Reviews

Our pilot, Coyote, was excellent and very knowledgeable. Our ride was smoother than I anticipated. It was awesome to see the Waipio valleys up close, which we would have not been able to do otherwise. The staff was very accommodating and we appreciated greatly that they allowed our parents to sit in the waiting area until we returned. The video was very good and records your entire conversation with the pilot. We would definitely recommend to others.

Took the 2 hour late morning flight on the eco-star helicopter. Colin was our pilot and did a good job - he shared a lot of facts about the history of the island and had a good sense of humour. I had the enviable co-pilot seat - however my right arm was continually pushing against the metal back of the seat next to me and I left the tour with a nice, dark bruise - ouch. Also, I never did locate the hand-held microphone to ask any questions - I think there was one for the front 3 passenger seats. I did find the first part of the flight over the barren landscape somewhat tedious and I felt myself getting a little sleepy - however, the actual volcano and waterfall areas were interesting and really...how else are you going to see these natural sights any other way. Unable to get nice clear pictures due to the glass on the helicopter. My husband and son seemed to enjoy it more than my daughter and myself - maybe it's a guy thing.

We were hesitant about doing the big island tour at first because of the money. However, if you can swing it, it is definitely worth it! Our guide was excellent and took the time to explain everything we were seeing along the way. I was on the outside seat and my husband was beside me in one of the middle seats. You are assigned a seat based on your weight. Although my husband didn't have a window seat, he still felt like he had great views. Our guide encouraged us to ask questions and was full of knowledge! We had been to VNP and not seen any lava so when we got to see lava from the helicopter we were thrilled. The best parts of the tour were seeing the lava and the waterfalls within the valley. However, I must say that even having taken a dramamine before the flight, I still managed to get motion sickness twice. It was nice to have a break during the flight to get out an stretch and use the restroom. The entire company seemed very professional and I always felt safe and in good hands.

We recently enjoyed a week's stay in Hawaii (traveling with family and friends), and thanked our hosts by treating the group to Blue Hawaiian's Kohala Coast Adventure tour. It was a great choice, enjoyed by everyone in the group (pre-teens through seniors). This is an approximately 45 minute flight departing out of Waikoloa. We considered Blue Hawaii's more expensive Volcano tour, but that tour only departs from Hilo (100 miles away) while this one left from the heliport that was all of 5 minutes away from our resort complex at Hilton's Waikoloa resort. The staff were friendly, and honored our friends' timeshare discount card, which effectively saved us even more over and above the advanced booking discount we'd already gotten by booking online with Blue Hawaiian. The shop staff was very friendly and organized. Yes, they do indeed weigh each passenger, but the process is discreet -- you stand on a scale which only the clerk can read, and she enters the numbers in the computer without anyone seeing/hearing. Keep in mind this process is for safety reasons: they need to calculate "weight and balance" so that the helicopters fly properly and safely. The staff were also observant in that they noticed one of our group was very tall, and they double-checked his name to ensure he was placed in a seat with sufficient legroom. We were a group of 9, and ended up being seated in 2 different helicopters. We bought the souvenir DVDs from each flight, and it is worth noting that while the pilots cover many of the same topics, and fly similar routes, they each have their own styles of interacting with passengers, and some of the locations visited varied slightly. The narrations aren't "canned" or memorized from a script. For both flights, we thought the pilot commentary was a great addition to the visual experience. The Kohala Coast tour begins along the arid side of the island where the landscape entails brown desert and the black lava flows stretch for miles, and then the helicopter climbed to the mountaintops where the climate changes dramatically, and suddenly everything is lush and green. It's a dramatic and abrupt scenery change. Before long we were flying in and above these amazing valleys with numerous waterfalls: It was truly breathtaking to be able to see these huge waterfalls from the various perspectives. Onward we flew to the coastline where cliffs overlook the deep blue water, waves are crashing, whitecaps splashing, and there are yet more waterfalls to behold... I think everyone was impressed. This was an experience to remember! I highly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys flying and a bit of adventure. You'll be amazed at what you'll see. It is pricey, but well worth it if you can swing it. Fortunately the souvenir DVDs are reasonably priced and make a wonderful souvenir (they are filmed from your flight and include the "soundtrack" from whatever you heard/said through the speakers on the helicopter. Blue Hawaiian has multiple cameras mounted on each helicopter, and do a good job of splicing the various views to make for an interesting video. They have a system in place where you can take home your flight's DVD within about 30 minutes of landing.)

What a way to see an island! This company is absolutely top notch, from the ancillary staff, and the pilot, all the way to the helicopter itself, everything was perfect, friendly, exciting, and worth every penny. We saw all of the Big Island from the helicopter and there was not a bad seat in the house. They were able to linger at some of the best sites (lava, waterfalls, and incredible valleys), circling each way for all to enjoy. My 8 year old boy will never forget this! Thank you! I regret not booking this company in the subsequent visit to Kauai.

