HELICOPTER TOURS OF THE BIG ISLAND

Kevin's Activity Tips:

Let's be honest. Helicopter tours are expensive. There is nothing cheap about buying, operating, and maintaining these machines. Pilots are highly trained professionals. But put the cost aside for a moment and consider this in light of your overall vacation experience. You'll spend thousands getting to and from Hawaii, rental cars, hotels, meals ... you didn't come to Hawaii to spend money. You came here to see Hawaii. I don't think it makes sense to spend thousands to come to Hawaii on vacation and not spend a few hundred more to REALLY see the island when you are here. And there is NO BETTER WAY to see the island than from a helicopter. It's like riding a magic carpet that takes you to all the beautiful places you can't get to any other way!

Most people's goal is to see Kilauea Volcano from the air. The least expensive way to do that is to drive to Hilo and do a flight there that is oriented toward the current and recent activity of the volcano. You can do one of the longer flights from Kona or Waikoloa, but it will be more expensive. That saves you the drive to Hilo though, so it's your call if you want to spend the extra cash and do the longer flight. Personally I think the best option is to drive to Hilo, do the flight from there, then drive up to Kilauea Volcano and see it from the ground too. The red glow of lava is often seen in the steam plume rising out of the crater at sunset, so this approach works well to witness this sight.

There's a lot more to Big Island sightseeing (or FLIGHTSEEING as I like to call it) than just the volcano. The northern tip of the Big Island has a spectacular area of sea cliffs and waterfalls known as the Kohala Coast. If you don't want to do a volcano tour you might consider one of these scenic flights that eparts from Waikoloa.