Excursions from Hilo

I will be on the POA cruise in September . I am hoping the cruise will still make it to Hilo but will assume the VNP will still be closed .

My questions are ;1. which ship excursions are likely to run ?

2.are there things to do in Hilo itself ?

Thanks for any advice.

There is not a lot to do in Hilo. Banyon Drive, the marina park, Tsunami Museum etc. There is a lot more to do with a car, which I would not be without. :)

We are on this cruise in January, so hoping things settle enough for the itinerary to remain as normal. At the moment reps from the park are greeting at the cruise dock with ideas of things to do in Hilo. A couple of areas of the park are still open to visitors. Sorry cannot help you with how strenuous the excursion is, but I do believe the old lava field is one area still open. Perhaps send an inquiry to the National park itself? Enjoy your cruise

I will be on the POA cruise in September . I am hoping the cruise will still make it to Hilo but will assume the VNP will still be closed . [that's a pretty good assumption]

 

My questions are ;1. which ship excursions are likely to run ? The NCL/Pride of America page shows 13 excursions at Hilo and only a few involve the volcano area so most will still run presumably.

2.are there things to do in Hilo itself ? Liliuokalani Park and Gardens (close to the waterfront) is nice. Not too far out of town is the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden and beyond that Akaka Falls State Park (probably an excursion to the last two).

Thanks for any advice.

Kilauea has been erupting over the last 35 years, but the current eruption (starting after a May 3 earthquake) is by far the worst, causing extensive destruction of residential areas around Pahoa and the SE coast. And there appears to be no end in sight for this current eruption. We've been in the area several times since 1994, our first time to Hawaii. Our hearts go out to all those affected.

Hope you enjoy what is available to see and do while you're there!

There is not a lot to do in Hilo. Banyon Drive, the marina park, Tsunami Museum etc. There is a lot more to do with a car, which I would not be without. :)

We have a car rental. We were planning to go to VNP with the Shaka App. Any suggestions what to do instead?

Thanks

We have a car rental. We were planning to go to VNP with the Shaka App. Any suggestions what to do instead?

Thanks

In my earlier response above to Liver Bird 15, I suggested various things to do in and around Hilo--my suggestions are in blue type.

 

In my earlier response above to Liver Bird 15, I suggested various things to do in and around Hilo--my suggestions are in blue type.

Ahh! So you did. I did originally read your post too, just not what was in the grey boxes thinking they were just quoting above posts. Don't know how I missed the bold blue type:confused:

Ahh! So you did. I did originally read your post too, just not what was in the grey boxes thinking they were just quoting above posts. Don't know how I missed the bold blue type:confused:

Sorry for the confusion. I should have said in the body of my response, that I had commented in "blue" on the original post which I included in my post.

It is beginning to look like the Jaeger Museum at Hale Maumau crater (one of the major sites at Volcano National Park) is going to be destroyed from earthquake damage. That is, if Hale Maumau crater doesn't expand to that area and just engulf it.

VNP did open another section of the park which is much further away from the crater. I've heard they've moved the art gallery and parts of the Visitor's Center to the new location, but I've not been there to see it yet. So what the new VNP experience will be like, we don't know yet.

In Hilo itself, there's (as mentioned before) Queen Liliokalani gardens. It's a walking park near Hilo Bay.

There's a small zoo just outside of Hilo. It's free and has a lot of botanical things in it as well as the animals. Takes about forty five minutes to see it.

There's Wainuenue (Rainbow) Falls in Hilo. It's a lovely waterfall and easy to get to. No fee, no hiking.

Along the Hamakua Coast out of Hilo is the scenic route with a botanical garden along it. There's also Akaka Falls above Honomu. That has a small entrance fee now these days.

The Hamakua coast is a scenic drive. We like to drive down to Laupahoehoe Point park, just for the scenery and to see the Tsunami Memorial, although it's not really enough of a memorial to make it a destination. The scenery from the park there is, though.

Further down the coast is Waipio Valley with an overlook park that is free. That's near the quaint town of Honokaa which is old Hawaii.

Depending on how much time was spent in the various places, there may be time to circle around Waimea and take the Saddle Road back to the ship. That goes through some entirely different types of geography. Google Maps can give you times and routes. There's not really that many roads on the Island of Hawaii.

It is beginning to look like the Jaeger Museum at Hale Maumau crater (one of the major sites at Volcano National Park) is going to be destroyed from earthquake damage. That is, if Hale Maumau crater doesn't expand to that area and just engulf it.

