Reviews

awesome! a wonderful family experience

Seeing Maui by helicopter is awesome! Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours is the way to go. Very professional. Highly recommend using them. Also purchase ($20) the video taken during your tour. We've watched it over and over, seeing something new every time. Music and pilot narration is added as the video is made, what a souvenir! Bring your camera for some beautiful photos. Hana/Haleakala Tour: see many waterfalls, shoreline, cliffs, top of Haleakala crater, Heavenly Hana (June 11, 2003).

We flew on Blue Hawaiian on the Big Island and Maui. Astar type helicopter on the Big Island and the Ecostar on Maui. Seeing the molten lava on Big Island was awesome. It is land in the making as that island continues to grow with the constant lava flows at Volcanos park. Our only complaint there was that the seating was tight in the Astar type helicopter. Arriving on Maui we decided to pop for the extra cost of the Ecostar as it was touted as a helicopter made for sightseeing with lots of glass and passenger comfort. A helicopter tour is an expensive proposition in Hawaii anyway but it is worth the extra dollars to fly in this kind of helicopter. The visibility is even better than the Astar and it has individual seats with much more elbow room. The main choice is whether to go east to see Haleakala crater, Hana and the east Maui rainforest or go west and see west Maui and Molokai. We had driven up to Haleakala so decided to go west. The valleys of west Maui are jaw dropping beautiful. We crossed a narrow channel and saw more beautiful green valleys and sheer, towering cliffs on Molokai. Thank God we didn't miss seeing this. In light of the cost of a week in Hawaii this was the best money we spent. They played the DVD recording of the tour on a screen when we returned and it looked perfect. Great to be able to share this with friends on our Pioneer plasma at home but it just doesn't do justice to the actual flight.

I took the Volcano and Waterfall(s) tour from the Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii airport in Dec. 2005. Our pilot Chris was very professional. We flew in the A model aircraft (not the ecostar). The A model aircraft holds 6 tourists plus the pilot. I sat in the front seat, next to the pilot, along with another solo tourist, it was a little cramped. I booked online ahead of time and saved 15%. It was a good tour of the vent and the lava flowing into the ocean. He even took us over a waterfall. He rotated the aircraft so that all on board could see all aspects of the trip and called everyone by first name when he would do so. When he wasn't pointing out numerous interesting sites, he played Hawaiian music through the headsets. The only bad thing I have to say about Blue Hawaiian is that I wish they would have disclosed their "no bags on board" policy either on their website or in my email confirmation. You see, our rental car was robbed while on Oahu so we were a little leary of leaving our personal belongings with strangers, even though they claimed to lock up all belongings in a locker behind the front counter. While it appears they did lock up the belongings behind the counter there was no accountability as to who checked which property items in the locker. I would have liked for them to provide numbered bag check tickets or something similar. It was a first come, first serve system, meaning the Blue Hawaiian official would hold up a bag and anyone could claim it (they are obviously more trusting than I). Also, keep in mind that no hats or caps are allowed during the flight because of the wind from the rotars, so those have to be "locked" up as well. Blue Hawaiian also has tours from Kona airport and a helipad in Waikoloa. The Waikoloa helipad would be most convenient for those staying in the resorts north of Kona. Check out my other reviews from the Big Island of Cafe Pesto, Roy's Waikoloa and Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. Enjoy your trip!

We took the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Volcano tour from Hilo in February. We flew over a few waterfalls on our way from Hilo to the volcano, spent some time circling the areas where there was a little bit of lava activity and then came back to Hilo along the coast. The trip was about 45 minutes long. Our pilot was very friendly and the equipment appears to be first class. It was a nice trip, but at $165 each, we wouldn't take it again anytime soon, unless the volcano was very active when we were there.

...the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter ride--the highlight of our trip, even though I was leery. The Feast at LeLe is authentic with a 4 course served dinner and a show with each course. The road to Hana was great, and better thanks too CJ's diner by the Kaanapali resorts--they make a great box lunch , including a cooler of ice. Fishing on the Maka Kai was unreal as we got a huge trophy fish, and the Reef Dancer was fun, too. Don't miss any of them.

