Just got back from Hawaii. We took 2 tours. The Circle of Fire and the "Jurassic Park" tour. Both had a lot of highlights. Great views of the mountains, waterfalls and lava flows.
It was our first visit to Hawaii and opportunistically, while booking a rental at Koloa Landing, we were encouraged to consider a flight of the island. The rationale was that we would get our bearings to better explore at ground level. We were also told that this particular booking desk was able to secure better seats for its customers - front row seats in the chopper, or at worst, the two back window seats. This didn't happen, and we should have known better as chopper seating is based on weight, unless you are honeymooners; they always seem to secure front seats. Nonetheless, the experience with Blue Hawaii was nothing but professional from front desk reception to the rote safety drill that must be performed many times each day. While in the air we had a really pleasant flight with pilot Shay whose laconically relaxed style made flying a pleasure. Ground views were also interesting as we traversed the many geological faces of the island from lush green to red dust. Two highlights included a flight along the Waimea Canyon to the Jurassic Falls, and a sprint around the inside rim of what we were told was an extinct volcanic crater; imagine....a helicopter pilot got married on the floor of the crater not so long ago. Over the three previous days while waiting for our flight, we had driven the island extensively and I am pleased to report that the view from the ground was just as good. However, if you are a chopper novice, this is a great place to start.
We took a helicopter ride over Kauai on Tuesday Sept 20. Geoff was our pilot and he was so knowledgable and friendly! He actually grew up in Kauai which made the trip even more interesting. (It was comforting knowing he's former military and flew helicopters for years too). While expensive, I'm SO glad that we did this tour! You get to see parts of Kauai that you wouldn't otherwise see. It's totally worth every penny. Don't let the weigh in hold you back- they have you stand on a floor mat and no one can see how much you weigh. You barely even notice they're weighing you. I bought the video after and I'm so glad I did.
Few over the volcano, water falls and beaches along the coast, what a beautiful sight and had a great pilot to navigate the hellocopter, explain every land mark.
First off, let me start off by saying I never book things like this because they seem too… touristy. Now I’m thinking I might have been missing out. I was booking another activity and they talked me into this. I did the Big Island Spectacular, which lasted about 2 hours. We started off leaving the heliport at Waikoloa, flying southeast between the volcanos over to Kilauea to see the lava and the flow into the ocean. ABSOLUTELY amazing point of view that you can never get from the ground. Then we headed up the east coast along the lush and beautiful Hamakua coast. This is my first trip to the Big Island and seeing all of it’s amazing beauty from above was breathtaking!!! Blue Hawaiian was first class all the way! Check-in was a breeze and they have a nice little base at Waikoloa. Their equipment seems new and well maintained and all the ground staff were very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. We only had 5 people on our flight and our pilot, Captain Eric, was a fantastic pilot and tour guide. Very knowledgeable about the history of Hawaii and the Big Island and made the journey great. After the tour, I hoped in my car and drove up to the north coast, which I had not planned on visiting but after flying over it, I had to see it! And, it turned out being a great afternoon of exploring. This is definitely a must do adventure it you can swing it. You won’t be disappointed.
Fantasic tour of Ohau.Chopper was new and very comfortable. The pilot Chris was very courteous and a thorough professional. The views from up high on Ohau are outstanding and dramatic. Will do this again.Blue Hawaiian are a brilliant company.Thanks Guys !
We used a concierge to book our flight. We found out that the trip from Hilo was cheaper than the one in Waikoloa. However, the Hilo heliport is located in the Hilo airport whereas the Waikoloa heliport stands alone. After we received our safety briefing we were on our way. Our pilot was Ethan and he was great. Very informative and fun. During the trip we saw the coastline, the old lava flow zones, and the area where active flow goes in to the ocean (beautiful white smoke). Do not expect to see large areas of lava flow as seen in brochures etc. Ethan was able to point out some small areas where actual lava could been seen. Very hard to see on a sunny day. It is definitely better to see the lava on a cloudy/darker day. You are not able to pick your seats due to weight distribution, you will sit with your partner but the seat assignments are computer generated. Ethan made sure that everyone on the flight was able to see everything, so several passes over the lava flow were made. This was a 50-55 minute flight and well worth it. The booking agents will tell you to wear dark clothing to reduce reflections for photos, this is a must. You will not be permitted to wear hats or take bags on the flight. Make sure you make reservations at least 5 days in advance to receive any deals that you may have seen in brochures. If you have flown with Blue Hawaiian before they are more likely to give you a deal!
