Waterfalls, whales, and windmills, oh my! Kaj knew just how to thrill us locals as we saw our Big…read moreIsland from the air, 1000+ feet above ground, as we flew over the Waimea windblown crest, where the clouds bunched up against the windward side, with a small opening to the stunning blue shades of coastline. The fluffy cloud cover gave way to a slightly misty and broken front, with the Big Island's coastline calling us closer. The long black sand beach of Waipio Valley gave way to cascading waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet down sheer remote cliffs. We were lucky the drought was recently punctured by rain, replenishing the splendorous sight! We ducked into a canyon for a closer look -- everyone was entranced, overjoyed to see such wonders. Lucky for us no one was nervous, we all were relaxed and ecstatic. Whales came to the surface when we returned to the Hapuna area, it truly was magical, a solid check for my bucket list! At the age of 73, I am now using a walker and so this was a treat. (A short ramp leads into the office in Waikoloa, there is a bathroom inside the building, if you have trouble walking, do not rush to use the bathrooms outside to the left of the building, they are harder to navigate. Once inside and everyone heads to the helicopter, the ground crew will open the gate so you can roll back down the ramp to walk level instead of using the steps out back from the porch like everyone else. Crew will assist you getting into the helicopter if you able to stand up but you will need some arm strength to pull yourself into the seat, the overhead grab bar gives the necessary swing point.) We had a great time with Kaj, being locals, we are looking forward to seeing him in the water at Pine Trees, the Kohanaiki Park is great for watching surfers and enjoying some lunch bought from Pine Trees Cafe, nearby (go all the way to the bay for closeness to the showers and restroom). Yeah, I'm gonna plug my favorite spots! The helicopter ride will be loud (they give you headphones to block), and will be like riding a vibration disk. I loved it. So relaxing. There are 3 microphones shared by the six people riding, otherwise you will be reduced to using body language, not hard to decipher arched eyebrows, open mouths. I did not realize that Kilauea had fountained the night before, glad I did not know because maybe we would have taken the option of cancelling when they offered it, due to the buffeting winds and slight mistiness. I know that others did reschedule, perhaps thinking it was going to be disappointing. But we were gungho, why not? They promised that if we had to turn around due to weather, we would be reimbursed. To be fair, a fountaining volcano is not safe to be near and so it means staying far back. We have been here through three eruptions so we did not feel deprived. And, the fiery display was over by daylight. As a surfer I have watched and lived among the island's locals with fascination for two decades, as the aloha spirit transcends everything they do, and Blue Hawaiian has earned its place of honor. The company has donated lifesaving equipment over the years to the various beach parks and the lifeguard department, which is managed by our Fire Department. The staff I met embodies that spirit as well. From the moment we set foot in the door, the prep process for our trip was smooth, swift, and relaxing. I hope you have as much as we did. Its a full 24 hours later and I am still buzzing from the natural high! Grab a friend or two, or five, and take the ride of your life!

1 star. Absolute bait-and-switch…read more We booked Blue Hawaiian Helicopters directly through their website. Not a waitlist. Not "pending confirmation." The site showed availability. We selected a time. We paid in full. Then, the day before the flight, they casually informed us they wouldn't fly unless they had four people. Let that sink in. If you "need four people to fly," then your website should not allow bookings for fewer than four. Period. Anything else is deceptive. Taking someone's money first and disclosing your internal minimum later is not a policy. It's a cash grab. No proactive call. No warning during checkout. No accountability. Just a shrug and "sorry." This wasn't a weather issue. This wasn't an emergency. This was poor business practice baked into their system. And judging by the volume of similar complaints online, this isn't rare. It's a pattern. Vacation time is limited. Schedules are tight. People plan entire trips around experiences like this. Blue Hawaiian seems perfectly comfortable blowing that up after holding your money hostage. Want amazing views of Hawaii? Plenty of companies can deliver that. Want reliability, transparency, and basic respect for customers? Look elsewhere. Because nothing kills the magic of a helicopter tour faster than realizing the company never intended to honor your reservation unless it worked in their favor. Savage truth: If you book here, you're not a customer. You're a placeholder.

An amazing adventure/experience. This was my first jump (age 52) and also for my daughter (age 18)…read more The operation was safe, beautiful and exhilarating. I will go again with my other daughter when she turns 18.

