Reviews

We were scheduled for a 10 am flight, but after taking off and flying about 5 minutes, the pilot learned that it wasn't going to be a good trip due to weather, so he turned around. They offered to either refund our money or reschedule. We were only going to be on the big island for one day, so they added a flight at 4 pm and put us on that one. We were so glad we did that, and didn't have to miss out!! The flight was about 45 minutes, and our pilot, Jeremy, talked to us the whole time, pointing out areas of interest on the way to the volcano. Once there, he took us over the active area, bursting with hot lava. He also showed us the fresh lava flows. Throughout, he was careful to show each site to everyone, rotating and hovering so that we could all see. Awesome activity that we'll always remember!!

My friends and I took a trip with Blue Hawaii on June 3 with Pilot James. We booked the 45 minute volcano and waterfall tour on the larger helicopter. The ride was awesome. He flew us over the Puu oo vent and we were extremely delighted to see that lava had started spewing from the vent on that very day. He actually brought us back to the vent a couple times since it was such a unique event to see. The ride also brought us along the coast to view all the lava flows that has previously happened. James was extremely knowledgeable about the activity that had previously happened and provided alot of great insight into the history. Afterwards we were able to buy a DVD of our entire ride for $25. I highly recommend you to this. We've already watched ours a couple times. James also flew us over Hilo to look at the waterfalls before we landed back at the airport. The waterfalls were beautiful but honestly we did not spend alot of time there. I would very much recommend this tour but you should be aware that lava is not always present and you cannot expect to see it every day. The vent can go back to quiet at any time and flare up at any time so if the only reason you want to go on this tour is for lava, you should probably check with the volcano visitor center before you book to make sure you will see it.

My family and I took the Circle of Fire Plus Waterfalls tour on the Big Island. The weather was misty and rainy, but they took us up anyway. Our pilot/tour guide, James, was friendly and knowledgeable, and we learned a lot about the lava flows and the volcanic activity on the south end of the island. However, we did not see any flowing lave, the top of the volcano, or ANY waterfalls. When we got back down and talked to customer service about being disappointed with the tour, we were told that the waterfalls part of the flight is "weather dependent" and that we didn't see the most active areas because it was raining. I read nothing about this on the website - in fact, all the pictures and advertisements that I saw for this tour was shooting red lava and beautiful waterfalls. We felt ripped off, and were told, after lots of arguing with customer service for 15 minutes, that a manager (who, of course, wasn't there) would have to review our DVD to see if our tour was, in fact, not as described. Fortunately, we got a call on our way out of HIlo from the manager saying she reviewed the video and was going to refund the cost of our entire tour. This is the only reason I'm rating this tour 3 stars. I'm sure the tours are normally spectacular, but don't head up if the weather isn't great.

We took a trip over the Volcano with Blue Hawaiian because we had been before about 6 years ago and had flown with the same Company in the other Hawaiian Islands. As last time we had an amazing experience. Our pilot, Pam, was a mine of information, and as we had had poor weather on our last tour to the Volcano she actually took us twice over the active crater. It was mesmerizing to see the lava bubbling away below us. We were looked after so well from start to finish and we would not hesitate to travel with them again, or recommend them to others

We took the eco helicopter ride this past Wednesday. We got to see molton rock!! amazing. Our pilot, Tim, was awesome. He told us a lot of great information about the island, the history, the geography, etc. Loved everything about the volcano, the lava tubes, and lava flow locations. The waterfalls were great too. Wish the trip was longer!. thanks for the great experience. Tim, Stacey & Corey

It was our first time in a helicopter and my wife and I loved it. James was our pilot and he was very informative. I would certaily recommend this for anyone. Flying over the active volcano was fantastic.

the flight was great. The issue is after paying in excess of $600 for a 50 minute helicopter ride when booking had to pay an additional surcharge of $50 per person after we arrived at Hilo.

We loved our trip with Blue Hawaii. Our pilot, Ray, was knowledgeable about the island, the volcanoes, the waterfalls, you name it. You could tell he really loves his job, and maybe he doesn't know it is a job! The staff was awesome and knows the spirit of "Aloha". Don't miss this trip, and this is the company to fly with. We saw sites we never would have seen otherwise, and we learned things about the island we wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for Ray.

