Reviews

Wow!!!! Most fun I've had on Kauai! The best and only way to see this beautiful island. Brody was a fantastic pilot and tour guide!! Thank you for everything!!

This was the best thing we did on our trip, period. It was my first helicopter flight and I am scared of heights, so I was nervous. They go over extensive safety guidelines and directions before you board. They choose your seat based on your weight (discreetly) to make sure the helicopter is balanced. Lucky for me, I got to sit in the front with an unobstructed view! Our pilot, Brad, was great. Very knowledgeable and had a good sense of humor. I got teary as we came upon the Na Pali coast--it is just gorgeous. We were also lucky enough to see several humpbacks! Seeing a mom and baby was a highlight of the tour. We bought our video of the tour. We both thought that it was a perfect thing to do on Kauai. You really get a feel for the whole island! We did it on the first full day we had on Kauai--highly recommend!!

At first we were very disappointed when our first flight was cancelled due to weather.   We were later thrilled because we came to realize that they knew full well when it was safe and ideal to fly.  We had a terrific flight and Jimmy was very knowledgeable about where to take us and what we were seeing.  Yes, the flight was expensive, but it was absolutely the highlight of our trip to Hawaii.

Great pilot (Barrett) a Kauai native, very informative and very experienced. We had a fantastic time! Worth every penny.

Our tour of Kaua'i via helicopter was really one of the highlights of our trip (asides from proposing to my lady!). Blue Hawaiian was professional and our pilot Barrett is an exceptional flyer and very humorous.  We were able to fly into the crevasses of the Na'Pali coast and see a beauty that is unparalleled.  We learned and saw many things that would have been unaccessible otherwise.  If you can I recommend flying in the Eco-Star helo and trying to get the front seats.  This bird is very safe, comfortable and has a great field of view.

We took a helicopter tour two days after driving the north coast and the day after visiting Waimea Canyon on our first trip to Kauai.  I have to say that this is the way to go. Seeing both perspectives is great. We booked thru the hotel.  Some people on our flight asked what we paid. They booked through a tour operator and paid $25 per person more. Go figure. You will have to disclose your weight when you book.  They weigh you when you check in. (although they don't announce it). Don't bother trying to blame the luau. All I'm saying is, if you want to be discreet about your weight, you better book the tour! Here is what you need to know. You can take a bottle of water, camera (without a case), and sunglasses on the flight.  You cannot take purses  or hats. They DVD the flight (inside and out) and sell them for $25 each. if you get a flight just after rain, the waterfalls will be terrific.  Our day was sparse. 3 couples per flight...so one of each couple will not get a window and the company chooses who sits where based on weight distribution for your flight. The lack of a window seat should not be a big deal, however, the guy in front of us wore a dark hawaiian shirt. (They recommend that you dress in dark clothes because of glass reflections).  A dark Hawaiian shirt still has white flowers and I really had to stretch to try and get pictures that didn't have his shirt reflected in them. Bummer.

I was nervous about a helicopter tour as there always seem to be accidents, but most of Kauai is inaccessible by car, so here it is a must see. Our helicopter seemed fairly new and well maintained, our daughter sat next to the pilot- he was really nice to her (calling her his co-pilot) giving a great commentary. Even though people talk about "bad seats, bad sides" - I had an interior seat on the left side, considered "the worst"- it is so spectacular there really is no bad seat. When we go to Big Island, we will use their service again.

This is a MUST!!  What a treat experience!  Well trained and knowledgeable staff!  Worth every penny and we even purchased the DVD of our flight and commentary for $25.

I absolutely loved our tour with Blue Hawaiian. It was my first helicopter ride so I have nothing to compare it to, but it was nothing short of amazing, espcially because Kauai is so beautiful. I was lucky to get a window seat on the back right of the plane, and I got some amazing pictures. The glare in the window is a bit harsh at times but if you position your camera well and don't use any flash, it is not noticeable. The service was great. I highly recommend this tour. I did a lot of research before booking, and I knew I wanted to ride the eco star helicopters and Blue Hawaiian were the only company that used it. Well worth the 200 bucks! BTW if you reserve online at least 5 days before your tour date, you should be able to get a bit of a discount. We were lucky that the weather was perfectly clear on the day of our tour.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopters was one of two companies recommended by "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook" so I chose it.  The ride itself was awesome, and our pilot/tour guide Jimmy was professional, friendly, and informative.  I almost knocked off one star because the staff that answers the main reservation number gives out inconsistent information concerning discounts, and they can be a bit brusque.  But once I got through that, the experience provided by the Lihue staff was 5-stars.  I appreciated the fact that for safety reasons, people are seated according to weight so as to balance the load.  And again, according to the guidebook, compared to the other helicopter tour companies, they will err on the side of safety and cancel flights if the weather is not conducive to flying.   I think BHH is the company that studios use when filming in Hawaii, so if good enough for them, good enough for me!

