Reviews

Drove over from Northern Kona area (approx 2 hours via Waimea) to Hilo. Had lunch in downtown Hilo prior to flight with dinner in Waimea on way back. Our pilot was Ethan who was very friendly and knowledgeable. I felt flight was just the right amount of time- not too short and not too long. We flew on their cheaper helicopter (not the Eurostar) and was very comfortable. However, could see how things could be tight for larger passengers.

Just want to confirm what so many others have said. Blue Hawaiian was great, we also had Ethan as our pilot and he did a wonderful job of flying, pointing out interesting sites, good history and answered all questions. We had outstanding views of the active crater and current lava flows, and nice views of the falls. Ethan circled the best sites a number of times so each person got a great view. Sure, we would have loved more time but it wasn't rushed and we felt like we got everything as advertised, and service was great. No hard sell at all about video or other souveniers. We did go on the larger Echostar craft and it was plenty comfortable and easy to see everything even from the middle rear seats. Here are two other reasons to choose Blue Hawaiian: one of the best guide books for the islands (Wizard Publications, "The Big Island Revealed" which is highly rated and copies were in all the private places we rented) continues to rate Blue Hawaiian as the #1 helicopter service; 2) one of the folks we rented a house from (on Oahu) knows the BH owner and applauded our choice when I told him that's what we flew the previous week. I did a lot of web surfing on this topic before choosing Blue Hawaiian and I know it can be confusing with all the options. While I can't comment on the other vendors, I can say that BH was a great experience all the way around and can't imagine anyone would be dissappointed by the experience. We made a day of sight seeing from Kona and flew out of Hilo and it was a wonderful day. The Big Island is a very magical place and Blue Hawaiian is a great way to see it from the air!

We booked the Eco-Star 50 Circle of Fire tour which took us over the Kilauea Volcano and then up to some waterfalls. It is a 50 tour although I hit the stopwatch on my cell phone and our tour was actually 60 minutes. We were staying in Waikoloa, but we booked out of Hilo which is on the other side of the Big Island. It took us about 2 hours to drive to Hilo, but it was a beautiful drive. We booked the tour the day before without any problems. We booked the Eco-Star as I am a bit claustrophobic and my husband thought I would do better in a larger helicopter. The tour leaves from the Hilo airport. We parked and went to the Blue Hawaiian desk. They discreetly weigh you to determine how you will be placed on the helicopter. They encourage you to make a pit stop. Then, you go back to a room where they play a safety video for you. If you have bags, they place them in lockers for you and give you the key. They give you pilot assignments. We were assigned Ethan. You are given lifevest that you wear around your stomach (they resemble fannie packs). You are guided out on to the tarmac where you are given numbers which designate where you sit on the helicopter and the order in which you will be put into the helicopter. The employees then lead you to your helicopter and call your number at which time you go to the helicopter and they put you in your seat and make sure that your seatbelt is fasten. My 10 year old daughter sat next to the pilot. My husband and I sat in the back. I am not a good flier, but it actually was not scary. We went south to go over the Volcano first – Ethan did his best to find some hot spots for us. We were in the air for about 30 minutes when one of the other passengers felt sick to her stomach. Ethan gave her a “comfort” bag and gave her a stick to smell which settled her stomach and she did not get sick. Ethan talks to you through your headset and you have a microphone to ask questions. Ethan was interesting and made us feel at ease. At the end of the flight you come back towards Hilo and go by some waterfalls. I was very impressed with how professional everyone was, and if we go to Maui, I will go another tour (even though I am fearful of flying).    

Our pilot Jeremy made this adventure AAA+++. He was professional, fun, informative and a great pilot! The scenery was breathtaking. We all had a great time!!

