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Luxury Lodging Adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Getting Here
The Big Island of Hawaii has 2 major airports, Kona on the West side and Hilo on the East side. Volcano is 26 miles from Hilo, and 96 miles from Kona. The airport codes are Kona ( KOA) and Hilo ( ITO).
Hawaii is serviced by United, Delta, American, West Jet, Air Canada, Northwest, and Hawaiian. A few airlines offer a direct flight to Kona. Otherwise you must land in Honolulu first and change to an inter island flight which takes about 45 minutes.
Check airfarewatchdog.com for special fares to Hawaii, often not advertised elsewhere.
Regular inter island jet service is offered by 3 different airlines and do require advance reservations. The airlines are:
Inter island fares are roughly $50 one way. If you are flying from Maui to the Big Island several of these airlines offer a direct flight, as opposed to a plane change in Honolulu.
Once you arrive, you will need to rent a car. All the major car agencies are here- Alamo, National, Budget, Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise. You might try Priceline for getting a car. Rates in Honolulu will be less expensive than the outer islands. Peak times on the Big Island are Christmas - New Years and the Spring break / Easter / Merrie Monarch Festival in March or early April. Often, cars are sold out at this time, so do not put off reservations for a car, or inter island flight, if you are traveling during this timeframe.
Unless you are an extreme adventurer and plan to go up to the top of Mauna Kea unguided or to the Green Sands Beach near Southpoint, a 4WD vehicle is not necessary. There are very few roads in Hawaii and most of them are paved. There are few 4WD access roads, gas prices are high, so save your money for something more fun. If you must have a 4WD, check out the vehicles offered by Harper Rentals.
Mauna Kea Observatory has a visitor center at 10,000 ft. It is accessed by the Saddle Road. Many car companies do not allow you to take a vehicle on Saddle Road. Check the policies, if this is an important place for you to visit. The visitor center has telescopes and computers to look at, the actual professional telescopes are another 3000 ft to the top and not open to the public. The “brains” for the telescopes are located in the Hilo Technology Park. You will also find a great museum there, the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center.
If you want to go to Mauna Kea the following tour companies will take you. They have an experienced guide, warm jackets, telescopes and hot beverages.
Hawaii Forest & Trail ( pickup from Kona side or in Waimea )
Arnott's Lodge and Hiking Adventures ( based in Hilo )
Native Guide Hawaii ( pickup in Hilo )
In addition to the Park, many short day trips are accessible from Volcano - the Volcano Winery, the Black Sands Beach at Punalu’u, the warm ponds and red road in Puna, the Hilo farmers market or museums, orchid farms, bonsai nursery, and botanical gardens.
We recommend you plan to stay in Kona/Kohala and Volcano, where you are then accessible to the most interesting parts of the island without spending all your time hunting for lodging or checking in/out etc.
For more Affordable Hawaii Vacation Rentals | Big Island Vacation Rental Homes & Condos, click here.
For our Volcano Activity Planner, click here. Stay put, take day trips and enjoy the scenery.