We enjoyed the Circle of Fire helicopter ride very much. Where else on earth will you have the opportunity to see an active volcano? Assuming you're like us who have traveled the continental US, Caribbean and Europe only, you get my point. We stayed on the NW side of the island and opted to drive on the Saddle Road to Hilo - only 2 hours and you see interesting terrain, which was more reasonable than spending even more money to have the helicopter leave from the west side of the island! The safety and check in procedures were smooth and straight forward once we arrived. We debated about A star vs. Eco star and decided to take our chances with the more reasonably priced A Star. I have a feeling people end up enjoying whatever they pick! I was in the second row, end seat and my husband had one of the two middle seats. We could see just fine and our pilot, Tim, was good at changing directions around the area so that both sides of the copter could see well. It was VERY cool to see the molten lava bubbling inside the crater! Cute also that the helicopter has a little soundtrack and the music selection was much more dramatic for this part :). Tim was great with giving us history about the volcanos and island, and answering questions. We also saw waterfalls from the sky (which were just okay - you don't get terribly close up, but you can stop by Akaka Falls by car on the way back), the macadamia nut farm (eat these nuts! soo tasty.), a destroyed town, views where the land hits the sea (although no lava was currently flowing), and some wacko who has a home in the middle of a little patch of land, surrounded by dried lava. I admit to getting a little motion sickness near the end, but nothing that I couldn't handle. One thing that seems important to keep in mind is that the flights are contingent on nature. We were fortunate to have a great flight, but don't expect the land to behave exactly the same or how others reported the experience years or even months ago. Book online and save some $!

Thank you for a great tour! We've never been on a helicopter before so we were a little apprehensive but the ride was extremely smooth and enjoyable. The pilot was very knowledgeable about the sites and we were able to capture some postcard worthy photographs. Overall we had a wonderful experience and would recommend your service to anyone wanting to get a bird's eye view of the volcanoes, rainforests and waterfalls that make the big island of Hawai'i a must-see!

What a one-of-a-kind experience! We loved our Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour. The staff was super friendly and helpful and our time could not have been more pleasant! We were really lucky to see the Kilauea Pu`u `O`o vent the day before the crater collapsed. It was spewing and steaming like crazy and even changed dramatically between the two times we flew over it. Enjoyed seeing the coast and waterfalls too. The ride was smooth and easy (we did the A-class not the Eco-tour and it was fine for 4 people). The pilot was friendly and helpful. Not scary at all. We paid $25 for the DVD of our trip and it wasn't worth the money. If you have a good camera, your pictures will do just fine.

We have previously used Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours in Kauai and we had a great time on this one as well. The staff working on the ground and our pilot, Jason, were perhaps the most friendly people I met in Hawaii--and that is saying a lot! Jason was knowlegeable, professional, and entertaining. On our previous flight in Kauai, no one spoke or asked questions. Here, Jason made everyone feel comfortable using their microphones, including a Japanese couple with limited english speaking ability. It was a more engaging experience and, as a result, more enjoyable. The staff on the ground were very nice and we talked for a long time, even after the 8 minutes while they burned a copy of the DVD of our trip for us to take home. There wass a problem with the DVD burning machine for the other fight and we heard them make arrangements to deliver the copies for free to the hotels of each party on that flight. THAT is great service and reinforces the good opinion I have of this company. I highly recommend the 2 hour trip on the Big Island. Expensive, but worth it.

On our prior trip to the Islands (early 1990's), our helicopter trip with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters over the active volcano was a huge highlight and a long-term memory. We were excited to give our teenagers the chance to do this too. Unfortunately, the experience was average or below, despite good weather. Partly, this was because volcanic activity was mostly underground and not that exciting to see (of course, NOT the vendors issue, but a definite impact on the experience.) Also, the pilot apparently had done this trip too often, since he repeated his commentary - word-for-word, at the paragraph level - a couple of times, when he apparently forgot he had already said a part of his spiel. We did get to see macademian nut fields and lava from the air, but none of the kids were particularly thrilled by the experience. My recommendation is to save your money or take one of their other trips until things get more exciting lava-wise.

I took my 85 yr old dad and 21yr old son on the Island Spectacular..what a wonderful experience we all had... 2 hrs of beauty you could only see from the air.. Scott our pilot was warm, friendly, and knowledgable.. there is no control over the volcano so we didn't have the giant fountains...but I would have never have trade this experience for anything else we could have done as a family together...

We were only on a 5 day trip to the big island so this was definitely the best way for us to see the volcano. We were hesitant at first, but it was well worth every penny. Roger, our pilot, was awesome. Telling us about the island as he flew us right over the lava flow, macadamia fields and waterfall. We were so impressed that we purchased the dvd so we could share the experience with family back home.