Best port for a Helicopter tour?

Hello Folks,

Heading to Hawaii soon on NCL's Pride of America. Very excited but wanted to know if anyone would know which island is the best to do a helicopter tour. Saw some videos online and all look amazing but if anyone has been on these tours and offer suggestions that would be great.

Thanks Everyone!

Hello Folks,

Heading to Hawaii soon on NCL's Pride of America. Very excited but wanted to know if anyone would know which island is the best to do a helicopter tour. Saw some videos online and all look amazing but if anyone has been on these tours and offer suggestions that would be great.

 

Thanks Everyone!

Each island has it's own attractions from the helicopter

Kauai - Nepali Coast

Hilo & Kona - Volcanoes National Park

Maui - Hana coast & Volcano

Honolulu - Pearl harbor

We chose to book a heli tour on Kauai for our upcoming 8-16 cruise as IMO, it has the most spectacular sites to see including the Na Pali Coast, Waimea Canyon, Mt. Waialeale, etc. We booked with Blue Hawaiian and they will pick us up at the ship. I usually see Kauai and the big island Hawaii listed as first and second in any recommendation list for air tours.

We are on the Crown Princess in Oct. and we are trying Wings over Kauai for a flight seeing tour of the canyon. They have small planes for the tour. Our ship has free shuttle to Anchor Cove shopping center where they will pick us up for our flight. The flight is also cheaper then a chopper!!! Hope this will be of help to your planning.

Kauai is called the Garden Isle for good reason & it would be my first choice. On the Big Island of Hawaii if the lava is flowing that would be another good experience for me. However that's unpredictable and the beauty of Kauai is always there as long as the weather cooperates.

Thanks everyone! I was looking at Maui originally for the helicopter tour but it seems most of the things I'm reading online also point to Kauai! Might make a last minute call between Kauai and Big Island.

I would prefer Kauai just for the variety of what you will see. The dry colorful beauty of Waimea Canyon, the cliffs of the Na Pali coast, the dozens of small waterfalls in the rain forest area. :)

We booked Mauna Loa Helicopter on Kauai. A little more expensive but "no bad seat"!!

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We did the Island Spectacular Tour and it was amazing. Saw the Volcano from a distance, saw some lava. We even saw a 360 degree Rainbow. The waterfall and valleys section was amazing too. I was sooo glad we did this tour. Was it expensive.... yes, but worth every cent !!:D

We chose to book a heli tour on Kauai for our upcoming 8-16 cruise as IMO, it has the most spectacular sites to see including the Na Pali Coast, Waimea Canyon, Mt. Waialeale, etc. We booked with Blue Hawaiian and they will pick us up at the ship. I usually see Kauai and the big island Hawaii listed as first and second in any recommendation list for air tours.

We did Wings over Kauai in April and it was the best thing we did in the 17 days of our Hawaiian adventure. You won't be disappointed.

I would recommend Kauai for the Helicopter tour. We used Blue Hawaiian and the scenery on Kauai is absolutely amazing. It was expensive but worth it. They pick you up right at the pier and will return you . .enjoy your tour!

I'll add another vote for Kauai - we booked through Island Helicopters and it was a real highlight of our cruise. Enjoy!

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From everyone's advice I'm planning to hit up Kauai! Will report back with a trip report and experience once I return.

Thanks everyone!

From everyone's advice I'm planning to hit up Kauai! Will report back with a trip report and experience once I return.

 

Thanks everyone!

Just off the POA yesterday, and just wanted to say our Blue Hawaiian heli tour was the best tour we have ever done. Even better than our flightseeing tour over the ice fields of Juneau, which I thought was impossible. They were completely professional and are organized down to every detail. DH and I got to sit upfront with the pilot. What a thrill!

I would definitely recommend the helicopter tour over one done by airplane. IMO, an airplane could never get you into the tight spots we were in.

Just off the POA yesterday, and just wanted to say our Blue Hawaiian heli tour was the best tour we have ever done. Even better than our flightseeing tour over the ice fields of Juneau, which I thought was impossible. They were completely professional and are organized down to every detail. DH and I got to sit upfront with the pilot. What a thrill!

 

I would definitely recommend the helicopter tour over one done by airplane. IMO, an airplane could never get you into the tight spots we were in.

Off topic for this thread, but punkincc do they have the Cake Boss cakes on POA?

Off topic for this thread, but punkincc do they have the Cake Boss cakes on POA?

Yes, the cakes and cupcakes are at the coffee bar in the atrium area. I did look in the case. It is very small, and the cakes seem small too. Not sure how they compare to the "Away" ships in size or variety.

Yes, the cakes and cupcakes are at the coffee bar in the atrium area. I did look in the case. It is very small, and the cakes seem small too. Not sure how they compare to the "Away" ships in size or variety.

Thank you! We are celebrating 40th, 50th and 60th birthdays and thought we might get one one day. :)

Hello! Can anyone tell me - do they actually weigh you on the helicopter tours? Is it discreet if they do? I don't want to be weighed in front of anyone! [emoji5]️

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Hello! Can anyone tell me - do they actually weigh you on the helicopter tours? Is it discreet if they do? I don't want to be weighed in front of anyone! [emoji5]️

 

 

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Yes, they do weigh you, but if you aren't paying attention, you won't even know they did it, at least that's how it's done on Blue Hawaiian.

When you stand at the checkin counter, there is a set of footprints on the rug. As you stand there, they take your weight through sensors in the rug. They do not announce your weight. The computer then analyzes the weights for those on your flight and you are assigned a number based on where they want you to sit. You are given your number at your safety briefing.

Awesome! Great to know, thanks!!

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Awesome! Great to know, thanks!!

 

 

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This is pretty much how Island Helicopters did it, too. They weigh you with your gear (purse, camera, etc) but don't announce it.

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I believe on Blue Hawaiian you are not allowed to board with anything other than a camera and sunglasses. They provide lockers to store your backpacks, purses, etc. We used our shorts pockets for money, credit cards and so forth.

We are on Kauai this week before our cruise next Sat. (9/6/14). This morning we did the helicopter tour with Mauna Loa Helicopters. It was awesome. Smaller helicopter -- only seats 3 plus the pilot-- doors off or on per seat. A little more expensive but well worth the price!!

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We are on Kauai this week before our cruise next Sat. (9/6/14). This morning we did the helicopter tour with Mauna Loa Helicopters. It was awesome. Smaller helicopter -- only seats 3 plus the pilot-- doors off or on per seat. A little more expensive but well worth the price!!

 

 

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Thanks for posting this! I am booked with them in March, but you don't hear a lot about them. I liked that it would only be the two of us in the helicopter, so no chance of getting put in a middle seat. :)

Came back from my Hawaii trip and thanks to everyone on the recommendation to Kauai for the helicopter tour. Decided to go with Blue Hawaiian and they were very professional and the pilot was very informative. It was nothing short of amazing. We had a group of 7 together and we broke up into a group of 6 and 1.