Reviews

Worth every penny. Went on the A-Star and sat in the front next to pilot and wife sat by the door. Plenty of glass, great views. The DVD is worth the $25.00. The flight over the volcano and the lava fields is a sight to see. Stress free, very calm flight. We took the Circle of Fire tour and Ethan was our pilot. He filled us in with a running commentary of what we were seeing.

This is not an economical tour.... however it is well worth it!! The views of the volcano, waterfalls, coastline, we saw whales and dolphins in the ocean, rolling hills.... just amazing! The pilot was great with being very descriptive of what we were seeing & accommodating us to take pictures. Million dollar views... that only cost hundreds! Thanks so much for the awesome tour!!! Cheers

Very interesting and exciting flight . We upgraded to echo star helicopter but were put on an A star at the last minute. We were told sorry everything else is full. Upon our return we expressed our disappointment to the owner. He was rude, arrogant and basically said mistakes happen. We walked away with a great experience that had a bad ending. When checking in confirm exactly what you are getting. This has happened to others.

This is a must-do when on the Big Island! Beautiful and comfortable helicopters; fantastic pilots (Toshi is phenominal); and the scenery is beyond description. You fly so close to the waterfalls and cliffs you feel as though you could reach out and touch them. And, a great way to whale watch! It is truly the only way to see parts of teh island you would never be able to otherwise.

Amazing... 'nuff said. What a great experience with a high quality professional team. The views were fantastic and the experience was above expectations. Volcano... lava, waterfalls, deep lush valleys... and whale sightings from 800'! Was one of our highpoints and Blue Hawaiian made it even more special. Our pilot was friendly and outgoing, knowledgable and his professionalism was second to none.

We had flown with BH on Maui and enjoyed the experience, so booked the Big Island Spectacular tour online (good discount this way) for a Christmas Day flight. This tour includes flying right over active lava flows, (which there were active that day) and flying into spectacular waterfall laden canyons on the Hilo side. There really is no other way to see these places as they are inaccessible otherwise. The aerial experience is unique and there is no other format that can even come close to the allowing you that perspective. The ecostar helicopters allow for good viewing from all seats and are quite comfortable. The staff are all very professional and the flights leave on time. Tip: if you are prone to motion sickness you may wish to take some anti-nausea relief before your flight. Even if the flight is smooth, which has always been our experience, there is enough motion with some of turns to get your stomach a little annoyed. Even still, well worth the cost to see Madam Pele's red hot lava bubbling just underneath you!

We have done quite a few helicopter rides and this is one of my favorites. You do need to plan a half day for this activity. By the time you get there, take the training, take the ride and drive back. And there is a risk it may be cancelled due to weather which happened to us once. We took both our 20's children and 80's mother in law on the ride. All enjoyed it. The pilot does a good job to take you on a scenic ride and see as up close as possible some lava flows. Well worth it when you're in Hawaii.

This was amazing, my wife and I took the long tour and absolutely loved it. Our pilot was great, great views. Worth it!

Three of us did the dawn tour around the big island on the A star, with pilot Shane, in Feb 2013. We were staying on the Kohala coast with a one year old and didnt really have the time to spend driving all over, plus we knew the views of the sights would be unobtainable or incomparable to the view from the air. We were most excited for the volcano and it did not disappoint, but the lush valley beside Waipio was surprisingly incredible, rivaled the valleys of Kauai. The lava, the waterfalls, unbelievable riveting scenery, truly. Shane was excellent, first class flying and narration, very friendly, professional, lots of commentary, answered questions, and picked great music. Did a fantastic job. I've been in the Ecostar and the Astar was still a terrific experience; not worth fussing over which chopper you take. Do this tour early in your trip and then decide what you really need to see more of. I know its pricy but you've come all this way. Skip a few meals or whatever you need to do to afford it. This is the premier helicopter tour in the world, and you see things you can't see anywhere else or any other way. You wont forget it. You wont regret it. Don't miss it.

