Hawaii - Big Island

[Lateralus]

This is definitely not true. We were there in November after the activity had stopped (including the collapse of some of Kilauea and some of the rim road). The park is and remains absolutely fantastic. There is a tremendous amount to see on the rim road, throughout the park, and down the mountain to the sea. Even the fissures in the rim road are stunning to see up close. It’s absolutely worth the visit right now.

There is a lot to see and enjoy on the Big Island — below and above the water — and VNP is without question a highlight now.

I meant to say there is no lava flow in the entire island. My friend went to VNP in 2017 and saw lava flow. I understand there is much to be seen but I much would rather go up to the summit of Mauna Kea and see the sunset.

 

[Hoag]

I meant to say there is no lava flow in the entire island. My friend went to VNP in 2017 and saw lava flow. I understand there is much to be seen but I much would rather go up to the summit of Mauna Kea and see the sunset.

If I may offer a suggestion, if at all possible, you should try to stay for an hour or two after sunset. Depending on what day you go to the summit (and therefore what the phase of the moon is), you will be in one of the darkest skies you may ever see. After sunset you will go through Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Twilights. During this period, the sky will continue to get progressively darker. If there is no moon to give light pollution, the night time sky at the summit will likely be like no other night sky you have ever seen (I note that you are from DC).

 

[Lateralus]

This is definitely not true. We were there in November after the activity had stopped (including the collapse of some of Kilauea and some of the rim road). The park is and remains absolutely fantastic. There is a tremendous amount to see on the rim road, throughout the park, and down the mountain to the sea. Even the fissures in the rim road are stunning to see up close. It’s absolutely worth the visit right now.

There is a lot to see and enjoy on the Big Island — below and above the water — and VNP is without question a highlight now.

If I may offer a suggestion, if at all possible, you should try to stay for an hour or two after sunset. Depending on what day you go to the summit (and therefore what the phase of the moon is), you will be in one of the darkest skies you may ever see. After sunset you will go through Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Twilights. During this period, the sky will continue to get progressively darker. If there is no moon to give light pollution, the night time sky at the summit will likely be like no other night sky you have ever seen (I note that you are from DC).

I'm trying to avoid coming down that road at dark since I hear it can be scary. We have a 4x4, so I might stay a bit longer.

I plan to go to the summit either tomorrow night or Saturday night, before my diving starts. My first dive is Sunday night so I'm trying to figure out how much before or after I need to factor in when I go to the Summit. 24 hours on either side should be okay, correct? Is my thinking wrong. I always get the preplan dive tables and surface intervals messed up.

I have hiked up the Salkantay Trail on the way to Machu Picchu, Peru in the Andes, which is 15,000 feet. It's a bit higher elevation then Mauna Kea and no light pollution either. First time I ever saw the Milky Way with my own eyes. I'm assuming what you describe is something similar if not better.

 

[Hoag]

@Lateralus you probably won't see the Milky Way. By the time it rises, around midnight, the moon will have been up for a couple hours. After sunset, however, you should be able to see many of the same constellations that you can see from home, but they will be so much brighter it should be breath-taking (assuming clear skies). After sunset Orion will be high in the southern sky and Sirius (the brightest star) will be below Orion and to the left (almost in line with Orion's belt). The Big & Little Dippers and Cassiopeia will all be visible to the north, but much lower than what we would normally see.

As for the road being scary, you should be able to judge that by how it is on the way up.

For what its worth, here are some times you may find useful (based on tomorrow, but they will be the same within a couple minutes if you go Saturday except Moonrise):
Sunset: 1823
End of Civil Twilight: 1846
End of Nautical Twilight: 1912
End of Astronomical Twilight: 1938
Moonrise: 2200
Moonrise (on Saturday): 2258

 

[Lateralus]

@Lateralus you probably won't see the Milky Way. By the time it rises, around midnight, the moon will have been up for a couple hours. After sunset, however, you should be able to see many of the same constellations that you can see from home, but they will be so much brighter it should be breath-taking (assuming clear skies). After sunset Orion will be high in the southern sky and Sirius (the brightest star) will be below Orion and to the left (almost in line with Orion's belt). The Big & Little Dippers and Cassiopeia will all be visible to the north, but much lower than what we would normally see.

As for the road being scary, you should be able to judge that by how it is on the way up.

