Reviews

Taking a helicopter tour to see spewing red lava from one of the most active volcanoes in the world should be on everyone's bucket list. And when you take Blue Hawaiian for the ride, you can happily check that off your list with no regrets! There are several tours around the Big Island itself, including a waterfall landing - will have to use that as an excuse to come back to Hawaii and do the Big Island Spectacular tour for that one. They have tours on every island, so this really is a great way to enjoy Hawaii from the air. We experienced the Circle Of Fire Plus Waterfalls tour from Hilo. Staying in Maui, we took a quick flight over for the day just for this! Paying a little more to fly in the Eco-star helicopter is worth it because it has bigger windows! I like that you can speak back to the pilot if you have any questions. They're very informative and friendly. Have fun up there!

We flew with Blue Hawaiian yesterday -- it was simply amazing. We are from East Tennessee, and our pilot, Brian, is too! He was so informative and friendly, and we now understand the concept of the difference in volcanic eruptions. Flying over the lava tubes and vents, complete with simmering red fire, was the experience of a lifetime. The waterfalls and river portion were also interesting and informative. Brian educated us in the different shades of black in the lava rock -- silver being the most recent, and taught us that the only trees that burn are those touched by molten lava. There is simply no other way to see the raw beauty of this island! Book with Blue Hawaiian on one of their Eco Star copters, do the Circle of Fire and Waterfall Tour, and be sure to ask for Brian. His passion for his job Is readily apparent, and his enthusiasm is contagious.

We have been to the Big Island several times and one of the most important stops is to see the volcano. This time we took the air tour and it was better than anything we have seen before. The vantage point was great, and you can actually see the Lava boiling and running down into the trees. These are things you can't see any other way unless you just luck out.

A trip of 3 30 something ladies chose to go island hop Hawaii and decided to take 2 helicopter rides: 1- Circle of Fire and 2- Na Pali Coast. We first planned to take the Circle of Fire in Hilo which exceeded our expectations!!!!!!!!! We saw the craters, lava, and the crew was terrific! The waterfalls were not much to see nor be amazed by but we were blown away with the volcanoes in itself. The second in Kauai however was disappointing as the flight was canceled due to a tropical storm rolling in and it was indeed. Rain was blowing sideways. However, we still had to go to their location for them to tell us it was canceled 15 minutes before departure. We planned the trip only to fly into Kauai from Kona in the morning and depart later in the afternoon to Oahu. So going there for this excursion was a one shot deal and the rain ruined it. My suggestion would be to stay on Kauai for longer days to be reschedule if possible. Because to fly to the island, baggage fee's, then change flight fee's is a bit much to pay with no experience. All in all, I would recommend everyone to experience circle of fire in Hilo! Mahalo!!!

The weather was very rainy in the morning so we were worried that we may have poor view but we were very wrong. Wife, 5.5yo, 5month old and I flew with Blue Hawaiian in the eco star chopper. Was an awseome trip with Scott as our trusted and very informative pilot. Take off and landing were smooth and we felt safe the entire time with baby in wifes lap. My wife and I sat in the rear 4 across and in the middle 2 seats and we had a great view of everything, as Scott would pass the highlights as many times as we liked to get views and pictures. The front 2 seats would be the best view. Seeing the old lava flow from above was awesome. The barron rock it leaves behind having wiped out forests and towns is incredible. The Pu'o'o vent was bubbling away with flashes of lava being thrown in to the air. We made at least 4 passes by it to get a good view and could still smell the sulfur. We passed over lava tubes with skylights to see the lava flowing below. There was a large area of lava that had broken out of the ground that morning, and was still cooling with its silvery red sheen on the surface. The active lava flow front mowing down forests were also seen with tree fires. Really something that I could not imaging being safe to hike to now, so only safely being able to be seen from the air. The views are not like the advertisements as the activity is not like April 2015, and we were not expecting that. Rest assured that the pilots will take you to where the view is best for the day and they were still amazing today. This is our first time to Big Is and not sure when we will be back so this trip was a priority for us and we highly recommend blue hawaiian. You will not regret the experience. We also enjoyed the waterfall and Hilo bay view as part of the return to airport. Morning flight probably better visibility with the current weather. Scott was a great pilot. I would have loved to do a doors off heli flight, but young kids prohibits this. Baby is not strapped in at all and sits on lap with noise cancelling headphones. The airport is around the corner from richardson black sand beach park. Consider an early tour and back it up with a picnic lunch/swim/snorkel, or visit the beach park 1 or 2 before Richardson, which is shallow, better protected, and much safer for kids to swim. You will know it when you see it. We were visited by 2 green sea turtles on our swim who swam right up to us to check us out. Both have hot water springs in the bay. A magical half day, and back in time for an afternoon nap!

