Cheap Helicopter that won't crash...

November 20, 2006 11:31 AM

Help me choose a budget friendly helicopter tour in Hawaii...

My other half is going to Hawaii the first week in December to see Pearl Jam/U2 at Aloha Stadium. I'm assuming he will be staying close to the stadium. His birthday is next Friday and I would like to get him one of those helicopter volcano tours for his trip, but as inexpensive as possible (I would like to stay under $150). That being said, I want to make sure it's a reputable company. I'm mainly worried about his safety as well as being scammed since I'm doing this all via internet. Google comes up with a lot, but since I don't know much about Hawaii, I thought I would ask mefi for help.

So are there any Hawaii natives out there that can advise me on a good company to call?

posted by slim to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

You may want to look into sailplane rides. They should be less expensive and are probably safer than helicopter rides.
posted by b1tr0t at 11:47 AM on November 20, 2006

See if a local B&N has the "Big Island Revealed" guidebook. I have the Maui one which covers this subject well, including which outfits have the best helicopters and such.
posted by smackfu at 12:03 PM on November 20, 2006

I've stayed on the big island a few times and looked into it and there were no helicopter tours for $150. They were all in the 350-400 range. These were the bigger operators on the island. You may find some fly by night operation for that price but I wouldn't recommend it. One of the big ones on the big island had recently had a crash so it didn't look too safe to me.
posted by Justin Case at 12:11 PM on November 20, 2006

Aloha Stadium is in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. The most interesting helicopter rides are available on the islands of Kauai and Maui (beautiful scenery) and the island of Hawaii (volcanoes). There are undoubtedly helicopter operators on Oahu, but it's just not the same (and no active volcanoes). The tours in Honolulu will be "look at the city" rather than "look at the volcano" or "look at the cliffs and waterfalls".

If you want to do a helicopter tour on another island, you'll have to get to that island. Flights are readily available, but I would guess that neither time nor budget is available for this, so your SO won't be visiting another island.

So, you might pick something else. Depending on time available, perhaps parasailing, or just send him to Hanauma Bay to do some snorkelling.

Or if you don't pick something else, be sure you're reserving an Oahu flight. :)
posted by jellicle at 12:12 PM on November 20, 2006

Thank you very much for the responses so far... he is staying for a week, so I'm guessing there will be time to travel to other islands... is island-hopping transportation expensive?
posted by slim at 12:20 PM on November 20, 2006

I second the Big Island Revealed suggestion--it made a huge difference during our recent trip.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:21 PM on November 20, 2006

I have taken one of the Molokai overflights offered by "Blue Hawaiian," and it was one of the most memorable experiences of my trip, and I certainly don't recall that it was that unreasonably expensive -- some quick Googling revealed price quotes ranging between $135 and $250, through various agents and booking companies. This place, which I make no personal recommendation of at all, seems to suggest that they can get you a ticket for $135 a head.

One suggestion -- their copters hold around six people, with two rows of 3-person bench seats. If you get stuck in the center seat, you won't get nearly the view that you will on the outsides, so do whatever you can to get an outside seat.
posted by Kadin2048 at 12:30 PM on November 20, 2006

2nd all the advice above...If you're not on the right island than you aren't going to have the same effect. For what it's worth, we took a flight on Kauai using Air Kauai (as was recommended in the Kauai Revealed book). Cost was somewhere in the $250/person ballpark. If I remember correctly, the authors of the Big Island Revealed book were kind of down on helicopter tours of that island since its so much larger you end up spending more time in the air traveling to your destination than viewing the volcano.

I'll also add that while it was my first helicopter ride and it was impressive, it didn't blow me away or make me feel like my time or money was used in the best fashion possible.
posted by mmascolino at 2:10 PM on November 20, 2006