend it to anyone travelling to Hawaii.

Review by: Evan G	January 2012
Overall, we thought this tour was great though there were some things we wish we were told beforehand. Our guide Captain Rob was amazing and really kept everyone entertained the whole day. Having studied geology and conservation biology, I was worried I would hear a lot of regurgitated information. While I did hear a few things I already knew, I was surprised to learn a lot more and it was a unique experience being able to see things first hand. Walking through the lava tube was definitely a highlight!

Review by: Kabir S	January 2012
fair - not worth the money

Review by: johnjane	December 2011
Well organised enjoyable trip

Review by: Steven S	November 2011
basically a good trip but was disapointed that we did not see any lave flowing anywhere. Maybe there was none. Don't know...

Review by: Michael R	November 2011
An interesting introduction to the Big Island. The bus driver was entertaining and shared a lot of local knowledge. However this was not what I expected from a Volcanoes National Park Tour. The fact that we only spent only 2 hours of a 15 hour day looking at volcano related sites was disappointing; in fact we only spent an hour in the Volcanoes Nation Park itself. This tour should be renamed the Macadamia/waterfall/Hilo/Orchid and a glimpse of the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park tour. I am aware that a significant portion of the park is currently off limits, but the scope of the shutdown is not clearly identified in the information available when booking the tour. I would only recommend this tour to people if there has been a lot of recent and significant volcanic activity in the past couple of days, as the sight from Observatory was spectacular, however would be more so at dusk/early evening. All in all not worth the money outlaid.

Review by: Dewey S	November 2011
It was a great deal for the price and very organized for the number of hours it involved. the driver was very nice and informative about the flowers, trees and the island.

Review by: Catherine	November 2011
Generally worth it! Chances of seeing lava flows are very slim. So do not pin high hope. The black sand and lava rocks are quite an eye opener for us.

Review by: steven m	November 2011
A long day but a huge amount seen. guide was good and knowledgeable and showed us a beautiful island and some incredible lava flows etc. There could have been more time at the Volcano park as the park ranger did a talk and was infectiously enthusiastic and very interesting. We had spent a a bit too long at an orchid nursery which was not so interesting and could have traded this time. Still there was a definite sense of a day well spent in seeing a whole other island and some amazing sights.

Review by: Karen W	October 2011
The trip consisted of a lot of time on the bus and not very much time at any of the actual destinations. There was a stop at a Macadamia Nut Farm which was not listed as part of our itinerary. The folks at the airport were very unorganized. In the future, I would book my own air ticket and get a rental car and see the destinations on my own.

Review by: Ian S	October 2011
Outstanding! Every part of the day went smoothly. Our guide for the volcanos tour was amazing! So many interesting things we learned. We thoroughly enjoyed our day! 10-21-11

Review by: Brian K	October 2011
loved it, time well spent.

Review by: Weiming B	October 2011
pretty good trip worth do it with long hours, Like the black sand beach!

Review by: Weiming B	October 2011
awesome

Review by: Julie J	October 2011
This was the first time we have used Viator and it certainly wont be our last. The whole day trip was fantastic and the tour guard very informative. We are so glad we did this day trip to see an active volcanoe. It was a long day but worth the effort. I would highly recommend this Day trip.

Review by: bakulparikh	October 2011
This tour was excellent. Seats were to tight for whole day journey and there was practically no room to store the bag pack etc. It was very inconvenient. There were other tour company buses which were really spacious. I will rethink next time before booking with Viator.

Review by: Colin V	October 2011
Too much driving and barely any action. The volcano itself was impressive and so was the black sand beach, but the rest is nothing. Waste of money to be honest. It's a very long tour, they start at 6AM and you end up at the hotel at around 9PM.

Review by: Yvonne A	October 2011
A long day, my husband and I were booked into seperate seats rows away from each other and even people on the same trip were flown to Big Island on different flights after being on our morning bus pick-up. Don't expect to see any red stuff but that's nature and you might be lucky. Dorky but knowledgeable guide - worth doing.

Review by: Kerryn S	September 2011
Good trip, good to get out of Honolulu and see another side to Hawaii. Lush and tropical and cool volcanoes - also get to taste some pretty yummy macadamias and good coffee.

Review by: Robert Law C	September 2011
We had a wonderful day and our driver Sharon was a wealth of knowledge and made the whole experience, one to remember. Very happy with the price and money well spent

Review by: Erin F	August 2011
A great tour! They took us to many different places on the Big Island, not just VNP, and our driver was very knowledgeable and kept us entertained during the longer drives between locations. Very reasonably priced considering that $299 included airfare and admission to all of the sights. Highly recommended!

Review by: Matthew R	August 2011
There's a lot of mention of lava, which made me think I might see some molten lava. Didn't come anywhere near!

Review by: Allen S	August 2011
Great day. Lots of great views. Excellent guide. Lots of history and stories.

Review by: Martin D	July 2011
The driver was good, Interresting comments. The visits to the macadamian nuts and the "rainbow" falls were way too long and not worthy of our visit. No guide, no info, the water fall is almost like a faucet. Not much to see. And the visit around Hilo could also have been shorter. We lacked of time for the real reason we went on that trip: see the volcano, the black sand beach, some walk around paths (in natl volcano park). This part was breath taking and we would have enjoy way more time. We saw Kiluea Tiki from the bus and the driver was kind enough to let us take a pic or two in 4 minutes. As for the food, it is a racket, They bring us to the lava field where there is only one restaurant and it costs a lot for basic food. Finally, we had to go "early" because around 4 persons out of the 20 had to take an early flight. Again, we had the great opportunity to visit a Walmart and shoping center for an hour so we wouldn't have to wait too long at the airport. »Cost me 1200$ plus food... The volcano part was amazing... Next time we'll rent a car... I feel that we have been had...

