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Hawaii Helicopter Tour – Is it worth it?

In the second installment of my “is it worth it” series, we’re going to talk about one of the most popular things to do in Hawaii – a Hawaii helicopter tour. For this particular post, I will refer to a recent Kauai helicopter tour, but most of what I will mention will apply to helicopter tours on any of the islands.

If you’re looking to book a Hawaii helicopter tour, I’d love to help you set it up! When it comes to helicopter tours, cheaper is never better! As a Hawaii Travel Agent, I know the best helicopter tours, luau, boat tour, or anything else you can think of! If you’re still in the planning stages, I’d love to work with you to create your dream vacation. Feel free to contact me to get started.

This post was written in 2019 but fully updated in 2025.

Is a Hawaii helicopter tour worth it?

So, is a Hawaii helicopter tour worth it? I say yes, 100% worth it. I recommend that all of my clients go on a helicopter tour if possible. On every island, there are parts of the island that are inaccessible by car. On the island of Kauai, only about 10% of the island’s 552 square miles are accessible by car.

In this post, I am going to tell you about a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters on the island of Kauai. Blue Hawaiian is one of the helicopter tour companies that I prefer to book for my clients. They are highly rated and very professional. When it comes to helicopter tours, you want to go with the best, and Blue Hawaiian Helicopters are undoubtedly one of the best.

Another Hawaii helicopter tour worth mentioning

Since I book a lot of Hawaii honeymoons, I started booking this PRIVATE helicopter tour in Kauai a lot. It’s for 2-3 guests and is always private, meaning you get a window seat and don’t have to sit by a stranger! I still love and recommend Blue Hawaiian, but if you want a more private experience, I would recommend Mauna Loa Helicopters. 

For my honeymoon clients, we almost always opt for this helicopter tour on Kauai since they can do it alone! On a recent trip, we had to try it out for ourselves!

We did the “doors off” option with Mauna Loa. If you have long hair, make sure it’s tied back tightly! I learned my lesson and had to spend a long time untangling my hair from my headset. 

How much does a Hawaii helicopter tour cost?

So, how much does a helicopter tour cost? That depends on the tour. Expect to pay $300+ per person for 45 minutes to an hour, and it can go up from there. Some helicopter tours in Hawaii cover multiple areas of an island (such as the volcano and Kohala coast on the Big Island) and will cost $500+ per person.

Our Kauai helicopter tour

We arrived at Blue Hawaiian Helicopters about 30 minutes early. We were told to arrive because we would need to go through a safety briefing. You will be asked to wear dark clothes. Don’t overlook this step! It helps to reduce glare on the windows.

If you do the doors-off tour with Mauna Loa mentioned above, this is not an issue, as there is no glare. 

You are only allowed to take a camera or phone on the helicopter. You may bring your sunglasses, but you need to wear them. They had lockers for us to put our stuff in, which was nice. I don’t recommend leaving any valuables in your rental car in Hawaii (or anywhere else), but that is another blog post.

Related post: Why you need a rental car in Hawaii.

The safety class will be brief and go over things like water landings, life jackets, etc. I do have to say that on the day of our particular flight, the waves on the North Shore (the only place we went out over the water) were 40-50 feet high. Although they didn’t mention it, if we had had to make a water landing, we would have surely drowned. 😉 Finally, it was time to get ready to go on our flight.

You have to move quickly.

The one minor complaint that I had was we had to get into the helicopter very quickly. We wore our flotation devices (uninflated, of course) around our waists. When I buckled into the helicopter (the staff helped), it was very uncomfortable with the device around my waist, and I wasn’t able to fix it. Not a huge deal, but try to get yourself situated and comfortable as quickly as possible.

Our pilot (Marty) was very friendly and knowledgeable about the Hawaiian islands. He made everyone feel very comfortable on the helicopter and shared a lot of knowledge. While I knew most of the facts that he shared (I’m a Hawaii Travel Agent; that’s my job!), he did share a couple of things that I didn’t know.

I could keep talking about the tour, but I think this is one case where a picture is worth a thousand words. I will share some of the images that I took on our tour and then talk a little more about the journey and why I think it was worth it.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopter tour review

I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of the images from my Kauai helicopter tour. Please note that this blog post is not sponsored in any way, and I paid for the trip with my own money.

I always tell my clients to be very careful reading online reviews, because many reviewers are either paid or receiving products or tours for free. So, is a Hawaii helicopter tour with it? 1000% yes! If you’re heading to an island in Hawaii, this is one thing that you don’t want to miss.

If you’re wondering about some of the other “must-do” activities in Hawaii, I have blog posts for that! The first installment of this series is all about Molokini Crater and whether or not a snorkel tour is worth it. You can also check out:

• 7 best things to do on the Big Island (my most popular post ever!)
• 7 best things to do on Maui.
• 10 best things to do on Oahu.
• 10 best things to do on Kauai.
• 25 things to do on Kauai. 
• 25 things to do in Kona (Big Island)

Feeling overwhelmed? You need a Hawaii Travel Agent

If you’re planning a Hawaii vacation and feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone! Planning a vacation somewhere you haven’t been can be stressful, especially when it’s 2500+ miles from home. That’s where I come in. 

If you’re still in the planning stages, I’d be happy to help plan every detail of your vacation! Make sure to contact me or set up a time for me to call you.

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