Thurston Lava Tube Tours From Kona
Visiting Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) on a tour from Kona: the walk, lighting hours, the 2026 closures and new bridge, and which Kona tours list the tube.
Nāhuku, also called Thurston Lava Tube, is a short walk through a lit lava cave inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park: about a half-mile loop, or 1.5 miles round trip from the Kīlauea Iki Overlook, taking 30 to 90 minutes. NPS reopened it in August 2026 with a new entrance bridge, and it lights the tube from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Several volcano tours from Kona name the tube in their listings; Wasabi’s Volcanoes, Waterfalls & Coffee Farm Day-Trip builds a 20-minute lava-tube walk into its time at the park.
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Same tour, also on Viator
From $287 per person · ★ 4.9 from 7,150 Viator reviews
Each platform sets its own price and collects its own reviews, so compare both before you book on GetYourGuide.
What the Nāhuku walk is like
Nāhuku sits in the summit area of the park, a short walk from the Kīlauea Iki Overlook. NPS gives two figures for the route: about a half-mile loop through the tube and the surrounding rainforest, or 1.5 miles (2.4 km) round trip if you start from the Kīlauea Iki Overlook. Allow 30 to 90 minutes on your own; tour itineraries give it about 20.
The path in and out is steep and often slippery. Inside, NPS warns of low ceilings and standing water, so wear closed-toe shoes with grip. A lava tube is the hollow left when the outer skin of a lava flow hardens and the molten lava inside drains away. Wasabi’s own itinerary describes Thurston as a 600-foot-long cave reached along a bridge.
Parking at Nāhuku is “extremely limited”, in NPS’s words, and the park suggests arriving before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. On a tour you skip the hunt for a space, but you share the tube with the rest of the van, and you arrive when the itinerary says you arrive.
2026: closures, the new bridge and the lights
Nāhuku had a broken year, so check the current status before you book a tour for it.
| Date (2026) | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| March | A 14 March storm and ashfall from the 10 March eruption episode closed areas; Nāhuku’s lights were out after the storm | NPS |
| 6–7 August | A new entrance bridge installed; NPS announced the tube and loop trail open | NPS, Big Island Video News |
| August–September | Hurricane Lala, then Hurricane Nolo, closed most of the park, including Nāhuku | NPS |
| 27 September | Most of the Kīlauea summit reopened; Nāhuku was not on the list of areas still closed | NPS |
So as of the park’s latest updates, Nāhuku is open, lit from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and open around the clock (you need your own flashlight outside the lit hours). Storm and ash closures can come back quickly, so check the NPS alerts and conditions page the day before. If the tube is closed on your date, ask your operator what the itinerary does instead.
Other Experiences
Other experiences you might enjoy
More Kona tours that reach Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, with stops at Nāhuku, the Kīlauea Iki overlook and the Halemaʻumaʻu crater rim.
Which Kona tours include Nāhuku
The table quotes only what each listing says. Some name Thurston Lava Tube outright; others say “a lava tube”, which can mean a different tube outside the park.
| Tour | What the listing says | Time in the park (operator) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volcanoes, Waterfalls & Coffee Farm (Wasabi, GetYourGuide) | “Walk through an ancient lava tube”; its Viator twin, Big Island in a Day, lists a 20-minute bridge walk to the tube | about 80 minutes plus the tube walk | from $276 per person ($287 on Viator) |
| Twilight Volcano & Stargazing (Wasabi) | Names Thurston Lava Tube; 20-minute bridge walk in the itinerary | about 3 hours | from $309 per person |
| Big Island Highlights (Kailani) | Names Thurston Lava Tube among its stops | about 90 minutes | from $299 per person |
| Deluxe Volcano Experience with Dinner (Kailani) | Its GetYourGuide twin lists Nāhuku – Thurston Lava Tube and “a short hike” through it | about 90 minutes, then dinner | from $342 per person |
| Volcanoes National Park Experience | Names Thurston lava tube in the description | about 2 hours | from $139 per person |
| Evening Volcano Explorer (KapohoKine) | Its GetYourGuide twin: walk “along the crater to Nahuku (lava tube) and back” | about 4 hours | from $240 per person |
| Volcano Adventure with a Geologist | The Viator listing does not name it; its GetYourGuide twin says “explore a lava tube”, and a reviewer mentions one | about 4 hours | from $259 per person |
| Volcano, Chocolate & Waterfalls | A “private lava tube” reached on an unpaved, bumpy road | about 4 hours | from $309 per person |
| Elite Volcano Hike | Kaumana Caves, a lava tube outside the park near Hilo | 90 min hiking + about 3 hours | from $261 per person |
The Wasabi day is featured here because its itinerary gives the tube a fixed slot, and with 7,150 reviews on Viator for the same trip, it is the most-reviewed volcano listing we track. It is a circle-island day, though: the park visit is about 80 minutes, with Rainbow Falls, ʻAkaka Falls and the Waipiʻo Valley lookout filling the rest. If you want long hours inside the park, the Hawaii Geo Tours and Hawaii Forest & Trail days, with about four hours in the park, suit you better; the Hawaii Forest & Trail tube is a private one, not Nāhuku.
The Private VIP day from Hawaii Geo Tours also stops for 30 minutes at a separate lava tube from an 1881 Mauna Loa flow, where you climb down a metal ladder into a skylight.
Timing your tour around the lights
Day tours, with morning pickups and two hours or more on the road, reach the park well inside the lit hours. Twilight and evening tours are the ones to check. The Wasabi twilight tour lists the tube before its stargazing stop, and KapohoKine’s 12-hour evening tour spends its last four hours or so in the park, so if your group gets there after 8 p.m., the tube is dark and you will need a light. Our night tours page compares those itineraries.
Nāhuku is a cave, so the glow of the eruption plays no part in it. For the crater itself: as of 23 October 2026, USGS reports the summit eruption paused after Episode 55 on 17 October, with a preliminary, uncertain window of 29 October to 5 November for the next episode. No tour can promise lava or glow.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Thurston Lava Tube located?
Inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, in the Kīlauea summit area, a short walk from the Kīlauea Iki Overlook. From Kona, tours reach it as part of a full day at the park.
Is Thurston Lava Tube open?
As of the latest NPS updates, yes. It reopened in August 2026 with a new entrance bridge, closed again during the Hurricane Lala and Nolo closures, and was not on the closed list when most of the summit reopened on 27 September 2026. Check the NPS alerts page before you go.
What time does Thurston Lava Tube open?
The tube is open 24 hours, but NPS lights it only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Outside those hours you need a flashlight. For parking, NPS suggests arriving before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m.
How long is the walk through Nāhuku lava tube?
About a half-mile loop through the tube and rainforest, or 1.5 miles (2.4 km) round trip from the Kīlauea Iki Overlook. NPS allows 30 to 90 minutes; tour itineraries give it about 20.
Is Nāhuku the same as Thurston Lava Tube?
Yes. Nāhuku is the Hawaiian name NPS uses; Thurston Lava Tube is the English name, and most tour listings use it.
Are lava tubes safe?
Nāhuku is a maintained trail, but NPS warns that the path is steep and often slippery, with low ceilings and standing water. Wear grippy closed-toe shoes and stay on the trail. Our families guide covers children.
Ready to book?
To see the tube on a day that also takes in the waterfalls, start with our review of the Wasabi day trip or the circle-island tours page. For more time inside the park, compare the Volcanoes National Park tours from Kona, or check dates on the homepage.
Spend the Day at Kīlauea, Not at the Wheel
A guide drives the 95 miles from Kona, then walks you through the summit craters, the crater road and a lava tube before the ride home.
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