The Puna District and the Lava Viewing Conundrum

Billed as the “real” Big Island, the Puna District offers a lot of great natural attractions and small town charm. I had planned on stopping here en route to Hilo, but given that this is where the lava flow is and that it is way off the beaten path, we may want to come here for the second half of our volcano day – or even most of our volcano day since we could also try again with the volcano when we are en route to our hotel in Hilo. The lava viewing site here is about an 1.5 from our hotel in South Point and we would want to try to see the lava in the evening. We could also drive here from our Hilo hotel if it comes to it, but there's a lot to do in that area too. Such problems for a girl to have.

The conundrum illustrated geographically:

What are the other cool things to do in Puna? Pahoa Town – a charming place to grab snacks or do a little shopping. People rave about the Mexican restaurant Luquin's here. Liloki margaritas for me and pigs raised by the restaurateur for the ultimate in locally grown for Charlie.

Lava Tree State Monument – dubbed "Pele’s sculpture garden," these are some cool petrified trees.

Mackenzie State Park – has an ironwood forest, therefore may have interesting birds.

Ahalanui Park – has a geothermically warmed pool for swimming.

Waiopae Ponds – awesome snorkeling at interconnected tide pools. Some of the best on the island.

Kahopo Pool – another geothermically warmed pool, way lesser known than the Ahalanui Park, couldn't even find a picture. Cape Kumukahi Light House - No picture of these either, but it's near the sea pool and is home to the world's freshest air.

Steam caves – naturally occurring saunas courtesy of the volcano. As cool as this sounds, it does kind of freak me out.

See all these things on the map: Another solution to our timing conundrum might be to just do the helicopter tour. People tell me it’s the best money you can spend on the island and it’s not as pricey as I would have thought. Flights leave every hour until 4:30 pm from Hilo. We miss out on the night viewing, but I don't know that we need it given we get so close to the lava. I'm still not sure how that would time out in our itinerary, but it would be cool. I also still kind of want to go kayaking and horseback riding too. And maybe on a catamaran. Yikes. No money for food on this trip! LOL.