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We are going to be on the Big Island September 16-23, 2010 and would like to know which Helicopter Tour Company gives you the best tour for the money?
Thanks,
Don in Auburn, CA.
Thanks,
Don in Auburn, CA.
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On Kaua'i there are many operators and they fly essentially the same route, On the Big Island there are fewer operators, and the routes are more varied.Originally posted by HassieRiver
Accordingly, it's very difficult to say which operator gives the best value.
What's important to know is what route you want to fly - what highlights do you want to see and what airport do you want to fly out of.
The tour operator that gives the best tour for the money will then be the one that gives the tour that you want out of the airport that you prefer.
BTW - you should also be aware that when you take a heli tour on the Big Island, you spend a significant amount of the flight time in transit between highlights. That's unlike Kaua'i, where there is generally something new and wonderful just over the next hill.“Maybe you shouldn't dress like that.”
“This is a blouse and skirt. I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You shouldn't wear that body.” -
Hi
T.R.O
You look good today
you must be well rested
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T.R.O.
Thanks for the advice, but still don't know which operator to select when I don't know who operates Helos on the Big Island !!!
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Google for helicopter tours on the Big Island. That will tell you what operators are out there and what routes they fly.Originally posted by HassieRiver View PostT.R.O.
Thanks for the advice, but still don't know which operator to select when I don't know who operates Helos on the Big Island !!!“Maybe you shouldn't dress like that.”
“This is a blouse and skirt. I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You shouldn't wear that body.”Comment
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We used Big Hawaiian Helicopter Tours a few years ago for a tour of Kauai. I now it's not the island you asked about, but they do tours on the Big Island, so you might check them out.Comment
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Me, too!
DW and I are going to Kauai and the BI in October and I would also like to know of any recent experiences. We took an hour airplane flight out of Kona and went over the volcano areas. The turbulents were gut wrenching and most of the 8 passengers lost their breakfasts. That company is no longer in operation. Seems like they'll move around. One company we took our first helicopter trip on in Kauai, Heli-Tours folded after having a chopper go down in a monsoon rain storm, killing 2+ a few years ago. I heard of the same company name in the Las Vegas area. Nothing against Heli-Tours, as our pilot was exceedingly professional. In Kauai and the various companies, there are probably atleast 2-4+ choppers in the air at any given time during the day, so surprising that a storm caught the pilot off guard. A second chopper with the same company at the same time landed his craft on the Napili coast and spent the night there after the passengers had be somehow transferred off. Helicopters are an amazing way to see the islands, but BI is huge. I'm anxious for some updated info! Gary DeMille(also Auburn, CA)Comment
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Try Blue Hawaiian Helicopters
Blue Hawaiian flies out of Hilo and Waikoloa and offers great tours. They came highly recommended when we were there earlier this year, and are also a top choice in the tour guides we used to plan our trip. Check them out online for discounts - they're not cheap! The island is so big that if it's the volcano you really want to see, I'd recommend taking the tour out of Hilo. If you want a more complete island tour, I think they also have a two hour flight from Waikoloa that goes over the northern coast.
On Kauai, we went with Air Ventures Hawaii and took the plane flight rather than helicopter. We didn't get to go as low as with the helicopter tour, but that was fine with us. We were in the air for an hour and saw the whole island. Our pilot was a Kauai native who's been flying tours for 23 years; he had lots of interesting information to share as we flew over the different parts of the island.
Our Kauai flight was a combination offer we found online, which offered the flight and also a sunset whale watching Catamaran tour of the Napali coast with Holo Holo. It was a great time and good deal as well.JeanneComment
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As I tried to indicate above, on the Big Island it's really critical that you decide what you want to see.
We did a full island tour with Paradise Helicopters a few years ago - here's a link to a slide-show from that trip.
The difficulty you will face is that there are two really spectacular areas of the Big Island: Kilauea Volcano and the Kohala Sea Cliffs and waterfalls. But they are on opposite ends of the island, so you can't see both unless you do a full island tour. And because the Big Island is big, a full island tour is pricey.
As you can tell from the slide show, we did Paradise Helicopters. They gave a good tour, and I think they followed the best route for seeing the sites of the island. We departed out of KOA, then flew over the top of Hualalai volcano. That gave us a nice view of the top of a volcano - Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are too high for the heli to cross, so crossing over Hualalai was a good choice to enable one to look down on the top of a currently inactive Big Island volcano. And crossing over Hualalai is pretty much on the way to Kilauea from KOA airport.
After crossing Hualalai we crossed the east flank of Mauna Loa, and flew over the then current eruption zone of Kilauea. We then went up the Hamakua Coast to the Kohala Sea Cliffs, and then into the absolutely spectacular Waimano Valley and the Keyhole. The Waimano Valley and the Keyhole is like flying into Wai'ale'ale on Kauai. We then crossed over to Waimea and Waikoloa, then came down the coast from Waikoloa to Kona.
As I recall, the flight took about 2-1/2 hours; in contrast the full island heli tours on Kaua'i are less than one hour. Since cost is directly related to air time, that means the cost of the ride was pretty significant, at least for us. We "subsidized" the cost by doing a timeshare tour.
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And this illustrates where the fewer options available on the Big Island becomes a factor. I really wanted to do the tour with a company that flew helis without windows. But if I combined that constraint with a Kona airport departure, there weren't any choices. We wound up on Paradise mostly because they did the tour that we wanted with matching departure times. But when we flew there simply wasn't any operator who offered the aircraft we wanted with a full island tour. We could either have the aircraft we wanted, and only do Kilauea. Or do a full island tour with less than ideal equipment. We opted to yield on the equipment for the sake of doing both Kilauea and Kohala. And I've not for one moment regretted making that choice.
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A final note is to pay attention to the departure time for the flight. We opted to take the first available flight out of KOA. We had several reasons for doing so.
First, I like to take photos and early morning and late afternoon are the best times for picture taking.
Second, when we were there morning was the time when there was the best chance of seeing the Kilauea eruption without cloud cover. In fact, had we taken the mid-morning flight, we would not have seen the eruption because by 10 am that morning the clouds came in and the eruption zone was no longer accessible. This is variable though. As the eruption zone moves to different locations, the local conditions can change.
Third, we really wanted to see the Kohala sea cliffs and the Waimano Valley. Again, when we were there the best time for clear skies was the morning.
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Hope these comments help.“Maybe you shouldn't dress like that.”
“This is a blouse and skirt. I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You shouldn't wear that body.”Comment
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I agree. Morning is the best time for air tours. Colors are more vivid and the sky was clearer on both islands than in the afternoons. Less chance of a storm cloud popping up, adding more turbulence as well.JeanneComment
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My wife and I took a tour back in 2005 with Paradise Helicopters of the volcanoes, and it was great! Yes, book a morning flight rather than afternoon.Comment
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