Reviews

We added this tour to our trip while we were on the island and booked through our hotel. The process of getting the reservation was simple and only took a few minutes. Makani Kai was contacted to find out if they had enough open seats for the tour we wanted and what dates where available. Additionally, we wanted to book one first class seat and two open seats. This request was denied and we were told that you had to book both first class seats together... disappointing! We decided to go ahead and pay the extra money so that we could have the first class seats and take more pictures from different angles. I am glad we did because the views were great. The tour starts by a small tour bus picking you up at your hotel and driving you to the airport location. Once there, you are fitted with a belt containing an inflatable safety life vest and given instructions for the flight. From there, you move onto the flight deck and are taken one by one to the chopper and assisted into your seat. Once everyone is secured in their seats the pilot will take off. The flight will take you over the edge of the airport then over the Honolulu Harbor to Waikiki Beach. From there you will pass by Diamond Head crater then up the coastline viewing the Scared Falls waterfall, fishpond, Chinaman’s Hat, and north shore. Finally, you will round the shoreline and go over the central plains viewing the Dole Pineapple Plantation and maze then over the top of Pearl Harbor and the war memorials and finally back to the airport. Upon landing, you will exit the chopper and a company employee will assist you off the tarmac but will offer to snap a picture of you before you go. Once inside, you can remove your safety equipment belt and they offer you a viewing of your tour that can be purchased before you are shuttled back to the hotel. The DVD of the tour is nice because it includes commentary from the pilot (which you will hear while on the tour) throughout and music in the background. The cost was around $40.00 USD and they also offer other souvenirs for purchase. We were happy with the entire experience and purchased the DVD. It arrived at our home address about a week after we completed the tour and appears to be reasonable quality for a tour DVD… worth the purchase if you want to relive your tour!

Did 1 hour sacred falls helicopter tour. Our pilot was Jeff or Geoff not sure of spelling. Sorry. He was ex army pilot. He was very informative and very nice. He deserves a big payrise! Saw lots of cool stuff and had a lot of fun Thankyou to all at Makani Kai. Did our tour on 8th of August 2012 at 11am.

Picked up from the Hotel and taken to the airport, staff were very friendly and helpful, the flight was great, alas the day was a bit hazy but it still gives you a different view of Oahu and you see the hidden waterfall, rainforests and spectacular coastlines.

Only been in Hawaii for 12 hours, but what a fantastic way to start the trip! Too amazing! Jeff rocked! Got the DVD, took a ton of photos, memories to last a lifetime! -The Hills 09/05/2012

A parte il prezzo un po' elevato è stata una bella esperienza, emozionante, completa. Il paradiso visto dall'alto è stupendo...

Don't be scared that they ask for your weight when you book. This company offers pick up from the Hotel to the place you get the helicopter (about a 20 minute drive away from Waikiki beach). All the staff were very friendly and helpful - from the bus driver, pilot through to the lady who took the order for the DVD. I did the 45 minute flight but there is also a 30 minute and an hour flight. It was great, alas the day was a bit windy and there was turbulence over part of the flight over the valley range where the hidden waterfall is. The flight gives you a completely different view of Oahu rather than from a car/coach. The 45 minute trip pretty much does the same tour as the grand circle tour (which I also did) but you get to see the splendour of Oahu and it's amazing rainforests and coastlines. Note no bags allowed on the flight - only a camera. Office has locker facilities for 1 dollar - need 4 quarters to use though but the business does provide the change for you.

There was 4 of us who went on a helicopter flight over Waikiki. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it. I am scared of heights but I still wanted to go. Our pilot was fantastic (with 30+ years of experience) and showed us and commentated also all the beautiful sites. Thank you so much for your understanding and patience. One word FANTASTIC

My husband and I were treated to a helicopter tour by our daughters for our 30th anniversary, and what a wonderfully thoughtful gift it was. We were so excited for the flight and the experience was excellent right from the start. Kevin picked us up from our vacation rental, and boy is he a hard-working guy! Not only is he professional, friendly and helpful, he does everything except fly the helicopter...! The tour was on schedule and very well organized. On the shuttle to the airport, we watched a 5 minute safety presentation so we knew what to expect before we got there. The tour itself was magnificent!! We did the 30 minute Pali tour and it was a great choice! At one point, the pilot took us to see a waterfall and I couldn't believe how close he was able to get to the mountain. What a thrill!!! We purchased the DVD of the tour and it was waiting for us when we got home. We watched it last night and the quality is pretty good. The only negative thing I would say is that our pilot was hard to understand at times, and the headphones are only set up for listening. Other than that, I highly recommend spending the $$ and treating yourself to a helicopter tour.

