The Volcano can be seen from several locations, * Halema'uma'u Crater along Crater Rim Drive in Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, * the end of Chain of Craters Road in HVNP or * from Kalapana. The view from Halema'uma'u is best at night when the glow becomes more visible. The easiest way to get a taste is to go through Volcano’s National Park and take Crater Rim drive over to Jaggar Museum, which overlooks Halema'uma'u Crater. For more information check out the National Parks website at: http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/lava2.htm

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If you’re a bit more adventurous and want to actually see the lava flowing, you have to go from Kalapana or HVNP where it’s flowing down the pali (cliff) and out towards the ocean. Keep in mind that the lava changes daily, last November (2012) it just started flowing into the Ocean again after a yearlong hiatus. You can check the latest lava activity, look at live webcams and view maps at the USGS Kilauea Volcano Update page. http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php

Getting There...

You can charter a helicopter:
There are several companies based out of both Hilo and the Kona side.
I've only tried Paradise Helicopters but they were very professional, the experience was amazing and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Price: about $200

"Doors Off" will give helicopter passengers an unobstructed view

By Boat There are a number of tour boats that will get you arguably one of best views of the lava. I've not been on any of them but I hear the experience is pretty spectacular. Price: $150+

boat

Hiking Pu'u 'Ō'ō crater vents lava down the old Royal Gardens Subdivision into a 9 mile area of land between Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park and Kalapana. Right now the lava is flowing closest to the Kalapana side, where the hike is less than 3 miles. This area falls under the jurisdiction of the County Of Hawaii, which currently does not allow hikers without a permit. However there is a private subdivision in the lava field and several tours leave from there.

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Hiking Unguided Let me preface this by giving you a little bit of caution; hiking Kalapana can be very dangerous if you don't follow the rules and use a little common sense. So here is my check list of supplies and caution: *Wear good shoes, the lava is sharp, it's slippery and it's full of holes, crevices and loose rocks *Bring more water than you think you'll need., I bring at least 3-4 bottles for the 3 mile hike and leave a few more in the car. *Take a Flashlight ...and bring a backup. The ideal lighting for photography is just before sunset, so if you stay for that, you're going to be walking out in the dark. Grab a few LED headlamps from Walmart, they work great and only cost $13 dollars. *Carry a GPS. The landscape is black and there are no streetlights or beacons* to aim for, you can be hiking right next to the road and not see it. *Watch the Wind. As you get close to the lava, you will notice sulfur dioxide coming out of the ground and at the ocean entries, YOU DO NOT WANT TO BREATH THIS, it's poison and it can kill you.

*Keep a Safe Distance When the waves crash into it, the Lava Spatters like boiling spaghetti sauce, showering the area with molten hot rock bombs. Sections of the cliff can and do collapse into the ocean Lava forms a shell when flowing over land and it is possible to fall through if you are careless. *Be Respectful This is not the annual State Fair, some people consider the area sacred, and for the rest of us, it's our backyard, so please tread lightly.

explosions

Cooled "lava bomb"

*Hiking in from the National Park does NOT require a permit or a guide but it is a longer hike, about 7 miles each way (as of 2/24/2013), but the Park Service actually has blinking beacons every quarter mile or so to the park boundary. There is also a little visitor center, parking, some refreshments and a few picnic tables at the end of the road. GPS 19.295168, -155.098393