Holy crap... I've been skydiving twice before here. Skydiving in Hawaii was the most unreal calming…read moreexperience I have ever endured in my lifetime. It was just pure calmness falling through the sky looking at all the beautiful land and water. Unreal experience, would absolutely do it again! They also make a cute little video for you to get after your experience. Highly recommend this place for the experience of a lifetime and for the kind staff they have! Thank you for an experience I'll never forget!

Located inside the King Kamehameha Resort. You can park at the hotel's lot by grabbing a ticket and…read morethen having the Flight of Aloha staff validate it. This will give you 1 hour complimentary parking. Once parked, you enter the resort and the Flight of Aloha station will be towards your left. If lost, then you can ask any of the hotel's staff member, and they will guide you. Once we arrived, there was a sweet female employee working. She was really polite, professional, informative, and genuine. We were able to purchase the tickets on the spot and even secured a time slot for our group only. Restrooms are located further down, and you will need a hotel card to unlock the restrooms, which their staff will give you. Just be sure to return it before you leave. We were then guided into a room with neon markers. We wrote on the walls as we were told. Lots of signatures were on the board. Then we took a group photo in the same room, which we were given access to a free digital copy. We were then aaked to be seated for a pre-show, which was good. Then we were escorted to the theater room. They say the first and middle rows are best. We took the middle row since there were 5 of us plus 1 lap infant (almost 5 months old). They allowed my baby to come as long as she would be secured in my baby carrier. You do have to secure your seat belt during the show. It wasn't scary at all. It was fine with my almost 5 month old once secured in my baby carrier. It can be a bit loud so I covered my baby's ears. Then also had her burp cloth covering the back of her head as the staff member did inform me to anticipate water splashes intermittently. Those intermittent splashes did startle my baby a bit, but overall, she did great. The water spashes weren't that bad either. They did not have our seats bounce too much probably because of the baby, which was nice. Overall, the show was beautiful! It was such a nice way to see the different parts of the islands. Recognized most of them too. Very immersive overall- scents, water sprays, air pressure under the feet, etc. Would recommend! I prefer not to go on a helicopter, so this was a great alternative. Also, the staff member (didn't catch her name) who helped us out today was SO nice! Such a great asset to the company! Then we headed off into the theat

Fun! Amazing! Loved it! That's what my kids (ages 6& 8) and nephew (8) exclaimed after we brought…read morethem to the Christmas experience at Flight of Aloha! The staff were cheerful and friendly. Their excitement really set the tone. My kids got to make a Christmas ornament that would help them with their mission to spread Christmas cheer. The ride was so fun. The kids were cheering and screaming with surprise at certain points. We felt like we were really flying on a Christmas mission. Very fun! It ended with a dance party! We all loved it. I highly recommend this experience for locals and guests. I live on Oahu and visit Kona frequently. I have also experienced their Naupaka ride on a previous trip and it made me emotional. It was so beautiful and immersive. Support local and try out Flight of Aloha, you will love it!! Mahalo Flight of Aloha!

We enjoyed our trip with Paradise helicopters and glad we chose them. The ground crew was extremely…read morehelpful and informative. The pilot was just playing awesome all the way around, great guy, that caught us up to speed with the cultural side and a great tour guide. Took his Time around Kilauea to make sure both sides of the helicopter got great shots. Flying over the entire island, experiencing the volcanoes, the rainforest, the ranchlands, over 30 waterfalls including some that are 1,000 and 2,000 foot waterfalls. The vantage point to see the entire island, beaches is one of the best things that has ever happened in our lives, this is truly a bucket list that you need to add to your trip. This is the ultimate way to see the island, and we did the big tour that was almost 2 hours. Check your photos and videos as you are taking them. FYI. Depending on the position of the helicopter, sun or overcast will affect on howmuch glare/reflection you get on videos and photos, so you will need to try to take photos from a few different spots and angles near the glass. Practice makes perfect. Add, the soundtrack that plays while he is giving you the history of different spots is a hoot!

Paige was an exceptional pilot and all the folks at Paradise Helicopters (those answering phones…read moreand greeting you upon check-in) were helpful and professional. The booking process was easy and they kept you informed with all you needed to know for the tour leading up to it. As nervous as I was to go up, they made me feel safe and I had a great time. The flight was unreal and Paige really knew what he was talking about! I'd highly recommend taking a helicopter ride with Paradise to see the amazing sites of The Big Island from overhead! It's an unforgettable experience!

