Day trip to Volcanoes National Park

[sara mom]

We are exploring the idea to going to VNP for a day. Our thought is to catch one of the early interisland flights, rent a car, drive around on our own, and catch a late flight. We plan on doing this during our 5 days when we are staying in Waikiki, not our Aulani days. Has anyone done this? Does anyone have any suggestions/thoughts about the doing it on your own or tours?

Thank you in advance.

 

[cgattis]

If I were going to go to the expense of taking a flight over, I'd do VNPat the start or end of the trip and stay the night at Volcano House. Then you could see the lava during the day AND at night. Seems like a waste of an Aulani day, plus you'll have to rush around VNP after spending money on a flight and car. The lava was a major highlight of our trip.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The Big Island is fabulous and worth more than fly-in/fly-out.

 

[THEDISNEYTHREE]

.

 

[DieHardJoe]

We were at Aulani for a week near the end of May after spending 4 nights on Kauai and 3 on Maui. We caught the 5:00 AM Hawaiian Air flight and something like 6:30 coming back. We had a blast. First thing you do leaving the airport is catch breakfast at Kens. It is right outside the airport and you will not finish the serving! We rented a car and packed a lot into the day. Went to the crater rim but unfortunately had to cut it a little short since we had a lava boat tour scheduled. That was fantastic. Then later in the day we were on the last Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour over the crater. I admit it was whirlwind and we would have liked to spend more time in the national park. While I understand that yes, it took a day from our Aulani stay, it was really no different than a couple of other days on Oahu where we jumped in a car and spent the majority of a day seeing as much of the island as possible. If we are lucky enough to ever make it back, we still might do it again, though we would skip the boat and helicopter and spend more time around the volcano and drive over to Kona and see more of the island's natural attractions, especially Mauna Kea.

 

[Teddy10]

Be careful of dealing with Holo Holo tours. They are the official "partner" of Aulani. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Aulani in Hawaii. We had booked a tour with Holo Holo for a trip around the island. My wife became ill the night before and there was no way we could make the trip. That's when we found out that the Holo Holo "policy" was no refunds within two weeks of the trip. So we lost all the money we paid and got nothing. Just keep this in mind before you book, if anything happens you will lose all the money you gave them. For us it was $250. Disney's web page warns that the excursions are handled by a contractor and that Disney has no control over them, but I'm not letting Disney off the hook that easily. Holo Holo's tours are links on Disney's Aulani page and they have travel desks set up in Aulani's lobby, so to me that says Disney recommends them. Shame on Disney for partnering with a company like that. Disney charges a premium for their resorts and so I expect that they will take care of anything that goes wrong. In this case they simply shook their shoulders and said "too bad". I expect a lot more from a company with Disney's reputation and that charges what they do.

 

[Midoria]

Be careful of dealing with Holo Holo tours. They are the official "partner" of Aulani. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Aulani in Hawaii. We had booked a tour with Holo Holo for a trip around the island. My wife became ill the night before and there was no way we could make the trip. That's when we found out that the Holo Holo "policy" was no refunds within two weeks of the trip. So we lost all the money we paid and got nothing. Just keep this in mind before you book, if anything happens you will lose all the money you gave them. For us it was $250. Disney's web page warns that the excursions are handled by a contractor and that Disney has no control over them, but I'm not letting Disney off the hook that easily. Holo Holo's tours are links on Disney's Aulani page and they have travel desks set up in Aulani's lobby, so to me that says Disney recommends them. Shame on Disney for partnering with a company like that. Disney charges a premium for their resorts and so I expect that they will take care of anything that goes wrong. In this case they simply shook their shoulders and said "too bad". I expect a lot more from a company with Disney's reputation and that charges what they do.

I'm sorry that your wife became ill on vacation. That's the absolute worst!

Having said that, I understand your frustration, but I always think reading refund policies is extremely important when it comes to services and more expensive goods. Two weeks notice does seem to be way more than the average tour companies request, but at the same time, almost no tour companies will give you a full refund if you cancel the night before.

Disney did their due diligence by informing you that you were working with a contractor. Contracted businesses in resort such as babysitting services, car rentals, excursions, etc. are going to have their own individual standards and policies. And refusing to provide a refund when someone cancels one night before a tour is an industry standard.

 

[Teddy10]

I'm sorry that your wife became ill on vacation. That's the absolute worst!

Having said that, I understand your frustration, but I always think reading refund policies is extremely important when it comes to services and more expensive goods. Two weeks notice does seem to be way more than the average tour companies request, but at the same time, almost no tour companies will give you a full refund if you cancel the night before.

Disney did their due diligence by informing you that you were working with a contractor. Contracted businesses in resort such as babysitting services, car rentals, excursions, etc. are going to have their own individual standards and policies. And refusing to provide a refund when someone cancels one night before a tour is an industry standard.

I would understand there being a penalty for canceling the booking, but keep ALL the money is (to say the least) not customer friendly (and from my perspective it amounts morally to theft). The reason I hold Disney partially responsible is because of the amount they charge for a "Disney experience". If one of their contractors can't provide that experience then Disney should drop them. In any case, I just wanted to warn everyone about the policies of Holo Holo. Things go wrong all the time and it's hard to lose that much money because of a company's greed.

