Reviews

For my 50th Birthday I made my second attempt to visit Hawaii and third attempt at seeing a volcano from the air. I have always had a dream to "see red" from a helicopter and for one reason or another I have not been able to. So, for my 50th Birthday my family and I came to Hawaii to celebrate and booked the Big Island Spectacular. Our tour left from Waikoloa. We were staying at the Marriott so the airport was very convenient. I made the reservation for our first day in the area so I would have more chances if there was bad weather. We had a 9:15AM flight and the day dawned clear and bright. We got to the airport at 8:30AM and after our introduction were lead out to our helicopters. We selected the Ecostar since I wanted the best viewing possible. I take a lot of pictures. I am really small and was pretty glad I got a front. My seat however was not all that great for taking pictures since the instument panel was in my way and there were 2 people next to me. They say seat assignment is by weight and I'm sure it is for the most part but I was pretty much the same size (probably a little smaller) as the woman next to the window in front who had the best view and took the least pictures (only a couple I think). It was ok, no big deal, I did take loads of pictures. Anyway the trip was awesome. It did not start out that exciting but as we approached VNP I knew it was going to be great. We got a view of the steam coming out of the caldera and then flew to the coast. This was my dream come true. The steam as the lava hits the ocean is amazing. We flew by ocean entry point many times and I did "see red". It was awe inspiring. I got some nice pictures. We then flew to the north and into the canyon. It was also amazing. I was worried I would feel quesy but I was totally fine and so was husband who normally gets motion sickness. The pilot was very good, informative and professional. Also to note, this was a 2 hour in the air event. We did not stop in Hilo to refuel. We were given the option to stop in Hilo for a "bathroom" break, but no one opted for this. This was an incredible experience. Blue Hawaiian is a class operation and I would highly recommend them. Thank you Blue Hawaiian for making my dream come true.

We went back and forth as to whether this trip would be worth it, and in the end we're glad we did, though the price is a bit steep. Everybody on the ground was great - we stopped a couple days before as we drove by, and really glad we did. Had we waited and just showed up 3 days later, there would have been no openings, so remember to book early. Our pilot Noah was awesome .. very knowledgeable, and kept the conversation going and each of us involved the entire trip. We took the A Star - the one that has bench seating in the back row - and it was fine. Personally see no need to spend an extra $100 per person just for an individual seat. A little disappointed we didn't see much lava when we got to the volcanoe - of course this is no fault of the excursion - had just hoped we would see it spewing all over and that wasn't the case. The real highlight for us was flying into the valleys north of Hilo and seeing the waterfalls .. breathtaking. All I could think about was "welcome to Jurassic Park" .. they said that the flying in part was filmed right here. Our original plan before going to Hawaii was to drive around the southern rim from Kona to Hilo and take the "Circle of Fire" tour .. what we didn't know till we got there is the majority of that drive is on severely twisting and turning roads .. so much so that a family member go sick to her stomach after 20 miles so we returned back. So we paid a higher price than originally planned, but it still was a great trip. One final note .. know brochures can't be printed and distributed constantly, but surprised and a bit disappointing to find that an advertised trip of $360 was quoted at around $450 ... was told there had been a 25% increase since brochures were printed .. it does say "plus applicable fuel charge". Did receive a 10% discount when I inquired if any existed - I mentioned being a AAA member, but not sure if that is why I got it .. maybe it was my sad face when finding out an already expensive trip for 3 of us was going to be even higher than I thought. And though a few others say not to buy the DVD, it is a $25 memory we'll have forever as part of our great Hawaii trip. Our hosts couldn't join us on this excursion, so we bought 2 copies!

An excellent end to our Hawaiian tour, we had a fabulous flight and would definately recommend the tour to others, Greg was an excellent guide and made everyone comfortable and filled us with knowledge of the area. We only stayed on the Big Island for a few days in a resort and didn't have a car so this was for us the best way to see and hear the most aout the area in one go. Many thanks Angie and Jo.

This was the highlight of our trip. This is the best way to see the beauty of this island as many areas are not accessible any other way. The valleys, cliffs, waterfalls and whales are truly magnificent. We highly recommend you take one of their tours. Try to get a seat up in front by the pilot or the front door. You can see much better here than in the back seats.

Totally an excellent experience! The "Big Island Spectacular" tour is the best way to see the island's most stunning attractions in minimum time. Pilot and guide (Noah) was outstanding and very informative on all the areas flown. Many thanks to the staff, ground crew and pilot at the Waikoloa Heliport for the warm "Aloha" and unforgettable tour!