Wow, what can I say other than fantastic? Maybe awe-inspiring, beautiful, fun, exhilarating,…read moreonce-in-a-lifetime, etc, and on and on! THAT'S what my wife and I experienced on this utterly stupendous helicopter flight!! From the moment I booked with Jana, who answered all our questions and briefed us before the flight, I knew this was the absolute best helicopter tour in Maui! And Nick with his 20,000 hours and 37 years of flying (20 years in Maui) was safe, professional, knowledgeable, friendly, and fun! I'm a retired Air Force pilot with 22 years of experience. He was absolutely outstanding and made my wife and I feel totally at ease! We saw waterfalls and valleys that are not accessible any other way than a helicopter. And having the doors off made it a premier experience and epitome of "free" flying. Thanks Jana and Nick - you made this flight a highlight of our travels!!

We started our day off a little early because we wanted to be out in the air as the air was still…read morefresh. We had Nick as our pilot and boy what a treat. My son who is 10 opted to do doors off and Nick approved because of his maturity level. Doors off is absolutely the way to go but please come prepared in addition to wear in the flight suit it was pretty chilly up there. Being cold was just a small sacrifice to pay for the absolute beautiful creations you will see well up in the aircraft. We chose the road to Hana and what a treat! Don't forget to tip and bring your patience's!

They cancelled the tour last minute after the confirmation/reminder. We were left scrambling to…read morefind another tour on our last day on Big Island.

Paradise Helicopters was incredible!! My first helicopter ride was amazing and on the big island of…read moreHawaii had the most spectacular views! You can't see the waterfalls on the north part of the island any other way. Go for the doors off tour; I can't even describe the views. Paradise Helicopters was very helpful in getting my reservation booked and in the details leading up to the trip. Paige is an awesome pilot! He was a great tour guide. You need to book with Paradise today!!

I absolutely loved this tour! One in a lifetime experience, you can't see all these places if you…read moredo not take the tour, just amazing. It's not cheap but it's worthy. I will cherish memories for years to come

My first time riding in a helicopter was with Air Maui Helicopter Tours and it was an amazing…read moreexperience. It went very smooth and there was no weird feeling since I am afraid of heights. The plane went up and landed smoothly without a stomach dropping feeling. We were instructed to wear headphones that blocked the helicopter sounds and listen to the tour guide. He explained and told us what we were looking at. We also had to share the helicopter with another couple. The helicopter had a front row for the pilot and assistant. Then after that there were two rows for tourists. I wished the tour was private and only for my group but then that would have been more money. The views were so cool! I got to see the floor and land shrinking and all the houses small like lines when I was up in the sky. The ocean looked so clean and blue! We also got to fly above mountains. There was so much grass everywhere. I got to take a lot of pictures. The bad thing was that the window of the plane had a reflection from the sun so my pictures got reflections. The whole tour was kind of short. We got to purchase a picture next to the helicopter as a memento. I had to pay for the picture and it was pricey. They framed the picture in a thick folding pcard

I had never been on a helicopter before. It was absolutely fantastic. These guys are the real deal…read more I would recommend them all day!!!

Had a great time with Captain Mike. Saw some amazing views on Molokai and Maui. The highlight…read morethough was seeing a whale shark swimming by the reef. The company had good customer service, helicopter was clean, and I felt safe the whole trip.

Excellent communication and a great tour! They provided all the info needed prior to the tour and…read morecalled to confirm the details the day before. They did end up swapping our tour time a couple times, but I didn't have anything else planned that day so I had the flexibility. The waiting room hospitality was quite good, with coffee, tea, and water. The wall decor and infographics were interesting to look at too. The safety briefing was concise but to the point and they provided clear and direct instruction prior to heading out to the airfield. They tooks photos of us with the heli and also took a photo with one of our phones. The pilot/tour guide was very engaging, informative, and made sure to warn us of any possible turbulence so we wouldn't get startled.

A very smooth experience! We booked online, it gave meeting area instructions, times, etc. The…read moreteam was punctual, friendly, and knowledgeable about the boat! The views were amazing! Only thing that would make this 5 star is if the music would have been more prominent.