Reviews

I had never been on a helicopter before and was thisclose to pooing myself when it started to take off. After that, however (and luckily for the girl I was sharing the front seat with) it was smooth after that. We went on a cloudy day and we were still able see the volcano, steam vents, flowing lava and a waterfall. It was about a 45 minute flight. Our pilot was really nice and explained everything we saw. It was pricey (about $190 a person) but I think it was worth it. I saw things that I would have never seen otherwise. Worth the splurge.

I have the good and the bad here. The bad: On our last day in Hilo with an 8 PM departure flight, we pre-booked a 10 AM tour. This would give us time to go back to our hotel, freshen up, check out and do some shopping and visit a few sites we had missed. It was a solid well thought out plan. We boarded our 10 AM flight, took off and within 5 minutes the pilot said there was some sort of computer problem so he had to run back. So we got back and disembarked and hung out outside the gate of the tarmac. The helicopter goes away. About 10 minutes later we are told the flight is cancelled and we can book the 4 PM flight. So we rush back to do that knowing now our well planned out day is completely shot.  The counter lady puts us on the 4 PM flight but offers us nothing in the way of compensation. My gripe is: this was not a weather issue  they have no control over that. this was a failure on their part and they should have offered us something else. She doesn't so I asked for -along with getting the 4 PM flight - a $100 credit on my credit card (knowing I won't get it but to start negotiations) they refused but now she offers the dvd for free and a different kind of tour that apparently was an upgrade (though we did not notice any upgrade when we did go up). Since I now had to pay for parking for a flight I did not take and would have to pay for parking again later, I asked for that also and she tells me no. My issue is, they should have offered us the extras first. that is just good customer service. The Good. the flight was good. The pilot took us over burning lave that was cool to see and my only complaint is he did not tell us he would make sure both sides got to see it. just let me know that up front so I don't have to lean over the guy next to me to take pics.  Also, I had hoped we would get very close to the snow covered mtn, but alas, we flew over some very lame water falls. This was my 6th helicopter flight  - 2 in Alaska, 1 in New Zealand, 1 in NYC and 1 canada and this one was by far the least exciting.  yes, flying over the burning lava fields is pretty cool but that is about it.  Again, let's get closer to the snow capped mtn!

Our Oct. 9th "Circle of Fire & Waterfall" tour exceeded our expectations because of our pilot, Colleen. Our family group included 4 adults, an 8 year old, and a 5 year old. For the whole hour, Colleen patiently entertained the children's curiosity, answering their questions in language they understood. Blue Hawaiian's operations are organized.

Seeing the volcano via helicopter had been on my Bucket List for a long time, so i was thrilled when my husband got me a trip for Christmas. We selected Blue Hawaiian for their excellent reputation and stellar safety record. We were not disappointed. You can get a 20% discount by booking 5 days in advance online, which we did. You can also find giftcards at Kona Costco for about the same value. We were fortunate that the weather was sunny and clear on our tour day, a rarity in Hilo. We got checked in and ready for our flight, but at the last minute we were told that our flight was cancelled due to a maintenance issue with the helicopter. I was devastated initially, but they quickly rescheduled us for a flight 3 hours later that day. That gave us time to have lunch and shop around Hilo before returning to the airport. On the bright side, we were assigned the front two seats of our rescheduled flight (we were in the back row previously), also they threw in a free DVD of our tour for the inconvenience. A $40 value. So I was happy with the change in plans. The ground crew was very nice, and our pilot was excellent. The tour was breathtaking and will be a treasured memory for me. We chose to go on the Eco-Star helicopter, the more expensive one. But I felt it was worth it. The ride was very comfortable and the visibility from all the windows was excellent. As we left the tarmac, I noticed some of the other tour operators' helicopters, and some of them were shockingly old! I was glad we flew on the nicest helicopter around. I would heartily recommend Blue Hawaiian to all interested in a helicopter tour.

Until you have dangled over the mouth of an active volcano in a small helicopter with a pleasantly deranged Vietnam Vet (thank you for your service) at the helm you have not lived my friend. So we take off in Kona, dangle over Kilauea, watch the incredible show as the lava plunges into the sea creating massive plumes of steam, then cruise over to Hilo for a light lunch. Get back in the chopper ( I like saying "chopper") and weave in and out of waterfalls at dizzying heights. Oh my Gawd I was born for this! Now make it do a flip! Anyhoo, once you accept the fact that if you crash you are ashes, shark food, and or just a little bit of stuff smeared onto some rocks - you can relax and enjoy the ride.  It was amazing and exhilarating. Go! Oh and if you have any O'hana there get the Kama'aina discount so you can experience the kick ass deluxe package tour for considerably less cash. A fantastic way to gain a new perspective of the Big Island.

Awesome tour by our pilot Greg, exceeded our expectations! Circle of fire and waterfalls. Staff were professional and everything went smoothly. Thanks again for making this a wonderful experience during our honeymoon!

We took the Ring of fire + Waterfalls tour on the Ecostar and had a blast. Our pilot, Ethan, was very knowledgeable about the area and kept it interesting the whole time. There wasn't that much volcanic activity the day we flew, but that's not Blue Hawaiian's fault. We did get to see lots of smoke, a few breakouts and some orange points glowing, including inside the Puu Oo cone. Ethan was careful to make sure we were all comfortable with the banking and turns he made as he circled the crater so all could see. The waterfalls part was a bit of a letdown, but we were flying over them anyway on our way back to the airport, so why not. As others have mentioned, the helicopter seats six and you do not get to choose were you sit. Don't complain, they have to place you based on weight and the need to balance the aircraft. Besides, all passengers can see out the large windows. We felt it was an excellent adventure and well worth the price! To top it off, everyone, from the lady at the check-in desk to the ground crew, and of course our pilot, were super friendly and professional the whole time. Highly recommended!

