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See the World's Most Active Volcano Up Close and Personal!

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Hilo Cruise Ship Volcano and Waterfall Tour

Highlights

  • 4.5 Hour Tour with pickup at Hilo Cruise Ship Dock
  • Hawaii Volcanoes National Park admission
  • Visit Kilauea Caldera rim and visitor's center
  • Stop at beautiful Rainbow Falls on Hilo outskirts

Description

Kilauea is the world's most active volcano, and has been erupting almost continuously for most of the last 50 years! There's not a better place on earth to witness and understand the awesome nature of volcanoes than at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. At the park you'll see splendid native rain forests, discover remarkable volcanic formations and a diversity of geography and climate. Evidence of Kilauea's activity is everywhere in the park; you'll see, feel and smell steam vents where vapor is escaping the ground and sometimes lava is even visible from crater overlooks. (Be aware though that eruptive activity varies and no lava viewing is guaranteed on any tour.)

The tour begins with pickup at the Hilo Cruise Ship dock ... and this tour is timed to perfectly correspond to your vessel's arrival. With a total excursion length of about 4.5 hours, the tour operator guarantees that they will get you back to your ship in plenty of time for your late afternoon departure. The first point of interest in your tour is a drive through of Liliuokalani Gardens, constructed from 1917-1919, and it is the largest such garden located outside of Japan.

A significant stop on the tour is Ranbow Falls, a state park on the outskirts of Hilo. This beautiful and famous waterfall drops over a lava cliff and falls 80 feet into a pool of water below, with a lava cave behind the falls. Rainbows are often seen in the mist generated by the falling water, giving the park its name.

The highlight of the tour is your time at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ... and the cost of park admission is included in the tour. The drive from Hilo to the park entrance will be a steady rise in elevation as you travel from sea level to the 4000 foot summit caldera area of Kilauea Volcano. You will stop at the visitor's center (currently a temporary visitor's center as the main building is being remodeled). You will walk the crater's edge, peering down into Pele's heart, the source of many of Kilauea's eruptions. On rare occasions lucky visitors may get glimpses of lava on the crater floor. Even without any current eruptuive activity, there are signs of unrest everywhere. You will see, smell, and FEEL the volcano ... and get close-up views of steam vents near the crater's edge. One brief second in the path of a cloud of steam and your sunglasses will fog up completely!

Your interpretive guide will illuminate the historic events that recently changed the landscape of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park forever! Learn about the magma chamber, and how its sudden draining away of lava caused the entire summit area of Kilauea to deflate and how the crater changed in size.

This tour is operated every day that the Pride of America is in port ... normally on Tuesday. (Other days may be added for other ships in port ... call or email us to inquire about your specific date.) There is a flat rate per participant ... no child rate is offered. Infants 3 and under are free in lap and do not need to be included in the number of guests when you are making a reservation ... BUT if you want them to occupy a seat in the tour vehicle you should include them in the count of your party size and you will be charged for a seat at the same rate as other members of your party.

Cost

Hawaii Volcanoes and Rainbow Falls Tour Rate (RT18h)

$128.00 per Participant   (Hawaii sales tax included)

Location

This tour is offered exclusively to cruise ship guests and pickup is at the cruise ship dock in Hilo.

Details

Schedule: Tuesday

Duration: About 4.5 hours.

What to Wear: Comfortable walking shoes, long pants, and a light jacket.

Restrictions: Guests should be in reasonably good physical condition and able to walk on uneven or rocky terrain. Not recommended for anyone with breathing issues as volcanic emissions, including sulfur gas, may affect those with respiratory concerns.

Reservations: Advanced reservations required and we recommend booking this a month or more before your arrival. This event is "RESERVE NOW PAY LATER"; we need a credit card on file to finalize your reservation but we do not charge you for your space until a few days before the beginning of your vacation!

Minimum Notice for Cancellations / Changes: At least 48 hours before the start of the event.

Kevin at Falls

Kevin's Activity Tips:

I can't imagine going to the Big Island and seeing the active volcano. Even on days when lava viewing is not possible the evidence of recent volcanic activity is everywhere. You'll see steam vents and smell sulfur in the air. This park is rich in history too.

The summit area of Kilauea underwent massive changes during the eruption that started in May of 2018 (and ended three months later). The eruption vents were miles "downstream" on the Lower East Rift, and the vents issued profuse rivers of lava that covered 13.7 square miles of land, destroyed more than 700 homes, wiped the Kapoho vacationland and tidepools off the map, and created 875 acres of new land where there used to be ocean. All that lava drained from the Kilauea Summit magma chamber, which caused dozens of tremors everyday as the summit deflated and the "bottom dropped out" of the Halemaumau Firepit. For most of the last 10 years a lava lake was found in this crater. During the 2018 eruption, the crater DOUBLED in size and TRIPLED in depth, swallowing the old Halemaumau Overlook parking lot and chunks of road along with it! No worries … this road had been closed since 2007, but it is a very strange feeling for those of us who visited Kilauea prior to 2007 to see sections of road where we once drove are now lying 1500 feet below where they used to be!!!

Park admission is included in the price of the tour ... and once in a while a guest will ask if they can get a discount because they have a Golden Eagle Passport or some other National Park Pass that already includes a discount. The answer to that question is no ... unfortunately ... the tour operator pays a flat rate per tour vehicle to enter the park, so it is best to think that "park admission is included if you do not already have it." It doesn't lower the tour operator's cost for the vehicle to enter the park.