A Volcanoes + National Park visit + Waterfalls experience by Hawaii Forest and Trail. Back to all Big Island tours.
Tour Summary: Small-group volcano tour with a certified guide through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, plus a tree-to-bar cacao experience and private waterfall tasting. 11-12 hours from Kona
Enjoy 2-3 miles of hiking around the park’s most dynamic terrain. Image credit: Hawaii Forest & Trail 
Explore the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park’s dynamic and diverse terrain including lava from the Park’s most recent eruptions, Halemaumau Crater, Steam Vents, and a lava tube! Embark on an interactive tree-to-chocolate adventure and learn how cacao trees are transformed into chocolate at a 1,000-acre private tropical farm. Learn how lava fields get colonized by the local plants. Image credit: Hawaii Forest & Trail Learn how lava fields get colonized by the local plants. Image credit: Hawaii Forest & Trail Visit the tropical cacao farm's hidden, secluded waterfall. Relax as you savor the local chocolate by the private, cascading falls. The tour guides are expert natural interpreters, and will teach you many interesting things about the volcanoes. Image credit: Hawaii Forest & Trail Explore the Thurston Lava Tube. Image credit: Hawaii Forest & Trail Steam rises in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Image credit: Hawaii Forest & Trail Join National Park Certified Guides on a journey through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park’s new & dramatic landscape. Your interpretive guide will illuminate the historical events that have forever changed the landscape of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Enjoy exploring the Park’s most dynamic terrain.
3 Tour Highlights:
- On this in-depth park experience, your interpretive guide will illuminate the historic events that recently changed the landscape of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park forever.
- Visit a 1,000-acre Chocolate and Tropical Fruit Farm and learn about the Chocolate-making process, from tree to chocolate.
- Enjoy 2-3 miles of hiking around the park’s most dynamic terrain
Important: Bring close-toed shoes, long pants, and a light jacket. Guests should be able to hike on uneven or rocky terrain (2 to 3 miles total hiking).
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult | Youth |
|---|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $295 | $270 |
Tour Provider: Hawaii Forest and Trail
Activity: Volcanoes + National Park visit + Waterfalls
Tour start time: 8 am
Duration: 11-12 hours
Location: Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park + Hilo
Pick-up available? Yes! Trips depart from Kona with pickups in Royal Kona Resort, Four Seasons, Kona Village, Queen's Market Place, Shops at Mauna Lani, Waikoloa Plaza, and Hilo Town. More details available during the booking process during the "Where are you staying" step.
Included: Access fees to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Lavaloha Chocolate Farm tour (A $70 value!), morning & afternoon snacks, lunch, beverages, and gear including trekking poles, day packs, raingear, bug repellent, & sunscreen.
Cancellations: Cancellations: Customers will receive a full refund with 24 hours notice of cancellation. Private tours: Customers will receive a full refund with 72 hours notice of cancellation. Cancellations within the cancellation period and “no-shows” will be charged the FULL AMOUNT of the tour.
Read more: about volcanoes in our Big Island volcanoes guide.
Read more about the Volcano Unveiled tour
This 11-12 hour small-group tour combines the volcanic geology of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with a rare look inside a working 1,000-acre cacao farm above Hilo Bay — finishing with a private chocolate tasting beside the farm’s own hidden waterfall.
A National Park Certified Guide leads you through the park’s most dramatic recent changes, including the collapse of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater that reshaped Kīlauea permanently. You’ll hike 2-3 miles through the park, visit a lava tube, and get up close to eruption sites that are still actively evolving.
The afternoon shifts to Lavaloha Chocolate Farm for a tree-to-bar experience: how cacao is grown, processed, and turned into chocolate, followed by a tasting at a secluded waterfall on the property.
Pickup available from select hotels in Kailua-Kona, Waikoloa, and Hilo. Park entrance and farm access fees, lunch, snacks, and gear (trekking poles, raingear, day packs) are all included.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: How much hiking is there on this tour?
You will hike for 2-3 miles at a location determined by park conditions that day.
Q: Will we get to see active lava?
Only if there is an ongoing eruption. Click here to see if that is the case.
About Hawaii Forest and Trail
Hawaii Forest & Trail is a highly respected local tour company that has operated on the Big Island since 1993. They have gained access to private and restricted lands and are widely recognized as a tour company that has passionate and knowledgeable interpretative guides, all of which translates into consistent stellar reviews from their past guests.
Hawaii Forest & Trail is fully certified by the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawai’i. This means that their tours are eco-friendly, culturally educational and operate as sustainable as possible.
Knowledgeable Staff
The HFT staff are picked to have strong academic backgrounds in biology, geology, Hawaiian culture and history, and extensive natural history field experience. It’s not enough for the guides to simply “know things”, they must also have a real passion for Hawaii’s natural world and enthusiasm for sharing it.
Giving back to the community
The vision of Hawaii Forest & Trail is to share the splendor of Hawai’i and inspire a deep connection with our natural world. They donate a small amount ($1 per guest) to a fund that makes donations to non-profit organizations whose mission and work aligns with at least one of the following criteria:
- benefits the conservation of Hawaii’s native ecosystems, species and landscapes.
- promulgates the understanding and practice of Hawaiian culture and the dissemination and understanding of Hawaii’s natural and cultural history.
- promotes and facilitates an appreciation and interaction with nature, especially programs that are youth oriented.
It is the intent of the fund to give preference to entities who are based or whose work is performed in the communities where they operate tours.
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