We were a little nervous about taking a helicopter ride. None of us had ever been on one. We were determined to do it. No need to worry! It was a smooth ride throughout! The view was amazing and the pilot explained everything we were seeing! We had the 45 minute tour. Once again- Awesome!

At first I would like to express my admiration and thanks to our pilot Jeff. He was an ex military and he brought this tour to whole new level. The way he flew the helicopter and his commentary about everything we saw made this an unforgettable experience. We felt absolutely safe with him behind the stick! A little advice, I would really recommend to pay the little extra to have the front seats guaranteed. Last year we took the Grand Canyon helicopter tour sitting in the back and I can tell you sitting in the front makes some real difference!!

Arrived early for the flight, made comfortable and very welcome at their Heliport. We sat and watched a safety video before then being taken on our flight. Up into the air for a breathtaking ride over Honolulu, Waikiki, Diamond Head, slight detour up the east coast as Military Air Show was on, before flying over North Shore, back down through the centre of Oahu over the pineapple fields, over Pearl Harbour and the Arizona Memorial then back to Base. Total flying time was about 45 mins and our pilot gave us a full informative commentary throughout. We had been made exceptionally welcome throughout, and would highly recommend this tour !!

This review is late in being written, but the memories will last a lifetime!!!! I took the Family to Oahu cashing in all my business miles and hotel miles to afford the 6 day trip. The last thing we did before flying back to NJ was take a 1hr (Sacred Falls) Helicopter tour around Oahu with Makani Kai. We were picked up with all our bags from the hotel exactly when they said they would be there, we were given a safety briefing in the bus on our way to the Makani Kai office. Once we got to the office, we used the facilities, signed some forms, were given another safety briefing, took some photos (see attached) and away we went with Jeff as our Pilot, we were the last group of the day so we had the helicopter to ourselves! Jeff was a great guide and great pilot, very knowledgeable of the Island of Oahu, and pointed out all the things we should be paying attention to (there were so many!!!) Between myself & my daughter we probably took around 500 pictures in that hour flight and I still don't have them all properly cataloged! At the end of our flight, we bought the DVD of our flight (they mail it to yo within 6 days) and it is your entire flight, shots of you in the helicopter, shots of the scenery, very well done and worth the expense....then after we bought the tee shirt, our driver (sorry I can't remember his name?) took us straight to the airport and dropped us off, no extra charge. If I ever find myself back in Oahu, you can bet I'm taking another ride with Makani Kai!

My girlfriend wanted to go on a helicopter ride and I was reluctant because I don't like heights. We booked with this company after listening to the many other choices. When we boarded the helicopter my girlfriend and I were seated in the front seats. Jeff, our pilot, introduced himself as being a previous pilot for the Army. In my mind I was thinking, please don't be a hotdog flying this aircraft. I was so impressed with Jeff's skills. He always explained what was going to happen before it happened. A little bump here, a little bump there. He really put you at ease with his flying skills and his ability to navigate through areas helping you enjoy the beauty without throwing up. :)

We loves visiting Hawaii. We had a wonderful time and we enjoyed our helicopter tour. The service via email and over the phone was great. It was quick and friendly. We had a large group of 9 people so we were split into two groups, back to back. That was fine by us. I asked at the time of reservation how we should handle payment since we had 4 couples and 1 single, we needed to split it up. I asked via email if I should just direct everyone to the website to pay for their fees. I was told it was no problem, the payments could all be made separately at the airport. I thought this was very nice, since the agent still gave us the online price. Our driver was right on time, I think his name was Randy (older gentleman with a mustache). Anyway, he was polite until we got to the airport. When I told him we needed to split up the payment he became very frustrated. I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was basically a rude comment about what a pain it was and then he would go get a calculator. Then when he calculated the charges, he just divided by 5 since we had 5 parties paying. Well, we have had 4 couples and 1 single, so that's not really fair for the single person. Anyway when I explained that he barked at me and said "WELL YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT" then stormed into a back office. I was so embarrassed as I had arranged the outing for the group and we all felt uncomfortable. We would have been happy to pay ahead of time through the website, but were told that it was fine to pay at the airport. Honestly, everyone in Hawaii was so nice to us, it was a total shock. This was the only time during our entire trip that we got bad service. The flight was fine and everyone else there was nice and helpful. Our driver said he was a pilot too, he wasn't our pilot that day thankfully. Overall, the helicopter tour was good, but I didn't appreciate being yelled out after spending $1350 on a service.

A vista é espetacular e o passeio que fizemos foi a volta pela ilha toda mas acho q o piloto poderia parar uns 30 segundos em cada atracão da ilha para tirarmos fotos com mais calma!!!