Big Island Hawaii Van Road Trip: 10 days on the volcanic island

Active volcanoes, black sand beaches and tropical jungle

Big Island is the most unusual van destination in the Pacific. Over 10 days, you drive alongside recent lava fields, sleep at campgrounds, often by the ocean, and watch Kilauea from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. An island of volcanoes more than beaches.

Duration: 10 days
Distance: 650 km
Level: Easy
Season: Year-round
Budget: €2,000 to €2,430rental, fuel, nights

The route

Indicative route, in straight lines between the stops, in travel order.

View on Google Maps →

The 5 stops

Good to know before you go

The real budget for 10 days

Allow around €2,000 to €2,430 for 10 days, for two. This budget covers three items only: rental, fuel and nights (one campsite night each evening). Flights, food, entry to the volcanoes park and visits are extra. Prices checked in October 2026, converted at €1 = $1.1159 on 29/10/2026 (OFX).

Van rental: €156.60 per night for Campervan Hawai'i's "Banyans" and €192.60 for Sun + Salt Campervans' "Laverne", both in Kona, prices shown on Outdoorsy without dates selected (Banyans, Laverne, checked 30/10/2026): €1,566 to €1,926 for 10 days. Platform fees and cleaning fees ($75 at Sun + Salt) are extra.
Fuel: $5.66 per gallon (3.785 litres) of petrol on average in Hawaii on 27/10/2026, recorded by AAA (Energy Factbook), so €1.34 per litre. For 650 km at 12 to 15 litres per 100 km (our estimate for a petrol van): 78 to 98 litres, €105 to €131.
Nights: $21 per non-resident adult per night at county parks, so $42 for two; $15 per site at Nāmakanipaio campground in the volcanoes park (Love Big Island, updated 21/10/2026). With 2 nights in the park and 8 at county parks, $366; with 10 nights at county parks, $420: €328 to €376.
Total: €1,999 to €2,433, so around €2,000 to €2,430.

On the site, the "diesel" line of this budget stands for petrol here.

Where to sleep in your van

In Hawaii the law bans sleeping in a vehicle parked on a road or public property between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., and on private property without the owner's consent. Authorised campgrounds are exempt (Hawaii Revised Statutes 291C-112, archived text; Love Big Island says on 21/10/2026 that it still applies).

County parks: get your permit online before you arrive; up to 7 nights per campground from June to August, 14 the rest of the year.
Volcanoes park: Nāmakanipaio ($15) and Kulanaokuaiki ($10), no reservations, first come first served. Park entry is $30 per vehicle.
State parks: the campgrounds at Kalōpā, Kīholo and Hāpuna are closed for repairs, with no reopening date (same source).
Private land: only with the owner's consent, for example through Hipcamp.

Updated 30 October 2026