The Lava Boat Tour offers a great way to get to see lava without having to pay for a helicopter tour or having to take a hike. Although those are the two most popular ways to view the lava, at times they do not suite peoples needs.
On the lava boat tour, you will take a “ferry style” 24 passenger boat from a town near Hilo called Pahoa along the volcanic coastline to Volcano National Park.
Along this tour you will have the opportunity to enjoy the waters off of the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii along with getting to see lava up close (as close as 20 yards).
My recommendations is spend the day enjoying Volcano National Park and then take the sunset tour. The Big Island is well known for the volcano and you can easily spend a day taking everything in.
The tour is approximately 2-2.5 hours in duration.
As of January 1, 2025 this tour is no longer operating.