Reviews

A must see! I have traveled the world and this was the best experience ever. I have flown on helicopters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Greece, Hawaii, Nevada am to name a few. The experience with Blue Hawaii is the best, you definitely need to go on the big island 2 hour tour, you see whales, lava, volcanos, waterfalls and more. If you have ever flown in the grand canyon this 1000 times better. Contact Blue Hawaii or Gary at Pleasant Travels as he has the connections and will get you VIP treatment with a front seat. A++

We did the longer tour and it was worth every penny and then some. The only way to get a great tour of all the island variation.

Upgraded to an ecostar at no charge and got the front seats as requested. Jason, our pilot, was awesome (not to mention, his mom was my 8th grade teacher -- random, right?) and was an excellent tour guide over the Big Island (see photo). Can't say the same for the mute family in the rear seats, but hey, Jason tried his best with the jokes. Yes, the operation is efficient, and they plow out close to fifty flights a day, but that's what us city dwellers expect on vacation when we shell out this much for a "tour" - efficiency! Given this was from an island based business, we were quite impressed. And, for the reviewers who thought they were going to see bubbling lava all over the island, look up if the lava is flowing BEFORE you come to the island. Blue Hawaiian isn't responsible for how much lava you see -- sheesh! Many times this is the only way to see lava on the Big Island when it is not flowing into the ocean. Oh, and the LZ (landing zone) girl with the short shorts (see photo), yeah, you had me at shorts... Will do again, except on Kauai!

At first I thought.."wow this is expensive" but so worth it.  Amazing way to see The Big Island.  Steve the pilot was so knowledgable about everything.  The waterfalls were breathtaking. The terrain changes were so dramatic. Well worth every penny.  If it's the only excursion you do it is worthwhile.

We did the Big Island Spectacular tour from Waikoloa. Some of the reasons for the -1 star isn't their fault.  There was not much lava. I got a little plane-sick. I was annoyed because I brought medication and they told me I likely wouldn't need it.  Take meds if you get motion sick! The waterfalls are gorgeous and the lava is cool.  You do get views that you can't get anyway else. The staff is very friendly and the pilots are very impressive.

My boyfriend and I visited the big island for our 1st time and the Helicopter Tour was our favorite activity!  Jason splurged (the cost is definately worth the experience) and we enjoyed the 2-Hour - Big Island Specatcular on an Eco-Star Helicopter!  We traveled to Kilauea volcano & did see a little bit of lava, though we were wishing Pele was a little more feisty.  Then our tour headed north to view some specatcular waterfalls.  This tour was voted #1 by The Travel Channel as the "World's Best Helicopter Thrill."

My one regret on a previous trip to Alaska was not splurging for the helicopter tour, so 10 years later in Hawaii we didn't hesitate.  We  took the Circle of Fire tour from Hilo and we weren't disappointed.  As lava was not actively flowing, this was the only way to see it in the Puu Oo crater and that was the highlight for sure.  It was also interesting to see how old lava flows had covered towns and what was left standing - it really made real to me how lava has shaped and re-shaped Hawaii.  Also neat to see our hotel from the air! We took the Eco Star and were seated in the back - got lots of great photos even without being in the front seats but certainly would have preferred that less obstructed view (seats are assigned by weight ratios).  But the pilot made sure to approach everything from both sides and spin around so everyone got a good look. I am a little susceptible to motion sickness on small boats, so was worried, but the ride was smooth.

We did the Big Island spectacular. It was a great experience for our family. I strongly recommend seeing the big island by Helo - great way to absorb the diversity and check out future excursions. Steve was our pilot. He was both extremely safe and competent. I am a pilot, so am picky about these things - was very pleased. He was also very informative about the island culture and geography which was great for the kids. I would do the trip again and look forward to exploring other islands.

Great time.  Chad, the pilot was excellent.  Definitely recommend it as a great way to see parts of the big island, especially the inland waterfalls!  My recommendation is to take your own video because their video didn't come out well and when I tried to call and let them know, they didn't call back.

This was an amazing experience!!! It is expensive but it was well worth every penny. It's a once and a lifetime experience that everyone should experience. Jason the pilot was amazing!!! He was knowledgable and made sure everyone was comfortable. Another couple flew in from maui just for this tour, need I say more. The volcano was so cool to see because lava was spewing out, u can't see that from the car. Also, the waterfalls were beautiful & u could never see only on a helicopter. I would highly recommend this tour to everyone visiting the big island, but the you have to do the big island tour for 2 hours.

My wife and I went on the 2 hour tour. Saw most of the Big Island including some decent lava flows, cliffs, waterfalls, beautiful shoreline and more. The tour was pretty pricey though, however based on the fact that you spend almost 2 hours in the air and see almost everything on the island i think it's worth it. Tour guide Dale was very informative and was very considerate of how everyone was feeling on the flight, some people get motion sick. Make sure you wear dark colors if you want to take pictures, otherwise you'll catch the reflection from your clothes in every shot. There are also 4 cameras on the chopper that film you flight and a dvd of your trip can be purchased in the lobby after you land.

This one gets five stars from us. At first glance this seems overpriced, but at almost $400 per person. It was well worth it. Our pilot was Shane and he was excellent. He was very knowledgeable, an excellent pilot, and a very personable young man. We did the trip to see the lava flow and volcanoes as well as the valleys. We thought the volcanoes were awesome, but when we got to the valleys that was the most incredible part of the trip. Don't miss it if you go. We would do this trip again in a heartbeat.

We opted for the deluxe tour which started at 7 am.  Overall, the service was fine and the staff friendly.  It took a while to board and we were told it was about an hour and 50 minute flight (it was definitely shorter)  The pilot was great - lots of good info about the islands.  The volcano sights were fine - nothing spectacular - but it is highly dependent upon the weather and the activity.  Note: there is a restriction on the copters flying over the national park so some of the more dramatic views are not included in this tour.  The best part was seeing the waterfalls and i wish we had more time to view these.  So, overall, a good experience but not worth repeating (again, it comes down to weather).  The one piece of advice I would give is not to bring your purse since you can't bring it on board - we only learned this after we got there (even though the staff made sure to tell us to wear dark clothing).

We really enjoyed this tour, despite both leaving a little sick to our stomachs.  We were not graced with the front seat, as we desired but I did get the right side window which was great.  The boyfriend said he also had great views, although it seemed to be the looking through multiple windows that gave him the queasies.   Views were gorgeous and we were lucky enough to be given the kama'aina discount which made it a steal.  My only complaint was I did not get a lot of honest enthusiasm from the employees.  I wonder if maybe it is not such a fab place to work?   Geoff was a great pilot- I felt super safe and he was pleasant and chatty throughout the trip.  Thanks to all!

Great flight experience.  Even with our toddler and infant.