Reviews

All I can say is WOW! Seeing Kauai by helicopter is fantastic! What a beautiful island! Our pilot was great, and he made sure to allow for good shots for us with our cameras and with the on-board video cameras (they sell a DVD of your trip for $25 in the office). From what I understand, Blue Hawaiian is the only company to use the Ecostar helicopters, which are quite comfy. I recommend this company highly for tours of Kauai.

Our pilot was very professional and cordial. Lots of information. Just a bunch of terrific scenery!!! We did the Maui Spectacular with the short stopoff on the mountain side. More great views from high above the Four Seasons...could see the other neighboring islands, downtown Kahului and other beaches. MUST DO!!!

We were very excited to take the "Complete Maui" helicopter tour. We have been on one other helicopter ride in Antigua and loved it. We read the reviews and it sounded like Blue Hawaiian was the best. This time however we both felt disappointed because: 1. The tour did not cover the whole island. I think the pilot turned back because of rain moving in. I'm not sure because he did not talk much. 2. The pilot did not talk much. He was very nice but we kept having to ask "where are we now?", "what's that?" 3. We didn't get very close to anything. It felt as if we were in a small plane. The price was close to $600. I feel like for this amount of money we should really be saying "WOW" not "Is that it?"

We had the West Maui tour booked, but due to weather and a booking glitch we got cancelled. When we showed up they quickly looked to see what they could do to fix the mistake for us. They ended up upgrading us to the 1 hour West Maui / Molokai tour. We went just after a heavy rain storm and there were waterfalls galore! The pilot said he only sees it that good one or two days a year. They were helpful, freindly and we got a great experience on an otherwise damp week.

We enjoyed our tour of Maui a great deal... the pilot was informative and the views were great. We especially liked landing at a plateau on the crater for some sightseeing and champagne. In general, the price was pricy. The good news is that I read the reviews and chose to spend more money on the entire island tour. I figured that if we were going to do the trip it didn't make sense to miss out on so many of the sites. Our tour was around an hour and a half. In addition, I did purchase the video but only half of it recorded. The company was apologetic and credited my account, so I wasn't unhappy, but it would be nice to see the other half of the ride. One tip that I do have is to go on the website and book your tour early... you can save some $$$ by doing so. Also, I would do this tour at the beginning of your stay on Maui... it will give you insight into what places you might want to visit.

My husband and I decided to do a helicoper ride in Kauai to see the beautiful island. I did lots of research about different companies. There were 2 or 3 crashes that happened before we went with other companies. I wanted to pick the company with the cleanest record. Safety was the most important thing to us. It didn't matter that Blue Hawaiian was a little more expensive. How can you put a price on safety? We loved our 50 minute flight. The helicopter had 3 seats in front (one was for the pilot) and 4 seats in the back. I was on the window side in the back and my husband was next to me in the middle. They seat you according to weight. We both had great view of everything. Our piliot was really informative and then sometimes he didn't say anything which was nice just to relax and take in the scenerey with the music. Our headphone allowed us to talk to the other passengers as well as cancel out the noise. I took them off at one point to see how loud it really was and it was VERY loud, so those headphones worked great. The had 4 cameras outside the helicopter to document the trip. The Napali Coast was AMAZING! We bought the video afterwards too to capture our wonderful experience. Toward the end of the flight we got a little nausious because we were moving to show the "wettest spot on earth" to both sides of the helicopter and that got us a little dizzy. But we were fine. The flight was safe and what an experience! It was probably the coolest thing I have ever done.

The only way to see 80% of Kauai and the largest helicopters on the island. The video is an extra $25 but it's your trip, not some canned trip with your voices and video of you in the helicopter asking questions, etc. Just don't pick your nose!

