I've never been in a helicopter before and I was honestly a little scared. I'm extremely afraid of heights. But for some reason I felt oddly comfortable in the helicopter. The sights were amazing, our pilot Greg was amazing, everything about it was awesome. I did feel a little nauseous towards the end. But all and all 5/5
This is an absolute don't miss activity! It's pricey especially when adding the waterfall landing (if your spending the money add it you won't be disappointed) but what an experience saw a pod of whales in the ocean, lava flows, and flew right over the active volcano to see the lava bubbling! Ian was our pilot and was excellent - always trying to make sure everyone was comfortable - made sure everyone had ample opportunity to see the sights and very knowledgeable!
Understanding the climate zones and the geography of the Big Island could take one weeks (and probably much longer) or one could take the Big Island helicopter tour--with a stop at a waterfall. The part of the ride requiring your patience is at the beginning of the tour when you are climbing up the slope of a volcano with nothing very interesting to look at. It does give you an idea of the size of this volcano. But things get more interesting as you are able to see down into the crater and perhaps are fortunate enough to see the orange-red flare of lava. (We were fortunate.) On this tour one can see far enough south to South Point (the southernmost tip of the US). The tour briefly stops at Hilo where you can be energized by the moist air (if not rain) in the wettest city in the US. The tour continues on to the eastern coast line which is entirely different from the western side of the island. Freshwater falls from over 2000 feet on a cliff terrain with rainbows following along is certainly spectacular. We opted for the waterfall stop and were really delighted to explore the base of this fall for a bit. We were a party of 5 and were accompanied by a delightful couple for a total party of 7. To our delight, we witnessed (from a distance) a marriage proposal and acceptance from this couple. What a treat--and an idea for anyone wanting to have such a proposal in a very romantic location. The tour then circled through grassy pastures where cattle were grazing before dropping back to the dry region where the resorts (starting with Mauna Kea) can be observed along the shore line. On this tour was one senior (that's me), my daughter and son-in-law and two children, ages 12 and 6. It was entertaining enough to not bore the children into a coma while satisfying the adults with wonderful views and a much better understanding of where our future explorations on the Big Island will take place. We are rating this as a family where the two kids brought down the score a bit with ratings of 3 while the adults rated it a 5. But we are rating every experience as a family unit to possibly help those of you traveling as a family. The locations is very easy to find with plenty of parking. It is very professionally organized (with discrete weighing for those of you not interested in sharing your weight). All of the staff were helpful and professional. All of us felt very safe throughout the entire tour.
during a whirlwind stop in honolulu decided to have a helicopter ride around maui. best thing we did on the holiday. we saw everything we needed to from the air, fabulous scenery. great time, helicopter was fantastic, modern and we felt extremely safe. would recommend to anyone visiting hawaii.
We had a great helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. This was a gift from our three children for our 30th anniversary. The staff was very thorough on the safety training. Our pilot, Julie, was very nice. Our copter left the airfield with the Hawaii 5-0 theme playing in our headphones. They played Hawaiian music and some other tunes during the flight. Julie narrated the sites in a very pleasant voice. Very soothing. My wife was nervous about this trip, but all worked out because of the quality if the trip. The views are spectacular. Hint; wear all black clothing (no white) so you don't get the reflection off the glass. The reflection affects the quality of your pictures. We loved this tour!!! Mahalo.
If you've already spent the money to get to Kauai, don't miss this opportunity to really see the whole island. Truly breath-taking. My husband and I had done a helicopter tour 14 years ago on our honeymoon and he was on the fence about spending the money to do it again. We took our two boys 11 and 9 this time and they both say the ride was one of the highlights of our trip. We had great weather the day we went and were able to see the entire island without clouds. The pilot said that happens maybe 10 days a year. The pilot was friendly and informative. He tried to include everyone in his narrative. We choose Blue Hawaiian based off the concierge's recommendation, but I would recommend them also. State of the art equipment and very well run company.
Loved this adventure! Our pilot was awesome, very friendly and knowledgeable. It gave a bird's eye view of Maui. We saw so much more in 60 minutes than our week in Maui would have allowed. The ride was perfectly calm and smooth and we felt entirely safe. We saw whales in the ocean and a rainbow up in the clouds. Definitely glad we did this and highly recommend!
This was a crazy, beautiful, awesome experience. I was totally impressed at the professionalism of this company. If you have apprehension, I certainly recommend them; they take care of their passengers from the moment you enter their building until you leave after your tour. I felt safe and secure during the whole process. Captain Mark did a great job at telling us all about the area and it did not feel like a script! More like a conversation he was having with us. You get great views from anywhere on the helicopter. Seats are comfortable. So glad I did it!
Any tour guide worth their beans can meet a guest's expectations but Blue Hawaiian went above and beyond. In Hawaii...any aerial tour is at the mercy of Mother Nature. We booked the "valleys, waterfalls and volcano tour", the Island Spectacular, but rain made the volcano portion of the flight impossible. Our pilot asked if we wanted to continue the waterfalls and valleys portion for "half-price". The seven of us all gave an absolute "Yes Sir"! When we returned from the one hour tour Blue Hawaii gave us a full, 100% refund. We chose Blue Hawaiian because of its reputation for being the very best. We endorse that reputation and will hope to pay on our next flight on Blue Hawaiian.
We did the West Maui and Molokai tour and it was incredible. From the beginning this company impressed with their professionalism. We were received by a friendly staff who asked us to wait just a few minutes to see the security video. We were then taken to the very comfortable ECO-star helicopter. The pilot was very good and knew so many things about the area and nature in general that made the trip even more enjoyable. Both West Maui and especially Molokai impressed with their beauty. The helicopter goes really close to the Molokai cliffs and that makes you feel really connected to it. If you enjoy helicopter tours this is a MUST do in Maui.
110% to be trusted. We felt safe and sound during the whole trip. Our pilot, Brandon, answered our questiona also dueing the flight. He showed us amazing spots around the island and also gave some tips about movie filming spots etc. The windows were from floor to ceiling so the view was 180 degrees and more. Totally worth every penny!
We booked the ride with the optional landing and it was well worth the extra cost. We saw whales breaching off the coast, red hot magma from a volcano, landed at a waterfall, flew over rain forests and barren land, all narrated by a great pilot with a killer playlist! Truly one of those bucket list days. Thanks, Ian!
Amazing tour. Great staff. You'll get worth your money. We saw the active volcano, great pictures. Whale watching and many many more once in a life time wonders…
We recently decided we'd already seen enough of Oahu from the road, so chose Blue Hawaiian to give us a heli-tour over the island. This must be one of the best decisions ever! Our pilot was Julie & she was extremely knowledgeable about the areas we flew over. From who lived locally to which films had been shot where. Her piloting skills were second to none. As well as keeping us fully informed for an hour, she manouvered in & out of the busy Honolulu air-space with amazing expertise. The flight itself was awesome. From the ground, it is difficult to appreciate the beauty of this island, but once in the air, everything is laid before you in green forests & blue oceans. This deffinately gives a different perspective to the island. We covered not just the Honolulu/Wakiki area, but also all along north & east shores, over Diamond head state park & Pearl Harbour. This tour should be compulsary for anyone staying on Oahu! We've done many heli-tours in the US & this was the best experiance so far. Well done to Blue Hawaiian!
We took this trip whilst on our vacation everything was handled very professionally and prompt which was great so many tours you are kept waiting. Well worth the experience we took some amazing photos from the helicopter and saw amazing scenery. Only downside for me was I air sick but this is not uncommon for me with any motion travel but my husband absolutely loved it.