Helicopter Tours in Hawaii?

[LegalCat]

We would like to take a helicopter tour on your May trip on the Pride of America... I was wondering if any one could weigh in... we could book through the cruiseship or through shoretrips or independently... we have some gift certs on the cruiseline, some gift certs on shoretrips, but neither are enough to cover the helicopter tours so we could go either way or just book independently and then use the gift certs for other tours... any advice would be appreciated... obviously we want someone reputable.. Ive never been in a helicopter before and the thought of it makes me sick, lol... but my fiance has.

[LegalCat]

It looks like Kauai is the main island to take helicopter tours and Blue Hawaii Helicopters seems to be the company I see most people using... any other info is appreciated

[cruisin63]

My husband and I did the helicopter fly over the volcano

when docked in Hilo. Weren't disappointed. Neither of us had

ever flown in a helicopter, therefore did a lot of research, and

finally booked through RCCL cruise line. They used Blue Hawaiian.

The pilots are very, very experienced, both in flying and the lay

and history of the land. We didn't experience a tremendous amt.

of lava flow because of the daylight. We are cruising around the

islands again in Oct, only this time will book a flight on Kauai (the garden

isle) for the beautiful Waimea canyon and waterfall flight. Hope

this helps you out! BK

[spamwhiches]

Legalcat,

First off, the information from Michelle & Sceptic on your other post was bang on! we just did the heli tour on big island. We were fortunate enough to see a good flow but it did not appear there was any possible way to get near it by ground. because it was a 40 minute drive to the blue hawaii checkin heliport from Kona, we booked through the cruiseline, paid a little more, but got free ground transport through traffic and construction and the NCL guarantee of waiting for you to return to the ship.

 

On Kauai we used blue Hawaii booked independently for the morning of day 2 and arrived for our pre flight briefing 5 minutes after the people on the cruise who booked through NCL. there are free shuttles to harbour mall, and across the street to the anchor mall ( or it is walking distance from the pier) the Harbour mall is where the blue Hawaii check in office currently is located.

 

both helicopter tours were great and the only way to see remote and unaccessible parts of the island(s).

 

I was confused at first too, but it really is simple you'll understand it better when you get there.

[Illinitrvlr]

We took a heli tour in Kauai with Air Kauai on our POAM at the end of January. It was fantastic!:D :D More waterfalls than you can count, going inside the crater, the Napali coastline....wow is all I can say:p

[pastfinder]

We were just on the Pride of Hawaii's last loop around the islands. I couldn't talk my group in to the Heli out of Kona - they considered it too expensive. Four of us did the Circle of Fire and Falls with Blue Hawaiian out of Hilo. It was wonderful! The heliport is very convenient to the pier. We saw lots of flowing lava and were very impressed by the company's professionalism. For $25 we got our personal DVD of our flight which will give us memories that we can share with others.

 

For Kauai, we elected an hour's flight in a plane by Air Ventures Hawaii. All 6 of us went this time. The price was reasonable. THey are also great because they'll pick you up right at the pier. While they did everything possible to overcome the weather conditions, we were disappointed that we couldn't do the Waimea Canyon - though we ended up with almost 90 minutes in the air. I don't know if the heli would have been better.

 

Both flights were lots of fun.

[whale-watcher]

We took the helicopter tour through NCL out of KONA. They used Blue Hawaiian, and again, they were wonderful.

 

This tour is two hours long, and includes a flyover of the active molten lave, plus some spectacular scenery along the north shore of the BI (especially the Waipio and Waimanu valleys, which have a Kauai-like look to them).

 

Next time we will try Kauai, but this time our top priority was to see molten lava, and we were not disappointed.

[colonel W]

I am considering Tropical Helicopters in Hilo for a tour over the volcano. They are cheap and have gotten good reviews through some travel books I've read. They offer a unique "doors off" experience which should be fun.

[LegalCat]

oh no, no "doors off" experience for me, LOL... ill be lucky if I dont faint on the way to the helipad, lol... thanks everyone :) between the two posts I definately have a lot more to go on.

[abbyjude2002]

I have booked the helicopter tour offered by NCL for Kauai. My travel agent did this one last summer and he said it was awesome.

[medcruiseplanner]

oh no, no "doors off" experience for me, LOL... ill be lucky if I dont faint on the way to the helipad, lol... thanks everyone :) between the two posts I definately have a lot more to go on.

 

 

My vote is inter island on Kauai. My husband wasn't sure about the doors off either but they have you strapped in extremely well. He ended up loving the doors off. Most likely, it will be your husband that sits on the side with the door off. You will be safe and secure:)