We, from Australia, were in an A-star helicopter with our teenage kids plus one friendly fellow traveller from the USA. Ethan, our pilot, was super-informative and knowledgable about everything we flew over or wondered about and questioned, during the 50 min tour. The flight took us over the active Pu'u O'o caldera where we easily saw bubbling and spitting and rolling red-orange lava! What a site!! And we circled in both directions so that nobody missed out. And further down the slopes we could easily spot other active but smaller flows. The ride was smooth, the seats very comfortable and the views really great and easy from any seat. We absolutely recommend you do this experience. We only wished we could do it over the same day!! Blue Hawaiian were very professional and courteous all the way. We are glad we chose them. Thanks for reading.

I took the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour in Hilo, Hawaii as a shore excursion from my 15 day Hawaii cruise on Celebrity. I was so happy the night before we hit Hilo, since I found out that there had been lava flow spotted a couple of days before we got there and at around midnight the night before, when our ship was sailing from Kona to Hilo, we spotted lava flow out into the ocean and the Captain actually turned the ship around 360 degrees so that people who were in their staterooms and did not want to go out on deck could view it from their rooms or balconies. We did get to fly over some vents and did see some lava, and our pilot Jeremy explained that lava actually cools very fast, between 2-3 seconds, so that the red glow does not last long once exposed to the surface. I was disappointed that we did not fly over the actual crater and that we did not go over too much of the coastline to see if we could see the lava flowing out into ocean, since we were pretty far out on the ship so the lava flow appeared only as red dots from the ship. Jeremy, our pilot was great at explaining how the lava flow works and he remembered everyone's (6 passengers) names and during the flight called everyone's name to point out things to us. This was because they have 4 video cameras on the helicopter and you can get a copy of your specific flight including your voice asking questions or speaking to the pilot. The tour stated that it was a volcano and waterfall tour, but the waterfall we saw was very small and hardly worth mentioning. It was still very satisfying to be able to see some lava, even if it was only some little pools of it on the surface, since they hadn't had any lava flow since December 2011 and also at that time of year, this is about the only way to see any lava since the boat tours are limited.

We took this tour last week and it was great! The pilot knew where the hot lava flows could be seen and photographed and he made sure everyone had all the photos they wanted of any feature before moving on. Before heading back he flew over a cascading stream with plenty of falls to photograph. We felt it was worth the money. Go from Hilo rather than Kona because it's 1/2 the price!

Our guide book recommended Blue Hawaiian, and although I have nothing to compare it to, this was a very enjoyable and one of a kind experience. The staff were extremely helpful in ensuring this was a safe and stress free experience, they explained everything very well, and even helped us with the safety harnesses once we were in the helicopter. Our pilot, Ethan, was really exceptional. Our guide book mentioned the fact that the tour guide could make or break this experience and Ethan made it a very wonderful and interesting trip, especially while he circled the volcano in each direction so everyone could view it (a breathtaking view), he was very knowledgeable about the area, it's history and he shared his own experiences with us. In speaking with others from different helicopter tour outfits, some of the pilots would rock the helicopter and tip it to make it what they thought would be more exciting, but for those who had issues with the motion, it made for an unpleasant experience. Ethan made our ride very comfortable, and the 50 minute tour was the best way to see the volcano. We did the ring of fire and waterfall tour in the Eco star helicopter, and it was worth every penny! I would highly recommend this tour!

Our first ever helicopter ride was exhilarating... what a thrill. Pilot Mike was excellent and no one suffered any motion sickness. It's worth experiencing the awesome views from above of the waterfalls and lava flows. The views and the ride was a memorable experience. Book the tour online at least five days in advance to get the online discount. Also request that the pilot spend a little more time over the falls and less time looking for lava steam vents. There was no lava flowing during our visit, so it was a lot like looking down on a massive chocolate brownie. The ride in the helicopter was in itself a cool experience, the birds eye view of the waterfalls and lava flows was icing on the cake. Best seat is front next to the pilot. Although seating is based on their computer analysis of weight and height, so it's likely that you may get seated away from your spouse or significant other. Wear dark clothes to minimize reflective glare off the windows. Talked to other visitors who recommended helicopter tours of Kauai or Maui as better values and views of more impressive waterfalls.

SPECTACULAR!!! James is a great pilot & guide! Thank you! Very organized & well run. Wear black or a non-patterned dark color if you plan to take your own photos or video, it cuts down on glare, but it's easier to sit back, enjoy the ride & buy the DVD of your helicopter ride at the end.