クチコミ

We signed-up for this one hour chopper tour with Blue Hawaiian on the Big Island, flying out of Hilo Airport. My wife and I had done this when we were there twelve years ago and enjoyed it tremendously so we decided to take our ten-year old daughter for this trip. At around $280 a person it was pretty expensive, but this isn't something you do every year so we decided to spring for it. The trip we went on was called Circle of Fire and it was in the bigger EcoStar chopper. It is a little cheaper if you opt for the smaller chopper. After a safety briefing and putting on our individual floaties, we were asked to walk out to the area where we'll be boarding the choppers. As we were taking pictures and the choppers returned from their previous flight. After the passengers were unloaded we were asked to line up in front of the choppers in the order we were told to during the safety briefing. I got the front seat with another lady and my wife and daughter, and the lady's husband and son were loaded in the rear. They have to worry about people's weights so they load people in a certain way. It would be nice to be able to sit with your family but you don't wanna ignore safety while you're on top of an active volcano! Plus the choppers aren't huge like military choppers so you can still turn your head just a little and be able to see your family. Anyways, our pilot was James, who did a great job of welcoming us and calling some of us by name to point out which side of the chopper to look. This was a great touch to personalize things. About 20 minutes after the takeoff we arrived over the volcano where the lava was oozing out. Apparently the volcanoes in Hawaii ooze out rather than blow out, which is nice if you happen to be flying over it in a chopper. After banking the chopper over the volcano and circling it from both sides of the chopper, we headed to the ocean where we saw where the new land had been created by the magma. The whole time James the pilot is giving us all kinds of information and keeping us entertained. Then we headed over to the northeast side of the island and saw a few waterfalls. They don't bring you all the way down in front of the waterfalls, but you get a decent view from probably around 1,500 feet or so. I think they have another trip just for the waterfalls. Then we headed back to the airport. Oh, they also video record the whole trip, along with the music that is playing and the pilot's commentary, along with your questions and his answers. You can buy those DVDs for 25 bucks. We did end up buying it as we don't plan on doing this again anytime soon. I strongly recommend Blue Hawaiian and this trip. There are two or three other companies right at Hilo airport. Not sure how much they charge or what kind of choppers they have. Enjoy.

Everyone was very friendly, especially our pilot, Adam who answered all of our questions and was very knowledgeable of the area. He made sure everyone was able to see all of the interesting sites and lava activity. The Lava may not currently be flowing like some of the brochures and videos show, but it was definitely worth it. The only other option to see any lava activity is a 2-3 hour hike in over not so nice conditions. There was plenty of lava activity in the Pu'u ‘O’o crater which we flew around several times. My family would definitely recommend this tour with Blue Hawaiian.

Our family took the Blue Hawaiian Circle of Fire Tour in August. It is an amazing way to see the Hilo side of the Big Island. Our pilot, Ethan, was informative and answered all our questions. The highlights of our trip were seeing: the remains of a residential community destroyed by lava, ACTUAL LAVA FLOW, and beautiful waterfalls. We debated this excursion because of the price, but it was an unbelievable experience and totally worth it! By the way, in case this is of concern, there are no bad seats in the helicopter. We took an ECO helicopter, and even though I did not have a window seat, I had NO PROBLEMS seeing the sites.

All around great time, James the pilot was great and answered all questions appropriately. I was not able to investigate the company's reputation prior to taking the flight. However, they made me very comfortable with safety. There was a safety brief before the ride and they made us all wear life vests in case of a water ditching. The views were breathtaking. It was a once in a lifetime experience. I would come back if I had the opportunity... I hope I do someday....

Great ride. Hated for it stop. Tim was great as a guide and as a pilot. Could hardly tell we were moving. Gave us all good time over all the sites. Great for taking pictures. Would recommend this flight for everyone!

This was the trip of a lifetime! Noah our pilot was fabulous ! Lava flowing into the ocean, beautiful waterfalls,and fun facts about Hawaii from the pilot!! Would do it agaon in a heart beat!!

