Just check in at the Visitors Center. For perhaps the best view of the volcano, however, sightseeing tour helicopters can fly you in to within spitting distance of the steaming Kilauea caldera. Plan early, though. Tickets and accommodations in and around Hilo sell out annually for the hugely popular event. Then in October, the world's best-conditioned athletes migrate to the Kona Coast for the renowned annual Ironman Triathlon World Championship.
Impressive waterfalls dot the coastline.
Kona's beautiful coral reefs and native tropical fish can be seen by diving and snorkeling, of course, but the less athletically inclined can enjoy the safety and fun of an underwater submarine cruise out of Kona or one of the numerous glass-bottom boats available for cruises along the Kona Coast. Downtown Hilo is a historian's delight and burgeoning shopping mecca. Period buildings remain from the heyday of commercial activity in Hilo when the sugar mills were in full operation. That was also before the devastating tsunami of 1960 leveled much of the downtown area. Now undergoing a renaissance, many of the structures have been remodeled in keeping with their plantation-era style, and many new shops, theaters, restaurants, specialty stores, galleries and boutiques are moving in.