Advice Please: VPN & Road to Hana

[Xev]

Hi Everyone! I have two (hehe, three I mean) questions that I would greatly appreciate some guidance on.

 

My husband and I are visiting three of the islands in 12 days (YAY!!!). I think we're pretty much set on what to do on Oahu, but I have timing concerns on Maui and the Big Island.

 

1) On the Big Island we are staying in Kona for 4 days. We would really (really really) like to go to Volcano National Park...But it sounds like it's one heck of a long drive. I'm not necessarily against one day of driving but with the expectation of a 3-4 hour drive each way...How much time should we work into our day to get a good feel for the park? Say we leave Kona at 7am / Get to park by 11am / Depart park at 3pm / Arrive Kona 7pm does that sound okay? Will we get to see enough of the park in 4 hours or will the drive just kick our butts?

 

2) On Maui we are staying in Hana, we land in Kahului at 12:17 and plan to drive straight to our hotel with the exception of a food stop along the way. How long should we expect to spend driving to our hotel? Most advice in the forum is for round trip with stops...I'm hoping for info on one way, no stops.

 

And since I'm asking...we're doing a couple Hana Highway sights that are near-ish to Hana during our stay (Blue Pool, Lower Puohokamoa Falls, some beaches), so would 5 hours on our way to the airport be sufficient time to see other sights on the road?

 

Any responses are appreciated! Thanks.

[NeoJava]

Xev, very good questions.

 

1) Volcano Nat'l Park is indeed a 3 hours drive EACH WAY from Kona. Time you need in the park depends on how much of a nature person you are. It's easy to see much of the park in an hour if you just drive around the rim, stop at the lookouts and then go to the lava tube. BUT if you plan on going to see the lava flow, it's an addition 45-60min to drive from the park entrance to the flow. Going to the volcano and not seeing the flow is a waste of time BUT AS IMPORTANTLY, going to the flow during the day will be a huge disappointment. I wrote in detail what to expect on another thread. So if you have your heart set on Volcano Nat'l Park I would leave Kona after lunch (say 12:30p), get there about 3:30-4pm. Drive around the crater rim and check out the visitor's center and see the Thurston Lava Tube (I think that's what it's called) until 5:30. Drive down to the lava flow, you'll get there just after sunset and walk out to the lava flow as it gets darker. There's also the Volcano House (I think that's what it's called) for dinner, great rack of lamb. The drive back to Kona would probably get you back around mid-night, a pretty full day. IF you want to do a hike into a crater, leave Kona earlier.

 

2) The drive to Hana shouldn't take longer then 2 hours one way, if you don't stop.

 

3) 5 hours is plenty of time back to the airport from Hana. BUT you may get hot, sticky and smelly at those stops and you'll have to live with that on your plane ride home. Either that or you won't enjoy some of the adventures that exist on the Road to Hana because you want to stay clean.

 

ENJOY YOUR TRIP!

Glenn

[OptimusPrime]

I came to this thread expecting to see a request from someone wanting to VPN to work on the Road to Hana!

 

Glad you aren't!

 

I leave tomorrow for the Monday POH sailing, wave if you see the POH. :D

[Xev]

I came to this thread expecting to see a request from someone wanting to VPN to work on the Road to Hana!

 

Glad you aren't!

 

I leave tomorrow for the Monday POH sailing, wave if you see the POH. :D

 

Haha! I was hoping the title of the thread wouldn't give that impression...Oh well. :p

 

Thanks for the great information NeoJava! I'll be sharing the it with my husband today. We planned on an all day outing at VPN...We're really into nature and being outdoors, so we'll probably head up there a little earlier and plan to stay a bit later based on your suggestion.

 

As for the road back from Hana...Yea, we'll probably try to stay clean. No plans to get dirty/sticky/wet on the way back to the airport. We're very very much into photography so we'll likely be just as happy to stay dry and snap photos all day. That and it's our last day of 11 on the islands with many other sticky dirty days before it. ;)

 

I greatly appreciate the information!!

[CruisinMK]

Hi Xev, how about a single night stay at the town of Volcano?

That way you don't run yourself into the ground trying to do the back and forth drive and volcano park in one day. And you can see some pretty night lava.

[NeoJava]

One last thing I forgot to mention on my earlier posts on viewing the lava flow. BRING YOUR BINOCULARS! If you're into photography, BRING YOUR TRIPOD. With a 200mm lens at f8 you should have an exposure of a second or more. That would be a guess but I know you will need a tripod for the best pics.:)

[Xev]

Thanks for the additional info. We're actually using points for the time on the Big Island (definately a benefit for our budget) so staying in a different hotel isn't really a consideration we're going to make.

 

We will however definately bring the tripod. We're thinking about going to Mauna Kea Summit and doing some night sky photography and that definately requires a tripod.

 

Thanks again!

[beachchick]

I'm sorry, but you will not be able to night photography at the actual summit of Mauna Kea. Everyone except the astronomers is required to leave immediately after sunset. You will be able to do night photography at the visitor's center (about 9000 ft). There are no exceptions that I am aware of.