We took the Blue Hawaiian "Big Island Spectacular" in September of 2011 from Waikoloa. It was a 2-hour trip which covered Volcanos NP, Kohala Coast and much of the interior of the island. We had a very knowledgeable pilot and the ground crew were extremely friendly. There were spectacular views of valleys and waterfalls on the Kohala Coast and there were glimpses of bubbling lava in the NP. Altogether an unforgettable experience and I think we got upgraded to the fancier hlicopter (the Ecostar).

We took the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter ride in September of 2011 from Waikoloa. We took the waterfall tour and Scott was our guide. Take a camera and/or a camcorder. It was an awesome trip; we loved it. We went on a beautiful sunny day and had a great view. Plan to be gone for a couple of hours. Request Scott as your guide if you have the chance. We bought the DVD at the end as we couldn't have filmed it as well as the company could!

The title says it all. We took the island spectacular tour. My wife and and almost 2 year-old son came along. Be warned that if you have a young child and are changing time zones with your travel to Hawaii, the whirring of the helicopter and subtle vibration make many children, including our son, fall asleep during the ride. Our son was out COLD for the first half of the ride, and missed the volcano. There wasn't anything we could do to wake him, and according to our pilot, this is a common occurrence. I would have been VERY upset had we paid for him to ride (kids under 2 fly for free in parents lap). Prior to our flight, I thought the lava flow would have been the highlight, but the real treat was the valleys and waterfalls along the north side of the island. We had to land in Hilo to re-fuel, but this was a quick stop and provided a nice break to use the restroom. The staff were very friendly, our pilot knowledgeable and experience. The helicopters seemed to be newer and very well maintained. I would HIGHLY recommend Blue Hawaiian. We'll definitely fly them again when we visit the other islands.

Take the Big Island Spectacular. It was awesome. Check ahead to see if the lava from Pu'u. O'o. is flowing. We saw it and the trip is worth every penny. North Kohala. Coast was lush and beautiful.

We took the Island Spectacular tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters in the Eco-Star. They came and picked us up from, and dropped us back to our hotel (Kona side) an hour away from their base in Waikaloa - they were on time, the bus was comfortable and clean, the driver excellent. The helicopters seem to be new and are state of the art. Blue Hawaiian developed them with the manufacturer specifically for this type of tourist activity and they are therefore very, very comfortable and smooth. The staff is friendly, informative and efficient. The pilot was entertaining, informative and very professional with over 13 years experience flying Black Hawks in the army. You feel completely safe and simply in awe of this Island and its extremely varied terrain. The tour leaves from Waikaloa, flies over the Saddle Road area, passes over the Kiluea and Pu'u O'o vents - circling a number of times, and then the ocean entry (if there had been lava flowing into the ocean at the time it would have been phenomenal). We saw bubbling pockets of lava the day we went, apparently the tours the day before saw a red lava lake. We flew over Hilo, and then along the incredible North shore and black sand beaches, through Waipio valley and its spectacular waterfalls which cascade hundreds of metres down sheer cliff faces, and back to Waikoloa. This is a once in a life time opportunity, do not miss it. If we get the opportunity to get to Big Island again we would not hesitate to do exactly the same tour with Blue Hawaiian. It is expensive ($395 + $95 fuel surcharge (USD)) but oh my goodness it was worth it.

The first thing I'm going to say is that if you think too much about the cost, you could end up psyching yourself out of what could be the overall highlight of your entire trip to Hawaii and you do not want to do that. It is not cheap, especially depending on the length of the tour you chose and also if you decide to go with the newer helicopter model or the old A-Star. First, you need to go onto their website and so some research. Depending on what part of the Big Island you are staying on-you will need to pick a tour that departs from close to your resort to save yourself an unnecessary 2 hour cross island drive(Tours depart from both Waikoloa/Kona side & The Hilo Side). Then you need to decide what you want to see. The two major attractions are : Active Volcano & The Valley/Cliffs on the north part of the island. Depending on this, and the amount of time you can tolerate riding you will select the appropriate tour. Personally, I think if you are going to go through the trouble and cost you should go for the 2 hour tour. It goes by pretty quickly. 50 Minutes just doesn't seem like enough. Also, the newer "ecostar" model gives you a little more legroom and comfort and the views are excellent (more glass on doors to view) so in my opinion the longer tour in the more expensive copter is the only way to go. On the two hour tour which we took, you can see both main attractions and basically the entire island. As for our trip experience it was simply fantastic. Our pilot was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, and just so passionate about what he does. He was able to provide a lot of knowledge and history on the various landmarks and attractions. We were very lucky because we got a very clear day and ACTIVE FLOWING LAVA. It was truly amazing. The pilot told us that normally you can just see the orange glow and sometimes some spitting here and there but to see it really gushing and flowing is 1 in a 100 so I wanted to share that with you as well to manage expectations on the lava. The cliffs/valley's with 2000 FT. waterfalls are amazing! No words can describe this. It looked like a scene out of Jurassic park. Upon return to the heliport, we purchased the 25 dollar DVD which was so cool. The pilot has 4 cameras at his disposal to control and record during the flight so you get all the best stuff right on a DVD for 25 dollars. Book early-they do fill up very quickly. If I didn't book the week before my trip we would have been locked out.....

