Reviews

Professional safe and worth every penny. We were able to see active lava flow. Our trip was cut a bit short due to a storm rolling in but we didn't miss a thing. Our pilot was great. We did a doors off flight for better photos..... umm, it was really windy. The took a bit away from the tour. If I did it again I would have dressed warmer and worn a hat. But I would do it again for sure.

My daughter & I were visiting Kona for a week & decided we wanted to do a helicopter tour. The Circle Of Fire with Water Falls tour sounded great. We booked with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. The tour was wonderful. Ben took us right over the hot lava rock & flow. We could see the red hot lava at a close range. Then he took over the mouth of the volcano where the lava was erupting. How exciting! As far as you can see is black lava rock and smoke. You can see the trees and bushes around the volcano burning as the lava flow reaches them. The helicopter is the way to go if you want to see the volcano at a close range. Hiking to the volcano would be exciting also, but you would not see what you can see from the helicopter. It was just a wonderful and memorable experience.

Tim our pilot was amazing. Calm well-informed and very professional. The views were superb! We actually saw the lava flows. I highly recommend this group. My children loved it as well!

First of all I do have to say that the staff was nice, Pilot was very friendly and the flight was smooth. No complains there at all. However, we paid close to a $1000 with Blue Hawaiian for our family of 4 to see some minimal lava ingrained in rock (no flowing, no bursting). This after seeing magnificinent lava bursts the day before from the Jaggar Museum for free. I just don't think it is worth while to spend your time and money on the helicopter tour. This of course is my opinion. In fairness, I should say my kids were thrilled to be in a helicopter, but I still think paying about $250 a pop is way too much.

We had a spectacular trip on the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour. We went up early afternoon and skies were clear and lava was flowing. We got some jaw dropping breath taking views of lava breakouts and lava bubbling in the cladera. The flight over the volcanoes was followed by some dreamy views of waterfalls that flow north of Hilo. Our pilot, Richard, made the journey entertaining and memorable. The safety of Blue Hawaiian cannot be matched. It is because of the professionalism of Blue Hawaiian that we now explore all the islands by air but only on Blue Hawaiian. Loved every second of it.

My husband and I just did the circle of fire tour out of Hilo airport. The tour itself lasts approx 50 mins-actually being in the helicopter. We expected to see lava flows. We did see some, though they were small, but that's out of the tour company's control. Regardless, the staff was very helpful. The pilot interacted with each one of us. She was also very knowledgeable and able to answer all of our questions. We learned things we didn't know. This is definitely an incredible way to see the island. This is an expensive tour. At the time we did the tour (April 2015) the Costco on the island had gift cards to purchase ($80 for $100 gift card), we purchased several- which ended up saving us almost 20% of the total price. Keep in mind that you have to park in the public lot at Hilo airport. Parking cost us $7.

This was a very nice tour. It was extremely well organized, timely and safe. The helicopters are new, clean and offer great views. It's beautiful! That said... Don't expect to see what their marketing props show. You should see a little bit of hot lava on the move. But you will probably not see the volume of red & moving lava used in their promotions. These are old pics. Still, a great trip!!!

This helicopter ride was one of the highlights of the trip, well worth the money. The sights were beautiful, I took some great photos, and the pilot Jeremy was friendly and informative. I learned a lot and had a great time. But lower your expectations. The Kilauea volcano is unpredictable and as of April 2015, it's kind of low activity. There are many helicopter tours on the Big Island and all have brochures showing a copter flying close to a fountain of lava. In truth, the most we saw was a bright-orange lava lake. The most activity on Kilauea is at the Halema'uma crater, and no copter company is allowed to go near there. Instead, they fly over Puu Puai. And all those photos you see online of hot lava pouring into the ocean? Hasn't happened in several years. So as long as you know what to expect (and what NOT to expect), you will have a great time.

The wife and I took the helicopter ride over the volcano on the Big Island and some water falls, it was a great time for all. We had a wonderful pilot, Tim who had lots of knowledge of the area and was a definite bonus for the ride. We actually got to see up close the volcano and some lava. We can't recommend this tour enough, it was the highlight of our Hawaii trip.

We were all really looking forward to seeing the volcano and lava flows in addition to the waterfalls, but sadly we were rained out twice and did not get to do this trip. We got a full refund but would rather have had the experience! Be prepared just in case. . .

We did the Circle of Fire + Waterfalls tour, 50 mins in the air. Some people expect too much on such tours, judging by some comments. We saw lava flows (old & new), great views inside the volcano itself and many waterfalls in the area. All this with an informative, friendly and detailed commentary from our pilot (thanks Ethan). If you're a little nervous flying, you can feel confident in these helicopters; they are modern, well maintained, quite spacious and secure. We particularly liked the way our pilot always passed over everything twice so that passengers on both sides had an excellent view and opportunity for photos.

Fantastic, everybody should do this. Incredibly AWESOME experience. Mahalo, Jeremy. We had been at Volcano National Park and drove through Pahoa to see where the lava was. Seeing it from the air is a complete different experience from what you see on the ground. We did the eco-star and I had a front seat, although I think all passengers have a great view. They fly around so all can see no matter which side you sit on. We did see a lot of lava and wondered if we were going to see waterfalls. The waterfalls were great and it is an area the public is not allowed access too. The four in our group all agreed it was worth it. You have to pay additional for parking in the Hilo Airport lot.

We flew out of Kona on a 2 hour tour after the clouds parted and the rains stopped. It was middle of the afternoon, the trade winds were howling and our chopper was the first one in the air for the day. While I was excited for the opportunity I really feel the advertisements of flowing lava and fountains of lava into the air are no longer valid. 10 years ago, yes. But the lava fields have cooled and except for the areas where the lava is still burning the forest all you see are miles of flat black rocks with maybe a couple spots of red glow in the lava field. Flying over the crater may reveal more glow in the lava lake. The lava lake in the crater rises and falls, with lots of steam that can obscure the lake itself. From the volcano fields you fly over the waterfalls on the 'wet' side of the island. Yes, they are tall. Yes, they are beautiful. And yes, you can't see the waterfalls except from the air or from a boat. You get to see Hilo and the various communities from the air, and the narration of the 'wet' versus 'dry' sides of the island is interesting. If you really love seeing the changing geology of the island, find volcano lava fields fascinating, and want to see very tall waterfalls, this tour is for you. But in my opinion it's overpriced. Mother Nature is fickle and the highlight of the tour is Mother Nature at her most fickle.

First time helicopter ride and it was wonderful. Hilo is the rainiest city in the USA, so we went surprised to have had to re-schedule after it started raining. The day we re-scheduled was sunny and gorgeous. Our pilot Brant was very nice and knowledgeable of the area. He made sure everyone in the helicopter had an opportunity to have a great view of all the sites. Seeing the volcano was on our bucket list and this is the only way to see it! Thanks Blue Hawaiian Helicopters for a great memory!!!!

We booked this flight on our honeymoon after reading great reviews. We had Eric as a tour guide and he was fantastic! The trip was awesome we saw the volcanos and even caught some active lave, we saw some waterfalls and Eric made it extra special knowing it was our honeymoon to show us a really cool waterfall that was off the typical coarse they do. Highly recommended!!!