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Helicopter tours on Maui and Kauai

Z

zsn

TUG Review Crew
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I apologize in advance if this belongs in a different location.......as brand-spanking-new-emptynesters my wife and I will be spending a sort-of* second honeymoon week each in Kauai (WPORV) and Maui (WKORV) in Nov (T'giving week in Maui). The latter week also includes her birthday. I am planning to surprise her with a helicopter tour. Can you guys recommend a good tour company and are there any secrets in getting a great deal on these tours (attending timeshare presentations excepted)? I am thinking of doing this on one of the islands, although I am not opposed to doing it on both islands.

Also, she really likes parasailing, and are there any particularly good websites which give a good deal on parasailing out of Lahaina (behind the Hyatt, usually)

Thanks in advance.

*"sort-of" because when we got married 23+ years ago we were both students, and really had neither the time nor the money for a "real" honeymoon........
 
Helicopter tours in Hawaii (and helicopter tours in general) have a poor safety record - we don't do them.
 
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We've done helicopter tours on Kauai but not Maui. Sorry but I can't remember the names of the comanies. Just do your research to find out which one is best for you. The tours are very much weather-dependent so they will not go if the weather does not permit. I would recommend reserving your spots at the beginning of your week so that you can be rescheduled in case of bad weather.
 
Ask the concierge for his input but don't sched through them. On line reserv are usually cheaper even if you count the double or triple SPG AMEX points when sched through the Westin


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I know a lot of Tuggers have concerns over helicopter safety in the islands, but our favorite (we've gone several times) is the Jack Harter "Doors-Off" tour of Kauai in their Hughes 500s. http://www.helicopters-kauai.com/index.html When first timers in our family have joined us in Kauai, they've been blown away (so to speak) by the experience! There are only 4 passengers on the flight, so everyone gets a good seat with a great view. The fresh air is wonderful. I've flown on the bigger helicopters and don't care for them at all. I get very claustrophobic and queasy in the enclosed cabins. The view from the middle two seats in the back definitely isn't as nice as being by a window, even though they say every seat has a great view.

I would never go on a helicopter tour in marginal weather, so I don't ever book ahead.

And congrats on the long-awaited-for honeymoon! Sounds very romantic!
 
Kauai is a beautiful choice to do a flight over because so much of it can only be seen by air. Last March we went with "Wings Over Kauai" and loved it. My husband and I along with our daughter and son-in-law went in the AirVan. Since we had 4 of us, it was just us and the pilot, Josh who was great! This was also great because the 4 of us all got to sit on the right hand side of plane which followed the coast for best views. They play music to fit the scenery which is nice, such as theme from Hawaii Five-O on take off. We had a clear day and it was incredible! The airplane tours appear to have a much better safety record than helicopters. Read their reviews on trip adviser.
 
Take a look at fixed wing tours, too

There are also fixed wing tours. Wings over Kauai worked well for us on an earlier visit. Much cheaper than helicopter tours...and safer. You don't get to fly up the canyons, though.
 
My wife and I went skydiving on Kauai on our honeymoon. Highly recommended once in a lifetime ;)
 
okwiater said:
My wife and I went skydiving on Kauai on our honeymoon. Highly recommended once in a lifetime ;)
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^^^that being pretty much my problem with it. I am a very adventurous person, but I am with Denise on this one. I can't get over the safety record
 
ThreeLittleBirds said:
^^^that being pretty much my problem with it. I am a very adventurous person, but I am with Denise on this one. I can't get over the safety record
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I have never met a dissatisfied customer! :rofl:
 
I did a helicopter tour on Maui years ago. I think that was back before anyone was worried about safety records, or maybe we were just too young and stupid to care. All I can say is I was nauseous throughout the entire flight and didn't enjoy it at all.
 
My friend and I did a helicopter tour on Kauai with Blue Hawaiian and are glad we did it. I think they still have the best safety record. I'd do it again, but it's too pricey for more than once.
Check the tourist guides that you can pick up at the airport for a coupon, and compare the price with the website discount.

If you do only one tour, do it on Kauai since that's the only way to see much of the island.
 
We've done both helicopter and fixed wing flights over Kauai

Go fixed wing so you don't come back in a pine box. Helicopters have too many accidents.

Sterling
 
My gosh, reading this thread makes it seem like half the helicopter flights go down in flames!

As for a recommended company, I have heard the best things about Blue Hawaiian. And for what it is worth, many of the best cruise lines use Blue Hawaiian for their helicopter shore excursions.
 
I've done Blue Hawaiian on Kauai and it was a great flight. My daughter just used them on the BigOsland and had a good experience there too.

Between Maui and Kauai, I'd go for Kauai up hands down. The island is more rugged and has more interesting topology to look at from the air.

I don't have any issues with flying in a well maintained helicopter. Blue Hawaiian seems to be a very professional operation. I wouldn't Hinz twice about going again. It was a great trip. Then again, I'm a private pilot and also like to SCUBA dive, which is something many find scary.
 
PamMo said:
I know a lot of Tuggers have concerns over helicopter safety in the islands, but our favorite (we've gone several times) is the Jack Harter "Doors-Off" tour of Kauai in their Hughes 500s. http://www.helicopters-kauai.com/index.html When first timers in our family have joined us in Kauai, they've been blown away (so to speak) by the experience! There are only 4 passengers on the flight, so everyone gets a good seat with a great view. The fresh air is wonderful. I've flown on the bigger helicopters and don't care for them at all. I get very claustrophobic and queasy in the enclosed cabins. The view from the middle two seats in the back definitely isn't as nice as being by a window, even though they say every seat has a great view.

I would never go on a helicopter tour in marginal weather, so I don't ever book ahead.