 

[Midoria]

I would understand there being a penalty for canceling the booking, but keep ALL the money is (to say the least) not customer friendly (and from my perspective it amounts morally to theft). The reason I hold Disney partially responsible is because of the amount they charge for a "Disney experience". If one of their contractors can't provide that experience then Disney should drop them. In any case, I just wanted to warn everyone about the policies of Holo Holo. Things go wrong all the time and it's hard to lose that much money because of a company's greed.

I think it's best for everyone to keep in mind that the only company that can provide the "Disney experience" is Disney itself. It's really good you're bringing this up because it will encourage people to shop around. I also think part of the limitation is that some companies don't want to bother with Kapolei because it is very easy to fill an entire bus solely with tourists staying in Waikiki. So Aulani, despite being one of the most expensive places to say, it's actually more limited when it comes to the selection of companies that are willing to pick up guests at/near their resort.

Out of curiosity, I looked up cancellation policies for the companies I'm personally familiar with to see what they were. Roberts (probably the largest and most popular tour company in the state) had the most generous one where you can get a full refund if you cancel before 12pm on the day before your tour. But, that makes sense before Roberts is so huge that they can probably fill canceled spots pretty quickly. If not, they can afford to lose a little money. Discover Hawaii tours had a 48-hour full refund policy while both E Noa and Hoku both had 24 hours for a full refund.

 

[Teddy10]

I think it's best for everyone to keep in mind that the only company that can provide the "Disney experience" is Disney itself. It's really good you're bringing this up because it will encourage people to shop around. I also think part of the limitation is that some companies don't want to bother with Kapolei because it is very easy to fill an entire bus solely with tourists staying in Waikiki. So Aulani, despite being one of the most expensive places to say, it's actually more limited when it comes to the selection of companies that are willing to pick up guests at/near their resort.

Out of curiosity, I looked up cancellation policies for the companies I'm personally familiar with to see what they were. Roberts (probably the largest and most popular tour company in the state) had the most generous one where you can get a full refund if you cancel before 12pm on the day before your tour. But, that makes sense before Roberts is so huge that they can probably fill canceled spots pretty quickly. If not, they can afford to lose a little money. Discover Hawaii tours had a 48-hour full refund policy while both E Noa and Hoku both had 24 hours for a full refund.

This was out first trip to Hawaii and my wife definitely wants to go back in a couple of years. I think we'll be staying at the Four Seasons or possibly the Atlantis that our shuttle driver told us would be breaking ground soon. For the price Disney charges over the other resorts, they simply didn't deliver for my money. I'm also a little surprised that the state of Hawaii allows that kind of actions from their businesses. California has strong consumer protection laws and allows for business to charge a "reasonable fee" for cancellation of a service, but not to keep all the money. Since tourism is by far the leading income of Hawaii, I would think they would want to keep the people visiting their islands from being ripped off. In any case, it was a great place to visit and we'll definitely go back, just not to Aulani.

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

I have flown from Oahu to the big island 4 times. The big island is great. You do not need to do a tour to see Volcano National Park. In fact I would recommend against a tour since then you are limited to their schedule.
We flew into Hilo and rented a car at the airport. There is essentially one main road that goes around the island so once you get out of town you will be fine. The first trip was confusing because there are only 13 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet, 5 vowels and 8 consonants. Hawaiian street names are long ( Kapiolani, Kamehameha, Kalakaua) and all look alike when you're driving in traffic and trying to figure out where to turn. But that was before GPS!
We also did the helicopter tour and highly recommend it. It is impossible to predict if the lava will be flowing on the surface or in underground tubes when you are there. If it's mostly underground the helicopter will be the only way to see it. Lava flowing in the dark is incredible to see if you're luck enough to be there when there's a surface flow. Stop at the ranger station across from the volcano house. The rangers can tell you if and where you can view lava. If you're lucky enough to have conditions where you can hike out for a close view you will need a flashlight and closed toe shoes. You can get a map of the park at the ranger station. After stopping at the ranger station go across the street and walk through the Volcano house for your first view of a cauldera. Its awesome. Anyone can walk through to the back; you do not have to be staying there. From there it's easy to find the Thursten Lava tube, The Jagger Museum, and everything else the park has to offer. If walking is not a problem for you I highly recommend walking down into the cauldera across from the lava tube.
If you're military you can stay on the military base that's actually located inside the park at a very reasonable rate.

 

[SeminoleCarrie]

This was out first trip to Hawaii and my wife definitely wants to go back in a couple of years. I think we'll be staying at the Four Seasons or possibly the Atlantis that our shuttle driver told us would be breaking ground soon. For the price Disney charges over the other resorts, they simply didn't deliver for my money. I'm also a little surprised that the state of Hawaii allows that kind of actions from their businesses. California has strong consumer protection laws and allows for business to charge a "reasonable fee" for cancellation of a service, but not to keep all the money. Since tourism is by far the leading income of Hawaii, I would think they would want to keep the people visiting their islands from being ripped off. In any case, it was a great place to visit and we'll definitely go back, just not to Aulani.