My wife and I took the "Kohala Coast Adventure" flight on Big Island with Blue Hawaiian on 7/21/05. We were happy with the flight, especially with our pilot (George) and his entertaining, laid-back narratives. He did a great job of keeping track of our names so that he could personalize our experience and keep us interested. The background music was entertaining (especially the Magnum PI soundtrack at take-off). I'm sure it would all have sounded great on the video. We experienced significant turbulence during the flight as a result of some brutal winds, but nothing that appeared to be out of the ordinary for that area of the island (certainly nothing that George seemed to be remotely concerned about, which gave us confidence that we needn't be concerned, either). It was cloudy up high but that never impaired our views, and though it was raining in the valleys it didn't seem to be a problem. Our aircraft was a EuroCopter EcoStar, which is significantly larger and supposedly smoother & quieter than its predicessor, the A-Star. We sat in the back row and were still shoulder-to-shoulder with each other, so I can't imagine how tight the A-Star seats must be. And even without the turbulence, the flight had a good deal of vibration and noise as a natural result of it being a rotary-wing aircraft, so if EcoStars are supposed to be smoother & quieter than A-Stars, again, I can't imagine what the A-Stars must be like. Since Blue Hawaiian flies both on this tour, I'd strongly recommend spending the extra $30 per passenger to go with the EcoStar. The sightseeing content of the flight was amazing. We weren't sure what to expect, but assumed we'd simply be flying by the sea cliffs and valleys that line the northern coast of Big Island. We were pleasantly surprised when our pilot dropped straight down into the first valley and took us up close to the waterfalls, and later flew into two more valleys lined with waterfalls. The ability of a helicopter to fly into those areas gives you a vantage point you can't get by car or even by fixed-wing aircraft. And if you're someone who spends a lot of time in the air in airplanes, the stop/hover/turn-on-a-dime capability of a helicopter is downright entertaining. Thanks again, George, for a great flight. Our only disappointment was a major one in our opinion. One of Blue Hawaiian's big selling points is their state-of-the-art video system that supposedly provides you with a DVD of your flight, along with interior reaction shots of the passengers and music & commentary from your pilot. In fact, our pilot even reassured us that we wouldn't have to take too many photos because the video system would capture all the great views. We were very interested in paying the extra $20 for this from the start, which was half of the reason we selected Blue Hawaiian. As it turned out, the video system on our aircraft did not function, thus we were left with no video. Our pilot didn't seem aware of this, but the ground crew was not surprised in the slightest, and were completely unapologetic about it when they told us there was no video to purchase. In fact, they indicated that it happened more often than not, which upset us even more because it meant they knew very well that we probably couldn't get a video. In my opinion, Blue Hawaiian should be discounting flights if they know about this in advance. Granted, they protect themselves by making the DVD an "extra" that you have to purchase, but when people are deciding on a tour company based on advertised capabilities (and paying a higher price for the more advanced aircraft that supposedly has the best video system in the market), that video capability is something you're paying for in the price of the basic ticket, regardless of how they break down the pricing. Had it not been for the video malfunction, and more importantly, the ground crew's dismissive attitude about the whole thing, we would probably have considered it a perfect flight and given Blue Hawaiian 4 or 5 stars, but the glitch was hard to overlook, and the fact that it happens all the time and no one seems to care was even harder to get over.

let me start by qualifying this I am a resident of Hawaii, was a former pilot and national park naturalist and I have traveled the workd for over 50 yrars. My opinions are based on that foundation... I have flown around all the Hawaiian islands for years in a wide variety of equipment fron Kauai to the Big Island I recently took a Blue Hawaiiian trip to the North Kohala mountains rather than the Volcano trip out of Waikoloa.. This latter trp is 2 hours long and you see 200 % more of the island for 50% mor cost. For the life of me I cant see the value in a 40 min flight out of Hilo which covers only one ting.. Blue hawaiian however intrigued me for their special tours of the Kohala Mts. and the isolated fantastic rugged Kohala canyons many over 4000 ft deep and scarsely 200 yards wide. this is a 50 min tour that lasted us almost 1.1 hours in reality. Using a eco star to access this ares is required because this is cutting edge flying and requires a very high performance bird and an old Nam era gunship driver to make it talk. This flight is safe buit NOT for anyone who is afaraid of flying in the least. Let me say as a pilot. I considered the trip to be one of the finest avaition and scenic experiences I have had in 30 years...........Tight 45 degree descending turns, Dutch slip dives, and negative G's.... you will feel your 3 point harness a lot....but it will be worth it. This is the closest you will get to flying in a Cobra ... trust me The flying alone is worth the price and the scenery is frosting. Lava is nice but just ok, the east coast water falls like Akaka are nice and in the 1 to 400 ft range .........they are nice but let me say they are nothing when compared to the Kohala region... Picture this Hovering 1000 feet above the basin for a huge water fall and looking up................ to see it rises....... another 2000 feet above.!!! And there are 6 falls like this, 50 yards apart. This is not a educated guess... this is from direct altimiter readings on the panel.. thes babys are 3000 feet... and huge. In this flight I stopped counting at 100... and feel it safe to say the of those 100 25% were over 2500 ft and ter remainder 500 to 1500. This is, in my opinion like Molaki coast and Kauai with waterfalls every 50 yards and young slot canyons with vertical walls covered in ferns.... Getting in to these slot canyons is some of the finest piloting I have seen and the thrill of sideslipping, and crabbing through extremely tight terrain like the "key hole" ,( which was an exceptional bit of flying in my opinion),was as exciting as the scenic value ....this area gets over 250 inches of rain so these falls are "blowing and going" In my years of experience I have never seen a more primitive, rugged remote and scenic spot..... without any trace of modern man..... this is where the scene for Jurassic park began...... it looks like you too are entering the lost world this is not on the popular tourist flight plan and I saw only one other Helo in there ... there is not room for more it is like a jewell box of suprises... To quute Jiody Foster in Contact, " I had absolutely no idea" Take it from me.... save borrow , sell a Kidney but some how manage to do this hidden gem with Blue Hawaii.........it is the finest possible flight in not only Hawaii but the entire pacific,,,,,,,,,,,,