And congrats on the long-awaited-for honeymoon! Sounds very romantic!
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We have taken helicopter tours in all three islands and the last time was also with the Jack Harter "Doors-Off" tour. It was the best helicopter flight experience of all we had done so far and they will not fly if they feel that it isn't safe that day.

http://gohawaii.about.com/od/kauaiair/fr/jack_harter.htm

We also like to book our trips when we are there so we know what the weather is like but it may not always work out during the busy holiday season because the most popular tours fill up very quickly and even for more than one day. We learned that the hard way when we were staying a few days in Waikiki Beach this spring.

i-t6w8QLT-L.jpg
 
PamMo said:
I know a lot of Tuggers have concerns over helicopter safety in the islands, but our favorite (we've gone several times) is the Jack Harter "Doors-Off" tour of Kauai in their Hughes 500s. http://www.helicopters-kauai.com/index.html

I would never go on a helicopter tour in marginal weather, so I don't ever book ahead.

And congrats on the long-awaited-for honeymoon! Sounds very romantic!
Click to expand...

Agreed, and don't be afraid of "Doors-Off." You're entirely secure in your seat and there's no wind blowing on you (unless you lean out). It's just a much better view.

Kauai is more scenic and also more inaccessible than Maui, so that would be the better choice. [And I think one helicopter tour is enough....]
 
I have done a Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour on the Big Island from Hilo, flying over the volcanoes. I LOVE flying, but like Denise M, I also know of lots of terrible helicopter accidents in Hawaii over the years, so I said an extra prayer before that flight. ;) I sat next to an executive on a flight a couple of years back whose dad was an exec with Dole so he was raised in Hawaii. He told me he would never take a heli tour. Everyone has to make their own hopefully informed decision on what's right for them.

DCL used Sunshine Helicopters for their shore excursions the few times they have sailed to Hawaii.

What most folks don't realize (and I'm no expert, but my aerospace engineer son is) is that with the mountains and valleys of Hawaii, there are many, many microclimates and updrafts and visibility changes very quickly. That is usually where the problems have arisen. If I ever want to do an aerial tour again, I would likely opt for Wings over Kauai and not a helicopter.
 
We also did a helicopter ride on the BI with Blue Hawaiian. I was willing to take the risk as I imagine that it is safer than my drive to work. We were hoping to see the lava flows but missed the good viewing by a few days. It wasn't as scary as I expected. I would do it on Kauai in a heartbeat.
 
Thanks all. Really appreciate everyone's thoughts. I think it's going to be in Kauai, if we do it. I will certainly investigate the options, including fixed-wing.
 
It's a shame that there are those that always have to jump in to speak of the safety of helicopters when that was not your question. I would have to trust that anyone considering this activity has looked into these factors, thus asking for recommendations.
I can offer my opinion as to which would be the better location for a flight. It's been a while, but we did helicopter tours over Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island as well as a fixed wing over Kauai. I liked Maui the least because the sights were not as different as those seen from the other two islands. For Kauai, I enjoyed the helicopter more than the fixed wing, smoother ride, better sights and visibility from the aircraft. I would recommend flying over Kauai rather than Maui because there is so much of Kauai that can only be seen by air. The Big Island flight was just as good if not better if that can also be a consideration for you. Seeing the active lava flow is incredible.
We flew with Island Helicopters and Wings Over Kauai over Kauai (fixed wing). Unfortunately, I cannot locate the names of the outfits we used on the other two islands.
Since my first helicopter flight in 2003, I have been hooked and have done several other flights in various locales. I would definitely do another flight if I returned to the islands. Enjoy your second honeymoon!
 
While I agree with timeshare junkie on one hand, a forum is for informing, so no harm intended in giving additional information while answering a question IMHO.

Zsn, as others have said, generally the best prices are found on individual companies' websites when purchased in advance. If you are a Costco member, there is a discount gift card for a helicopter tour, but on the website it is only for the island of Maui:

http://www.costco.com/hawaii-tickets.html

It is possible that the individual island's Costco will have additional gift cards. You might go onto a competitor travel forum for the particular island you are most interested in and ask what gift cards that Costco might have. And I want to add my congrats on your anniversary as well. :clap:
 
Airplanes can't fly safely under about 80 mph, can't turn on a spot and can't fly in canyons to see waterfalls up close. There is some risk but driving to princeville in the rain is much more dangerous. We did the no door helicopter where everyone has a great view. YMMV


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I should add that one of our helicopter tours was free. We went to the Marriott Kauai "Welcome/Island Orientation" breakfast, where vendors come in to talk about different activities. We won a 2-for-1 helicopter tour in the drawing. They also had Na Pali Coast cruises, zip line trips, horseback treks, and other 2-for-1 prizes. WPORV has an orientation breakfast, too. We were disappointed we didn't win another helicopter trip, or a Na Pali Coast cruise, but we DID win a full day in the cabana of our choice at WPORV - which was very nice! I'd recommend going to the orientation talk in WPORV for the information. It's interesting, doesn't take too long, and you might get lucky! (I've decided if I ever buy a lottery ticket, it will have to be on Kauai, because that's the only place I've ever won anything.)
 
zsn said:
Thanks all. Really appreciate everyone's thoughts. I think it's going to be in Kauai, if we do it. I will certainly investigate the options, including fixed-wing.
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The best tour is out of Maui and take the tour that goes along the north shore of Molikai. It has some of the most spectacular views of the mountains rising straight up out of the ocean. They will fly up into a valley to see water falls. Maybe consider a fix wing tour on Kauai around the island and helicopter tour out of Maui.

Agree with the above "Don't book more than one or two days in advance to ensure the weather is good."
 
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