Reviews

just came back from a week in maui... blue hawaiian great company... we had kurt as a pilot... we must mention tami at the front desk... what an amazing lady... she gave us so many tips and names to diffrent places to go... we did use her reccomandation and we enjoyed them all... thank u tami...

By far, the greatest experience I had on the Island of Maui was the tour provided by Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Company. Maui itself is like a small American town in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I'm from Washington, D.C., and I have close, extended family in Greece. So, outside of New York, L.A., London, or Paris, most cities seem rather colloquial. Maui is no exception to that although the colloquialism is magnified by its isolation. Also, having been to dozens of the Greek islands, I'm difficult to impress regarding beaches. Maui's beaches are beautiful. But extraordinary? No. That helicopter trip, however, was other worldly! I'll never get over it. I saw things that no human eye has ever seen except those who've ventured forth in one of those whirlybirds. And, the pilot was such a genuine expert on the history of all things Maui that he alone would have been well worth listening to even without the unimaginable sights I witnessed. The tour is pricey, but it's totally worth every penny for such a memory of a lifetime. Going into it, I was a little worried about spending so much money on something that made me so nervous. Namely, flying in a machine with no wings. The staff on the ground at Blue Hawaiian were so relaxed and accommodating though, most of my preflight jitters eased. Now that I've flown in one of their state of the art helicopters however, I've got to say, "It's the only way to fly!" It feels more like floating than flying. Airsickness tends to be my middle name, but flying in that contraption was sheer delight. I think the pilot said that the model of the helicopter was called an "A-star". It was quieter than driving on the beltway! I didn't get off on Maui itself that much; maybe I built it up in my mind too much. It's paradise, but it's a very "Americanized" paradise. But those pristine, thousand foot high waterfalls, that virgin rainforest, flying over those humpback whales made me gain some perspective on that "small town in the middle of the Pacific Ocean" we call Maui: When in an American paradise do something totally American--take a helicopter ride! You will not regret it! I can't speak for the other helicopter touring companies, because I only experienced Blue Hawaiian, but I give Blue Hawaiian an A+.

We are still talking about it even 3 weeks later. What a fantastic tour. They are a fun bunch along with being very careful. I am wicked scared of heights and was expecting to loose my lunch but it was fine. To actually fly into the crater was awesome. There is no better way to see the beautiful island of Kauai. The only (slight) grumble I had was they could have thrown in the DVD as part of the package. Seemed a little cheap to charge $25 for a copy of the flight's DVD. Check out the shirts, they are very inexpensive. When we go back, we will do this again.

Absolutely my favorite thing from our trip to Maui. My family of six (all adults) went on the Maui Spectacular tour on the EcoStar. I picked the Maui Spectacular because of its length and the because of the stop mid-trip. We enjoyed it so much we still felt like 90 minutes wasn't long enough! While the entire flight was awesome, the mid-trip stop on the hillside was really the highlight. We had perfect weather and a perfect view and got amazing pictures. The pineapple sparkling wine is fantastic. The EcoStar was amazingly smooth. This was my first time in a helicopter, so I didn't know what to expect - like others, I worried about getting air sick - but it felt like we were floating the whole trip. Gernot was our pilot, and he could not have been better. He was very interesting, friendly without being intrusive, and both easygoing and reassuring. Request him if you can! What an incredible experience!

I am someone who really hates flying on an airplane, and has to do it twice a month. When I say hates, I mean is very nervous and does NOT like the take off, landing, or the turbulence. And this flight was without a doubt one of the best I have ever taken. I barely felt much movement on the helicopter, and while in the air it was smooth, and Ray the pilot was very informative and funny. We left from Hilo for the 55 minute flight. It was worth every penny. If you are not sure, let me help you.... DO IT NOW!!!!!

This was one of our favorite things during our entire trip. We were hesitant at first because of the cost, but it was well worth it. We had an awesome day to do the helicopter tour. It was very clear and there was very little wind. My last time on Maui we had this booked and it got canceled twice because it was too windy. Because it was so clear and calm, we were able to go to a few different areas that they only get to go to 20% of the time. The captain did a great job of making sure people on both sides of the helicopter got a chance to see everything. It was just breathtaking. Our captain also did a great job of commentating on Maui and what we were seeing. We did the complete tour of Maui, which I would recommend doing. We got to see basically all of Maui from the air. We went to the Iao Needle, Haliakala, Hana, and more. It was truly amazing. It's so hard to explain in words how wonderful this trip was. I would highly recommend to anyone to splurge and spend the money on this. We purchased the DVD of our trip when we returned to solid ground. When we got home, we watched it with some family members and they thought it was just wonderful. They really enjoyed watching the movie because they felt like they were there. You could just tell that it was a great tour and was done very well from watching the video. I would highly recommend purchasing the video for $25. It was worth it. Would I recommend this to others? Absolutly. Would I do this again? In a heartbeat.

