Reviews

My husband and I recently took a 1 day excursion to Hilo from Oahu to see the volcano.  I'm very glad we were told in advance to ask if there were any recent lava flows, (apparently if there isn't the views are not as spectacular).... lucky for us, we were told a recent flow had just erupted! I am petrified of flying....and was very skeptical about doing a helicopter tour.  But I figured "hey, only live once, and I'm not gonna let my fear stop me from something Ive dreamed about doing".  Anyhow our tour guide and helicopter pilot (Jeremy) did a fantastic job of reassuring me that our tour was safe and that everything is perfectly ok!!!   Jeremy was very knowledgeable about the island and was very informative on our tour.  We got to see the last house standing (the guy that lives there must be nuts) and then Jeremy took us off the coast to see the lava flowing into the ocean.  I was a little disappointed we couldn't get closer, but I guess do to the toxic gasses we couldn't.  The views were amazing. Watching the lava flow into the ocean was magical and awe inspiring.  We were also very lucky that the weather was on our side.  We had a perfectly clear and sunny morning to see everything!  Pele the mythological Hawaiian Goddess of the Volcano must have been smiling upon us that day! I think that peoples experiences with this tour are contingent upon how active the volcano is and how nice the weather  is on that particular day.  I can see why some may have been underwhelmed or unimpressed to go all that way and have it rained out or not active.   My husband and I had a great experience....weather was perfect, lava flow was recent and our tour guide was great.  For us, our experienced rocked.

My husband & I have been to Hawaii 4 times & always wanted to see the Volcano. This trip with our best friends we did. From the moment we checked in to take off we experienced complete professionalism. Jeremy was our pilot & with his calm demeanour & relaxing tunes we had a fabulous time. We all would recommend this company for this tour had a great time. Early was better as weather changes so quickly.

Vendor Review Blue Hawaiian Helicopters Circle of Fire plus Waterfalls: We did the ecostar helicopter circle of fire plus waterfalls excursion in Hilo on the Big Island 10/2014. We got upgraded to the ecostar package through our hotel (The Sheraton) which was awesome. The computer generates your seat based on keeping the aircraft weight distributed evenly. We were super lucky to sit in the front 2 seats next to the pilot (Ethan was great! He was very knowledgable and gave us a great flight.) with pretty much floor to ceiling windows to see everything. First we went to where the lava flows. It was a very clear day so it makes the glow hard to see, but you can see the crusted over lava, some sky holes with flowing red lava, and the smoke billowing out of the holes. We also went by a string of waterfalls at the end of the tour that you could see through the rainforest. The tour lasted about 50 minutes. The turns can make you a little queasy so take some dramamine before going if you get motion sick.

Best helicoptor ride!! Must do!! Highly recommend. Worth it :)

It was really cool being on a helicopter, but I wasn't all that impressed otherwise.  The time that we were up in the air was really more like 35-40 minutes instead of the full hour that we were promised.  We got to see some pretty cool scenery from the air, but nothing extraordinary.  Book through Expedia and get a free t-shirt!

Great staff, flexible with scheduling the tours.  They honor AAA discounts.  Their morning tour prices are lesser than afternoon tours.  Price is less if you fly from Hilo airport.  We stayed in Kohala and were initially told $450 per person :-o   Since we had a car, drove to Hilo and the ticket was $150.

Zack was our pilot and he did a great job.

Awesome Helicopter tour above the volcano. They are  well organized and run on schedule. No need to pay the extra for the waterfalls as they are not that great at all. Our pilot was really knowledgeable and friendly. He made sure everyone could see very well from every angle. A must to see the volcano from above! Worth it!

I had a nice flight with family. We got lucky and were able to see lava flowing into the sea and also a new breakout flowing on land. Not a lot mind you, but enough to make it worth the flight in my mind. We took the a- star on our trip. It is a bit crowded, however the pilot told us that it is able to bank more steeply and we got some good shots because of it. The waterfall portion isn't worth too much in my mind. It's on the way back to the airport. It's a bit of a jaunt over to the lava flows and there aren't rivers of glowing lava, but I knew that going in and was satisfied with what we got.

Let's put it this way, if you don't get too excited like everyone else on their way to see volcanoes you will be pleased.  Please keep your expectations in line, whether you are flying or visiting on land, while this is the most active volcano in the world you wouldn't be allowed to visit if it was dangerous.  If you get lucky, you may see some orange lava.  If not you see smoke, its just the nature of it.   Personally, I was very unimpressed by Volcano National Park.  Fly over by helicopter and saw some spots of lava, pilot says we were lucky.  I thought we would be able to get much closer than we did, but what can you do about it.  Obviously, seeing volcano destroyed land isn't all that interesting.  On top of the fact that it was sweltering in the Helicopter.  We were on a 10am tour and I swear my legs were burning after we got off. The ladies that work at Blue Hawaii are nice.  My complaint is they require the whole group they they placed into the helicopter to be together when they board.  Two other people in our group (we don't know them) made us wait in the heat outside.  Why take us out if they will make you stand in the sun?  I found a shady spot by the hill and hung out there while the late couple strolled in. I would recommend taking the tour over Kauai much more over the Big Island tour. At least there are things to see.  The whole place is very Jurassic Park.  Not sure why there is a premium over the tour in Big Island.  Go if you want to see lava, but be aware that you might not depending on how the volcano acts up that day.

Great tour, professional ground staff and pilot.  Mark (pilot) gave a detailed description of what we were seeing throughout the hour-long flight.  Points of interest were passed by multiple times, so both sides could get a clear view. Two styles of helicopter, both seat four-across in the back, then one or two in the front.  Everyone has a great view.  Ride was smooth, and quiet with the noise-canceling headphones.

Flew out of Kona heliport. Great experience even if my wife got airsick. Pilot Jason is a hoot. We bought the post flight DVD. Not sure it was a good value but their blue ray DVD of all the islands is excellent. NOT CHEAP..........over $700 without the DVDs. We took the cheaper helicopter and saw all we needed.

Great tour, Nate was a great guide.  He was very informative and answered "all" of our 7 year olds questions.

the volcano tour was awesome.. it was so nice to see the volcano and lava fields from the air. we also saw a couple of waterfalls and got a quick passing rain shower. it was very short at 50 mins so $220 is a huge cost to time ratio. note that the internet prices are only good for 5 days advance reservations.

My hubby and I decided to take a short cut to the the Kilauea Volcano by taking a helicopter to it.  I have to say what a neat experience we had! The staff at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters were top notch! Unfortunately, during the time we took our helicopter tour (September 2012), there was not much activity from the Kilauea Volcano.  I have learned now, that for some reason, the volcano seems to be  most active around December/January/February.  So be sure, to research the volcanic activity and weather conditions before heading out on a helicopter adventure as they are not cheap!   However, we did get to see  the orange glow of lava and some smoke, but nothing grand a spectacular like I had hoped.  But it was still really cool experience to see and be able to fly over one of the most active volcanoes in the world!  We also had the opportunity to get a really great aerial view of the eastern side of the big island which included dozens of waterfalls!  The land on the eastern side of the Big Island you will notice is completely green, lush and almost seems wild and untouched, with the exception of the areas of blackened lava where the island continues to expand.  It is absolutely gorgeous when compared to the almost desert like conditions on the Kona side (west side) of the island.   Overall, a really cool experience and I have no regrets!  I hope to to do it again, in my life time especially when Kilauea is more active.