Reviews

We had pilot Jeremy. He was awesome. Very friendly and knowledgable of the volcano and surrounding areas. This trip is a must do when on the Big Island. The only way right now to see active lava flows

My husband and I had an opportunity to take the entire island tour with a family member & friend several years ago. We are local people and never had the opportunity to go before. I would recommend this to anyone who wants an awesome , unique, Hawaiian Experience. The pilot blew our minds with the knowledge & the background information he entertained us with. The beauty from the air, from the ancient terraces on the Waimea side, to the craters and the lava flows in Volcano to hovering over the waterfalls in the Valley of the Kings, with double Rainbows overhead and the Music playing from the movie Apocalypse Now, took our breath away.

We flew with this company as part of our combo tour. Brian our pilot was amazing and funny . He had great knowledge and even had us do a singalong. Views are amazing . Do recommend going on the Eco star as it is all glass and very comfortable

We took a helicopter ride at the big island after evaluating which island do we take a helicopter ride is ( as we were advised by many folks that this is a must do in Hawaii) ... The deal clincher was that we could see an active volcano. Blue Hawaiian was a great tour agency and Charles our helicopter pilot was an experienced and ensured that we were slowly and safely taken forward in the journey. Would recommend it to do it

We had booked the Fire & Falls tour with an Eco-star helicopter. Due to unfortunate weather conditions our first pilot did not get to finish the tour and was only able to fly us over not very exciting areas and finished the tour without the actual attractions. The ground staff immediately arranged for a second trip the next day for us at no extra charge. They were all super nice and apologized for the inconvenience. We were lucky to get seated right next to the pilot on this second flight. What an experience! Brant, a veteran, flew us over old lava fields and also some new open lava spots. In order for everyone to see he made twists and turns which made me a bit dizzy at some point but it was fun nonetheless. Due to some technical problems no audio was recorded at our flight so we got the DVD of everything we saw for free. The weather in Hilo can be unpredictable but the helicopter company will reschedule your flight if conditions are not good. So I recommend to be a bit flexible in your travel plans.

We took the "Circle of Fire Plus Waterfalls" tour out of Hilo. Our pilot/guide was Brent. It was a good tour and we were treated to some spectacular views of lava. Following the tour of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, we headed up the coast to Hilo. I was a bit disappointed that we only were taken to one waterfall (although a double waterfall). I was expecting to see more, so I think the title of the tour is a bit misleading. That said, we enjoyed the tour and felt it was worth the cost.

We enjoyed the "Circle of Fire plus waterfalls tour" that was on the eco-star. It was impressive to see it all from the air. The info the pilot was giving us was interesting also. I wish I remembered his name but can't seem to remember it. He made sure that each side got to see everything. Even though the volcano is not spitting out fire it is still pretty neat to see the center of it and watch some of the flow. Waterfalls were pretty. The eco-star is the newer helicopter and It is roomier. We got to sit up front and just felt like the trip was too short. We wish it would have lasted longer.

Nice views of the current eruption. It was overcast so we had a good of the lava. Our pilot, Scott, was knowledgeable and personable. Worth the drive over from the Kona side.

We took the Circle of Fire and Waterfalls tour out of Hilo with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. We were scheduled to head out on a morning tour and we did, but there were some bad clouds and fog over the volcano so we could not fly over it for safety reasons. Our flight only ended up being about 25 minutes. When we got back we were able to reschedule for the same day in the afternoon. We went out a second time and the weather had cleared so we made it to the volcano, waterfalls and the coastline. It was truly an amazing experience. There is nothing that compares to what you will see on this tour. You will not be able to get this close to the volcano any other way. We stayed out longer than the scheduled 50 minutes as I think we were the last tour of the day (3 pm). Blue Hawaiian is an excellent company. Rescheduling was super easy and they were very apologetic for the weather even though it was completely out of their control. The pilots were great and shared stories about the Bug Island and the volcano as we were flying. Highly recommend going on a tour with them. We went out in two different helicopters. My husband and I actually preferred the A-Star which is the less expensive of the two. Both the A-star and Eco-Star have great views so you can't go wrong with either.

Who cares what it cost .To come to Hawaii and not do the 2 hr trip with these guys is a waste. Pilot gave us full confidence . See places that would not be possible except from the air. I will do it again.Thanks Blue Hawaii.

We went with Blue Hawaiian (via the Polynesian Adventures H2 tour). You miss a significant portion of the H2 tour to do the helicopter part (rejoin at the mac nut visit). We decided to reschedule for 4pm (no extra charge!) and were extremely glad we did. This meant we missed out on most of the H2 tour which seemed pretty crap anyway. Blue Hawaiian Helicopter is 100% highly recommended if you want to visit the Volcanos and see lava. It's not the best way do to it, it's the only way. Don't bother with anything else.

We booked the Circle of Fire and Waterfalls tour with Blue Hawaiian in Hilo during a quick day trip to the Big Island. We were told by a Hawaiian local that Blue Hawaiian is the only way to fly. Our Eco-Star tour with Chad took off and was in the air for about 10 minutes before the pilot informed everyone that the tour had to be cancelled due to cloud/rain conditions over the volcano, said we didn't "pay all of this money to see big puffy clouds" which we appreciated. Chad was great and made the best of the short flight, giving us information on everything we got to fly over. When we landed, everyone was taken to the customer service desk and given the option to reschedule or get a refund. They tried to accommodate us on an afternoon Eco-Star flight but we would miss our flight back to Maui, so they gave us the option to fly on the afternoon A-Star flight. It was definitely worth waiting a few hours. Our afternoon flight was with Gregg and he was great, making sure everyone on the flight got to see everything. The volcano and the lava were amazing!! Definitely worth seeing!! Both pilots we were with, as well as the employees on the ground, were all very friendly and professional. We had an excellent experience and would recommend to anyone.

Our pilot Wesley was awesome. Very personable! We were very lucky on our tour because the lava was flowing and Wesley made a couple of passes over the crater to make sure everyone in the helicopter was able to see it more than once. He added some nice stories about the area and showed us some waterfalls. We took the volcano/waterfall 50 minute tour. It was enough time for my wife, but not for me. I would have loved to take the longer tour. Well worth it.

Fantastic flight over volcanoes lava and waterfalls. Even as a nervous flier felt extremely safe. Staff very professional from check in staff, ground crew and pilot. Well organised. Cullen was our pilot. She was very good. Expensive but worth it.

This tour is a great way to see an active volcano up close and personal! The tour leaves from right by baggage claim so its easy to arrive on the island, take your tour then pick up your rental car and continue your trip on the island. Apparently some new flows opened up a couple days after we were there so its luck of the draw, but still we were able to see red moving lava, burning trees, a few small waterfalls etc. If you can only go on one helicopter tour I'd recommend the waterfall tour on Kauai with Blue Hawaiian, but the volcano tour here is 2nd on my list.