For what its worth, here are some times you may find useful (based on tomorrow, but they will be the same within a couple minutes if you go Saturday except Moonrise):
Sunset: 1823
End of Civil Twilight: 1846
End of Nautical Twilight: 1912
End of Astronomical Twilight: 1938
Moonrise: 2200
Moonrise (on Saturday): 2258

Thanks

 

[Divegirl42]

I'm trying to avoid coming down that road at dark since I hear it can be scary. We have a 4x4, so I might stay a bit longer.

I plan to go to the summit either tomorrow night or Saturday night, before my diving starts. My first dive is Sunday night so I'm trying to figure out how much before or after I need to factor in when I go to the Summit. 24 hours on either side should be okay, correct? Is my thinking wrong. I always get the preplan dive tables and surface intervals messed up.

I have hiked up the Salkantay Trail on the way to Machu Picchu, Peru in the Andes, which is 15,000 feet. It's a bit higher elevation then Mauna Kea and no light pollution either. First time I ever saw the Milky Way with my own eyes. I'm assuming what you describe is something similar if not better.

We’re visiting in a few weeks and I used the following info to plan our dive/summit. Like flying, there is no wait time to dive after your summit. You can go straight in the water to dive after a summit, like you can a flight. However, after a dive you would need to follow the directions below for safety. I err on the side of caution and wait 24 hours to fly or summit after diving.

Happy Diving!!! And summiting!

“When can I fly or drive to altitude?”

For single dives a minimum surface interval of 12 hours is suggested before flying. If you have been doing multiple days of multiple dives, PADI recommends a minimum surface interval of 18 to 24 hours. We also strongly recommend that you do not plan to drive to the volcano, Waimea or Hilo, take a helicopter tour or stargaze on the top of Mauna Kea the same day that you dive.”

 

[Steelyeyes]

My wife and I liked the Pelagic Magic dive. The manta dive would have been better with mantas but the plankton count was down. Shore dives we liked were Honokohau Harbor from the Crescent Beach (eagle rays, tiger shark) and the Black Pebble Beach down the coast. I've heard from reliable sources that the tiger sharks are more numerous in the summer months. We were there in December.

 

[PhatD1ver]

@Lateralus are you interested in activities other than diving?

If so, Volcanoes National Park is simply spectacular! It doe shave a couple drawbacks though for a dive trip activity. The elevation of the park is high enough that you should probably not do it within 24 hours of your last dive. (It is up at about 6-7,000ft so about the same as the "altitude" of the cabin of a commercial airliner.) Kilauea was very active in the spring of 2018, so there is likely a lot to see. If you have a day off from diving, but want to stay near sea level, you could head south out of Kona to the black sand beaches of Punulu'u.

I see comments like this a lot, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. But lets make some assumptions. You've been diving, you surface from your last dive about 2pm and show about 24 hours on your no fly time. Now clearly, your next step would not be to go to 6000ft that afternoon, but the next day would absolutely be no problem.

There is far less risk in a slow controlled ascent to altitude compared to flying. Flying, as soon as the aircraft begins its climb after takeoff, the cabin is pressurized and maintained at 7000ft. That transition takes place over the course of 2-3 minutes. Not 2-3 hours.

Someone sitting in a car, climbing to the top of a mountain (or volcano) over the course of a couple hours would continue off-gassing along the way, and would continue to make small bubbles versus the larger bubbles that would be created in flying.

 

[grassyknoll]

Sounds like open has made their trip already (would be great to hear a follow up post).
For those looking to come to the Big Island I always mention that many great dive sites are easily reached from shore with a very short surface swim. It's always entertaining to watch dive boats leave the harbor, motor a mile along the coast and hold their dives literally a stones-throw from the shore (which usually has an access road to the site). But if boat diving is what you want....
It's been a beautiful winter for diving here so far.

 

[grantwiscour]

When are you going? I will be there in April, and hope to do some shore diving.
Snorkeling and shore diving is nice at Two Step (get there early-gets really crowded) I dove there last year with Garry from http://www.sugar-inc.com/sugar-cottage and we hung out at 40 feet watching hundreds of Spinner Dolphins cavort around us.
My boyfriend does not dive and snorkeled the Manta trip. He was just as thrilled as I was.
This is our favorite beach (for boogie boarding, swimming, etc.) I have seen some people snorkeling there but usually pretty wavy. Kua Bay (Manini'owali) white sand beach | Big Island | Hawaii
And of course Volcanoes (will be interesting to see what has been obliterated since last year)
Five days is not much time to explore the wonders of the Big Island. We have gone year after year, and have a hard time wanting to leave even after 2 weeks!

Always fun diving with Garry. Can't beat the value of free diving with the cottage rental.