We took the 9:30 morning 2 hours flight as advised by 2 friends who have done this trip. The cost is not cheap but definitely worth it. We were lucky to sit in the front so we had a great view. The pilot made sure that everybody had enough time to look at the volanco and take photographs as he circled quite a few times. The pilot, Shean (?) is very knowledgeable, funny and extremely helpful. During the flight, passengers could ask questions and he was happy to give you detailed information and interesting stories. I was a bit scared about flying in big aeroplanes but I was not scared at all in the helicopter as the flight was very smooth and I felt reassured sitting next to the pilot. However, the pilot said it could get bumpy if the weather was bad. It applies to all flights and cruise, of course. It might be a good idea to ring the company up and ask if you need to take motion sickness medication if you know there will be bad weather coming. It was a wonderful, awesome experience and I highly recommend anybody to do it. Flight of a lifetime!

Absolutely amazing and breathtaking! This is a must! My husband and I took the Volcano tour, and it was perfect! Blue Hawaiian Helicopters is the way to go. Great people and our pilot, Ray, was awesome! He narrated for us and circled the active volcano many times, so we could get many different looks at it. We had booked the 9am tour, but due to the weather, it was cancelled. The staff was helpful and even opened up a tour for us later that afternoon. So glad we waited! Thank you Blue Hawaiian Helicopters for an experience that we will always remember.

I agree with the other positive reviews. My husband and I took the volcano helicopter tour on the Big Island. Obviously, it's the only way you can see so much beauty on the island, including the lava coming out of the volcano, waterfalls down a valley that are otherwise unreachable, ocean views, and a view of a funny house near the volcano that is completely inaccessible by road (and the owner reportedly still lives there and hikes into town). We took the Ecotour with the bigger seats, more comfortable ride and less noise. The pilot was interesting with his comments about the island. But beware that they have cameras recording the trip, including inside the helicopter. So be sure not to do anything embarrassing since you are being filmed. And flying in a lower altitude can be a bit bumpy but was overall comfortable. The only ding I'd give them is that the one bathroom for customers was quite dirty. You'd think that an employee would notice the heavy use and clean it up.

We booked the Circle of Fire plus Waterfalls tour out of Hilo. The tour flew us over the volcano and we could see red lava in some areas. The pilot also took us to the coast where the lava flowed into the ocean which was a pretty explosive sight. A lot better than seeing it from far away in the National Park. We also flew by some nice waterfalls. The ride was very smooth and the tour guide was experienced and knowledgeable. We felt very safe and it was the best experience we had on the Big Island.

This company is great. Organized, professional, fun. The trip was great. The trip is part National Geographic, part roller coaster, part Wow, part beauty. All in one it is great. I had the worst seat in the copter and could see fine. None of the four of us had been in a copter and we had various degrees of nerves... but no worries, it was nothing but fun. We would all do it again in a heartbeat. I would love to do it on a day like when we flew out with incredible clarity. We had to make due with loads of vog. In fact they canceled the flight after ours. Still we had a great time and saw a lot. Including magma down in the vents and lava flowing into the sea creating steam clouds. The most entertaining part was a valley north and east of waipio with shear cliffs like something from jurassic park.

We did the Circle of Fire plus Waterfalls. Will was our pilot. He was the same pilot who flew in the Travel Channels 1000 Places to See Before You Die Hawaii episode. Awesome tour. This was my first helicopter ride. I took plenty of Dramamine and ate some ginger before the ride. I didn't get nauseated until there were about tem minutes left of the 50 minute tour which is pretty good for me. We flew over some waterfalls which was pretty cool. Got to see some lava and some lava flowing into the ocean. That was the highlight of the flight for me. He gave a great tour.

This was an awesome morning! We took the 2 hour big island tour and it was worth every dollar. Jason was our pilot and we were told by others on our flight that he came highly recommended by the concierge at the four seasons--he was personable, knowledgeable, even had music to accompany the flight--all around, great fun, and truly interesting. You see things you'd never witness in a car, including lava, waterfalls right up close, etc. Do it!

One gains a new respect for how "young" the Big Island is and the scope of the past volcanic history from the air. You shouldn't expect to see spouts of red lava shooting into the air which is rare, but a glimpse of red and the smokey gases from so many spots near the volcanic national park. We taken various copter tours more than 6 times on the islands. Blue Hawaiian seems to have well maintained equipment, pilots who seem to know their craft and their tour, and well maintained ground facilities which reassure the guests that this is not a fly by night company operating from the back of car. Our pilot, Will Curry, is a long-time, local resident. He even pointed out his home on the tour. He was a military vet of copters. He was very entusiastic and carried a personal photo album in the copter of some of the sights we were enjoying from the air. The adnvertised waterfall portion of the tour was OK. Seeing where many of the lava flows were, the cutoff communities, the vents and skylights, the lava hitting the water.... very nice. Blue Hawaiian flies only the popular A-Star copter from Hilo. I noticed their Waikoloa air field had the newer Eco-Star which is much more comfortable (spacious with better seating). The A-Star is fine and we've flown it before. The question: Is it worth the price? The only con I've ever had with Blue Hawaiian is that they sometimes tour when it is "safe," but you don't as much as you've paid for. Book direct online and save 12% or so. We've had good tours with Blue Hawaiian on Maui, Jack Harter on Kauai, Interisland on Kauai, Makani Kai on Oahu and now would add Blue Hawaiian out of Hilo. It's NOT a must do on the Big Island, but we have a new appreciation for the size and grandeur.

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!