Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tours Big Island

[lgreenspan]

I will be visiting the Big island in March and I am considering booking a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiiian. I am looking at booking on the internet to get a discount.

Kohala Coast Adventure
Duration: 45-50 minutes Event | Departure Point: Waikoloa Heliport
Helicopter Regular Price
(Including all taxes
and fees) Online Price
(Including all taxes
and fees)
A-Star $ 236.50 $ 195.75 Book It!
Eco-Star $ 258.50 $ 214.75

Have any tuggers done this tour?
I was hoping to use a tour from the Waikoloa Heliport since we will be staying in Kona for the week.
Are Helicopter discounts readily available once you get to Hawaii?

Dave

 

[Henry M.]

I did a Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour in Kauai last year. I went to one of the activity shacks near my hotel and they were able to get me a discounted price without having to sign up for a timeshare tour or anything. The price was better than the one advertised on the Blue Hawaiian web site.

 

[GregD]

Splurge and spend a little more and go see the lava flow. The flow is in a new area and inacessable by any means but air. This flow is said to be the best in about 15 years. (so we were told) I was there just last week and it was awesome! I flew out of Kona but the chopper (bell 407) was not the best. The A-star is much better. Ours was a 2 hour flight around the island and cost $310. (Paradice Hellicopters)

 

[normalrog]

Splurge and spend a little more and go see the lava flow. The flow is in a new area and inacessable by any means but air. This flow is said to be the best in about 15 years. (so we were told) I was there just last week and it was awesome! I flew out of Kona but the chopper (bell 407) was not the best. The A-star is much better. Ours was a 2 hour flight around the island and cost $310. (Paradice Hellicopters)

Is that $310/person? I will have 4 of us there in June...

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Is that $310/person? I will have 4 of us there in June...

Yeah . that's pp. If you're thinking that's a lot, it's not that much different from Kaua'i pricing. Kaua'i flights are 45 to 50 minutes; the Paradise full island tour is 2 hours.

Here's a link to a photo album from our flight.

 

[GregD]

Yeah . that's pp. If you're thinking that's a lot, it's not that much different from Kaua'i pricing. Kaua'i flights are 45 to 50 minutes; the Paradise full island tour is 2 hours.

Here's a link to a photo album from our flight.

Nice pictures Steve! Your pics turned out better than mine. I took a 1pm flight last week and found that the sun and haze did not make for good pictures! I've only been home (Calgary) since monday morning and already can't wait to go back.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Nice pictures Steve! Your pics turned out better than mine. I took a 1pm flight last week and found that the sun and haze did not make for good pictures! I've only been home (Calgary) since monday morning and already can't wait to go back.

I insisted on taking the first flight of the morning (7 am) because I figured it would make for better pictures. Early mornings and late afternoons are generally better for picture taking in general and since both Kilauea and Kohala have easterly exposures the morning is the better time. Also skies are generally clearer in the mornings, before any sea breezes start to develop.

 

[tomandrobin]

Beautiful, just beautiful!

What island did you take those pictures?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Beautiful, just beautiful!

What island did you take those pictures?

That's the BI. Note that a BI helicopter tour is a totally different experience from a Kaua'i tour. Kaua'i tours are pretty much one dazzling scene after another. A BI tour is much more of a traditional aerial tour. Also, because the BI is so big, there is travel time getting from one location to the next.

As regular readers know, I'm a bit of a geology and natural sciences geek, so I was absolutely enthralled with the BI heli tour. It's about the only way to get up close and personal with a volcano - both the active throat of Kilauea and the views of Mauna Loa and Hualalai. It's also the only practical way to get to the Kohala Coast and into the Waimanu Valley and the Keyhole.

 

[tomandrobin]

Are any of those tours accessible from Maui? We are going in October, first time trip to Hawaii.