Reviews

I always say that a person's (or in this case a company's) true character is revealed when adversity strikes. In my case, this is exactly what happened. We signed up for the Fire and Waterfalls trip and when we got on the helicopter, they discovered that a door was stuck. While they were attempting to get it open, a rainstorm hit. While I was nice and dry inside the helicopter, my parents were getting drenched outside. It took the crew a good five minutes to realize this and they finally got us under cover. Needless to say my folks were not happy and to make matters worse, they made us wait another fifteen minutes before they informed us we would not be going on the trip. Back at the front desk, we were given an option to go later in the day which did not work for us. Frustrated, I asked about the next morning. That is when things started taking a turn for the better. They put us on a flight at the same time the next day and gave all four of us a complimentary upgrade to the larger helicopter (Eco Star). This represents a $200 value so it was an extremely nice gesture. In the end, they made a bad situation better. Thanks! The next morning, the flight took off without incident. The flight itself is rather short but you do spend a decent amount of time looking at the lava flow. The pilot was very accommodating when it came to circling the area a few times for us to take video/pictures. You will also get a nice view of the coast and old lava flows. The waterfalls part is a bit disappointing. You are so far up in the air that it is not all that impressive. Those promo pics of a helicopter hovering next to a waterfall is NOT what you will see on this adventure. Think more of a walk through Legoland where everything is in miniature and you won't be disappointed. You might think that from my description and initial unpleasant experience that I was not happy plucking down my $200 for a ticket. Quite the opposite. I cannot convey the sheer wonder you will feel seeing a live lava flow or watching lava cause a tree to burst into flames. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience and is not the place in your vacation budget to be pinching pennies. I will also strongly advocate for buying the DVD of your trip. Yes the quality is not HD but the video is still watchable and you would be surprised how easy it is to miss something when you are trying to shoot video through a helicopter window, even one that is as large as the ECO star. Which leads me to my final recommendation... If you can afford it, go with the ECO star. I have sat in both and there is a very noticeable difference. Depending on where you are sitting in the helicopter, it can be a big deal. One last note... there is a fee to park at the airport. This is not the Company's doing but it does add a few bucks to the cost of your trip (I want to say $5 but I'm not certain).

What a great way to view the Kilauea volcano! As an added bonus you will see some great waterfalls on the way back to the airport.

Nathan was fantastic! The tour was well worth it, a real once in a lifetime experience! Thank you!!!!

This is a late review as I am finally getting in all my reviews of all my exciting experiences on this beautiful island. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters did not disappoint. My boyfriend and I took an early morning flight on the Big Island Spectacular out of Waikoloa on the Eco Star Helicopter (if you can afford it, go with the Eco Star- bigger windows, bucket seating, and quieter ride). The island had just had quite a bit of rain when we went on our trip, so the waterfalls in Waimanu Valley were amazing...keep in mind that if you decide to go with the cheaper and shorter flight out of Hilo Airport, you do not get to see the beautiful valleys and waterfalls on the Hamakua Coastline. It was an experience I will never forget. The staff at Blue Hawaiian was awesome, from check in, to our pilot and smooth ride to the volcano, to our arrival back in Waikoloa, it was all awesome. I highly recommend this. If you are arriving during peak seasons, I recommend you book this activity before you arrival on the islands, as it does book up.

My husband and I took the Big Island Spectacular, on an early morning flight.....7:00...not too bad. I hadn't been in a helicopter and was semi-apprehensive about it, but our pilot, Greg, was great ! It was a very smooth ride, and short of the glare from the window, I got some good pictures. This was close to a 2 hour trip. We flew directly over the volcanos and then onto the canyons of waterfalls......which was amazing !! ?. I absolutely loved it, and looking forward to doing this, next year while on Kauai ;)

Prone to motion sickness, I was quite pleased how smooth the ride was. Great to be able to see the active part of the volcano and waterfalls we would never be able to have seen otherwise. My husband and son greatly enjoyed it too. Definitely recommend it to anyone! Thanks also to our pilot, Eric for making my son feel so comfortable he was able to ask a lot of questions. We bought the video as a keepsake. Will definitely consider doing another tour hopefully our next trip back will be Maui. 50 minute trip was perfect timing. Don't think I could have handled a longer trip. And I had one of the best seats, right beside the pilot!