OK my wife says this is a must-do if you can afford it, and I think it's the best way to get a sense of scale and unique views of the volcano craters and vents - I'm a geologist and have flown 100+ helicopter flights before so was less moved by the actual helicopter experience itself, compared to my wife who just had her first. We booked 3 seats on an A-star from Hilo (no Ecostar available) for myself, wife, 2-year old toddler and our son as a lapchild - we couldn't find a babysitter so had to pay the full seat price for our 2 y.o. My son sat on my lap (luckily he fell asleep as soon as took off!) When I booked I was told there was a 2pm slot - given the variable weather patterns that week I asked for a morning slot and was told 9am after some checking with the pilots. We turned up to check-in and was told that there was 'a technical problem with the aircraft, a faulty radio' and so were asked to re-checkin an hour later. I know from experience that this is an excuse often used for re-scheduling flights for another reason - I reckoned that either someone from Kona had asked for a full aircraft and was leaving so could only do 9am (our slot) or issues with ticketing such as merging of two flights into one. Sure enough when we checked in again, the other guests on our chopper were coming from Kona, and the teenager had slept in and was a bit moody, so the family was running late and called the company to delay the flight! Also we witnessed our chopper landing just before we went up - hmmm! We were given the DVD free as compensation. My wife was fretting over whether the other girl present was bigger than her as she was worried about not getting a view, but luckily she ended up beside the door in the front. (She now accepts that she is not as big as she thinks!) My 2-year old was assigned a rear window seat with me beside her and my son on top of me. In the rear there were two other guys who could see quite well. The views were great, although the waterfalls weren't that impressive from the altitude we were at, but they do happen to be on the way to the vents (remember I'm a geologist). The pilot was careful to hover and turn the chopper over each site so everyone could get a decent view. The VNP from above really is spectacular and you get much more satisfaction in seeing the volcanoes this way than on foot. Around 20-30minutes of the 45 minute flight were over the volcanoes, which was long enough to see what was going on. Any longer and our kids would have needed a diapir change! I would be concerned if I (of average height) was in the back and had someone large at the window, there is a risk of not having a clear view - this would depend on the good nature of the person at the window. The tall guy beside me had a teenage son on his window so sometimes he did not get a good view - but then again it was his son so he didn't mind. Overall if you haven't done a helicopter trip on the Big Island and can afford it, it is definitely worthwhile and makes a great highlight - given the relatively small $25 DVD cost this is worthwhile as well, for memory sake than than for only reasonable quality of picture and pilot narrative.

Me and my wife took the "Circle Of Fire Plus Waterfalls" from the Hilo airport (Big island, Hawaii) and I would say it was a lifetime experience. Ray was our pilot. He is doing this with blue hawaii for the last 7 years. He was very good with a ready wit. You might feel the trip cost a bit high but once you take, you would think it was worth and don't forget to get the trip DVD ($25). This was our first helicopter trip. We saw couple of water falls and the volcano itself. You will be thrilled to watch the volcano from the top, especially where the lava is meeting the ocean water. It is generating huge amount of smoke due to heat. The smoke is so pure, white and dense!!! The water color difference due to lava is also awesome. We could see some fires, lavas and trees getting burned. You will also have a nice view of the coast line and so many other things. Try to book it online to get the discounted rate (only available while booking over the internet).

We took the Eco-Star out of Kauai and it was a great experience. The helicopter was new, solid and appeared to be well maintained. The pilot was very professional, and knowledgeable, the was were pleasant. The views were great! Got some great photos & video. Its in the Harbor Mall, inside, you will NEVER find it without that.

We were not sure if we wanted to take a helicopter tour of the volcano area, but decided to do it after all. (We had done one years ago on Maui and loved it but they are expensive) We did the 50 minute "Circle of Fire + Waterfalls." The views of the landscape, ocean, clouds, and the taste of local information made the tour well worth the expense. We got to see many things that we would not have otherwise gotten to see. It also framed up the rest of our day in the volcano park very well. The staff was professional and efficient. Our captain Chris grew up in the area which was neat. He has been flying the area for about 10 years. The ride was smooth and the scenery was great. Make sure and get the DVD so that you don’t spend all your time taking pictures. The seatbelts in the back are a bit uncomfortable for tall people but not too bad. I was in the backseat middle and still had a great view.