After much research, I decided on Blue hawaiian helicopters, mainly for their impressive safety record and also for their lovely looking Eco-star helicopter. The company was great to deal with, gave a good safety talk and had a very nice comfortable helicopter with great viewing opportunities. My 4 star rating is more to do with the trip itself. One of my specific reasons to come to Hawaii from Australia was to see the volcano and bubbling red lava that I had seen on TV documentaries. Firstly, no aircraft is permitted to fly over the crater of the active volcano (and hasn't been since 1987 when a chopper fell into it). The flight takes you over the active lava flow which is coming from a 'vent', miles away from the crater. This depends on timing as some years there is no active flow at all. Currently, there has been active flow for about 18 months, but as yet it hasn't reached the ocean so it is coming down the east side of the island on a hill. The lava cools as soon as it reaches the air, and then it turns silver. So what is seen is large areas of silver/grey lava. Occasionally there are 'breaks' in the surface and the bright orange lava can be seen beneath. We saw two very small areas of this. The pilot said that the flight before us (at 10am), there were more red areas visible as by our flight (11am) the sun was brighter and they weren't visible. The photos of red bubbling lava are obviously taken at rare times in the history of the volcanic activity. Also, no helicopters fly at night for safety reasons but that would be the best time to fly over the lava fields! We also took a boat tour which is at night and gives a better view. Having said that, riding in a helicopter is always fun (albeit expensive- especially with children) and it gives a great overview of the island and where you are going. The tour is meant to include waterfalls but our pilot only took us to Rainbow falls (near the airport) but missed the impressive Akaka falls (claiming too much cloud but I think just ran out of time). Overall, would do it again but have realistic expectations of what you are going to see (or not see!)

We went with the more expensive helicopter which holds 6 people. We were very pleased with our tour. The pilot pointed out lots of things and tried very hard to locate "hot spots". The various helicopter pilots were in communication and giving each other tips on where they saw hot spots. When he found a couple, he circled the hot spots so people on both sides of the helicopter could get pictures. The only negative is if other people in the helicopter ignore Blue Hawaiian's advice to wear dark colors, you may get pictures of their reflections. We thought we were going to get lots of pictures of their reflections. Fortunately, we did get "reflection pictures" not but the possibility existed. You can't help it if other people just don't listen to the advice of the tour company. If I were to take another helicopter Tour, I would definitely use Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.

We drove to Hilo from Kohala area to take a shorter Helicopter trip, and save about $100 a head, but still see lava. We were very happy with Bule Hawaii and Tim our pilot, nice guy helpful commentary and scrupulous to ensure everyone got view of the lava. I agree with a previous post that you won't see rivers of red hot lava, you will however get an impression of how destructive a lava field is, and see islands of trees on mounds. We saw silver lava flows (below red but before black, and a few cracks glowing bright red, but we also got a great view into a 'cave' , which i presume was the end of a lava tube, with splashing red lava inside, just what you see on National Geographic! Helecopters was comfortable and smooth, best in the morning I was told and it was very good, nice drive to Hilo as well.

Not knowing what to expect when flying in a helicopter over a volcano, I was super excited to go on this excursion. After a brief safety meeting, we got our helicopter and seat assignments. Do be prepared to be weighed before you go- they don't actually announce your weight or anything but they do have to distribute the weight in the helicopters. Also good to know- you can't take any bags or such in the helicopter, basically just what you can fit in your pockets so either leave it behind or be prepared to lock it up at the airport. Jeremy was our pilot and he was super knowledgeable and was able to answer all of our questions. He was also super helpful in letting us know when he was communicating with air traffic control or other helicopters so we knew he wasn't just ignoring us! Obviously these guys know where to go but he took us over an active "bubbling" and showed us the river of lava and then out over the ocean to see where the flow had gone into the ocean (although it wasn't when we were there). We also flew over some really beautiful waterfalls. It was a great tour and having a great pilot made a big difference! I would go back and do this again in a heartbeat!

I made reservations for 6 of us to take this shorter Volcanoes and Waterfalls tour out of Hilo on the last day of our vacation. I figured if we had not seen any hot lava yet this tour would show us some. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters did not disappoint us. Tim, the very knowledgeable pilot, took us on a very smooth ride out to the only active viewing spot right now which is coming out of Pu'u O o vent. the only other way you can see any red hot lava right now, at least that day, was by taking a 6 mile dangerous hike out to this spot.... personally that is not for me. it looks dangerous and desolate out there, definitely not a family outing. It helps to know in advance what to expect. I knew from my research that there is not currently rivers of lava flowing to the sea. You kind of have to take and appreciate what Mother Nature gives you, and seeing even the small pools of red hot lava that we did was very exciting. Tim made sure we all got great pictures and a good view of the vent. He showed us the subdivision which was destroyed and the home of the last guy remaining which just got covered over last march. Then we whisked away over a beautiful multi tiered waterfall on the outskirts of Hilo which you cannot see any other way as it is on government land not open to the public. I really enjoyed this tour, and they tape it for you so you can buy the dvd when you get back... I like that a lot as my pictures never turn out as well as I hope they will. Nothing like seeing it in person. The price was reasonable I thought. How often do you make the trip to Hawaii... go ahead and spend a little extra to take this tour! and tip your pilot back at the office if you liked his tour.