My wife and I book a tour with the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter group and loved it. We took the West Maui and Molikini tour and saw some of the most amazing sights. Our pilot was very nice and it made the ride that much more fun. One piece of advice would be to not wear anything white as it causes a glare on the pictures you take.

We went up with Dave about a week ago now (still struggling to get over leaving maui lol) and it was absolutely superb His knowledge of the islands, we did the west maui tour, was superb and he took us right into some of the valleys and down close to some of the small settlements on molokin island. Overall the staff and service were tip top and this is the number one experience for my new wife while we honeymooned in maui

I recently took the Circle of Fire tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters out of Hilo. The purpose of the trip was to view the nearby volcanic activity. The trip itself took about 20 minutes with maybe 5 minutes of actual time over the volcano area. My friend and I didn't see alot of lava at the time, but instead saw alot of steam and smoke. The captain was very knowledgeable and provided a good narration of the island highlights but this did not compensate for the general disappointment I felt about the time spent over the volcanos.

We had high expectations about seeing lava flow and waterfalls. We did the 45 minute tour and saw little lava flow and the waterfalls were from far away and not up close as I had expected. I don't know if this was because of the pilot or because of the actual activity of the volcano. Nice ride though and felt very safe. I think for the amount we paid, around $200 each, we would've better spent our money swimming with the dolphins at the Hilton Waikoloa. Or spent the time at the Tropical Gardens near Hilo. : (

I flew on an Eco Star out of Waikaloa on the Big Island. The pilot, Noah, was extremely well informed and a great interpreter of the diversity of the island. During our two hour flight we managed to get a brief glimpse of a large lava fountain at the ocean's edge (totally amazing) and breathtaking close-up views of the falls at the upper end of Waimenea (?) Valley. I would recommend this company - and pilot- to anybody. Noah was great and did not hesitate to respond to passenger requests to turn the chopper in different directions so that people could get better views. His piloting skills became evident when he very closely approached the face of the waterfalls and skillfully banked seemingly at the last minute! Everyone in the chopper said that one view, in and of itself, made the whole trip worthwhile! When I go back to the Big Island I will certainly fly Blue Hawaiian again. (I do wish, however, they would insist people wear dark clothing so there are minimal reflections for photography). Lastly, I've flown on choppers in Vietnam and on the Mainland many times. Blue Hawaiian seemed to be a very professional outfit. I personally observed Noah get to his chopper one hour early and thoroughly check it out. That's a good sign!!!! Jim Long!

We went on the Maui Spectacular helicopter tour with Mike and had a wonderful time. This was our second Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour (also had traveled with them on the Big Island) and are impressed with the outfit's professionalism and thoroughness. The Maui Spectacular is about 2 hours long and includes a view of the whole island, west to east, and a landing on Haleakala that allowed us to take some great pictures (you can also see the Big Island in the distance later in the trip). The trip is expensive but gives you a great overview of the island. Saw some great waterfalls that you would not be able to see otherwise. Great narration as well.

We did the tour of molakia and west maui. We got so close to two huge wateralls. The pilot was very informative and entertaining. It gave me a new perspective of Maui and how beautiful it is. One person on our flight did get motion sick- so take something if you are even prone to it.

I had such an amazing, beautiful and invigorating tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters in Kahului, Hi on September 1, 2009. I learned so many interesting facts and interesting history about hawaii, its stories and the environment. Emery our pilot, was humorous, kind, knowledgeable and made sure we were all ok, comfortable, and made us feel welcome to participate in the tour by asking questions. I did the entire island helicopter tour....Emery was full of facts and humor....he'd even get us into the discussion engaging all of us to participate. The views from the helicopter were breathtaking....I was able to take pictures from inside the helicopter...that was sometimes difficult because of the windows and sometimes the glare that came from the window...but I came out with many great pictures from my ride. Afterwards, the staff took a picture of each of us standing next to the helicopter...pretty cool and nice of them....The entire staff made me feel welcome when i got there all the way up to when the tour ended and i left the facility. Big thanks to Blue Hawaiian and i will definitely recommend you guys to go and check this tour!

This is by far one of the best vacations tours you can take. The staff was friendly pleasant and funny. My wife and I were celebrating our 14yr anniversary and this was money well spent. The old saying goes you get what you pay for and it was true. We had the time of our lives and the views were breathtaking. If you are on Oahu and want a helicopter tour then blue Hawaiian is the way to go. They made us feel like VIPs’. We went to makani helo tours and the customer service was horrible. Decided to go to blue Hawaiian and it was great. Thanks for the great job Toby our pilot!!!