Reviews

This tour was great and the views were amazing! We had a fantastic pilot! She was very informative and we had a safe and smooth ride. The down side was that we sat in the back of the helicopter and there was a glare in the window so it was tough to get photos. Also, the little girl next to us threw up so the helicopter smelled like vomit. I would go again but would request a private tour or ask to be seated in the front seats.

We arrived at the advised arrival time for our flight even though we did struggle to find the check in desk. There are no signs visible from road and the map on the leaflet made it look like the desk was alongside the loop in the road. It isn't. Secondly we didn't know where to park. When we booked through our hotel concierge we asked about parking and were told it is free at the helicopter site. It isn't - you have to park in the public car park and pay when you return to your car. This is not the first time we have taken a helicopter flight so we were familiar with the procedure. The check in staff were friendly and then we waited in a room for the other passengers on our flight to arrive. We were told we would see a safety video here before boarding. However, this didn't happen and we had a quick roadside briefing before boarding. Our pilot was friendly and reassuring. Take off smooth and then we were on our way. Unfortunately for us visibility wasn't particularly good - it was cloudy and wet. We even had to re-route on one occasion because of the wind. I found it quite scary though I'm sure we weren't in any danger, I just didn't find it enjoyable. Our pilot circled over the lava flow several times trying to make sure everyone on the flight was able to get photos but to be honest we couldn't see any lava just steam rising up. Back at the heliport staff were happy to take photos of us standing by the helicopter. Overall a disappointing experience for us but obviously weather is something that cannot be controlled. No video of the flight was offered to us..

We had the spectacular tour with Marco. We were thrilled! We were very lucky to see the lava flows, and everything after that (waterfalls, valleys, cliffs) was just a bonus. Plus Marco was very informative about the Island and culture and gave us tips for things to do later in the week. Highly recommend.

We took the Blue Hawaiian 2.5 hour helicopter tour around the Kona side of the island viewing the volcanic activity, which was fantastic, then going around the Hilo side of the island, and then after that going around Waikoloa and seeing the waterfalls. It was truly amazing. You do get a very short break in the middle to use the bathroom. There is a lot of glare when taking photos, so take the suggestion to wear dark clothing on your helicopter ride very seriously. We chose the more expensive option of helicopter that had the bucket seats (the Eco Star, I believe? Can't remember exactly), but it seats five people. The day we went was extremely windy, but you couldn't tell from the expert handling of the helicopter by our pilot. Taking off, landing, and flight were smooth and excellent. Everything about the experience was professional and perfect. We did not, as other reviewers stated, get a DVD of our flight (we were told we would get one when we paid) but were sent a flash drive instead (maybe this is a change they are making?). One thing I will say is that you cannot choose your seats on these flights, and that is for a very good reason--the pilots must be able to evenly distribute the weight in the cockpit, and that is also why each passenger is weight and asked for their height prior to flight. However, I will also give you this warning--if you are the passenger unlucky enough to be placed in the rear right seat, you are going to have the worse view of all of the passengers on the flight. Considering that you are going to be paying about $500 for this experience if you're going on the 2.5 hour flight, that is not a small consideration. When I say you are not going to have good views, I mean for a large part of the flight, you are going to be able to see nothing but ocean while everyone else is able to see breathtaking views of the land. This happens when the helicopter is heading back from Hilo towards the valleys and waterfalls. It's also not the only time you're going to get a bit of the shaft. This is because your seat is positioned so you can't see out the front of the helicopter as easily as the other back seats can and because the pilot (at least the one I flew with) can't help having a little bit of "bias" in terms of tending to fly a bit more turned toward what he can see. Not a big deal to the person in the middle of the back seat who can see out the front of the helicopter--big problem for you. I don't really know what to suggest for you, person who will get that seat. You're just going to be kind of screwed compared to everyone else. I was. My husband felt really sorry for me. Luckily for me, I like looking at the ocean and it's a good thing, because I saw a whole lot of it while everyone else was seeing beautiful vistas of the island while we flew a vast swath of the west side of the island! But even if you get that crummy seat, it's still worth it. I can't recommend this helicopter ride enough. You will come away feeling humbled and awed by the scenery that you witness, and the customer service that this company provides is incomparable. I will say that some of the locals recommended "doors off" helicopter experiences, but other locals that I talked to told me that there are no better companies for safety than Blue Hawaiian because of the frequency with which they change the rotors on their helicopters. I will tell you that I think they have a top notch outfit. I am familiar with helicopters and helicopter pilots, and what I saw was grade A in terms of safety, quality of equipment, and staff.

