Reviews

My favorite activity in Kauai; this is truly the best way to see the island! Barron was a fanatstsic pilot, he gave great commentary throughout our 55 minute flight, the background music in our headphones between his commentary was thoroughly enjoyable (I wouldn't mind picking up a CD with all the tunes the Blue Hawaiian plays)! The ground staff were super friendly, patient, and clear with their instructions. Blue Hawaiian did everything to ensure a professional, comfortable, and enjoyable experience, starting from an organized check-in to an exhilarating landing. I highly recommend the Blue Hawaiian for the adventurers amongst you! :D

So what your tour booking agency doesn't tell you in advance (something that Blue Hawaiian should be 100% responsible for making sure they disclose NO MATTER WHAT) is that these helicopters are 6 seaters and thus more subject to weigh distribution requirements and therefore your view might be minimal if you are sitting in the back 2 middle seats yet you have to pay the same as everyone else-you get no choice in the matter.  The other 4 seats are 2 in the front next to pilot (great views!) and 2 in the back but directly at the windows for pretty good views.  Guess where I was stuck? With a limited view in one of the 2 back middle seats-total bummer-I got to see a lot of close ups of other people's heads.   At least when I did the volcano tour on the Big Island about a decade or so ago while the helicopter ride was, yes, a bit bumpier at that time due to the state of the technology, at least the helicopter only held 4 riders plus the pilot so all the views were at least pretty good.  Thus, in conclusion, they should at least offer a back middle seat discount in the event you get stuck there.

We had the best time with Eric on a tour above Hilo's active volcano, and over the falls. Eric was so friendly  and made the trip so special. We would definitely go back. Thanks for a great adventure!

Pilot Greg was great! We went over to erupting craters as well as over the water falls. Amazing ride!

Taking a helicopter tour to see spewing red lava from one of the most active volcanoes in the world should be on everyone's bucket list. And when you take Blue Hawaiian for the ride, you can happily check that off your list with no regrets! There are several tours around the Big Island itself, including a waterfall landing - will have to use that as an excuse to come back to Hawaii and do the Big Island Spectacular tour for that one. They have tours on every island, so this really is a great way to enjoy Hawaii from the air. We experienced the Circle Of Fire Plus Waterfalls tour from Hilo. Staying in Maui, we took a quick flight over for the day just for this! Paying a little more to fly in the Eco-star helicopter is worth it because it has bigger windows! I like that you can speak back to the pilot if you have any questions. They're very informative and friendly. Have fun up there!

It's hard to compare companies as we only did 1 helicopter ride and it was our first ever. Since everyone we spoke with up front recommended Hawaiian Blue and since many news networks and National Geographic work with them a well, we also went with them. The reception staff is not the friendliest by the rest of the staff is great. To void reflection in the cockpit they recommend to wear dark clothes (blue/black) and my wife had brought nothing like that to hawaii. They gave her immediately a clean blue loaner shirt. No regrets of taking the investment in this tour, in contrary we had the most amazing once in a lifetime experience on the Big Island Great Spectacular 2hr tour. Professional staff, very safety oriented, great and highly experienced pilot (Shane), gorgeous 'Ecostar' helicopter with great views in each direction and at the highlights (so many highlights) the pilot ensures that all sides of the helicopter had great views of the sights. He explained a lot and answers all questions fired at him. I easily get air/car/seasick so I took medication for that and had no issues. The helicopter maneuvers smoothly and the little noise is filtered greatly due to. Noise canceling headphones. We were extremely lucky with the clear and calmest weather we had! Also the other 4 tourists who flew with us stated it was their best experience ever as they all had done helicopter flights before. The interaction between pilot and the tourists is phenomenal and the personalized DVD is a must. Very well organized and safe trip - one we will never forget. We recommend to do this experience early on during you vacation as it might alter the plans for the rest of the week as suddenly you understand the island much better and new highlight will be added to your further on ground experiences. Big Island-spectacular it is!!!

We had a great experience with Blue Hawaiian. My boyfriend spent a lot of time researching the safety records of the various helicopter companies, and Blue Hawaiian came out on top. After chatting with our pilot, we felt particularly safe -- he had years of experience, flying in considerably more stressful conditions than leisurely passes over the Hawaiian coastline (emergency medical evacuations, oil rig transfers, etc etc). All the staff were very nice -- friendly, and clear communicators. We did the volcanoes + waterfalls tour, and the views from the helicopter were, expectedly, spectacular. Photos don't really do it justice, and I'd recommend putting down your camera for at least half the trip -- it goes by very fast! Our pilot did a great job of explaining everything we were seeing. This was an expensive experience, but we definitely felt it was worth it.

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.