We did Circle of fire plus waterfall ride. It was a 45-50 minutes ride. We did this with my parents and they thoroughly enjoyed it! Scott was our pilot. He gave us lot of information about volcano, lava, waterfalls and people living in that area. He made sure everybody on the helicopter get to see the scenic places. He also kept on asking through out the flight, if everyone was comfortable. If you book in advance, you get some discount. Check their website for details. They also offer a video CD of the entire ride where they capture inside and outside moments. I felt every penny we spent was worthy.
If you can afford it, it definitely is worth doing once and is fun. It's cool to see bits of active lava and look into an active volcano. The waterfall portion is a little anticlimactic.
We actually got turned back due to the weather after a short flight out of the Hilo Airport, but up until that point it was very fun and exciting. The pilot was awesome. Back at the front desk, they were very apologetic about everything, but I say that it's good to be safe then to try to push on. Even though our flight cost the company money, they gave us a full refund since we didn't have time to reschedule. We'll be back next time we're on the island!
We had some bad weather that week but they still took us up on our third attempt, The pilot was really great and knowledgeable and when we had to turn around due to the weather we got a FULL refund. all in all we got a great trip up in a helicopter along the coast in the rain and saw some whales all for FREE. Disappointing that the weather sucked but we were very grateful for the experience. we will be back.
We really wanted to see active volcanic flows and we did through Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. Our pilot Sean was excellent! We wished we could have spent more time over the volcanic areas but I understand why the tours go to other areas as well. We then went to the falls area. I was with my 7 year old nephew and he had a blast! Sean was good at entertaining him as I'm sure they usually have adults on these trips. Our trip only last about 40 minutes versus we were told 50 minutes or else I would have rated it higher. There wasn't much activity around the volcano but that allowed us to get a closer look, and limited where we could find activity.
The main thing on this helicopter tour is seeing the volcano and lava. Had a really enjoyable flight and actually saw lava. Nice 50 minute tour. Suggestion to tour operator to include infrared goggles so people can see which parts of the lava flow are active. It would provide a much better experience to people. We do recommend the tour but need to curb expectations on seeing lava. The volcano activity modifies quite a bit and you might not see any lava flow.
My husband loved this tour. Our pilot Dale, was top notch. He explained everything as it was happening (he noticed how nervous I was). I was also queasy (I have bad motion sickness, no fault of our pilot, the ride was smooth, I'm just a baby) and our pilot took time to give me tips and make sure I was feeling okay. It was truly breathtaking scenery and I really enjoyed watching the personalized video we purchased. This company was top notch! Highly recommended.
We had originally scheduled a Big Island Spectacular tour for the afternoon. I had chatted with a rep about the times, to make sure we would be able to get to the airport in time. I was told there were 2 afternoon flights, but when we arrived, we found there was only one, and there was no way we would be able to make it. We were not happy about that, but they were able to change our reservation to a different tour and refunded the difference. We ended up with the Circle of Fire tour, which was fun. The pilot gave some information about the volcano, but really talked more about some local politics. We did get to see some lava, which he said was hit or miss. The views were incredible!
We took an early morning tour from Hilo and enjoyed every minute. The ride was super smooth and we felt very safe from start to end. The pilot was informative and gave us a great ride!
Had a blast, first helicopter for my wife in almost 21 years. She loved it, great weather, Jeremy (pilot) very informative, saw lava and waterfalls. Excellent day!!!!
Great helicopter flight in very modern aircraft. This was my partners first flight and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Pilot was very attentive to all and ensured everyone had plenty of photo opportunities.
Our helicopter flight around Hawaii on Blue Hawaiian was fantastic even though half of our scheduled flight had to be cancelled because of bad weather. They cheerfully refunded half of the ticket price. The views from the air are unbelievable and you really get a sense of how these volcanic islands were formed. The flights are pretty expensive but worth every cent. There is no choice of seating - passengers are seated according to a plan for weight distribution.
Our flight around Hawaii was fun because our guide was informed, informal, and fun-loving! the souvenir videos were the perfect way to remember the trip!
Our Pilot was Jeremy T , not only a great pilot but very knowledgeable of the area. He made the trip informative, fun, and comfortable for everyone even though we did not know everyone on the trip with us. The lava field was overwhelming, he explained the lava flow process, this was so informative and flying over the actual volcano was over the top. Then on to the waterfalls and the river, following it out to the sea was PERFECT! He interacted with everyone answered everyone's questions. The drive to Hilo was about 2 hours but the views were amazing lots to see along the way. A must see if you do nothing else do this!!!
Tom was our pilot. Funny and very informative! ! We had an awesome morning to fly and seen so many waterfalls and neat area of the volcanos that you just cannot get on foot. Real pricey but worth getting to see everything.