Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen the powerful footage of molten lava flowing freely in Hawaii. The footage is a stunning reminder of just how powerful the earth is, and how magnificently beautiful Hawaii is too. All that sensational footage has travelers worried about their pending Hawaiian vacation, or whether they should take advantage of the incredibly low deals to book one. If you need a little reassurance, here’s the full story…
The first thing to know is that the only volcanic eruptions are occurring on Big Island. All the action is happening on the Hilo side of the island, roughly a 1.5 hour drive from the more popular Kona side. The Kona side notes no impact whatsoever. At the time of writing, flights are operating as normal into Kona and you’d never know there was molten lava flowing an hour away. Over on the Volcanoes National Park and Hilo side, there are tremors, flowing lava and other issues which may be worth avoiding – at least for the immediate time being. Resorts remain open.
If you’re headed to Kauai, Maui, Honolulu, Moloka’i or any other popular Hawaiian destination, everything is completely business as usual. There’s no activity to report, the sun is shining, the lush mountains are lush and the gorgeous waters are still as beautiful as ever. And life is, well… pretty perfect. There are no airline travel waivers into any other islands because there’s nothing to worry about. There’s been volcanic activity from Kilauea volcano since the 1980’s and it’s nothing new. You can keep up to speed with it here.
Uncertainty is bad in the travel world. People like sure things and safety. Unless something changes, Hawaii is completely safe, so long as steps are taken to heed official warnings for the areas around Hilo where earthquakes are occurring. If Hilo is not your destination, don’t give things another thought. If you don’t have a trip booked, there’s rarely been a better time to book to Hawaii. There are flight deals around for under $400 round trip to many of the very best destinations. Our pick? Kauai. Utterly dreamy.
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Featured image courtesy of St. Regis Kauai.
Kilauea eruptions don’t cause disruptions beyond the immediate vicinity, as it’s not the type of eruption that Mt St Helens and similar cause.
Kauai does have severe post flooding damage in the Hanalei area and some debris around certain beaches. So one should be sure and avoid the impacted areas before planning a trip to that island.