 

If you want to go the summit during the day, there are a few things you need to know. You need to allow time to acclimate, so at least a 1 hour stop is recommended at the visitors center. Also, be aware of any signs of altitude sickness at the summit. It can affect anyone, no matter your health or stamina. (Those with respiratory problems should not go to the summit, and as an aside, children and pregnant women are not allowed to the summit because it's almost 14,000 ft.) It is cold to freezing at the summit (snow in the winter is very common) and access to the summit if affected by the weather. You'll need to check conditions for day you want to go.

 

The only telescope with access to the public (weekdays) is the Keck viewing room. On the weekends, the University of Hawaii does a free tour to the summit. They give you some history and geology, and then take you into their telescope and the Keck and sometimes one other one depending on maintenance and scheduling.

 

On that note, you will need a 4 wheel drive vehicle if you drive yourself to the summit. Not only because of the difficulty (you really do need that 4 w/d), but also because attempts to drive the unpaved, sort of graded section past the visitor's center in a 2 w/d make the tracks even worse and make driving conditions for the astronomers more dangerous. The UofH tour requires that all guests drive their own 4 w/d vehicle, meet at the visitors center for acclimation and orientation, and then caravan up to the summit; they will not allow you to go if you don't have your own 4 w/d. There are tour companies (pretty pricy, IMO) that take you to the summit and then down to the visitor's center for stargazing. Also, UofH has stargazing with their smaller, but still really amazing, telescopes at the visitors center every clear night (more than 300 nights in an average year). If you drive yourself, Harper's is the only company that rents 4 w/d's that are allowed to go on Saddle Rd. and up to the summit. The rental is not cheap (more than $100 for the day), but it was worth every penny when we went on the PofH tour.

 

Now that I've given you far more information than I intended, let me recommend that you consider going to the summit for an afternoon and then stay at the visitor's center for stargazing in the early evening. Bring a picnic supper. There are picnic tables at the visitors center. It is an absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring trip. And the daytime photography at the summit is pretty wonderful too.

 

beachchick

[Xev]

Thank for the very detailed information beachchick! I did get on the website for Mauna Kea yesterday, after I made that last post , and read that they send you back down off the summit at 10pm. Since the telescopes are at the visitor center, that's probably where we'll hang out. I'm more the photographer and my husband is super into astronomy (with the equipment to prove it :rolleyes: ), I guess we'll see what happens that day.

 

Thanks again everyone!

[beachchick]

Xev: Which website said that they send you down from the summit at 10 pm? I've never heard or seen that. The requirement has always been after sunset. Interesting to know if it's changed. I'm fairly certain that it hasn't because this is what the official IFA website says:

 

* Ordinary vehicles cannot cope with the steep, unpaved road; you will need to obtain a four-wheel drive vehicle, or take a commercial tour

* There are no opportunities to "look through" the telescopes at the summit, and visitors are not allowed at the summit after dark.

* The road up the mountain can be dangerous, particularly in bad weather.

* The high altitude of the observatory carries serious health risks and routinely impairs physical and mental activity.

* The Keck observatory and the UH2.2m telescope have visitors galleries from which the telescope may be viewed at certain times. The Keck gallery is generally open 10am - 4pm Mon-Fri, while the UH 2.2m is usually open 9.30am - 3.30pm Mon-Thu.

 

The Visitors Information Station (the center at 9,000 ft) is open until 10 pm because that's where they have the stargazing. I don't want to sound negative--absolutely not! I just don't want either of you to be disappointed. My DH and I both love astonomy (although he only has one moderate size Celestron and a few gadgets to prove it, although he'd love to get a Mead). We were blown away (almost literally because of the wind. lol) by the summit, the views, the telescopes, and just everything. Because of your DH's serious interest in astronomy (as well as your interest in photography), I have to recommend that if you are on the BI on a Saturday or Sunday that you rent a 4 w/d from Harpers and do that UofH summit tour. It is absolutely the best way to do the summit because the UofH is responsible for some of the facilities management and has access to some of the telescopes that no one else does. You will go into the Keck viewing room, which is the one that is open during the weekdays for the general public, but you will be the only group there. Then you will get a FULL tour of the UofH's telescope, which is comparatively small, but still incredible. Sometimes they do a third telescope, depending on timing, maintenance, etc. You will be able to take incredible pix from the summit. I used our little point-and-shoot film camera and ran out of film. My DH took at least 100 photos with his digital.

 

Here is a link to the UofH website with tour information: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/

 

beachchick

[Xev]

Oops. Sorry bout that. :o I'm all sorts of confused (that's what happens when you try to do all this internet stuff while working at the same time)! Either way, I expect that we'll have a nice time up there doing whatever we end up doing. So far my Big Island intinerary is nice and flexible, I guess I'll see where our time there takes us. Thanks again for all your advice and helping me keep all the information I've read straight. :D

[Giantfan13]

2 hours for the Road to Hana--never happen. There are so many cars on the road, slowing doen to look at this and that, with so mnay people driving 10 miles per hour. You must allot 3 hours each way, and what fun is it if you don't stop. You are defeating the purpose of the trip.