Seeing Kilauea From The Air

by Tim Larison

When Anne and I visited Hawaii’s Big Island on a Norwegian Cruise, one of the best excursions we did was flying over the active Kilauea volcano. We arranged our short flight with Island Hoppers ( www.hawaiiislandhoppers.com ) on a small fixed wing plane with an experienced pilot. I took the picture above from our flight – we had some great views!

If you prefer a helicopter tour, there are a number of choices on the Big Island. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters (www.bluehawaiian.com), Safari Helicopters (www.safarihelicopters.com), Paradise Helicopters (www.paradisecopters.com), and Tropical Helicopters (www.tropicalhelicopters.com) all offer air tours over the volcano.

We found the fixed wing flight less in price than the helicopter tours. Either way you will get to see some amazing sights from the air.

While we recommend seeing Kilauea from the air, if this type of tour isn’t for you a visit to Hawaii Volacanoes National Park on the island ( www.nps.gov/archive/havo/home.htm ) will give you a chance to see the lava close up.