Heidi's activity reviews | Book tours, activities & fun things to do on HawaiiActivities.com

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more here

Hawaiian Islands

Big Island Categories


Reviews by Heidi
Last review on 2018/03/24
# of Reviews: 1

Good Experience But Would Not Do Lava Hike Again

Posted on: 2018/03/24

While I'm glad I went on Kilauea expedition and loved the nighttime glow portion, I wouldn't do the lava field hike or BBQ dinner again. For the hike, our guide kept an assertive pace to get us out to the active flows. While he talked pretty much non-stop the whole day, he seemed to have little empathy for those who struggled to keep up. So if you aren't in moderate to good shape and comfortable keeping a good pace on uneven surfaces, this is not the hike for you. Definitely wear good hikers or sneakers, but know the soles will take a beating from the lava rock. My lower quality sneakers lost all tread by the end of the 5+ mile round-trip hike and I ended up pitching them.

Walking towards the lava field from where we parked, I saw a woman in shorts with some blood on her leg because she had fallen during her hike. The lava rock is very sharp (glass like - really!). While her injuries looked relatively minor, I was very glad to be wearing long pants. Consider wearing long, breathable fabric pants for sure, especially if you aren't a seasoned hiker, for protection from the rock sharpness and temperature. The lava field gets really hot by the active flow (of course!) and you can feel that heat coming up from your shoes and all around you. Even though I was really hot for a little while, it's amazing to see brand new earth being born.

The BBQ and wine tasting after the hike were so-so. Our hosts at the winery were very sweet and answered a lot of questions about the wine. The last part of the excursion was seeing the nighttime glow of the lava from the visitor center. Even though it was raining, the glow was fantastic and we felt very lucky to get to be there.

As a final note, if you are fit and really into lava, this excursion is probably great for you. I would not hike on the lava field without a guide, who knew exactly where find the active flows within the miles and miles of lava fields.

Rating: star
Attended as:Couples
Activity Date: 2018/03/01
Was this comment helpful? [Yes]
See individual review
  • Scenery for most of the hike