Volcanoes National Park from Hilo: No Hiking to the Falls, Cruise Times Honoured

A day out of Hilo with a local driver, built around the active volcano and the town's own attractions. Two practical points decide whether this fits you. If you hold a National Park pass, bring the card and it covers your entry. If you are arriving by cruise ship, the start time moves to suit the docking: a 9:00 arrival means a 9:30 departure, rather than a tour you miss by half an hour. Inside the park there is a walk out to the Halema’uma’u crater overlook, the Thurston Lava Tube, and the steam vents, where standing in the right spot gets you a face full of warm volcanic steam. Rainbow Falls needs no hiking at all: the viewpoint is a few steps from where the vehicle stops. Whether there is a rainbow in the mist when you get there is luck. Lili'uokalani Gardens are Japanese in design and sit on the water, and the Big Island Candies flagship store is where the chocolate-covered nuts and the shortbread come from, with the work visible while you are there. Questions get answered as they come up, which is the advantage of a driver who lives here.