Half day trip to Volcano National Park ?

Hi there,

We are going to be staying at the Hilton Waikoloa for 5 days (Mar 2nd - Mar 7th) and then going to Maui.The BI portion of our trip is work related, so our days are basically booked. On our last day there we are looking to do a short trip to Volcano National Park. I figure it is about a 3 hour drive from the Hilton to the park, just wondering what we would be able to see in 2 to 3 hours at the park, and how far a drive it is from the park to the Hilo Airport, where we plan on taking a late afternoon flight to Maui from.

Thanks in advance!

Half day trip to Volcano National Park ?

figure 3.5 hours to the park with no stops...with stopa make it 5. Its one hour to the park from Hilo.

And in 3 hours you can only see a few things....4 would be better..... Allow 8 hours min with N stops between the hilton and the park... leave the Hilton by 0700 at the latest

Half day trip to Volcano National Park ?

If traffic is light it might be 3 hours, but you will want at least a restroom stop.

It%26#39;s just about 30 miles to the airport, but much of the mountain road is 45 mph, then coming into Hilo it%26#39;s 30 mph and then a series of traffic lights/town traffic, and another 5 minutes to get to the airport from the turnoff. So yeah, I would allow an hour.

Not infrequently, there are wrecks on that road that hold up traffic, so give yourself a buffer. Also do web check-in if you can, the night before.

Also be aware that inter-island flights leave early if everyone is checked in. I was watching the real time flights the other day because a family member was coming home, and the Hawaiian flight left a good ten minutes before scheduled.

All of which is to say, don%26#39;t cut it close on your flight.

Hilo is a fast airport, but security is only one for the airport, so if there are other flights leaving it can be slow. Plus you have to turn in your car.

There are a zillion topics here on what to see on a day trip from VNP ... just browse or use the search function, and don%26#39;t forget the VNP park site (search for HAVO volcanoes), which has a great page on visiting the park.

It is too bad you can not over night in Volcano Village and really do it.. you should be able to get an overview in this amount of time, and hopefully you will be able to return.