There is an Atlantis coming to Ko Olina? That would be great. My husband and I are taking an Hawaiian vacation next July/August and are looking for a nice hotel. Right now the leading candidate is Marriott Ko Olina, but we have stayed in the Atlantis in Nassau and it was beautiful.

 

[Teddy10]

There is an Atlantis coming to Ko Olina? That would be great. My husband and I are taking an Hawaiian vacation next July/August and are looking for a nice hotel. Right now the leading candidate is Marriott Ko Olina, but we have stayed in the Atlantis in Nassau and it was beautiful.

According to the shuttle driver the Atlantis people bought the land next to Aulani and should be breaking ground "any day now". I have no idea how long it takes to build a hotel like that, so it may not be ready for when you and your husband are going. The Four Seasons looked very nice.

 

[TheWeasel]

My wife and I just got back and the best advice we got was to take Rt 130 to the deadend and rent a bike to travel the four miles to the lava viewing area where it flows in to the sea. But the best part was after walking down to the sea we returned to our bikes and a park ranger told us to walk 1.5 miles up the hill to see the lava flowing on the ground. It was a tough walk up but even tougher coming back down since it was now pitch dark (bike rental comes with a flashlight). Well worth it. Theoretically you can get close enough to touch it. No rangers or guides. Amazing! Also, looking at the tiny houses being built on the lava fields near the ocean was fun to see.

 

[Figment91]

I think it's best for everyone to keep in mind that the only company that can provide the "Disney experience" is Disney itself. It's really good you're bringing this up because it will encourage people to shop around. I also think part of the limitation is that some companies don't want to bother with Kapolei because it is very easy to fill an entire bus solely with tourists staying in Waikiki. So Aulani, despite being one of the most expensive places to say, it's actually more limited when it comes to the selection of companies that are willing to pick up guests at/near their resort.

Out of curiosity, I looked up cancellation policies for the companies I'm personally familiar with to see what they were. Roberts (probably the largest and most popular tour company in the state) had the most generous one where you can get a full refund if you cancel before 12pm on the day before your tour. But, that makes sense before Roberts is so huge that they can probably fill canceled spots pretty quickly. If not, they can afford to lose a little money. Discover Hawaii tours had a 48-hour full refund policy while both E Noa and Hoku both had 24 hours for a full refund.

We booked our Aulani trip through AAA and our agent told us that she couldn't recommend doing an excursion because she had had several complaints about them. She didn't tell us not to book one, just that she couldn't recommend them. My wife and I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and decided to go to Pearl Harbor on our own (which worked out fine). After reading this I think I should send our AAA agent another thank you email. She apparently steered us right.

 

[sajilunni]

We were at Aulani for a week near the end of May after spending 4 nights on Kauai and 3 on Maui. We caught the 5:00 AM Hawaiian Air flight and something like 6:30 coming back. We had a blast. First thing you do leaving the airport is catch breakfast at Kens. It is right outside the airport and you will not finish the serving! We rented a car and packed a lot into the day. Went to the crater rim but unfortunately had to cut it a little short since we had a lava boat tour scheduled. That was fantastic. Then later in the day we were on the last Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour over the crater. I admit it was whirlwind and we would have liked to spend more time in the national park. While I understand that yes, it took a day from our Aulani stay, it was really no different than a couple of other days on Oahu where we jumped in a car and spent the majority of a day seeing as much of the island as possible. If we are lucky enough to ever make it back, we still might do it again, though we would skip the boat and helicopter and spend more time around the volcano and drive over to Kona and see more of the island's natural attractions, especially Mauna Kea.

Hi, this is is similar to the itinerary we were planning! I wanted to take an early morning flight, rent a car to head to VNP, hike around and then take a lava boat tour at 3:30 (two hours long) and catch a 7:30PM flight back to Oahu. You think that's a doable plan? I'm hoping it won't be too rushed since we're not doing a helicopter tour as well.

 

[DieHardJoe]

Yes, that's doable, though I am not familiar with traffic heading into Hilo at the time you would be looking to get to your flight. And you will need to allow a little time to drop off your car as well, though that went pretty quickly for us. Since the flight back to Oahu is under an hour anyway, you may just want to book the next one and plan on having dinner before flying back. Also, make sure you allow plenty of time to get to the boat tour after your time in Volcanoes NP. It's about an hour from the visitors center where you first enter the park, but that last stretch of road getting to the boat tour is extremely narrow and in some places just wide enough for one car. So the going is a little slow. I would plan on up to an hour and a half just to be safe. We had packed a picnic lunch so we didn't really need to allow much time for lunch. But with an early flight and the 3:30 tour, you should have plenty of time for some exploring and hiking. And don't forget to check out the Thurston lava tube as well. One note - depending on weather as well as how many people are booked on the 3:30 tour (in other words, not enough), there is always a chance a tour can be cancelled. So you may want to have backup plan such as taking a different boat tour and re-arranging your hiking schedule. I would call the day before and see if your tour looks definite.