Greg was a great pilot. Not terribly informative but gave the basics.  Super impressive heli.  Wow. I fly in heli's fairly often and their machines are quiet, smooth,  and very comfortable.  Had the video and narrative been just a bit better,  I'd give em five stars. Donatella will return.

Excellent tour of lava fields, water falls and whales. Pilot Tim did an expert flying job with a good running commentary. Highly recommend this birds eye tour.

I've never rode in a helicopter before so 1) didn't know what to expect 2) don't have any other companies to compare it to. Like others may have complained about, you should call to check how your weather conditions are AND if you're actually going to see what you want to see. Ex: is the lava flowing on the surface so one can see it..etc, etc. The day we went, it was rainy, soupy and overcast...but the next day was super clear! Now the service I got from the staff at Blue Hawaiian was actually very good and they were all 100% friendly. I have some minor suggestions but overall I'd suggest taking this company. Reason for my 3 star is that I got motion sick (I usually don't, as I love roller coasters etc...but a helicoprter is 100x different than a rollercoaster) and I don't think I'd go on one again. BUT by all means I do reccommend this company and it is really an awesome way to see the Big Island as you could never do via foot or land. My recap: Pros: -Very professional and friendly staff. -Very knowledgable pilot -We got to see the lava flowing in the ocean!!!! According to the pilot, we were lucky as the lava flow just broke the surface to dump into the ocean that week. -Newer, well kept aircraft Cons: -There is NO shelter right outside the fence where you board and Hilo is rainy more often than not. I didn't know why the staff brought us out to the fence to wait in the rain when our helicopter wasn't even ready yet. -The dvd burner was broken that day so we couldn't purchase a copy of our tour. BUT they gave us a complimentary blu-ray dvd of their best of Hawaii footage. -The ground staff that was in charge of getting us our floatation devices was ill prepared as he kept going back and forth about 100 yards, to get us our devices. AGAIN we were in the cold, windy rain on the tarmac. That was really dumb I thought. Unprepared and just poor planning. Ex: He brought out only 4 when he knew there was 6 of us then had to walk back 100 yard 2x to get us what we needed. Hello McFly, just count out 6 the first time!!!!

The wife and I took the circle of fire and waterfalls tour.  $220ish per person. We didn't take advantage of the advance booking because we didn't know.  This will allow you to save considerably per person if you book 5 days in advance.  Keep in mind people, you're basically taking a private flight, for at least an hour.  This isn't going to be cheap, consider what you paid to fly to this island.... With all those other people "splitting" the cost.  Also if you've been on the island and looked at the sky if you blink the weather changes.  So keep some perspective. Our initial thoughts about this tour and flight were not good, but we were turned around once off the ground.  Unless you book well in advance and have the right weight distribution between party members, and have 6 people in your party. you will be paired up with other folks.  This for us immediately was a problem.  We were paired up with people getting off a cruise ship, whom smelled like booze and cigs.  :(    also your seating is assigned based on weight.  (The aircraft needs to be balanced)   the bigger folks on our bird were placed mid ship.   Which for me meant sitting in seat "4" which was in the back in the middle.  (6'0 190lb)    I was not happy. The flight, was awesome.  Capt Eric explained the lava flows, dead lava tubes, showed us "spotlights" little bright red glowing holes in the lava, took his time to give both sides of the craft a pitch towards the sights So everyone had the opportunity for photos and to see below.  He was also a gentle pilot.  He kept checking on everyone to make sure their comfort level with the turns was OK.   The only thing I thought was meh, was the waterfalls portion of the tour. Flight time was a good length. The waterfalls were a zzzz...zzzz. I would rather have gone over to see the lava flow meet the water and get all steamy.  All in all it was worth it.   We enjoyed ourselves and have some awesome photos and a story to share.  We also got a private pilot to fly us around.

We took the 1 hour Volcano and Waterfall tour out of Hilo on the A-star.  We didn't book 5 days in advance so the price was about $20 higher than the online prices (not that big a deal) - we were able to call on a Monday morning and get a Tuesday afternoon flight!  The staff was great checking us in, doing the safety briefing, getting us on and off the plane. There were three of us in our group - I got the outer front seat and the boys were in the back seat.  We all were able to see out the windows just fine!  The other 3 people on our plane were an Argentinian/US family and they were great and helped make the trip even more fun.   We didn't have super high expectations as we knew that there wasn't that much lava flowing, but we did see the areas that were active and it was very cool.  Our pilot was SCOTT -- he was very knowledgeable and very entertaining.  The ride was very smooth and nobody got sick (unlike the crazy rides on Kauai).  They play lots of "mood" music which was surprisingly fun.   Scott was really good about circling around so that everyone got a chance to get photos/video of the active lava flows. I agree with some other folks that the waterfalls weren't all that, but they were a nice little bonus at the end of the trip.   Mahalo Blue Hawaiian Helicopters for a great time!!

Cheapest flights I could find over several other tours ($200 PP). Excellent 1 hr. flight with great pilot, Tim. Very comfortable helicopter. There were 6 of us plus the pilot and the only negative was that 3 of us did not have window seats. Seating was based on body weight. Would do it over again though.

Awesome staff and experience. Little dramanine and our family of 4 was good to go. The ride was smooth and not scary at all. fear of heights never came into play. Saw amazing views of volcano, waterfalls and the coutry side. A must do.

We really enjoyed our helicopter tour! Everyone at Blue Hawaiian was super friendly and helpful. The pilot was excellent and very knowledgeable.  We were lucky enough to see a lot of great views of the volcano and the island. My only disappointment was that we were supposed to see waterfalls and saw none. The price is definitely steep but well worth it, we have once in a lifetime pictures!