Best Island for Heli ride?

[MattOsprey]

Hi all,

We are going to be on Diamond On October 19th for 15 nights.

 

We will be stopping

Wednesday October 24, 2007 Kauai 11:00 AM 06:00 PM

Thursday October 25, 2007 Lahaina 08:00 AM 06:00 PM

Friday October 26, 2007 Hilo 08:00 AM 06:00 PM

Saturday October 27, 2007 Honolulu 07:00 AM 11:00 PM

Sunday October 28, 2007 Kona 08:00 AM 06:00 PM

 

Can anyone tell me the best place for us to go up in a helicopter, hoping to see volcanic activity.

Thanks.

Matt

[shell03]

Overall, I would definitely say that Kauai is the best place to do a helicopter ride without a doubt.

 

However, if you have your heart set on seeing lava, your only choice is the Big Island.

 

You can do a search of this site and find many threads that address the subject. We recently used Blue Hawaiian and were very pleased. They have a fantastic website. I would recommend that you check it out.

 

If you are doing the Big Island flight, book early, especially since helicopter rides are becoming extremely popular due to the recent volcanic activity.

[CC Help Michell]

Overall, I would definitely say that Kauai is the best place to do a helicopter ride without a doubt.

 

However, if you have your heart set on seeing lava, your only choice is the Big Island.

 

You can do a search of this site and find many threads that address the subject. We recently used Blue Hawaiian and were very pleased. They have a fantastic website. I would recommend that you check it out.

 

If you are doing the Big Island flight, book early, especially since helicopter rides are becoming extremely popular due to the recent volcanic activity.

 

I second Shell's post in every respect. If lava is your goal, it's the BI, end of discussion -- that's the only active lava in Hawaii right now. The "best" island for helicopter tours, however, is by virtually unanimous postings and websites/blogs, Kauai (if you can only do one). Not being helicopter people, we didn't do either one -- had we been so inclined, we'd have done Blue Hawaiian on Kauai. We enjoyed their videos on the website vicariously, instead.

[SHIPMEOUT]

It's got to be Hilo if you want to see volcano activity.

 

If you want to see one of the most beautiful places on Earth, take the helicopter over Kauai. We did just that (on Blue Hawaiian) and it left us speechless.

 

- Cindy

[basser]

If you really want a unique ride, do the Inter-Island Helicoptors on kauai. They do the no doors tour. We just did it last week and it was great. You do have to drive or somehow get yourself to thePort Allen air strip which is 30-40 min. away from the pier. we had a rent car.

[Spikesgirl]

We have been to the islands many times (35+) and taken countless helicopter rides. For the best bang for the buck, definitely do Kauai. There are sights that can only be seen from the air and the geography is breathtaking. It's hard to believe that the Big Island will look much the same in the future.

 

Charlie

[beachchick]

We have been to the islands many times (35+) and taken countless helicopter rides. For the best bang for the buck, definitely do Kauai. There are sights that can only be seen from the air and the geography is breathtaking. It's hard to believe that the Big Island will look much the same in the future.

 

Charlie

 

That is true. I just wanted to mention that it is true for all the islands, including Oahu. We used Blue Hawaiian for the 1 hour flight on Maui, and it was amazing. We got a whole new perspective and flew into and around all the completely inaccessible valleys in the west Maui mountains as well as the valleys in south and all the inland waterfalls. IMO, is an overlooked gem for helicopter rides. Certainly Kauai is astonishing, and the BI has VNP, but Maui is special too. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of those three islands.

 

beachchick

[Spikesgirl]

Good point, Beachchick. Each island does hold its own charm both on the ground and from the air. I'm not so much a Maui girl(don't hate me), so I tend to forget about it when it comes to helicopter rides. Our ride there was nice, but I was unimpressed - that could be the operator's fault as I just don't recall being impressed with his patter - he tended to be really quiet unless you asked him direct questions and then his answers were pretty pat. Guess we should think about hitting the skies above Maui again with another op.

 

The reality is that it's hard to beat Hawai'i either from the ground or air. No matter what you chose, it will be a win-win scenario for you

 

Charlie

[SuO]

I have never been on it and I don't know the company, but my father-in-law just told me he loved the heli tour he took on the Big Island (he doesn't remember the company). He said it was 4 hours. Anyway, he was explaining some of the things they did and it sounds like this is the roller coaster of excitement version of a helicopter ride heh. Not my thing as I have a tickly tummy, but he said they went along the edge of cliffs, went into some hole and then looked up and saw they were inside a volcano and could see the rim above them, twirly'ed down into valleys, etc. They also stopped at the top of some mountainside to have lunch. Sounded very fun but too much tummy action for me. :p

[ls1swap]

If you really want a unique ride, do the Inter-Island Helicoptors on kauai. They do the no doors tour. We just did it last week and it was great. You do have to drive or somehow get yourself to thePort Allen air strip which is 30-40 min. away from the pier. we had a rent car.

 

 

 

We took them...... the ride was nice but they are very un organized. we paid for a waterfall landing and ended up just getting the standard tour. and discounted to just that. they did nothing at all to make it right. it was thier fault but our problem....... personaly I would avoid them.

 

[beachchick]

Good point, Beachchick. Each island does hold its own charm both on the ground and from the air. I'm not so much a Maui girl(don't hate me), so I tend to forget about it when it comes to helicopter rides. Our ride there was nice, but I was unimpressed - that could be the operator's fault as I just don't recall being impressed with his patter - he tended to be really quiet unless you asked him direct questions and then his answers were pretty pat. Guess we should think about hitting the skies above Maui again with another op.

 

The reality is that it's hard to beat Hawai'i either from the ground or air. No matter what you chose, it will be a win-win scenario for you

 

Charlie

 

Very true, indeed.:)

 

Sounds like you didn't have a terribly good ride on Maui. That's a shame. We were actually amazed at how much we hadn't ever been able to see by land, plus flying over whale pods and above Haleakala and, well, just everything.

 

And you know I'd never hate you for not loving Maui as much as I do. You love Hawaii, what else is important?:D

 

beachchick