advice for travel to the Big Island and Kauai

[simple girl]

If you do a helicopter, I'd also spring for the video (of YOUR ride IIRC). DO consider all this a BTD experience as it ain't cheap! In fact, it's really expensive though YMMV.

+1 on the video. We went with Blue Hawaiian, and they offer a video of your ride afterwards. It's cheaper if you purchase it ahead of time - wish we had realized that! Our video is so wonderful to have!

 

[simple girl]

Did you see any whales?

Yes indeed! We saw their spouts every day from our lawn area of our townhouse. I was able to zoom in and captured a great video, too!

 

[explanade]

You must have had some good weather there, great to hear. I've heard rain could be so bad that getting to one end of Kauai from where the airport is could be a problem.

Videos of helicopter ride?

So they film it from another aircraft while you're on board the first one?

 

[Koolau]

You must have had some good weather there, great to hear. I've heard rain could be so bad that getting to one end of Kauai from where the airport is could be a problem.

Videos of helicopter ride?

So they film it from another aircraft while you're on board the first one?

Negative. They have a video camera attached to the aircraft you are riding in. Very cool.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Hello everyone!

I wanted to thank you all for your very helpful advice! We returned from our Hawaii vacation to the Big Island and Kauai a few weeks ago. It was AMAZING!!!!!!

We were totally blown away. There were sooooooooo many incredible things we did and places we saw!

The Big Island: night snorkeling with the manta rays (just - WOW), our stay at this BnB (incredible!), picnic lunches at Keokea, Punaluu Black Sand and Laupahoehoe beach parks, the whole HVNP including our stay at this adorable cottage but especially the Chain of Craters Road with Holei Sea Arch AND actually hiking in before sunrise to be able to see lava - it started erupting the day before we left!, Pololu Valley and Waipi'o Valley Lookouts, plate lunches - amazing ono fish and laulau, Akaka Falls.

On Kauai: our amazing townhouse we had at Poipu Shores, lunch at Kapaa Block with shaved ice with macadamia nut icecream on the bottom for desert (YUM!), our incredible helicopter tour of the island with Blue Hawaiian (just - wow), all of Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park (fabulous!), the north coast - Hanalei village for lunch, watching surfers at Waikoko Beach, Tunnels Beach, Anini Beach scenic drive and Kilauea Lighthouse (stunning!), seeing monk seals sunning themselves on the rocks and green sea turtles coming up to rest for the night at Poipu Beach, endless whale watching and sunsets from our townhouse.

What an amazing place and vacation! It was beyond our expectations. Happy to help with tips for anyone else planning a vacation.

SO happy you enjoyed my backyard. I hope you appreciated the lava show from Mauna Loa that I convinced Pele to give you. She is a sucker for gin...(look it up).

 

[simple girl]

You must have had some good weather there, great to hear. I've heard rain could be so bad that getting to one end of Kauai from where the airport is could be a problem.

Videos of helicopter ride?

So they film it from another aircraft while you're on board the first one?

Yes, the weather was FANTASTIC! Almost no rain at all, even on the days we went to the north coast. We were very lucky indeed!

They video you from inside the helicopter looking back at everyone during pre-takeoff and the early part of takeoff. So you can see yourselves strapped in and getting pre-flight instructions. Then, after takeoff, the video switches to the cameras on the bottom of the helicopter. Everything is set to awesome music and you can also hear everything the pilot says. So you can re-live the whole experience afterwards during the video.

I'd post a video clip, but the forum does not offer the ability to post mp4's.

 

[simple girl]

SO happy you enjoyed my backyard. I hope you appreciated the lava show from Mauna Loa that I convinced Pele to give you. She is a sucker for gin...(look it up).

Ha ha, sounds lovely!

Unfortunately, Pele did not grace us with a Mauna Loa lava show. Both volcanoes actually had stopped erupting a few weeks before our departure.

However, she DID grace us with the new eruption from Kilauea. This happened just before we had to leave the Big Island! We came back from a long day of exploring and hubby turned on the news - Kilauea had started erupting again! We had already left Volcano and were in our Hilo lodging. We decided we had one full day left and we were going to go see it before sunrise the next day...

So, up at 4 a.m., drove from Hilo to HVNP...parked in the lower parking lot for Devastation Trail and hiked the old Crater Rim drive road into the closest viewing station at 6 a.m., in the dark - but it happened to be a full moon so it was even more glorious! So, near the end of the 1 mile hike we could see Kilauea's glow coming over the rim...sooooo exciting! What an experience!

 

[simple girl]

SO happy you enjoyed my backyard. I hope you appreciated the lava show from Mauna Loa that I convinced Pele to give you. She is a sucker for gin...(look it up).

P.S. I wouldn't mind living in your backyard.

 

[Montecfo]

simple girl,

Great on the weather. Hope we get so lucky.

The helicopter sounds fun but not sure I wouldn't freak a bit. Small planes (which I have flown on often) make me uneasy, but that is mainly due to a lack of an easy exit. I guess helicopter might not have that issue as much.

 

[simple girl]

simple girl,

Great on the weather. Hope we get so lucky.

The helicopter sounds fun but not sure I wouldn't freak a bit. Small planes (which I have flown on often) make me uneasy, but that is mainly due to a lack of an easy exit. I guess helicopter might not have that issue as much.

I hope you get lucky on the weather, too!

I hear ya on the helicopter. I was petrified to do it, but I did much better than expected!

