<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Lavarock7:
...The second day you might want to get an early start and visit the volcano. From Kona or the resorts north of Kona, it is a long drive so get going very early. If you want to stop at a coffee farm, make it one along the main road. Stop at the overlooks and so on, but watch your timing. A detour to South Point (the southernmost part of the US) is fun, but it is a slow drive as the road in to fully paved and can take an hour or two to get down there and back.
The volcano park is a fun place and you will spend many hours there. Walk through the ferns and rain forest, see the caldera then take the long drive down to the bottom of Chain of Craters Road to see the fresh lava. Lately you barely have to walk from the car to see liquid rock!...</font>
How much time should we reasonably allow to drive from the Hilton Waikoloa to the volcanoes? How long is the "long drive" from the caldera to see the fresh lava? Does anyone have any hotel recommendations where we could spend a night near the volcanoes so we aren't rushing to get back to the Hilton?
Thanks.