I convinced my hubby that we had to do this. He was skeptical at best as his previous helicopter trip from 15 years ago he was stuck in the back seat. We did the two hour Circle Island tour in the eco-star and lucked out getting the front two seats. Absolutely breathtaking and worth the price. Our pilot,Scott, was excellent as he narrated the trip. We were able to see lava which we had not seen on our two prior visits to The Big Island and the Volcano National Park. The gorgeous valleys were my personal favorite. We booked online. Easy.

I'm giving this an excellent review. We didn't do this the first time we came to this island and I'm so glad we did this time. You see places you could never get to. I was nauseous for half the flight and I'm still saying its worth it. We were on the two hour tour, The pilot landed in Hilo for anyone who needed a break. and then we finished the rest of the tour. Pilot was full of history and all the cool extra info about the island.

I highly recommend this tour. The Adventure: We did the 2 hour tour, pricey but well worth it. We drove most of the island, but would never have been able to see all of the spectacular sights like the canyons in the north and the lava flows in the south without being in a helicopter. Our pilot Scott was very knowledgeable about the islands geography and history and used an agreeable amount of wry wit prior to take-off and in-flight to keep it interesting and to put the passengers minds at ease. The Pilot: Scott was great. He has been a helicopter pilot for many years including several years in Blackhawks. He went through the preflight safety checklist with the passengers (what to do what not to do), explained the controls for the Bose Noise Cancelling / 2 way communication system, had a constant feedback loop with the passengers to ensure his maneuvers were not causing motion sickness (we had a good group on so no issues there), and ran a constant narrative of what we were seeing, about to see and other island facts and history. The Equipment We booked the Eco-Star (Eurocopter) and it was a GREAT choice. I am a big guy and from the back seat could see out in all directions as well as had enough room for my legs. I have been in many helicopters and small planes and can tell you between the Bose headphone system and this greenhouse of a cockpit I have never had as good a view in all directions or as much room. For full disclosure I did have to purchase 2 seats because of my weight and would have been a bit squished if I had not (6' 4”, 60” chest, 40” waist)

Friends convinced us we should do a helicopter tour of the Big Island. After reading reviews of the competitors we opted for the Blue Hawaiian Big Island Spectacular Tour in an Eco-Star helicopter leaving from Waikoloa Heliport. It proved to be a great decision and well worth the price tag. The pilot, Scott, was very skilled; having flown in the US military for many years and he ensured we had a smooth flight. Scott's commentary throughout the flight was both entertaining and informative as a result of his local knowledge. I sat in one of the middle 4 rear seats but still had an excellent view out the front and to both sides so I didn't miss seeing anything. Scott offered the passengers the option of a pit stop at Hilo half way through the tour for anyone who needed it. I definitely recommend this tour and suggest that you pay the extra $25 for the DVD of your actual flight.

The flight with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters was the highlight of a wonderful holiday. We had booked a one hour flight from Hilo to fly over the volcano but after driving there from the other side of the island, it was cancelled because of the weather. there really is nothing they can do in these circumstances. We wanted to go so much that we re booked for the next day but from Waikoloa, on our side of the island. All we could get was the 2 hour flight but we took it anyway and we were so pleased we did! Not only did we fly over the volcano (an awesome sight) but the rest of the island too. We flew up sacred valleys, over the coast and mountains, and we looked down on waterfalls in places you'd never get to on foot. Our pilot was fantastic, as were all the people who worked at Blue Hawaiian. If you're there, DO IT!

Blue skies, very little wind, lava flowing...perfect conditions for our trip. If there had been 6 on our trip, perhaps the views wouldn't have been so great, especially for the middle 2 in back, but there were 4 in the eco-star we were in so all got great views. Unlike some of the reviewers, I thought the music added to the tour, especially on take-off. Our pilot did a great job of commentary, and made sure that we all got great views of the major sights. Due to the expense, we wouldn't do the tour again, but are glad we went once!