Kīlauea Visitor Center

An unforgettable stop on the Big Island! The Kīlauea Visitor Center is the perfect starting point for exploring Volcanoes National Park. The staff was friendly and super knowledgeable—they gave us great tips on current lava viewing spots, trail conditions, and weather updates. The exhibits are informative and engaging, helping you understand the cultural and geological significance of the area. We visited on a weekday and had almost no wait. From the center, it’s a quick trip to the stunning overlooks and the Thurston Lava Tube—walking through that glowing tunnel was surreal! If you’re heading here, definitely stop in first. Great place to get your bearings, refill water, and pick up maps or souvenirs. One of the most unique national parks in the world—don’t miss it!

Definitely a must experience while visiting the big Island, Lava Tubes, Volcanoes, Lava Arches, Lava Fields, steam vents, Hiking, sight seeing and if you're lucky the volcanoe will have an episode while visiting. Its truly a beautiful place and there is nothing like it in the world.

The visitor center was nice. It was raining, though. When visiting Hawaii in the summer, all I think about is sunshine. If visiting the National Volcanoes Park, be aware that it may be raining.

Very basic as National Park Centers go ... Friendly, professional staff. Small gift shop (larger gift shop at hotel and Arts building). Very good guidance on hiking trails. Note that this Visitor Center is being replaced in 2025, with a temporary Center in place during construction. Note: excellent dining room in the hotel overlooking Kilauea. Food and drinks are very good.

The visitor centre has interesting details about the volcano itself and pleasant garden surroundings where i first saw native plant life for this part of planet earth.

The Visitor Center was a great resource b4 entering the park. It is like a little museum with all sorts of information. A cute little gift store and clean restrooms. The gentleman at the Information desk is super knowledgeable! It's definitely a great place to stop before embarking through the park.

We had a wonderful time visiting Volcanoes National Park. The visitors center is really nice, small gift shop but we visited on a day with other tour busses so that was to be expected. They have a large theater that showed a movie/documentary about the park and the Volcanoes. The restrooms were clean and well maintained. My photos show a pretty dreary day, but we were up in the clouds. I loved the way the trees looked in the mist. Our view of the caldera was completely shrouded in the clouds, but I still enjoyed the short walk to the rim. Shortly after, we stopped at the other side of the caldera, and while still pretty misty, we could see the bottom and noticed some hikers enjoying a walk. I hope to visit again someday, on our own time, and enjoy the park longer.

This is a great place to visit and learn about the volcano and so much more about the island in general. We went on a walking tour with a park ranger and I highly recommend it. Was a very light walk suitable for all ages and very informative and fun. There are rest rooms available and a great gift shop with a museum like display.