 

VNP did open another section of the park which is much further away from the crater. I've heard they've moved the art gallery and parts of the Visitor's Center to the new location, but I've not been there to see it yet. So what the new VNP experience will be like, we don't know yet.

 

In Hilo itself, there's (as mentioned before) Queen Liliokalani gardens. It's a walking park near Hilo Bay.

 

 

There's a small zoo just outside of Hilo. It's free and has a lot of botanical things in it as well as the animals. Takes about forty five minutes to see it.

 

There's Wainuenue (Rainbow) Falls in Hilo. It's a lovely waterfall and easy to get to. No fee, no hiking.

 

Along the Hamakua Coast out of Hilo is the scenic route with a botanical garden along it. There's also Akaka Falls above Honomu. That has a small entrance fee now these days.

 

The Hamakua coast is a scenic drive. We like to drive down to Laupahoehoe Point park, just for the scenery and to see the Tsunami Memorial, although it's not really enough of a memorial to make it a destination. The scenery from the park there is, though.

 

Further down the coast is Waipio Valley with an overlook park that is free. That's near the quaint town of Honokaa which is old Hawaii.

 

Depending on how much time was spent in the various places, there may be time to circle around Waimea and take the Saddle Road back to the ship. That goes through some entirely different types of geography. Google Maps can give you times and routes. There's not really that many roads on the Island of Hawaii.

Thank you for posting this. These are some of my favorite places on the Big Island.

It is beginning to look like the Jaeger Museum at Hale Maumau crater (one of the major sites at Volcano National Park) is going to be destroyed from earthquake damage. That is, if Hale Maumau crater doesn't expand to that area and just engulf it.

 

VNP did open another section of the park which is much further away from the crater. I've heard they've moved the art gallery and parts of the Visitor's Center to the new location, but I've not been there to see it yet. So what the new VNP experience will be like, we don't know yet.

 

In Hilo itself, there's (as mentioned before) Queen Liliokalani gardens. It's a walking park near Hilo Bay.

 

There's a small zoo just outside of Hilo. It's free and has a lot of botanical things in it as well as the animals. Takes about forty five minutes to see it.

 

There's Wainuenue (Rainbow) Falls in Hilo. It's a lovely waterfall and easy to get to. No fee, no hiking.

 

Along the Hamakua Coast out of Hilo is the scenic route with a botanical garden along it. There's also Akaka Falls above Honomu. That has a small entrance fee now these days.

 

The Hamakua coast is a scenic drive. We like to drive down to Laupahoehoe Point park, just for the scenery and to see the Tsunami Memorial, although it's not really enough of a memorial to make it a destination. The scenery from the park there is, though.

 

Further down the coast is Waipio Valley with an overlook park that is free. That's near the quaint town of Honokaa which is old Hawaii.

 

Depending on how much time was spent in the various places, there may be time to circle around Waimea and take the Saddle Road back to the ship. That goes through some entirely different types of geography. Google Maps can give you times and routes. There's not really that many roads on the Island of Hawaii.

Generally, at least in the continental US, "down" means "south". All the sites mentioned above are "north" or "northwest" of Hilo. We've driven around the entire island of Hawaii from/to Kona in a counter-clockwise direction. Unfortunately, it may be many years now before one can do that, given the major disruption in the landscape in the volcano area (SE corner). The route described above is much greener and IMHO more scenic than the area from Kona to the volcano area.

Generally

It is beginning to look like the Jaeger Museum at Hale Maumau crater (one of the major sites at Volcano National Park) is going to be destroyed from earthquake damage. That is, if Hale Maumau crater doesn't expand to that area and just engulf it.

 

VNP did open another section of the park which is much further away from the crater. I've heard they've moved the art gallery and parts of the Visitor's Center to the new location, but I've not been there to see it yet. So what the new VNP experience will be like, we don't know yet.

 

In Hilo itself, there's (as mentioned before) Queen Liliokalani gardens. It's a walking park near Hilo Bay.

 

There's a small zoo just outside of Hilo. It's free and has a lot of botanical things in it as well as the animals. Takes about forty five minutes to see it.

 

There's Wainuenue (Rainbow) Falls in Hilo. It's a lovely waterfall and easy to get to. No fee, no hiking.

 

Along the Hamakua Coast out of Hilo is the scenic route with a botanical garden along it. There's also Akaka Falls above Honomu. That has a small entrance fee now these days.

 

The Hamakua coast is a scenic drive. We like to drive down to Laupahoehoe Point park, just for the scenery and to see the Tsunami Memorial, although it's not really enough of a memorial to make it a destination. The scenery from the park there is, though.