This is the Rolls-Royce, the French Laundry, the whatever you wanna call it, of helicopter tours. Sure, it's pricey to secure a seat in these bad boys. I said to myself, "So, when's the next time you'll be in Kauai?" I don't regret the decision one bit. Three of us went and let me say our helicopter was filled for that one hour in stunned silence. The ride itself: slick and sweet, smooth as silk, and incredibly spacious. Our pilot was great. I don't think I've ever been so awed since Santorini. It's a beautiful island anyway, but to appreciate it from above was magical. Especially Waimea Canyon. Especially the Napali Coast. The Napali Coast was absolutely stunning and to be able to go in and out of the different valleys with ease was amazing. We even flew into the wettest part of the planet. I have never seen so many waterfalls in my life. Save up for it. Borrow money for it. Set up a lemonade stand to fund it. If you're here, this is a MUST DO! Oh, and if you have a fear of heights or flying? I have both. You forget those things real quick.

The ride itself was great.  There is no way you can walk off that helicopter without feeling awestruck by the views.  Our pilot was knowledgeable, friendly, and gave me an incredibly comfortable ride (this was the first time I'd ever set foot in a chopper). My only issues were more admin related.  When we booked the flight online, we requested a morning flight, but noted that we were flexible on date/time as long as we could sit front, or back-right on the flight (several friends recommended that we request this; those seats are definitely the better ones to have).  We ended up with an afternoon flight, and they acknowledged they would do their best to accommodate our seating request.  I should've called at this point to clarify that this was important to me, but I didn't. We ended up sitting back left.  This didn't ruin the flight by any means; the views are still incredible, and I'm still glad we took the flight.  However, I did time it, and from rails up to touch down our flight time was under 50 minutes, not the 55 - 60 minutes advertised.  Nit-picky, I know, but for the price (over $450 for my wife and I) 5 - 10 minutes is a big deal. Overall a good experience, but when we return to Kauai, we will try a different company for our next helicopter tour.

My boyfriend took me on a helicopter tour of Kaua'i Hawaii. It was simply amazing. The helicopter ride was with a seasoned helicopter pilot who was very knowledgeable. He spoke of history, films and other interesting fact about the island. It was the first time I was in a helicopter so I am happy that we had such a great guide who made the experience smooth and turbulent free. My boyfriend and I are going back for Thanksgiving and are taking our family. Looking forward to sharing this amazing experience with them.

The helicopter tour is freaken expensive, but really is the best way to view Kauai (only because a lot of main attractions are not accessible by foot). I want to say the tour cost about $230 per person for 55 minutes. Come to think about it, it really doesn't not make a difference if it's 55 minutes or one whole hour on the helicopter tour, it's only 5 more minutes longer, beside blue Hawaiian does a pretty good job making sure they cover all the highlights of Kauai. I also read some reviews that mention open door helicopters. Since it was my first time in a helicopter I do feel much safer having a close doors. Even though if was mid-may, the weather was more like April according to the locals, so it was bit unpredictable.  My bf realized that in the afternoon the sun tend the stay out so we decided to pick a afternoon tour. Which was prefect. During our flight, there were total 6 of us flying beside the pilot. Each pair of us get a microphone to communicated to each other. Our peculiar crew were very quiet. No more ask any questions or was speaking to each other (my bf included was shy too) Since I did my homework prior to coming to Kauai. I end up to be the one rising questions here and there. That is the only way to get the pilot to speak little bit more about Kauai don't you agree? Or else the whole tour will be pretty quiet. At the end for $25 dollars you can even get a copy of the tour. Which is cheap compares to all the helicopters company we seen. The ONLY problem is the sound quality was horrible on the DVD. You have to turn the TV volume way high to hear anything. So that was a big disappointment. Other than that, the experience was truly amazing!

Other Yelpers have elaborated upon the details. My tour was slightly less than an hour and it was just the right amount of time. I think the only real question to ask yourself is whether it is worth the cost. First, I questioned cost prior to committing to it; by the finish, I was a believer that the cost was completely reasonable. Second, 'The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook - Kauai Revealed' (recommended) says to go to Kauai and not take a helicopter trip is like going to the Sistine Chapel and not looking up. This is true.