Reviews

Who can NOT get excited about a helicopter ride over an active volcano? The trip was very good and the pilot was very informative and narrated the whole way. It would have been nice to have had two way communication so that I could have asked the pilot questions. Be aware...if you weight over 250 pounds you will be charged a $100 "comfort fee" which basically means you have to buy another seat on the helicopter (at a reduced price) because of weight restrictions.

Although there are a few reviews of Blue Hawaiian's operations on other Hawaiian Islands, I thought I'd write one about their service on Kauai as this is the one we just returned from doing. After a lot of research (there are a number of operators doing tours in Kauai since its one of the most popular things to do) we decided on Blue Hawaiian because of their Eco-Star helicopters and because of the superior reviews/comments about the company at their other locations. Despite a very dreary start (and early..5:30am wake up for the 7:15am check in..we were a 45min drive away!) we were pleasantly surprised that our 8am tour was still on despite the weather. After a seamless check in and safety briefing we all piled into a van for the short drive to the Heliport, located beside Lihue Airport. We were strapped in one by one to the very comfortable Eco-Star helicopter and introduced to our pilot who right away made us feel comfortable and safe. The one thing to note about helicopter tours is a) you do share the helicopter with other people, and b) they must spread you out according to weight/balance, so you might not get to sit next to a window and/or your partner. Once we took off (to the sounds of Hawaii Five O music) we were amazed at the smooth flying nature of the helicopter. We proceeded to fly around the island, diving in and out of ridges, creeks, waterfalls, amazing coastline etc. All the while our pilot gave great commentary, which was backfilled by a well-suited soundtrack. The 55 min tour went by in a flash, and despite the sometimes-patchy weather, overall the sun shone through and we were able to see all the key points in all of their glory. My wife and I truly enjoyed the trip and I think that a great portion of this was due to the professionalism and comfort of the Blue Hawaiian crew and helicopters. A great experience and highly recommended to any visitor of the beautiful garden isle of Kauai.

Blue Hawaiian really knows what they are doing and offer nice tours. My wife and I took them for the return portion of our Sky Trek tour to Hana in Maui. The air portion was great, but the ground tour in the van is NOT worth the money. We should have saved the money spent with Temptation Tours (they run Sky Trek) and taken a longer helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian instead!!

We took a tour over the volcano and up to the northern coast of the Big Island. We upgraded to the Eco Star. The flight was smooth, leisurely, informative, and we saw everything we wanted to see: the active volcano, whales, and Waipio valley. Consequently, we decided that we didn't need to hike to several of these destinations and were able to see even more of the Big Island than we had planned. The entire flight experience was about two hours with a stop in Hilo for fuel and a bathroom break. I researched this experience a lot before choosing a helicopter tour and this operator and I was not disappointed.

Took Blue Hawaiian Helicopter flights in Hilo and Lihue. Absolutely outstanding. Excellent pilots and helicopters....ECO A-Stars in Kauai the best. Well run operation. Great value.....tour of Kauai was amazing with perfect weather.

We were going to drive all the way around the big island but this saved us. The ride was really smooth and we saw a whale, we right over the volcano, and got a video of it. we went in the morning and in the middle of the flight we took a brief bathroom break in Hilo. i really recommend it!

We did the cheapie $175 each 30 minute ride through the mountains. It was incredible, and now I wish we did the longer tour! Everyone was very professional, and I'd definitely recommend this company to anyone who wants an amazing experience!!! We loved it, and so did the two other couples we flew with...

I echo the compliments of the previous reviewers. Large portions of Kauai can only be seen from above. It is absolutely breath-taking. The helicopters are very comfortable. Two-way communication with the pilot is possible throughout the flight. And, for us, there was minimal turbulence -- and certainly nothing that brought-on motion sickness. Blue Hawaiian is a stream-lined, efficient service. The employees are courteous, pleasant, and responsive. Some tips: book a few weeks prior to arrival on the Islands, book your trip directly online at their website for better discounts (your credit card is charged at the time of booking), scheduling a morning flight limits cloud cover Recommend intensely!

We took the West Maui/Molokai tour with Blue Hawaiian in mid-May, 2007. We had a great pilot and loved every minute of the tour, from buzzing up the lush valleys to hovering by the waterfalls to taking in the Molokai cliffs to gliding over the Molokai shallows. Most expensive activity I've ever done on vacation, but well worth it!

We flew in a Blue Hawaiian helicopter over the big island, for my son's 12th birthday. He wants to be a helicopter pilot so this was the ideal gift! We flew over the volcano, craters, waterfalls only seen from the air, beautiful flight! Highly recommend!

We went with Blue Hawaiian on the Big Island for the volcano tour. As the Chain of Craters Road was closed due to massive earthquake activity in Volcanos National Park, this was the only way to see it that day. The tour company exceeded our expectations. The pilot was very informative and showed us many sites on the way to the area and back. We thouroughly enjoyed our trip with this company.

My kids and I took the Big Island Spectacular tour. It was simply amazing. Our pilot was Bob and he was excellent - very informative and pretty entertaining to boot. The views of the volcanoes and the waterfalls on the east side of the Big Island are simply unbelieveable - and the lava was not even flowing. We did fly directly over the lava pool and that is a sight you will not soon forget. I know it seems expensive when you look at taking the family but it was well worth every dime. We took the upper model helicopter and it was extremely comfortable and we all had excellent views. A little advice, if you have anyone that gets a little car sick have them take something before the flight. Its not bad at all but a couple of the manuevers when touring the cliffs can give some folks - like my daughter the quesy stomach. Blue Hawaiian is prepared for that as well. These guys run a great tour and it is highly recommended.

An excellent experience for my Maui vacation, but I doubt I'll do it again. For some people, I guess, helicopter tours just aren't the thing, and I suppose I am one of those people. If you're a fan of aerial tours, then I doubt you'll find better than Blue Hawaiian. Myself, I could have spent the extra hour snorkelling and been happier with my time spent.

My husband and I spent our honeymoon on Maui in late Aug - early Sept 2007. We booked the Haleakalal/Hana tour in the Eco-Star. We had a fantastic flight. The pilot was funny and very knowlegable about Maui. We felt very safe. The view of Hana and the rainforest from the air is incredible. You can see more waterfalls than you could ever imagine. We highly recommend Blue Hawaiian.

We were on Maui, the Big Island, and Kauai, and took a total of four flights. Had a great time on each. There are sights on each of the islands that just can't be seen without taking a helicoter tour - and there are also things that you find that you can go back to from the ground that you might not have known about otherwise. With the change recently in where the lava is on the Big Island you'd better take a helicopter flight if you want to see it. We took two flights on the Big Island so we could concentrate on the volcanoes area from the Hilo side and then the Kohala area from that side - worked out well. The folks at Blue Hawaiian were very courteous and the pilots were all great. My wife was anxious about helicopter flights although we'd taken one several years ago on Kauai - and each flight was smooth and had good safety briefings. Word of warning if you're taking a flight from the Hilo airport - Get there early. Parking is shared with everyone else for that airport (no separate heliport), and when we were there the airport parking was full. Fortunately we arrived ahead of time so when we ended up parking at the other end of the airport it still worked out. The DVD's are worth it, you can take some photos but leave the bulk of the effort at memories to the DVD and can concentrate on enjoying the scenery. Take the EcoStar where available - Definitely superior to the A-Star and worth the few extra bucks. Note: The pilots deserve to be tipped if they do a good job. B.H. tactfully has containers in each location where you can leave an envelope with comments and a tip - Not as overt as a hand out waiting for a tip - A very polite way of allowing you to show appreciation. A shame that many of the people we went with did not do so.