 

Further down the coast is Waipio Valley with an overlook park that is free. That's near the quaint town of Honokaa which is old Hawaii.

 

Depending on how much time was spent in the various places, there may be time to circle around Waimea and take the Saddle Road back to the ship. That goes through some entirely different types of geography. Google Maps can give you times and routes. There's not really that many roads on the Island of Hawaii.

What a great bit of information. We are not looking to do this cruise until next year but my idea was to rent a car and see Rainbow Falls, Hawaiian Tropical Gardens, Akaka Falls, and then drive to Waipio Valley and back. Glad to know this is doable so thank you! Would love to take Saddle Road but if not, I'm assuming it's ok to go back the way we came from the Valley? Does Hilo have a rush hour or should traffic be a concern? Just wondering at what time we would need to leave the Valley to make it safely back by 5:00--I was thinking 3:00 or so.

Of course, I hope VNP is back by next year but one never knows.

Beachiekeen, If you are going to include Waipio Valley, I would drive there first and work my way back, stopping at Akaka Falls, and whatever else you have time for. If you start at the furthest point first you will have a better idea of your time. You might encounter road construction and delays depending on if current projects are completed by the time you travel. Personally I think you will not have time for everything but that's just my opinion. I don't know where Hilo falls in your cruise but if you like tropical flowers you could stop at the Hilo Farmers Market and pick up a bouquet for your cabin before returning to the ship. As you say, hopefully VNP will be open by the time you cruise. Have fun planning. Cherie

Beachiekeen, If you are going to include Waipio Valley, I would drive there first and work my way back, stopping at Akaka Falls, and whatever else you have time for. If you start at the furthest point first you will have a better idea of your time. You might encounter road construction and delays depending on if current projects are completed by the time you travel. Personally I think you will not have time for everything but that's just my opinion. I don't know where Hilo falls in your cruise but if you like tropical flowers you could stop at the Hilo Farmers Market and pick up a bouquet for your cabin before returning to the ship. As you say, hopefully VNP will be open by the time you cruise. Have fun planning. Cherie

Yes I had thought of that also, but I had also read it's best to get to the falls in the morning. But you are right. I know my ILs would love the botanical gardens so we may have to just get to Waipio if we have the time. There seems to be plenty to see closer to port. I don't want my husband stressed out trying to get to the ship! But that view just looks so breathtaking.

I know, I can't believe it's not until next year, I can't wait already!

Beachiekeen, If you are going to include Waipio Valley, I would drive there first and work my way back, stopping at Akaka Falls, and whatever else you have time for. If you start at the furthest point first you will have a better idea of your time. You might encounter road construction and delays depending on if current projects are completed by the time you travel. Personally I think you will not have time for everything but that's just my opinion. I don't know where Hilo falls in your cruise but if you like tropical flowers you could stop at the Hilo Farmers Market and pick up a bouquet for your cabin before returning to the ship. As you say, hopefully VNP will be open by the time you cruise. Have fun planning. Cherie

I did not realize that we could take fresh flowers back on board. I would love to do that.

Be advised there are now, parking and admission charges for Akaka Falls, An alternative is to just drive south down Rt 130 and hit the numerous sites along the way, especially Punaluʻu Beach. Which is always a stop foe me. Add the Coffee Mill, winery, Orchard farm etc. Then head north for me. I again, had no problem including all this on my recent visit- again. :)

;);)

Be advised there are now, parking and admission charges for Akaka Falls, An alternative is to just drive south down Rt 130 and hit the numerous sites along the way, especially Punaluʻu Beach. Which is always a stop foe me. Add the Coffee Mill, winery, Orchard farm etc. Then head north for me. I again, had no problem including all this on my recent visit- again. :)

Looking at a map of the Big Island, it looks like it would not be possible to go to Punaluʻu Beach as the lava flow out to the sea is between Hilo and PB.

I did not realize that we could take fresh flowers back on board. I would love to do that.

Buying beautiful tropicals is one of my favorite things when in Hawaii. You cannot bring them back to the mainland on the plane, but if you are flying between Hawaiian Islands it is not a problem. If you have time in Honolulu you can buy some nice flowers in Chinatown, there are some shops not to far off the Nimitz Highway from the Aloha Tower. And, of course, if you are near a farmer's market you can pick some up. Enjoy, Cherie

;);)

Looking at a map of the Big Island, it looks like it would not be possible to go to Punaluʻu Beach as the lava flow out to the sea is between Hilo and PB.

Not sure what you are thinking? - but Rt 11 is open. I was just there and did this driving- again.