The Jack Harter helicopters are open door helicopters. No way was I comfortable doing that, but perhaps that would work better for you...definitely an easy exit if you sit by the open door. Definitely not for me! (also, I don't think they provide video either)

 

[Montecfo]

I hope you get lucky on the weather, too!

I hear ya on the helicopter. I was petrified to do it, but I did much better than expected!

The Jack Harter helicopters are open door helicopters. No way was I comfortable doing that, but perhaps that would work better for you...definitely an easy exit if you sit by the open door. Definitely not for me! (also, I don't think they provide video either)

How many people in the copter?

My issue is getting to the door. a door is good .

 

[2HOTinPHX]

We went to Kaui back in 1999. Fantastic trip with tons to see. Neighbors had recommend we book a helicopter flight with the doors off. Kinda scary...our pilot looked like a young Robert Redford, my wife in the middle and me hanging on to my seat belt for life on the passenger side. Sure wished for a door at the time. There were two other people in the back. Incredible views. Saw a complete circular rainbow. Going straight up is a strange feeling and you start to feel really small bouncing around up there in a little tomato...

 

[simple girl]

How many people in the copter?

My issue is getting to the door. a door is good .

Yeah...doors are good IMO, too! lol

Six people. Unfortunately, they assign seats by weight balance, so no guarantee that you'd get a door seat. You can pay extra for the front two seats, so that might help. I would definitely call them to find out if they can accommodate your issue or not!

They did ask us who wanted a window seat (the four of us are friends in the back in the pic). I was surprised by that because I thought it was totally by weight (unless you pay extra for the two front seats). So, apparently there is some flexibility on their part, I guess?

 

[simple girl]

Neighbors had recommend we book a helicopter flight with the doors off. Kinda scary...our pilot looked like a young Robert Redford, my wife in the middle and me hanging on to my seat belt for life on the passenger side. Sure wished for a door at the time.

Yeah, doors off definitely was NOT an option for me. My friend had just done it and told me about how when the helicopter tilted it was pretty intimidating to look downward with no door there and the fresh strong winds in your face. Yeah, NOPE!! lol

 

[explanade]

They also have airplane tours.

Are copter tours better than plane tours or vice versa?

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Yeah, doors off definitely was NOT an option for me. My friend had just done it and told me about how when the helicopter tilted it was pretty intimidating to look downward with no door there and the fresh strong winds in your face. Yeah, NOPE!! lol

Can you tell who was sitting by the door from this picture taken after our flight?

Yeah it was pretty freaky up there with no door and only thing between you and the ground below being a fabric harness....oops honey how did that thing come undone. Only one there to console wifey would have been Young Robert Redford helicopter pilot ....

 

[2HOTinPHX]

They also have airplane tours.

Are copter tours better than plane tours or vice versa?

Helicopter is kind of a once in a lifetime experience at least for us. It was really cool taking off straight up and just kind of floating up there.
Our pilot landed at a private spot only accessable by helicopter. He said only a few had permission to land at this spot. We were allowed a little swim time there. Definitely one of the most memorable days for us.
He was also part of the island's search and rescue team he said. I often wonder if he is still there.

 

[simple girl]

Can you tell who was sitting by the door from this picture taken after our flight?

Yeah it was pretty freaky up there with no door and only thing between you and the ground below being a fabric harness....oops honey how did that thing come undone. Only one there to console wifey would have been Young Robert Redford helicopter pilot ...

CRAZY!

 

[simple girl]

They also have airplane tours.

Are copter tours better than plane tours or vice versa?

I considered a small airplane tour because it felt safer to me, but my friend who is a pilot with a major US airline told me, no, DEFINITELY do the helicopter tour, and to go with Blue Hawaiian because he rode with them and was impressed by their safety procedures. I also read that the airplanes can't get as close up to the mountains for viewing, etc. I'm sure it is still quite an experience from the airplane, though. I just figured if I was doing it as a "once in a lifetime" experience, I was going to go for the full sha-bang.

 

[Montecfo]

"once in a lifetime" can be read a couple of different ways.

I would not want to do those back seats.

 

[simple girl]

"once in a lifetime" can be read a couple of different ways.

I would not want to do those back seats.

I think it's about $100 bucks extra to guarantee a front seat.

 

[Dreamer]

Thanks for a great trip report and loved the pictures.

 

[explanade]

I considered a small airplane tour because it felt safer to me, but my friend who is a pilot with a major US airline told me, no, DEFINITELY do the helicopter tour, and to go with Blue Hawaiian because he rode with them and was impressed by their safety procedures. I also read that the airplanes can't get as close up to the mountains for viewing, etc. I'm sure it is still quite an experience from the airplane, though. I just figured if I was doing it as a "once in a lifetime" experience, I was going to go for the full sha-bang.

OTOH, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash and they were close to some mountain or something like that.

But good to know the name of a company which seems to prioritize safety.

 

[EastWest Gal]

We enjoyed our Blue Hawaiian tour of west Maui and Molokai in 1995. But after a hair-raising helicopter ride in Kauai ( the pilot and staff seemed scared), I’m done with helicopters.

I’m excited for you. We’re spending two weeks on the big island next Christmas and New Year’s. Can’t wait.

 

[Koolau]

"once in a lifetime" can be read a couple of different ways.

Yeah, every few years, there is a crash of one of our tour helicopters. I suppose when flying that many hours, it is inevitable. The chances that you are the one "picked" for a bad day is quite small, but not vanishingly small. It's always a big story, even though we are used to traffic deaths (of tourists and locals.) For some reason, air incidents seem more significant - perhaps BECAUSE they are so rare.