Review by: Christian S	July 2011
The tour was great!!! Highly Recommended

Review by: DEEPA P	July 2011
The day trip was conducted really well, covering all the places as promised. The only small hitch was the delay in our flight to Hilo, which made us wait at the airport for quite sometime as we traveled from our resort to airport on our own. All in all it was great!

Review by: YOSHIO U	July 2011
Although, the weather at Hilo was not good and some rain showers, the guide was excellent and satisfied with this tour.

Review by: Linda Z	June 2011
Pack raingear and be prepared for a very, very long day. While the black sand beach, crater views, orchid farm and scenic drive around the Big Island were very nice, this tour did not ultimately seem worth the time and cost.

Review by: Wojciech G	June 2011
Everything was great, especially our host on Big Island - Denis, who knew everything about the island and the life there.

Review by: Omi	June 2011
Well worth the trip from Oahu.

Review by: PATRICIA C	June 2011
Had a fantastic day and with blue skies we had the added bonus of clear views of Big Island as the Hawaiian Airlines plane followed the east coast and approached Hilo airport. Our tour guide for the day was great fun. A pity there wasn't any lava actually flowing on the day, but for myself a former geology teacher, it was a real treat to get close to the volcano and walk on the lava flows.

Review by: Smart*Travelers	May 2011
A great one day trip. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the island. Make sure to bring a light jacket it gets a little cold at the volcano and possible light rain.

Review by: Arienne H	May 2011
We were staying on Oahu and took a flight to Hilo, Hawaii, for this day trip.

Review by: Margaret	May 2011
Tour did not commence until 6.30am and arrived back at hotel around 8.30pm. There is no time for dinner if you travel with Hawaiian Air" "Go" airlines leave an hour later from Hilo. If you have never seen larva tubes or active volcanic craters, then this is a must see tour. The Rainbow waterfall was a disappointment as there is hardly any water going over.

Review by: lozza26	May 2011
BIG DAY! was really good, but very long day from hotel pick up to drop off. the island is beautiful, with lots to see. you spend a lot of time in the bus travelling, but the driver was really cool and informative with lots of local insights and stories. the crater and black sand beach are the best, the orchid farm and macadamia plantation didn't really interest me, but the travel in between was still ok. you see some things you don't really want, but it works out a lot cheaper and easier than organizing it all yourself

Review by: ayla.delvin	May 2011
Absolutely loved it!! The hot steam vent was pretty awesome when you stand in front of it and the lava tube was fun! I loved the macadamia nut farm (just make sure you're not going on a public holiday like I did) and trying the different types of flavours, and the waterfalls were just beautiful! To top it off I got to meet a UFC fighter on my flight home!! This was my favourite tour of my itinerary!

Review by: Margaret C B	April 2011
The first 90% of the tour was great, and the sights were wonderful, although the driver (Harry) was a little hard to understand at times and repeated many of the same stories numerous times. We also were a few weeks too late to see the actual lava flow at the volcano, but what we saw of the crater was great. We were also disappointed at the end of the tour, since we missed our flight back to Oahu. The tour's agent who gave us our boarding passes in the morning, could not print our return boarding passes, and the tour driver never told us he knew which flight we were on, so we were dropped off at the airport without any support from the tour, only to find we had missed our flight (which had left an hour earlier). What compounded the problem, was the tour phone number we were given "for emergencies," just rang and rang without a person answering or even voicemail. Needless to say, the ending of the day was spoiled for our group of four!

Review by: Margaret C B	April 2011
The first 90% of the tour was great, and the sights were wonderful, although the driver (Harry) was a little hard to understand at times and repeated many of the same stories numerous times. We also were a few weeks too late to see the actual lava flow at the volcano, but what we saw of the crater was great. We were also disappointed at the end of the tour, since we missed our flight back to Oahu. The tour's agent who gave us our boarding passes in the morning, could not print our return boarding passes, and the tour driver never told us he knew which flight we were on, so we were dropped off at the airport without any support from the tour, only to find we had missed our flight (which had left an hour earlier). What compounded the problem, was the tour phone number we were given "for emergencies," just rang and rang without a person answering or even voicemail. Needless to say, the ending of the day was spoiled for our group of four!

Review by: Kevin G	March 2011
It was a great trip.The visit to the black sand beach and the other volcanic sites was fantastic. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about the Hawaiian culture. We enjoyed the entire trip._br/_ The only downside was the return flight delay with Go airlines which meant for a very, very long day.

Review by: The Pang	March 2011
Henry was a great tour guy and very informative. Didn't see any lava in the end but the information exchange from Henry was well worth it. The tour was well organized and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Review by: Paul G, United Kingdom	December 2009
TRIP WAS GOOD, WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY GOOD IF WE HAD SEEN MORE LAVA FLOWING.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	December 2009
This was an interesting tour. We had a great tour guide.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	December 2009
I loved this island, it was so beautiful. So much to see. Tour was well worth it.

Review by: Thomas Henry S, United Kingdom	November 2009
An excellent well narrated trip with plenty of variation. Longer day than anticipated though due to a 2 hour delay on the return flight - approx 18 hours

Review by: Simone Z, Italy	September 2009
No words to describe a place like this. The only way to do, is to go exploring it! Awesome... Booking service serious, shuttle bus service to the airport extremely on time. Awesome place!