My husband and I decided to splurge during our first time to Maui and take the Blue Hawaiian West Maui/Molokai tour. It was expensive ($500 total) but worth every penny! If you have never taken a helicopter ride before, you will be positively mesmerized. The terrain is breathtaking and you will see parts of the islands that you can only see by air as there are no roads. We had an exceptionally clear day and had awesome views . . . as we flew down over the valleys we could literally see dozens of mini waterfalls seeping from the walls. Even more incredible, as we flew over the ocean the water was so clear we could see whales swimming in the water, manna rays and a pod of dolphins-wow! We paid a little extra and rode on the Eco-Star, a larger, quieter model. It was worth the extra money and had a great mike system that allowed us to talk to the pilot and hear the other passenger's questions. My husband and I lucked out and got front row seats . . . although there's so much window space on this model that really no seat is a bad seat. Our pilot, David Hernandez, was great and did a nice job of explaining what we were seeing and sharing some interesting history of the islands (such as the area of Molokai where the lepers were dumped off and left to form a colony). You can't afford to do this too often, but if you can swing it, at least do it once-you'll never forget it!

We loved our ride! The folks at Blue Hawaiian are great. We had booked the short 30min West Maui tour because of our budget. Well, we ended up being upgraded free-of-charge to a much more expensive 90-min tour called the Maui Spectacular, which included a landing in the middle of a pasture up in the mountains and a free glass of pineapple champagne. The reason for the upgrade: the other people on our original tour didn’t show up, and they can’t send a helicopter up with only two people in it. And to make up for the inconvenience (we had to kill about 2 hours until our rescheduled flight time), they even threw in the DVD of the flight for free. Great customer service. Well even if we hadn’t had the upgrade, we got more than our money’s worth. First of all, we lucked out and got the two front seats right next to the pilot. (They assign your seats by weight.) The front seats mean better views and less likelihood of motion sickness. The helicopter was the EcoStar, and they are right when they say this affords spectacular views, plus it also cuts back on motion sickness. It was unbelievable…you know, there are not enough words to describe how amazing this was…to be able to glide out over the mountains, to see waterfalls in their entirety instead of only from below, to see whales (!!!awesome!!!) breaching….that’s something incredible. (A side note—our best view of the whales by far was from the air, when you can appreciate their massive size. We saw some whale action from a boat we were on a few days later, but because of the mandatory distance the boats have to maintain, you can barely see anything.) Our pilot’s name was Curt, and he was a very knowledgeable tour guide. He told us everything you could want to know about everything you saw, and answered all of our questions. My only complaint, and it is a very minor one, is that Curt didn’t seem like he was enjoying himself. He wasn’t particularly chatty, besides the tour-guide stuff. Maybe he just has a more mellow personality or something. Basically, if there’s any way you can afford to book a helicopter ride, on any of the islands, DO IT. There’s nothing else quite like it. (Unless you’re a pilot!)

We took a 2 hour tour which included the "green side" of Hawaii along with the volcanoes. Forunately, the weather was on our side and we had terrific views of everything. Our pilot Ray did a good job describing what we were seeing. The highlight was actually seeing molten lava flow into the ocean. How spectacular to see new land being created. We were inspired and in awe. This is our second flight with Blue Hawaiian and we highly recommend them. The crews are fun and skilled. The only downside is booking. We went through the concierge at our hotel and could have gotten a better deal elsewhere. Search on line before booking. We would have saved almost $100 per person.

During my honeymoon on the Big Island, my wife and I decided to go on a helicopter ride. I'm very glad I did. We came across Blue Hawaiian as recommended by Fodor's website. We decided to go with the Kohala waterfall tour. Most people often will opt for the volcano tour, but we chose to try something different. I'm very glad that we did. The people waiting for the volcano tour unfortunately had theirs cancelled due to weather. We did get to go as scheduled. After a safety video and the life jackets strapped to our wastes we were ready to go. They distribute everybody in the helicopter by weight so don't expect to necessarily sit by the people you came with. They also have to types of craft, the Eco-star and the A-star. The Eco-star (which is the one we took) is supposedly smoother and has more room inside. It also has more windows to look out. I'm glad that we chose that option even though it was a little more expensive. The ride was a little bit rough in parts, but nothing too scary. The day was pretty cloudy and windy, but I thought that just added to a little bit of the excitement. The waterfalls and landscape were amazing and breathtaking. I'll just let some of the pictures do the talking. Our pilot was very knowledgeable and skilled. I would very easily recommend this company to anybody.

