Volcano and stargazing tour

Will be on the BI (Kona) for a short time in January, are there are recommendations for a volcano tour and a stargazing tour, are they worth the cost, etc.

Volcano and stargazing tour

Go explore Volcano National Park on your own - no tour needed. I suppose you could opt for a helicopter tour out of Hilo for an aerial view. Look into Mauna Kea Summit Adventures for stargazing from the Kona-Kohala side of the island. They consistently get the best reviews and have a nice website. Hapuna Beach Prince Resort offers a stargazing from the beach sort of thing but probably can%26#39;t compare to the views you would get from the top of Mauna Kea!

Volcano and stargazing tour

I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;d recommend any volcano tour; there is so much to see that any organized tour will just rush you. Just drive there and spend the day.

For Stargazing, I%26#39;ve used Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. It%26#39;s about a 7 hour tour from start to finish, as it%26#39;s about a 2 hour drive from Kailua-Kona to the top. They provide supper plus warm parkas (since it%26#39;s usually freezing cold up top). Everyone I know who has used them has had a good time; they%26#39;ve been in business for years.

You will never see the red hot lava just a bunch of old lava rocks and a sulfur pit. The coolest thing at the park was a lava tube like a tunnel. I took the tour because the roads are tricky and it%26#39;s a 12 hour adventure from the Marriott. It was $149 and I was disappointed because I thought I would see an active volcano closer. You can go to the park on your own but you may want to stay in the town of volcano or hile on that side of the island. You can%26#39;t see a thing on the back roads at night.

You can go to the volcano without a tour. To see the lava (currently entering the ocean) you drive to the end of the Chain of Craters Road, which is 20 miles from the visitor%26#39;s center near the park entrance. Please note that when we were there a large portion of the park was closed, so you can%26#39;t get right next to the lava, but you can see it. I disagree with the poster who said it was just a bunch of lava rocks. IMO, it%26#39;s a amazing place, and well worth visiting, even if you don%26#39;t see red lava. We%26#39;ve been 3 times, 2003, 2004, 2005. We stood right next to flowing lava in 2003, saw nothing in 2004, and in October 2005 we watched the ocean entry from the viewing area approx. 2 miles from the end of the road. All three times were different, and all three were well worth the trip. If you are able to stay after dark, you%26#39;ll see the lava glowing red along the slope and at the entry it lights up the steam plume. You%26#39;ll also see the most beautiful night sky, and you won%26#39;t freeze like you will on Mauna Kea. We did do a stargazing tour, and we froze, even with parkas, hats and gloves. It was really windy too. We were also there during a full moon, so the star gazing wasn%26#39;t the greatest, so I really can%26#39;t rate it well.

If you do hike at the volcano, you must be properly prepared with hiking boots, long pants, gloves, water and flashlights for after dark. Check with the rangers for safety and viewing conditions before you go out.

We did Volcano on our own---spent 3 very relaxing nited at the Kilauea Lodge. We new we could do the star gaze on our own....the pros and cons have been much debated on this forum. Do a search for more info. We chose to do a tour simply because we (live in Hawaii) and don%26#39;t own warm parkas!!! We also didn%26#39;t feel like driving. On the way back to Kona, we were able to doze off.

I%26#39;d rec. Volcano on your own. Tour busses don%26#39;t go to the end of Chain of Craters road----that I noticed anyway.