Over the last few months, the landscape of the Big Island has dramatically changed, forever altering the quiet island and changing the lives of residents forever. Though Mt. Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983, new volcanic activity and lava flows opened up and caused significant damage to the area, especially within the neighborhood of Leilani Estates, where many fissures opened up, causing residents to hurriedly evacuate and escape the ensuing devastation.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been forced to close many areas and encourage visitors to stay safe and not enter the park. With so much lava activity and high amounts of sulfur dioxide in the air, there is a great risk for anyone in the area, and staying out of harms way when it comes to an active volcano is always the first priority. However, for those looking to see the volcano in the coming months, there may be some good news.
In recent days and weeks, volcanic activity has slowed, and scientists are currently seeing a lull in activity around the vents and the crater, with only a few areas of active lava flow. This could mean a few different things, including the chance that the activity has ceased entirely, though extreme caution is being taken and the activity closely monitored in order to understand and predict events for the coming days and weeks. In the past when the volcanoes activity has stopped, or paused, it has resumed, though predicting what’s next is very difficult.
While we encourage everyone to visit the volcano and enjoy the natural sites around the park, it is recommended to stay away at this time. A Hawaii Volcano Tour is one of the most popular activities for visitors, and there is hope that these will be able to resume in full in the near future, though there are still great options to enjoy the volcanoes on the island. These great tours and activities depart from Hilo, Kona, or Waikoloa, and though they do not include a tour of Mt. Kilauea or Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, they do include the amazing sites of the island that have been created over millions of years of volcanic activity. Taking in a sunrise from Mauna Kea or gaze at the stars from the observatory during the Mauna Kea Summit and Stars Adventure, showing of the incredible natural beauty of the island from the highest point in Hawaii.
Though the active volcano on the Big Island is not currently an option, there are still many incredible sites to see and options for visiting the Big Island’s volcanoes. The volcanic history of Hawaii is incredible and deep and no matter where you are in Hawaii, you will be near a volcano and the years of volcanic activity and destruction that has taken place.
Due to the high volume of visitors traveling to Hawaii year round, our Big Island tours and Big Island activities sell out quickly. In many cases, tours sell out weeks or months in advance. To ensure your spots on tour, we recommend reserving your tours today. Call our office or book online to take advantage of our low price guarantee today.
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