I can't say enough good things about the heli tour we took on Blue Hawaiian. I was not expecting much, to be honest... I had read in a tour book that you get better views if you sit on a certain side of the helicopter, so I was kind of expecting it to be the luck of the draw and if you weren't sitting on the right side, you didn't get to see anything. I was so wrong!! We took the Big Island Spectacular tour that took off in Kohala and saw the waterfalls and the volcano. Our pilot was named George and he was really nice, made corny jokes the whole time, etc. He circled around each point of interest numerous times so that everyone could get a good look. The tour stopped halfway in Hilo I think, so that everyone could get off and go to the restroom. The views are so amazing! I'm going to post some of my own pictures here so that you can see what it really looks like. The waterfalls and valleys were so enormous that you can't really get pictures of those... All in all, this trip was WELL worth the money!

We did two tours, the Circle of Fire in Hilo and the Early Bird Special in Maui. In Hilo we were treated to close-up views of the Pu'u O'o (spelling?) vent among other things. I didn't realize until Maui that you can request a window seat. I had the camera in the worst possible spot in Hilo but in Maui I was in the front. On sunny days your pictures will have your own reflection in them, so pray for overcast weather. In Hilo the pilot made several sharp 360 degree turns and while fun they were not very comfortable. To give him the benefit of the doubt, he might have a lot to show in 45 minutes. In Maui our pilot (Jack) was flawless, he kept us comfortable even during a 5000' climb and the descent at 3000'/min. The scenery was great on both trips. We liked the eco-star helicopter more, but you pay more for those trips. The A-star helicopter had only VHS for take-home video, and that was a huge drag since we don't own a VCR. The Eco-star had DVD in Maui. You should inquire with BH about which tours have DVD available. On both we were treated to noise-cancelling headsets, and music is played during the tour while the pilot narrates. The tours are informative and a fun ride in a helicopter. Based on our first experience I'd recommend you take one Advil and one Gravol about 30-60 mins before your flight. I found that just wearing the headset for so long gave me a headache, and if the pilot isn't smooth you might get some motion sickness. Overall, Blue Hawaiian is a quality outfit, and we would definitely visit them again in the future.

My girlfriend and I booked their West Maui and Molokai tour and were utterly awestruck with the magnificence and untouched beauty of what truly must be viewed as God's country. I am a rather heavy-set guy (most would say overweight) and despite my being excruciatingly honest about my weight (295 lbs) because my girlfriend clocked in at a sprightly 112 lbs they good folks at Blue Hawaiian waived the "overweight" surcharge and we were both moved almost to tears (honest-to-God) at the mind-blowing cliffs, water-falls, untouched valleys and spectacular reefs. Our pilot was exceptionally well-versed with the islands' history and points of interest and we were literally riveted by this tour. If you are going to take a helicopter tour, Blue Hawaiian is the only way to go.

We received the Maui spectacular tour as a honeymoon gift. As soon as we arrived at their heliport we knew we were in for a good ride. The reception is brand new, and very professional looking. As soon as you see the helicopters you'll see why Blue Hawaiian is referred to as the Rolls Royce of tours! The seating in the aircraft is determined by weight, and we did get to sit together. We took off over the island and our pilot Gernod was both funny and extremely knowledgeable. After about 30 minutes we touched down on a hillside for a quick champagne break! After taking off again we flew over the other side of the island, before returning. When presented with the choice of an 8 hour drive to Hana or a 1 1/2 hour helicopter ride, the choice is easy. This trip is 200% worth the money. Make sure you get a copy of your flight on DVD. It was only $25 but has our trip and us speaking with the pilot - Brilliant.

I probably never would have booked a helicoptor tour myself, but a friend took me and wow! It was so worth it. We took the Molokai West Maui Mountain tour and I was gobsmacked by the scenery. You get an incredible view of the cliffs of Molokai (tallest in the world) and waterfalls that you would not get any other way. From the moment we got on the helicoptor I felt we were in good hands. Our pilot was young, but seemed very very careful and knowledgable. The helicoptor was spacious with panoramic views. They taped the whole trip so I bought a DVD of the trip when we landed and we have enjoyed watching it and remembering the sights since we came back. This was one of the highlights of my trip to Maui and I highly recommend it.

This was a great way to actually see some lava being that there was not any surface flow during our visit. The pilot was awesome and made sure to drive around so we cound get some good shots of Pu'u Oo and over to where the lave meets the ocean. The pilot was very knowledgable of the area and seemed to really like his job and sharing his info about the Island. We did the circle of fire plus waterfalls and I have to say my only complaint would be if you want to see waterfalls all you get is a quick once over of Rainbow falls, which was fine with us because we had already been there

We chose the Circle of Fire tour. The view of the lava fields and volcano were spectacular! Ray (our pilot) did a great job of narration - he even called us by our first names, which was a nice personal touch. Make sure that you bring your camera!