marcellaruella

We'll be in Kauai in January, so I wanted to give my husband a helicopter tour as a Christmas gift. Those with experiences, I'd be happy to hear which company you chose and why.

I'm not sure about flying with the doors off. Seems like a better option for photography - no glare. But seems like the noise and the wind would be really irritating - has anyone gone doors off?

Also, only one company seems to have the 2 hour package with the landing at the waterfall. Anyone do that ride - is the stop worth it?

And Safari seems to be the only company that touts a DVD of your actual flight - anyone have input on that?

marcellaruella

oops - sorry for the double post

jamie99

Hi,

We did the doors off tour (without the waterfall landing) with InterIsland this past September as my husband had a new digital camera he wanted to try out. Be sure and go in the morning, we went early afternoon and it was starting to cloud up.

Jack Harter now also has the doors off helicopter option, this is fairly new for them I gather. They get very good reviews.

MBnancy

Did Interisland in the morning, 10 am, and took digital photos, no glare. Chose them because of their record and doors off. Everyone wears earphones anyway, so the noise is reduced and you can talk with the pilot. Did not do waterfall landing.

Linleedo1

Heli-Usa was awesome.We took a trip for our 25th Anniversary. We saw many waterfalls, the Napali coast, rainbows, mountains & the Waimea Canyon. The pilot turned the helicopter around so that everyone could get a great view. I would highly recommend the tour. It sat 2 people up front with the pilot & 3 in the back.Seating is based on weight distribution. It is something we will remember for a lifetime!

iceeu2

We did Inter-Island several years ago and have the beautiful pictures to prove it.

I don't think they are allowed to do waterfall landings any longer.(that's what AuntieMaria says). But, I didn't think it was worth it anyway. There's so many beautiful, easily accessible waterfalls on Kauai that you don't need to pay the extra money for a waterfall, turkey sandwich and cookie(at least I wouldn't again).

DebitNM

We did Blue Hawaiian on BI and were very pleased with the flight, tour and pilot. They do Kauai too:

http://www.bluehawaiian.com/

Good safety and doors on!

Hope this helps...
Debi

panhandle

Another vote for interisland. they leave out of Port Allen though. It is easy to see the canyon the same day if you are coming from the the other side of the island. Also check out glass beach on that side of the island as well. Its really quite sad and beautiful at the same time.

trippinkpj

We did Blue Hawaiian in the BI as well. Our Kauai Helicopter Tour was 10 years ago, so I'm not positive the company name (maybe Jack Harter?).

Abby43

I did the open door helicopter tour in 2002-and I saw on the aisle so it felt like I was hanging out of the copter. A little scary but an unimaginable experience! I loved it! I don't remember the company but Jack Harter sounds very familiar.

hawaiifanatic

I've talked with the CEO of Blue Hawaiian in recent years and learned that they've gone the second and third mile on extra safety. That's who I would fly with.

Meanwhile, the tour routes that fly out of Port Allen are flying a slightly shorter route than out of Lihue airport. This has allowed some tour services from Port Allen to take advantage of a loophole in safety regulations where they only have to be certified under the looser Part 91 safety certification rather than than the more demanding Part 135 requirements. The FAA is supposed to implement a new "Air Tour Safety Rule" that will close these loopholes (including requiring BOTH floats on the helicopter skids AND life preservers), but I have not seen any announcements on this lately. So the safest bet is to ask if a tour service is at least certified as Part 135, at minimum.

panhandle

Would the CEO of the company say any different? =)

hawaiifanatic

It's all documented. You can do a Google search of articles and read about how they've implemented new technology to help their pilots fly more safely in craters and valleys, and require extra flight training for their pilots. Also, they have floats on the skids and life preservers for the passengers. Amazingly, both are not required under current FAA rules.

marcellaruella

Thank you, I would have no idea what to ask for in regard to safety (other than pilot experience and maintainence of aircraft). I think my husband would LOVE doors off - so I am definitely going to go with that option. And we are staying near the Lihue airport so that will be most convenient.

What about the DVD of your flight? Did any of you buy that - and was it of your actual flight?

MBnancy

More info on Inter-island. There are only two seats in the back seat, so each passenger has a door off seat for better view. They also are contracted by the County of Kauai to do the search and rescue missions on the island, so they have a very good reputation for safety.

hawaiifanatic

You can look into their safety record at the following website....

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp

DebitNM

We bought the DVD. While it wasn't hollywood quality, it does have the sights and sound that we actually saw during our flight along with the pilot's narrative and the Q&A's from those on board. We have shown it a couple of times, and while those who saw the actual caldera of molten lave were impressed, this is really more for us as a memory jogger of how beautiful the flight was for us. Again, we used Blue Hawaiian on BI.
Debi

enpleinair

We have enjoyed several helicopter flights over many of the islands. The only one that 'freaked me out' one over Kauai. I am sorry I don't recall the co. They were excellent, but the copter had no doors. My son had a friend with him, they both came with us on the helicopter. After we landed my son's friend commented that his seatbelt had never latched. I just about fainted.

Have a great trip

jess_honeymoon

We used Jack Harter on Kauai - with the doors on. It was incredible, and I would highly recommend it.

karilccc

We did Blue Hawaiian in Kuaui and did get the video. Yes, it is of your actual flight! Audio is included as well. It is of the flight, and there are some little shots of us as well -- wearing our headgear, asking questions, and on the ground getting ready to take off. The audio is music background (each pilot picks their own music and does their own personalized narration -- this is nice as it is not one of those "canned" narrations) The video also clearly picks up all of our discussion through the microphones. (No chopper sounds) There are several different cameras used, (3-4 if I remember correctly?) and it seemlessly is blended together or semi-edited so that you'll see from outside the helicopter, to the inside. It's a really really GREAT souvenir, worth the money; the quality is excellent -- and since it's a DVD you can show friends and family without making them watch the entire long length, you can kind of skip to various sections and just show a sampling.

Our pilot was really great -- we did a lot of whale spotting (were also there in January) and while staying high enough not to harass them, we had fun as we saw SO many! This was an unexpected highlight!