We really enjoyed our helicopter ride. We opted for the newer, more expensive helicopter, and were glad we did, as we could see out below our feet, which was really interesting, as the lava was flowing while we were there. Colleen did a great job narrating the tour.

The helicopters are nice and have plenty of room. Our problems were that it took so long to get to the volcano area. There's not much to see on the way there. We couldn't get very low, and the views of the lava flow were pretty limited. It just seemed like there wasn't much to see. My wife and I were assigned to positions #5...right behind the pilot. The problem with that is that the pilot naturally flys for the majority of the passengers to be able to see things...when it came to our side of the chopper, we got less time and no explanations of what was going on. Overall it was disappointing. It pretty much ruined our time in Hilo...set a bad tone for the time there. There also just don't seem to be enough natural areas on the Big Island to make it an interesting flight. Having to pay for parking is just an extra annoyance...it wasn't much $$ though. Sorry to say it was disappointing. We expected better.

Greg gave us a great tour. Really enjoyed it.Would do it again. It was a rainy day and our flight was cut short but they believe in safety first. All the staff were professional and take their jobs seriously. We had a safety film and then a short safety talk before boarding and since it was my first time in a helicopter I really appreciated it. My husband and I will do this again next time we visit HAWAII. Another island, another Blue Hawaiian tour.

Great way to see the island. Volcano wasn't very active but we did see lava! Helicopter seats 6 & seats are based on weight, which isn't real helpful if you are the heavier passengers. Husband got one of the middle seats, I got a rear window so I could at least take photos. But beware! Although told to wear dark clothing the man in front wore a white shirt which reflected in most of my photos! Really disappointed. The couple of flights ahead of us staff gave passengers dark shirts to wear but no one bothered with us so it really was disappointing as husband didn't get a good view at all & hardly any photos to show him!

We did the 2 hour excursion from Kona. From sightseeing to bubbling lava to fantastic waterfalls this trip was superb from start to finish. The bonus for us was to have a fellow 'Kiwi' as our pilot which made it all the more personal. We will be back next year and will definitely use Blue Hawaiian Helicopters to tour the other islands.

My friends and I had the most amazing and beautiful experience got to see lava thanks Eric our pilot for being very informative would recommend doing a great way to see thing

While in Hawaii last month, I booked this spectacular tour to see the active volcano on Hilo. I haven't been in helicopter in many years and was so looking forward to this day. The weather was great for flying over the lava flow. Nathan, our pilot, was extremely knowledgable of the volcano and surrounding areas. I was able to get great photos to keep the memory alive for years to come.

We thoroughly enjoyed our flight over the amazing volcano and beautiful waterfalls, complete with wonderfully knowledgeable and unbiased political commentary from our guide Colleen. As a devout Christian, Republican and card carrying member of the NRA, I was thrilled to find out from Colleen that the carbon emissions of the entire US economy for a whole year are less than half of the emissions from the Kilauea volcano in a single day! Knowing that our emissions as a nation are only about 0.1% of those coming from a single volcano, we can be certain that "global warming" caused by human activity is merely Democratic propaganda. This can be confirmed by internet searches that claim that Kilauea's CO2 emissions are on the order of 10 million metric tonnes yearly, around half of the US economy's output for merely a single day. This is the exact opposite of the facts Colleen kindly presented, and obviously just propaganda from Al Gore, the Democratic nutbar who invented and controls the internet. Thanks so much to Colleen for being a rational an open-minded individual in a world trying to push global warming propaganda upon us!

Although not their fault, weather is always an issue out of Hilo. We were only able to fly not even halfway to the Puoho Vent, we did see fresh, current lava flow and a few small waterfalls next to Hilo. Seats are assigned according to weight, you may not get a window seat. Your mileage and fellow passengers may vary.