Top 3 Ways to See Molten Lava on the Big Island of Hawaii

The original statement on my bucket list was “peering over the edge of a volcano to see molten lava.” I can’t remember exactly what movie I watched, but I remember being a young boy, thrilled by the excitement of seeing the earth’s core in action. When EZ and I began consolidating our bucket list, this one made the cut, and I hardly believe we already crossed it off! Other items on the list: seeing the Sphinx at sunrise, hiking to Machu Picchu, completing an Ironman Race, and/or biking the Continental Divide of the Americas. However, for now, let’s tackle how to see molten lava on the Big Island of Hawaii. 

EZ and I each pick one must-see item per trip, to preserve the slower, more local experience we crave on holiday. When we decided to visit Hawaii, I immediately knew my one choice, the volcano. If my desire to “peer over the edge of a volcano,” didn’t give it away, I knew very little about volcanoes. There are actually multiple volcanoes on the Big Island, but there is only one that is currently active above sea level. As I began to research volcanoes, my dream shifted from placing my hands on the edge of the crater to peer inside, like Kilroy over a wall, towards a more realistic goal of just seeing molten lava.

Even with my more conservative goal, I didn’t really understand the risks. Risks like a face melting splash of lava, poisoning from the sulfur fumes, and a raft of other dangers that come with the earth’s core bubbling out to the surface. Needless to say, it’s dangerous, and in the end, we decided a helicopter tour was our best bet for crossing this item off the list.

Viewing lava flows and lakes is no guarantee, and we felt a helicopter tour would cover more of the island, giving us a better chance. To our surprise, our helicopter flight was the third time we saw molten lava. Before we jump into those details, I want to share a few resources: Oregon State has nice reference explaining what exactly lava is, and they also have a great resource on the history of the Hawaiian volcanoes. I did not truly appreciate the experience for researching more details for this post.

There are five active volcanoes on or around the Big Island, Hualalai, Haleakala, Loihi, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. Kilauea one of the most active volcanoes in the world. There are two crater lakes that occasionally produce spectacular shows of splashing lava, the Puʻu ʻŌʻō vent and the Halema’uma’u Crater. There is a trail for hiking to view the Puʻu ʻŌʻō vent, but with recent lava flows, it remains closed. We were plenty happy to experience the flows and vent at Puʻu ʻŌʻō from the air.

See Molten Lava on the Big Island of Hawaii – Helicopter Tour Tips

• We highly recommend the doors-off “Hawaii Volcanoes and Waterfalls Extreme” tour at Paradise Helicopters.
• Request preferred seating so that you are in the back near an open door, instead of squished with the pilot in the front. Keep in mind that it is subject to the weight balancing restrictions.
• Many companies run specials and discounts, so look around before you book.
• If your group is large enough to fill the helicopter (four or more on the doors-off), ask about a bulk discount.

The Hawaii Volcanoes and Waterfalls Extreme tour was our first helicopter ride, and that by itself was exciting. Takeoff felt like levitation – definitely a contrast to blasting down the runway in a 747. We also really enjoyed the challenge of taking photos from such a unique location, as we cautiously admired the power of the volcanoes from above. During our helicopter tour, we managed to see trees catching fire in the active lava flows, in addition to the crater lake sloshing around a bit.

See Molten Lava on the Big Island of Hawaii – Jaggar Museum

The other place that we glimpsed lava was in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. There are a few steam vents along the Kilauea Iki walking track, and you are able to see the smoke rising off the Halema’uma’u Crater in the distance for most of the hike. However, the (least expensive) best place to see molten lava on the Big Island is an evening at the Jaggar Museum.

• If you want to grab an unobstructed photo/viewing spot, we recommend arriving a bit before sunset or two hours after. Most of the tour buses will drop off at sunset, and after a quick viewing, the busloads depart.
• It is rather cold (50ish Fahrenheit with strong wind during our May trip) so dress warmly, if you plan to hang out after the sun goes down. We saw lots of cold tourists using their beach towels like blankets.
• Binoculars will solidly enhance your viewing experience. The Jaggar center does have a telescope you can look through, but the queue was quite long while we were there.

As the sun drops completely the glow of the lava illuminates the smoke for an incredible visual effect.

According to the park ranger, we attended on one of the more active nights he’s seen in some time, and the crowd seemed to steadily grow. It felt like there was a phone tree with how many photographers showed up. Perhaps it was all tourists closely monitoring the activity updates on the parks service and USGS websites. They provide regular notices about the lava activity in the area, and scrolling through the recent updates, the lava lake in the Halema’uma’u Crater regularly rises and falls, continuing to “circulate and spatter.”

After an amazing first night, we encouraged EZ’s parents and sister to come view the lava in action. You can definitely see the activity with the naked eye, but the activity level varies. The first night required no blinking and staring for quite some time because the activity in the lake was much lower.

Top 3 Ways to See Molten Lava on the Big Island:

There are multiple ways to view lava during your stay in Hawaii, and while some planning is necessary, you have to remain flexible. We booked our helicopter tour a few weeks out, and knew there was a chance that missed the lava flows during our flight. Fortunately, the National Parks Service  (NPS) and United States Geological Survey provide accurate information with regular updates on current volcanic activity so we had a good back-up plan. Here are our top 3 choices for a safe (but exciting) lava viewing experience:

1. Volcanoes National Park – While you are able to hike to the active lava flows, we chose not to do this for many reasons. It is generally a long, grueling, and dangerous hike, and that it is ignoring the sulfur fumes. The NPS does link to an air quality/weather monitoring site, and there are times when the recommended viewing locations, like the Jaggar Museum, have unsafe air quality. For us, the helicopter tour seemed like the safer option, because we could easily leave CZ behind with grandma. We did, however, thoroughly enjoy the night-time viewing of the Halema’uma’u Crater. It’s very family friendly, there is a museum inside to warm up in, and even when crowded, it is an enjoyable experience. The collective wonder and amazement of the crowd adds a certain enthusiasm and energy.
2. Helicopter Tour – The more we researched volcanoes, the more we realized this would be a our best bet for actually seeing into the craters. I spoke with Paradise over the phone a few times, and everyone there was extremely pleasant and helpful. Paradise recommended booking at least two weeks before your desired flight, and I might actually suggest three weeks before you want to fly. We called several months in advance – my excitement level was high – and when we actually booked a couple of weeks out, we had limited options within our desired times. Although, we did have a group of 5, which required 2 helicopters. For the doors-off extreme experience, they fly smaller Bell helicopters that only seat 4 passengers. We split our group, and the extra seats in both helicopters sold out for our flight.
   ** If the flows ever pick up, and we can afford it, we will return.
3. Boat Tour – We actually skipped this one, as the lava was not flowing into the water while we stayed on the Big Island. Thankfully, above mentioned site informed our tour bookings, and saved us money for Shaved Ice. Based on the photos we saw, the boat tours are an awesome viewing experience because the lava creates quite the spectacle as it enters the ocean.

The Puʻu ʻŌʻō Crater

Another shot of the lava lake at Puʻu ʻŌʻō from above

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Crater Aerial View

The active flows seen from above look like patches of metallic silver on the black, cooled lava.