The helicopter tour of Kauai took about 50 minutes. It is the best way to see all of the beauty of Kauai with the cliffs, valleys and waterfalls.
The helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian was a wonderful experience. Of course, Kauai supplies its own beauty but Blue Hawaiian certainly covers all the bases in comfort and at just the right pace. The helicopters are good size, have comfortable seats and offer excellent vistas. The whole experience, from booking to check-in to departure, ran very smoothly.
My sister and I took the helicopter tour over Kauai. We had a nice group of people to take our trip with. We had Shay as our pilot. I was pretty nervous about the safety of the helicopter and about getting motion sick (I can't do IMAX movies or smaller boats). Shay was great at putting us at ease. He told us about his experience and kept telling us about the conditions and what was going to happen (a little turbulence - which he called bumps and wiggles). I didn't have any trouble with motion sickness. The trip was amazing and time passed very quickly. We saw Waimea canyon, the Nepali coast, some waterfalls (it was dry the day before, so there weren't as many as usual), and other sites on the island. We did drive Waimea canyon the day before and some of what we saw on the helicopter tour was a repeat of this, but from a different advantage point. They have a video of your tour that you can purchase afterward on a USB stick. And they also have a more generic 'Hawaii' helicopter video. We got the Hawaii one included in our trip package also got with one t-shirt for our group of two. Overall, we had a great experience.
We did the Big Island Spectacular morning flight, with Chase as our pilot. He was great, the flight was awesome.we saw the waterfalls, the volcano with active lava, and the lava flow in the ocean. Originally my wife did not want go because of the cost, but said it was well worth it after we came back. She even wanted the DVD so she can relive it over and over again. Pictures will never show how awesome the views really are. One of the best things to do in the Big Island. Thanks to the complete Blue Hawaiian Helicopters team. They are excellant.
We really enjoyed this helicopter ride, the helicopter pilot Loren was an ex Blackhawk pilot and knew his stuff. The views of the coast as well as the interior were spectacular as well as the flight path that the Japanese aircraft took on their approach to attack Pearl Harbour. My wife was feeling a little bit of airsickness towards the end of the flight but she survived. You can purchase a DVD of your flight for @$25 dollars, my only complaint was the camera system on the chopper has not been upgraded to HD format so you receive a 4:3 image which might have been Ok if the outside camera lens had been cleaned. The images apart from the inside vision was like looking through a dirty window, and that was the main thing you purchased the DVD for in the first place.
It was our first helicopter trip, but the highlight of our trip. Our guide, greg,did an excellent job. The trip lasted over an hour and we saw places you could get to know other way other than hiking.. The scenery was phenomenal.
Mauna Loa canceled on us on the day of the scheduled flight so we called Blue Hawaiian and thankfully they had 2 seats available. We sat in the front with pilot Joffrey and had a great time. Also felt safer because he used to drive helicopters for the Army. The only part I didn't like is that Donald Trump is this company's ambassador!
A Kauai guidebook recommended Blue Hawaiian and we were extremely pleased. We had an amazing pilot, Brian, who was knowledgeable, fun and very safe. Recommend you do this the first day because it will give you a feel for the island to prioritize your adventures. (We made some changes to our "to do" list after the flight). Beg, plead or bribe your way out of seat #2 as it sits forward of the front row and you'll be right against the interior video camera (and feel ridiculous watching the replay). Enjoy! Great investment!