We had our only shore excursion arranged for Hilo.  It was the Volcano National Park and Hilo city tour and was well worth the price.  We started off at a beautiful waterfall ( I can't remember the name) and then headed up to Volcano National Park and stopped for lunch at the Volcano house.  What breathtaking views of the Kilauea caldera and the horrible smell of sulfur.  We then drove all over the Chain of Crater's road area, looking at the crater from different views and the old lava flow patterns and then headed over to the Thomas A. Jaggar museum.  Please don't try and take a piece of lava or rock that you will see on the ground.  The legend of Pele (Goddess of Fire) considers them her children and bad luck will come upon you if you take one of her children.  The post office there receives the largest amount of packages in the whole United States and these contain rock or lava which people have returned hoping that their string of bad luck will change.  After driving through the park, we stopped at the lava tube and had the opportunity to walk through it.  It is very cool and damp in there.  We then drove over to Kalapana,  the town that was lost to the lava flow in the 80's.  187 homes were lost and 800 acres added to the Big Island.  You can walk all the way out to the ocean on the lava.  It has a strange texture to it almost like peanut brittle.  We then drove on and stopped at the Macadamia Nut Factory where you can purchase all kinds of nuts in various different flavors and chocolate covered combinations.  There is also a self guided tour which goes through all the various steps to produce the nuts. Interested in becoming a travel agent? Follow this link to find out more. Home Based Travel Agent