Hilo Helicopter Help

My husband and I are taking the Pride of Aloha cruise and we really want to reserve a helicopter tour for the day the ship is docked in Hilo. I have developed a few concerns, however, after reading some posts on-line. These are my concerns:

a) the ship doesn’t always dock on schedule. Ok so rule out those morning tours.

b) the ship will sometimes skip the port of Hilo altogether due to rough seas, Captain%26#39;s whim etc..

c) $320 + 24 hour cancellation policy - Hilo = negative $320 and that’s waaaay too many mai tais.

Has anybody out there had this happen to them? Any recommendations, thoughts, comments are greatly appreciated

Hilo Helicopter Help

the value of what you see vs what you pay makes the Hilo trip less than ideal as you are paying for 80% of your total flight to be over suburan Hilo.....

Because of your schedule I would suggest doing a circle island air tour by fix wing ( 580 for 2 _) or a helo tour circle island for 680. for 2

This is for a 2 hour tour that will show you 300% more sights and be from a more reliable launch point. as you get in to Kona on the pier at 8 am you could do a 9 am fix wing or a 1015 helo

as Kona airport has better weather than Hilo it is a way better value and experience in my opinion

Hilo Helicopter Help

If you do the full circle tour, go with Paradise instead of Blue Hawaiian. Blue Hawaiian has great flight pilots, but they will stop to refuel in Hilo, Paradise won%26#39;t. So you get the full time in the air.

If you do fly out of Hilo for just the volcano, I%26#39;d say take Blue Hawaiian if you want a normal flight. But if you want an incredible flight, take Paradise%26#39;s door%26#39;s off flight. As Dan said, a lot of this flight (regardless of who you fly with) is over Hilo forest, but the views are just incredible. To see lava up close like that IN the vent was a once in a life time moment.

Aloha tropicgirl,

Safarihelicopters.com/bigislandtours.html has a 50+ minute flight for less than $145 if you book online (lowest non time-share related price I could find earlier this year).

If of interest (highly recommend), they also offer a multi-camera video of the actual flight (not all of the previously mentioned companies do) and their website has a nifty streaming video as well as an array of still photos of itinerary sights. You might want to give them a call (800-326-3356) and explain your cruise ship related concerns; can%26#39;t make any promises, but we changed our reservation from AM to PM the morning of and there was no problem. (I%26#39;m FAR from a cruise ship guru, but would guess that the majority of rough sea delays occur in the winter...maybe?)

hmmm ..interesting.

I had read about the stopping to refuel and thought that was kind of odd. Do they count the refuel time as part of the flight time? eesh! I think there is enough refueling at a premium going on in this world. Also I definitely don%26#39;t want to pay that kind of money to see suburbia even if it is Hawaiian surburbia. Did you say 80%!! Man there are some things they just don%26#39;t tell you. Buyer beware.

FYI - We don%26#39;t want to do the tour out of Kona because we are sold on the Fair Winds or Hale Kai snorkel tour.

Safari helicopters sound good - great price. I will definitely look into that. Also thinking of maybe booking the tour through NCL - I will then have to make sure they give me back my grossly overcharged tour fee should that very ship not dock in Hilo. I am talking to you NCL - you know I booked this tour for the volcano! oops got a little carried away there.

Second thought is to just wing it (ha ha) book a tour that day. If that doesn%26#39;t work we book one in Kauai.

This is why these forums are so great. The websites can be totally deceiving. Three cheers to forums, virtual tours and streaming videos.

On the 80% note. I wouldn%26#39;t say 80%, maybe more like 60/40 (which isn%26#39;t a lot better, but trust me, after looking at the vent from above and lava entering the ocean, you probably won%26#39;t care). If you have the money though, definitely take the full circle tour.

I think Blue Hawaiian DOES count part of your 2 hrs as they refuel. I can%26#39;t be sure, but I%26#39;d swear I read that somewhere.

Also, be careful about Safari. They have a nice website and all, but after a few flights with them here on Kauai, they aren%26#39;t so hot. They have decent online prices and that ';great'; video (which stinks bc they don%26#39;t maintain the camera bubbles, so you get a fish-tank view each time you hit rain). The pilots are friendly and the tour is pretty good, and I%26#39;ll admit I%26#39;ve never flown with them on the BI, where you may or may not get into rain and may or may not get a choper with a good camera system. The video to me was nice, but a rip-off due to the quality of their equipment at the time. Just be careful.

Blue Hawaiian is by far the highest rated, but also is pricey (plus there is that refuel thing). Paradise was great... one of my favorite flights I%26#39;ve taken.

Helo companies spend a lot on advertising and Blue Hawaii is the leader in spending... it turn this advertising nets more visitors... and thus more reviews..... does that make it the best ?

The Eco- star helo is about 10% quiter... I cant tell it from any other, and has I estimate 25% more window area. It has seating like a theater with the front seats lower and the back higher. It makes some what of a difference. And the price is the highest

The other Heloa are A-star 350 and 380 and flow by almost all the others Except Paradise which flys Hughes 500 and Bell 207s with extra big windows

All A star and eco-stars have tiny- fuel tanks and must refuel for a circle island. This ground time counts as your tour.

The Bell has the tanks large enough to do the entire island with out landing.

All aircraft over the volcano will stand an excelent chance of getting rained on as the heat rising forms dense clouds in the humid air. This will reduce camera effectiveness

The main vents are 90% covered in clouds for the majority of the day. And rain is daily... it gets200 a year+ The VOG will put a sort of haze scum on any aircraft windo or lens that flys on the area. This is not great for external cameras

Because of the prevailing trade winds, the mountain and the lava the area gets rather bumpy whether in an airplane or helicopter there is no difference People think smaller airplanes behave differently than large jets......... they don%26#39;t behave any differently

Paradise is the best out of Hilo and Kona for Helos Big Island Air is the best airplane out of Kona Blue hawaiian

is the best out of Waikoloa........ a high priced resort to match its hefty prices

Following up on the subject of videos. Over the years we%26#39;ve collected over 15 (more if you count those that have succumbed to degradition); including 3 of the Big Island. Not one was a regret. If memory serves me, every company that offers videos of your actual flight allows you to review it before purchase; if unsatisfactory, save your money.

Might also add that we%26#39;ve either loaned-out, or shown in our home, location appropriate helicopter videos to at least 50 friends. In many instances, where there was initially either reluctance or no interest, the result was that they took a tour and enjoyed themselves immensely.

ok a few more questions. It%26#39;s $30 more per person for doors off and that sounds pretty cool - anyone think it is worth the extra money? Also I read a review somewhere and someone took a flight were they played music which I thought was a great idea. I think it was music from Top Gun. Does anyone know if any of these outfits do that??

every thing that flys a tour has a music on it and the pilot talks over it

I asked my wife to be sure, but there was no music on the door%26#39;s off tour. Every other flight I%26#39;ve taken though did have a ';soundtrack.';

If you get the video, the sound is also on the video.