Let's Go Hawaii Travel Planner - Hilo & Volcano Itinerary

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You are here: Big Island > Travel Planner > Itineraries > Hilo & Volcano

Travel Itinerary:
Kona to Volcano in 12 Hours

Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Kona to Volcano
The drive from Kona to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is lengthy at 2.5 hours each way, but well worth the trip. The Kilauea Volcano is the highlight of many visitor's Big Island vacation. Make sure you plan your trip accordingly of you plan to drive back to Kona late at night after viewing the Kilauea lava flow.

Kona to the Volcano in 12 Hours
Event Time	Elapsed Time	Activity Description
START	0:00	Depart Kona or Kohala Coast
2:30	2:30	Drive to the Volcanoes National Park (10$ entrance fee per vehicle) View road map
0:45	3:15	Stop at the Visitor's Center, view exhibits and walk across street to the Volcano House and observation deck
1:45	5:00	Drive around Crater Rim Drive counter-clockwise stopping at these attractions: Sulphur Banks; Jaegar Museum; Halemaumau Crater; Thurston Lava Tube
2:00	7:00	Drive to the ocean via the Chain of Craters Road and stop at these attractions: Scenic Overlooks; Holei Sea Arch; end of road where lava flowed
2:30	9:30	Hike to scenic lookout to see the lava flow at dusk. The first scenic lookout is a short 30 minutes from the parking area, the distant lookout is about 3 miles hike over rough lava each way (add additional time for this hike)
2:30	12:00	Drive back to Kona at night

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