Spent a spectacular week on the Big Island enjoying the Hilo side exploring Volcano National Park and then 4 days around the Kona side. The Blue Hawaiian tours and the Kohala Cosat tour and the Ring of Fire tour interested us most while on the Kona side. We had seen Kiluauea volcano up close and were super lucky to see an active magma lava lake in its crater. Beautiful in the day, stunning at night. So having seen that, we really wanted to take a helicopter tour of the green rain forest valleys and waterfalls. We are so glad we decided to go that route as Blue Hawaiian took us to some of the most beautiful scenery we had ever seen. I can't imagine a more beautiful flight at any of the other Hawaiian islands. The wind was blowing very hard the day we took the tour and were afraid they wouldn't be able to fly. Our pilot was incredible and made flying in windy weather look easy. The Kohala coast has a large group of tall waterfalls as well as a beautiful rugged coastline. Our pilot flew us up one of the valleys for some close up views of some stunning cascading waterfalls. Total in air fight time was around 45 minutes. Blue Hawaiian helicopters are equipped with high definition cameras both inside and outside the helicopter that record your flight. They edit the footage and audio from the intercoms and make available a video for purchase, around $40 usd. The video is a great recording for us to relive for years to come. Outstanding tour and helicopter outfit and we definitely recommend.

This tour was amazing.Our pilot Christopher, was informative and entertaining. A safe smooth trip. Beautiful awe inspiring views and in particular the view of Pearl Harbour from the air- Thoroughly recommend it!!

We had an amazing experience with blue Hawaiian helicopter company taking the circle of fire tour. Right from checking in the staff were warm and very welcoming. After a safety brief we headed off. We booked the ecostar helicopter, slightly more expensive but I think was worth it for the viewing opportunity. The pilot Brandt was highly experienced and was informative, he made sure everyone got photo opportunities by going around the key sites several times. This is a super professional outfit. I highly recommend using them.

My husband and I took the one hour Blue Hawaiin Helicopter Tour. It was beautiful and informative. I would highly recommend this tour!

Blue Hawaii is a class act! They provided excellent customer service as well as an amazing helicopter ride. I would not fly with anyone else ever again. Blue Hawaiin is the place to go!

This is a must do on Kauai. Since most of the island is hard to see by car or foot this allows you to see the interior of the island and it is well worth it. It is absolutely breathtaking, all the beautiful waterfalls, the Na Pali coast, the canyon and more. And, out pilot Jaffery was so professional and knowledgable.

3 couples of empty-nesters decided to do a helicopter tour over Kauai. The first helicopter company we looked at wanted to charge extra for individuals over 200 lbs; then we found Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. We were not charged extra, nor were we charged for empty seats. We flew in Ecostar 6 person helicopters with clear views out of the windows. Our pilot Greg asked us what we had seen previously and made sure we saw many sides of the island. He was able to show us a circular rainbow and made sure each of had excellent views of all of the sites. All of the staff were superb and very willing to be of assistance. We would highly recommend Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tours to anyone.

This was my first time in Hawaii and the first thing I want to do. It was the most beautiful tour of the island. It is an experience you will always remember. You pass over the Na Pali coast and it is just beautiful. You go into what's left of the volcano and it is just waterfalls as far up as you can see. It's just incredible. Its an experience you will never forget.

This helicopter ride was a wedding present and one of the coolest presents ever!!! I miss def recommend for anyone going to Kauai!!!!

Awesome views accompanied by awesome facts and location information. One of the best ways to see the island!

The best way to see the island, the tour was an hour, our pilot Greg was very knowledgable and professional and other guests (who'd been on other tours) commented that this was the best trip by far. Mahalo guys and thanks for making our honeymoon even more unforgettable!