Has anyone ever taken the helicopter ride to the Wall of Tears? Any comments or suggestions on which company to use? We are going to Maui in May 99 and haven't been able to find much information on this.

Thanks!

We took this ride in September just gone and it was lovely. Its very expensive and we were told that we would be in the air for 30 minutes which actually were 20. They took a video of the trip, but we havent been able to watch it yet as we have to have the tape transferred to our video tapes. The scenery is beautiful and if you can afford it definitely go on a helicopter ride. I cant remember the tour operator but there are numerous there and they all basically charge around the same. Please e-mail me if you want any other advice, Maui is a beautiful island, we had a great time.

Julie - My husband and I were recently in Maui during a South Pacific cruise. While on Maui, he went on a helicopter ride with Blue Hawaiian. Don't know about the Wall of Tears, but he absolutely loved the trip which took him on the West side of Maui and over the Pacific to Molokai to the highest cliffs in Hawaii. He also saw dozens of waterfalls. The whole trip was about 65 minutes. He said the pilot was fantastic and noted before they took off that this company had never had an accident which made him feel more secure. He got a souvenir video
as well. I'm sure whichever trip you take, it will be enjoyable. I just asked my husband more about the particulars, and he said Speedy Shuttle Service provides shuttle from anywhere on Maui to the airport for the ride. Also, be flexible once you get to the airport because at any point the weather can change and your trip may have to be changed or cancelled by the company. If you're willing to be flexible, they'll get you on another trip--maybe not the one you reserved, but they'll try to accomodate you the best they can. If you'd like more info, e-mail us as we have some visitors guides from our trip that have all the helicopter phone numbers in them. If you do a search on this site on Hawaii, you'll get all the postings on Hawaii which I have seen many people discussing helicopter rides before. Good luck.

Thanks for all the info. We are going to go with Blue Hawaiian. One concern - motion sickness. Is this a problem on a helicopter?

My husband and I did a helicopter ride on our honeymoon last Jan. We went w/ Sunshine helos--an hour ride. I spent most of the ride with my eyes shut! I was _very_ nauseous, and didn't enjoy the experience very much. I was fine when we were going up or down or straight along, but when we turned/tipped so that the horizon changed positions, that's when I was uncomfortable. So getting in an out of canyons and getting close to things was not so great for me.

Glad we tried it, but I won't be doing it again... too green around the gills!

Good luck with your trip.

took Maui Helicopter trip last May and went to the wall of tears. It was terrific, breathtaking, unforgetable. Unfortunately, it is not always accessible or as perfect as when we were there. Lack of rainfall on top of the mountain tends to dry the wall up at certain times. We flew with AlexAir and they were excellent. Expensive, yes, but I can close my eyes and see it still almost a year later.

We used Blue Hawaiian as well. They use state of the art A-Star Helicopters especially made for site seeing, but don't let this claim fool you. Although the helicopters are relatively comfortable (they even have headsets that cancel the noise and lets you hear the pilot talk), there are three seats in the back and the person in the middle unfortunetly ends up with a restricted view. They will seat you according to your weight, the 2 or 3 heaviest ones in the back (and it gets VERY cramped), the 2 lighter ones up front. The pilot and operation seemed very professional though, and the trip itself, while short, was ok for a one time thing. I wouldn't do it again just because its not worth the cost ($240 for a 30 min trip), but when you fly up the small canyon to the water falls, and the helicopter seems only feet from the cliffs and your wondering when the main rotor is going to hit the cliffs...well it gets a little exciting. Have Fun