We will be in Maui for a week later this month and I am looking into a helicopter tour. One itinerary would take us over Haleakala and the other would take us over West Maui. The scenery looks very different between the two. From the photos I've seen, Haleakala looksd almost like a moonscape and West Maui looks very lush. I am hoping to get some feedback from people who have taken these tours to help us decide which tour to go with.

As an aside, we will not be driving to Haleakala so won't see it otherwise.

Thanks!

I can't help you pick which tour, but I can recommend Blue Hawaiian as a really good company to use. We toured with them over Hawaii/The Big Island and had a wonderful experience. They were super professional and did a great job. The pilot was top notch as both a pilot and narrator. We flew on an Eco- Star.

We did a 2 hour tour. It wasn't cheap, but we figured we may never be back, it was DH's birthday and what the hell, we earned it.

Go for one of the tours that does both!!

http://www.bluehawaiian.com/

Thanks for the recommendation DebitNM. I take it you thought the experience was worth the money?

Absolutely! We loved it. Worth every $

I have also flown with Blue Hawaiian. I was impressed with their professional and well organized operation. Hawaiian heli tours are expensive but worth it. You are correct -- west Maui is lush and green and Haleakala is like a moonscape. But both are spectacular natural beauty.

I have done both tours and would recommend the West Maui over the Haleakala. Other than looking at the top of the mountain, I thought I ride was boring with not much to look at. We used Sunshine Helicopters both times and would recommend them, although it was about 6 years since our last ride.

We did one in Kauai and loved it; it's one of our best vacation memories ever. I would choose the lush one. It's cool to see the sunrise at Haleakala, but for a copter tour, seeing everything lush and green would be my pick.

Thanks. Yes, we have decided to go with the West Maui ride. I'm researching the companies now. So far Blue Hawaiian seems to get positive reviews. I'll look into Sunshine also per TravelGram.

Decided on Blue Hawaiian - confirmed for Aug 22 at 2:30 doing the 30 minute West Maui tour. Excited and a little nervous. I've never been on a helicopter before. Thanks for the help!

Have fun, and if you plan on taking pictures, wear dark-colored clothes so they don't get reflected in the glass.

Good choice. I took the Blue Hawaiian tour over the Big Island and loved it. I think they are a very good company.

My fellow passenger got sick on the ride. Recommend Bonine prior to flight. Maui heliocopter is fantastic.

Reporting back - wow. I am so glad we decided to do the helicopter tour. It was a definite highlight. Blue Hawaiian was great and we luckily received a complimentary upgrade to the tour that included Molokai. Thanks all for your input.

Glad you enjoyed it. Hope the trip was great.
Glad you're back on the board. Missed your posts.

The trip was fantastic! And thanks for missing my posts. That's nice of you to say. In between catching up on e-mails, I've been catching up on all the threads I missed in the lounge. ; )