Having already seen the best of Oahu and Kauai from the air it was our delight to fly with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters to visit the active volcanoes on Hilo...what a wonderful flight, amazing views of the Circle of Fire, with a bonus of flying over spectacular waterfalls...and all of this recorded on DVD. The Hawaiian Islands are so visually spectacular, and so expensive to visit from Australia, that seeing and recording them from a chopper is well worth the money...memories for a lifetime. Thanks to all at Blue Hawaii, we are returning in 2017 and look forward to another flight over beautiful Hilo. Aloha and Mahalo from Sam!

Thoroughly enjoyed the trip up and around one of Hawaii's active volcanoes and seeing the surrounding environment which has been affected by the eruptions. Amazing to see. DON'T expect to see raging inferno's and eruptions as on the brochure, volcanoes are unpredictable so sometimes you will and sometimes you won't. We also did the ground tour with another company which complimented the Helicopter trip well. Scott our pilot was very friendly and knowledgeable. Felt at ease and comfortable the whole journey.

A classy outfit. Called a couple of times to inquire and found it to be very expensive. And did not book. But staff was very friendly. I finally called back late in the evening about 7:30pm for next day circle of fire out of Hilo and we greater by a very nice lady. Told her that I wanted to go on the trip but needed a special and she said I was in luck! They put 2 of us on the most expensive helicopter they had the next morning for the price of the cheaper one and did it for much less due to a discount card from out Hilton hotel called a ho Lo ho Lo card. Brian was our pilot. Remembered everyone's names throughout the flight. Made us feel welcome and warm. Would highly recommend this is a class act outfit. Was told by concierge and tour guide at Hilton. Only choose Blue Hawaiian!

We did this trip as part of our honeymoon, it was reccomended by our hotel. The company was very professional and friendly. Our pilot was great and the whole trip was excellent. We purchased the USB and our only criticism is that from what we have seen this was our trip, I can only imagine that this was. "Perfect" trip that they have replicated on film. Don't let this dissuade you from using Blue Hawiian as overall the trip was a fantastic way to see the island and Pearl Harbour from the air.

We took off from Kona in the big Island. The pilot , Eric was very friendly and knowledgable We had great time , almost 2 hours with stop in Hilo for oil Amazing views . Don't miss it

Our Volcanos and Waterfalls tour from Hilo was a fantastic experience from start to finish. We had an amazing pilot/guide who made sure that we saw the active lava flow (what there was of it) and gave a great rundown of the history of the volcanic activity on the island. Blue Hawaiian offered the newest and most comfortable Helicopters. It is not a cheap tour but was one of the highlights of our stay in Hilo.

We've been to the Big Island several times and had always wanted to do this. We finally decided to splurge and just go for it. We're so glad we did! We did the "Circle of Fire" tour with Scott as our pilot in the A-4. We were in the front seats and the view was great. Seeing the volcano from the air was amazing, plus it's really the only (easy) way to see the Pu'u O'o crater. We saw a lot of lava in the crater and on the ground, burning trees. Even if there was no lava to see, I would still recommend this tour. Seeing the flows from the air really gives you a different perspective on the power of this volcano. You also get nice views of nearby waterfalls and Hilo bay. The helicopter itself was very smooth and Scott provided great commentary and a fun music soundtrack throughout the flight!

This was our second time on this "Fire and Falls" tour. We actually saw several breakouts(surface lava flows). Also was able to get a glimpse of the Pu'u O'O lava lake. Also a great view of the Wailuku River and it's endless waterfalls. Wear dark clothes to cut down on the reflection in the window. I even wear long sleeve so your skin does not reflect. You cannot bring any loose items, or purses. I suggest to put on a zoom lens (55+) you will get some great shots. They do sell a thumbdrive of the tour. You need to arrive an hour before the start time. The tour last about an hour.

Front desk staff was very friendly and helpful and set the very Aloha feel for the whole experience. Be aware that you can't carry anything onto the helicopter other than a camera and plan accordingly. They will lock up all your stuff for you so no worries there. If you aren't wearing dark clothing, as they request in all their detailed information--including their reminder phone call--they will loan you a dark t-shirt to wear. Our pilot, Brad, who is a retired veteran, was great. Very relaxed and friendly, learned all our names immediately, and extremely knowledgeable about the geology and geography. He definitely added to our experience. The lava, currently flowing in what's called the East Rift Zone, is not as exciting as past flows as it is not flowing into, or anywhere near, the ocean. That said, a helicopter tour is the best way to get an overview of how Hawaii's volcanoes work and is extremely interesting even if it isn't dramatic. We circled around a recent surface break through and were able to see some splashing lava in very small calderas. We also saw how the lava is consuming the trees and flew over a couple of places where they were burning. Before returning to the airport we flew over some very pretty waterfalls. Had I done a little more advance research and realized we could have added on the $150 per person option to fly to and land at Punalulu Falls, I definitely would have. At this point, we're already in a couple of hundred per person so what the heck! It sounds like it would have been a great addition. Next time!

We did the Big Island Spectacular tour. Saw bubbling lava, rain forests burning from lava, steam vents, lava flow fields and the most stunning waterfalls we've ever seen. We even saw humpback whales breaching. Chris was our pilot, he answered all of our questions. Highly recommend this!