This is my wife and I's 4th flight with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. We took the Hana/Halaekala tour last May with Emery Lee and West Maui Mountains with Gernot last May. And then this trip we took the Circle of Fire plus waterfalls with Mike ? on Hilo. Then back to Maui the next day for a Maui Spectacular with Emery Lee again. We specifically requested Emery Lee as a pilot, due to his vast knowledge and wonderful sense of humor. The flights are informative and truly spectacular. What I would recommend for those that have never been.. 1. Plenty of Dramamine 2. Ginger Ale 3. Light breakfast or lunch Bring your camera and most certaintly buy the DVD of the flight at the end. So much stuff you miss with your camera and you can share the flight with your friends and family. For those saying they expected more.... Some of the pilots we have flown with admittedly could have been a bit more talkative and informative. But considering they have your lives and the 1Million + helicopter to be concerned about, I would just be happy that I'm on Maui and flying over Maui. You could of course be at the office not experiencing the trip. But I've found nothing in Maui that has disappointed me or my family in our 2nd trip to the Valley Isle. For the money Maui Spectacular was great. Landed on an old volcanic vent and shut the helicopter down and got to walk around and take pictures outside the helicopter. Emery Lee is a top notch pilot and I would highly recommend any potential customer of Blue Hawaiian to get him as the pilot for their flight. He knows his stuff. Mahalo to the staff of Blue Hawaiian and Emery Lee for another pleasant and rewarding flight.

We had booked the afternoon tour on 20 May 2008. I knew from the cloud cover that our Maui Spectacular tour might be in jeopardy. When we checked in, we were told there would be a decision from the pilots on what they could do. After about 10-15 minutes, our group was briefed that they couldn't do the Maui Spectacular due to cloud cover and rain on Haleakala, but the West Maui tour could be done with a tour of Molokai, as well. They gave us a choice of either rebooking later, or doing the West Maui tour at that particular rate. We all decided to do the West Maui tour. The pilot (Marty) was talkative and narrated our tour professionally. Friendly and a great pilot. Saw some HUGE manta rays off the coast of Molokai and great, up close scenery. Worth every penny! We plan on doing the Maui Spectacular next year. See my videos and pictures! Enjoy! Aloha!

To start off I must say we had a minor problem - we got there and they had a mechanical problem or something and our flight was bumped and another lady was downgraded to an A-Star instead of an Eco-star. That said the trip was phenomenal - granted, to give others the benefit of a doubt, being in the helicopter was the cool part so other places could do just as good a job. If you have the time and money do the full big island trip. The volcano is neat but the valleys at the other end of the island are amazing! note about vog: (yes vog, not fog) vog is only on one side of the island, your helicopter trip will not be obscured if you're swimming in pea soup since the winds seem to blow one way. note about seating: you cannot choose your seats and they tell you they arrange it by weight but i'm not so sure. What they seem to do is take couples and space them out, you if there are 3 couples on of each of the couples gets an outside seat and one an inside. We got to sit in the front, but I have a feeling that's because we were bumped off our original flight and they felt guilty and not because we weighed anything different than anyone else (I'm certainly not complaining about it!) - but bribery and asking won't get you anywhere.

Three of us (me, my wife, and 13 year-old son) took the Big Island tour in min-June. Bob was our pilot, and he was great. It really is a thrilling experience if you've never been in a chopper. The staff were friendly and informative. Bob, from the very start, was outstanding. He kept a narrative going throughout. He was fun and educational and made a real effort to show us the best spots. Alas, my wife didn't quite make it to the end of the flight without using "the bag." She was hugely embarrassed, but Bob was tremendous and made a real effort to fly level and tried his best to make her feel better about a crummy situation. The ground crew were also very understanding when we arrived back. Thanks, Bob and the rest of the staff.