Helicopter Tours
 

We are going to Maui, Kauai, and the BI. We definitely want to do a Helicopter tour, but probably can only afford one. From my research BI (Kona) appears to be the first choice. Is this right? Does any have anyone pointers for us? (specific companies, specific tours, time of day, discounts,etc.) All comments and help are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

BI -- Blue Hawaiian

Others will have different opinions of whether or not you should do this. Also, which Island. To find ALL [and there are lots] similiar posts type in Helicopter tour Hawaii in the search box and see what comes up.

We did Blue Hawaiian too on the BI - and were very pleased with our choice.

Definitely do the air tour on the Big Island! It is the best way to see the volcano and lava flows. We did an air tour in a Cessna airplane, and it was significantly less expensive than a helicopter tour. IIRC, we paid $150 per person. We used Mokulele Air ou tof the Kona airport. They also fly out of Hilo. We went all the way around the island, including the North Kohala coast, which was spectacular!

Can't comment about the other islands but we recently took a helicopter ride from Hilo Airport over the lava/

We used Safari and were very happy - shopped around the airport (both terminals - the main and the commuter - Safari is at the commuter terminal). Safari was a little less expensive but most importantly they would guarantee us which seat we would be in. They fly the same 6 seat helicopter as Blue Hawaiian and you definitely don't want to be in the middle 2 seats in the back seat. Blue Hawaiian wouldn't tell you which seat you'd get but did say they put the "smallest" people in the window seats so if you're in the middle you can see over them........seeing as I'm 6' tall I figured I was guaranteed a middle seat!.

Blue Hawaiin does not tell you in advance where you will sit for a very good reason. In order to have a safe flight, the weight of the passengers has to be evenly distributed.

Yes, they weigh you when you check. There is no way they are going to take anyone's word on this issue.

So, once they weigh you and figure out who all is going on which flights [they have several different ones -- time, and type of craft] then they assign seats based on weight distribution.

My husband and I were the smallest and we got to sit in front next to the pilot which was awesome.

I would not want to go on a helicopter flight where they assign a seat to you based on your name only [or what you say you weigh; sorry, too many folks wouldn't be honest and that could spell trouble]. IMHO

Uhhh...regarding DebitNM comments - Blue Hawaiian was explicity clear with us that the seat assignment was pretty much based on...

- first come first served
- smaller people on the edges so they could fill the interior seats with larger people

Certainly extreme weight/height would be taken into account upon check in (for which we all weighed in) but otherwise these aircraft are not so delicate that each passenger has to be carefully placed in an exact, specific location......good grief.

Elizabeth; I respectfully disagree:

From Blue Hawiian website -

<i>&quot;Will we be the only ones in the helicopter? How is the seating arranged?
Both the A-Star and the ECO-Star helicopter hold six-passengers, although we currently have two ECO-Stars that are configured for seven passengers. Seating is assigned using a weight and balance computer program which is FAA approved. We cannot guarantee specific seating as it depends on the weight and balance of all the guests booked on a particular flight. Visibility for all passengers is excellent as there is no separating bulkhead to obscure the sweeping view for each seat. If you want the aircraft all to yourself you may charter an A-Star or an ECO-Star Helicopter.&quot;</i>


I suggest OP ask this Q of what ever tour they decide upon.

We flew on AlexAir while in Maui and I can highly recommend them. Aloha!

http://www.helitour.com/

We took a Tauck Tour 6 years ago and a helicopter tour was included on Kauai. It was awesome with music on the headphones and scenery like I have never seen. When we got to Hawaii (Big Island) we had an option of taking another for around $300 apiece and remembering the first great experience, we went for it. Scenery was great including going over the active volcano which is not really that spectacular most of the time. The pilot was a bit scary as he admitted he'd only been doing this for about a week and had to follow another copter because he really wasn't that sure of where he was going. (Ex- military pilot from Arkansas). Most of the trip he was on radio with the lead pilot to tell us what we were seeing and the rest of the time he expounded on how much these pilots depend on tips. Plan on dropping another $20 per person at the conclusion.
The real consideration is the safety record of these helicopters...if I had a clue, I wouldn't have considered going up. They don't publicize this at all and in the continental US it is rare to hear of the crashes and fatalities. Do a serious web search before you do this. I think the fixed wing planes are far safer (and cheaper).

I've never been to the big island so I can't comment on that, but we did a helicopter tour on Kauai, which was fabulous. The West side of the island....Napali coast is only accessible by helicopter or boat. It is completely uninhabited and gorgeous! If you choose to do the helicopter ride on BI then you must do a boat trip to see the Napali Coast. We flew with InterIsland Helicopters. They are the helicopters without doors. I highly recommend them.

We did a helicopter ride on Kauai from the Princevile area northshore airport. It is still unforgetable. The scenery was breathtaking, the waterfalls, the Napili coastline, the valleys etc.
However, if I were you , I would choose to do a helicopter ride on the Big Island. Unfortunately, when we got to Volcano National Park on the Big Island, some roads were closed &amp; we never got to get near the active lava(even at a far away distance). We still regret it. Helpful hint- tip the pilot &amp; ask for front seat.

My husband, son and I just returned this a.m. from our first trip to Hawaii. We are already talking about our next trip! We took a helicopter tour of Kauai on Saturday and used Island Helicopters. It was a spur of the moment decision - I didn't think I wanted to do the helicopter tour because of some of the recent problems - but I realized that with our limited time it was the best way to get to see much of the island. I was extremely pleased with our pilot - and the tour. It cost about $160 each - and was worth every penny. Our pilot was terrific - we also got very, very lucky with beautiful weather that day - little wind. With the Na Pali Coast, Waimea Canyon, north shore, river, beautiful green, etc., I am very pleased we chose Kauai for the tour.

We did the helicopter tour in Kauai, and it's one of our favorite vacation memories. In my opinion, you can't beat the beauty of the Na Pali coast. I've heard it's better to go earlier in the day due to weather conditions - we went fairly early in the morning. You will love it; we got amazing pictures of the coast and all the waterfalls.

When I booked my helicopter tour (with Air Kauai)for June, I was told by the reservationist that she had taken heli tours at 3 different times of the day (a.m., noon, and afternoon) and her favorite time was afternoon. She said it was because the Napali Coast and the Waimea Canyon were on the West and they were better lit by the sun in the afternoon. Made since to me, so I booked our tour for 2:00 p.m. Has anyone been on an afternoon tour that can confirm her information? Thanks.