BLUE HAWAIIAN HELICOPTERS I took their Big Island Spectacular tour. Quite pricey ($450 before discount) 2-hour tour, but the only way to see some sights and a good overview of the island. Volcanos were very interesting, the north Kohala valleys and waterfalls were absolutely spectacular. Staff assigns seat assignment based on weight distribution, and I was seated behind the front passenger seat with zero knee space. Note: be sure to have a polarizing filter on your camera because window reflections are a nuisance. Also, they have a lot of stuff for sale in their office, and I felt that, considering the cost, some could have been given as a momento.

I splurged and bought the 2 hr. Big Island tour for our family of 4. Unfortunately, the weather near the volcano was not good so they had to cancel our trip. We opted to still do the Kohala Coast tour instead and booked the volcano tour out of Hilo for another day later in the week when the weather was supposed to be better. The Kohala Coast tour was fantastic! The scenery was stunning and our pilot Jason was so informative. I would highly recommend Blue Hawaiian.

We heard the lava was flowing into the ocean during our tour of Volcanoes National Park, and another person on our tour raved about her helicopter experience, so we decided to splurge on the Big Island helicopter tour. We were not disappointed. Scott, our pilot, was excellent. He told us so much about the island and the sights, and we were amazed at how close he brought us to the lava flows and waterfalls. He continually made sure that everyone was comfortable, made sure that everyone on both sides of the helicopter was able to get a good view, and kept the helicopter incredibly steady throughout the flight. We saw numerous rivulets of lava flowing into the ocean, and Scott was able to take us into several interior valleys in Kohala, each with absolutely breathtaking waterfalls and scenery. We decided at the very last minute to book our trip, and got the last few seats available. After coming all the way to the Big Island, it would have been a shame to miss our chance to see live lava flowing, and the incredible Kohala valleys and waterfalls--it was truly the experience of a lifetime, and worth the splurge!

Best way to view the volcano, as you cannot walk near it. Great overview of the lava flow. The coastline, the waterfalls. Simply amazing and well worth the time and money.

My husband booked the 2 hr Big Island tour for our family of five. It was the most incredible experience we have shared. We saw lava flowing to the ocean and it was amazing. Then the flight into the canyon to see the waterfalls literally made you cry. This was a "take your breathe away" adventure. Our pilot Greg was so knowledgeable about everything we saw not to mention just a nice guy to visit with. The take off and landings were better than any plane we've been on. It was a splurge for our budget but worth every penny. We would go again if we ever get the chance. This is the best way to see Hawaii!

This is well worth the price tag. We popped in to find out the cost of a trip, and were struggling to afford what we wanted, so they very helpfully and kindly gave us a discount. They then upgraded us for free to the nicer helicopter. The pilot on the tour (Scott) was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful - always circling interesting sights so that everyone on the helicopter could see clearly. The 2hr Big Island spectacular was well worth the high cost, it is an amazing way to see most of the island, including active lava flow, ranchland, Hilo and the stunning cliffs and valleys in the north-east. I would definitely recommend, it made our vacation.

We had a great pilot named Justin! He was very knowledgeable and friendly. He took us all over the island and pointed out many interesting things! We were able to see the red lava flowing into the ocean and a valley of waterfalls! I would recommend it to anyone!!!

This was my favorite part of our trip to Hawaii! My family of four booked the shorter (45 minute) helicopter tour. We were NOT disappointed! My daughter got to be copilot and sit right next to Shane, who was a GREAT pilot! We learned so much about the area from him. The ride was very smooth, not scary at all. I would recommend this for all ages. Also, you can purchase a dvd of your actual trip, which we did. It was fun to show this to family after we got home. Everyone wears a headset so you can communicate/ask questions, etc with the pilot. On your dvd, all of this is recorded as well :) We chose the A-star helicopter, the cheaper of the two, and were not disappointed at all. You will have so much fun!!

We went for the Circle of Fire plus Waterfalls tour from Hilo. It was great, the ride was smooth. The pilot talked about a lot interesting things about the area and the volcanoes. He showed us more eruption sites, where we could see lava. The red lave was not flowing (he said it is approx once a year), but it was very interesting to see it at the the crater. We could see everything well from both sides of the helicopter, and we could take good photos. In order to improve the photos (reduce the reflection on the windows) you should wear dark clothes. After that we were hiking at trails of the Volcano NP, but I really recommend to see the NP from the air, it is a totally different perspective :)