Kilauea Volcano Doors-Off Helicopter Tour - Lava & Waterfalls Flight from Hilo
Overall Rating
4.68
Big disappointment!
Reviewed by: Lizjazza, 2019/12/04After reading the detail for this tour we were extremely disappointed with what we experienced. We were a party of 4 who were split over 2 different tours. We thought this was due to weight restrictions which we couldn't understand because we are all average but in hindsight realise it was because we all wanted doors off. The pilot was great gave lots of detail and interesting facts. The flight was wonderful experiencing doors off just unfortunate the tour has not been revised since the lava stopped flowing and you spend the majority of the flight flying over blacken ground which becomes boring very fast. We were looking forward to seeing the waterfalls but this was a quick fly over and back to base so felt let down with this also. We had another couple on our flight as did my sister on her flight and all eight of us were extremely disappointed with what our tour delivered for the cost. The company really need to change the itinery for this tour to make it an experience to remember as it obviously once was when the lava was flowing.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2019/10/31 |
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Not So Hot!
Reviewed by: GeeBee, 2015/09/22Now being honest the weather was not good at Hilo, very wet and cloudy. But in spite of the weather the flight did go ahead. I do have to say doors off is definitely the way to go! We flew over several areas of coastline and lava flows and then headed up to the Puʻu ʻŌʻō, again the weather wasn't great but you could see the ground pretty well. Heading up the mountain we saw a small area of fresh lava but it was over in a flash and then we were heading back to Hilo.
Now I fully understand that when weather and visibility are not good you might not see everything but at no point did the pilot state what we would or would not see. Obviously the vent or flowing lava is the main part of the "show" and you keep waiting for that to appear. But it wasn't until a guest asked that we were told that we went as far as we could.
Feel the heat? No we certainly did not.
A word of warning for passengers with longer hair wear a beany or make sure your hair is tied back tight, due to the wind it ended up with my wife's hair being badly knotted around the headset.
Two stars - to be honest only for the fun aspect of the doors off.
It would have been so much better if we were kept informed of the visibility and weather (now on Hawai'i this might not be a normal issue) and what we would be able to see as opposed to not being told anything and not experiencing what the flight was all about and coming away with the slightly cheated feeling.
Would I go again - yes - but I would certainly be asking a lot of questions about the weather conditions, visibility and expected viewing. It is a lot of money to pay, and especially if you are not local to not "Feel the Heat" because why else would you fly "doors off"
In additional I have to say the staff at Paradise were very understanding when we raised our points.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2015/09/18 |
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Be Aware!!
Reviewed by: crfolgate, 2011/02/04This would be a great trip IF you don't get stuck in the backwards seats. These seats are a total rip off since you don't get to see where you are headed and when there is something cool to see well too bad it's already past. Pilot does a good job of trying to circle around so everyone see's but there's no way for the backward seat folks to see anything really well. If you decide to go I STRONGLY recommend that you get guarantee's that you get a front seat or front looking seats only. My wife and Mom had great seats and enjoyed the views I'm happy about that but I wish I had saved the money and sent them up without me since it was two hours of flying backwards and barely seeing anything. You have been warned. :O
**** Also you should also be aware that the photo's of all the cool lava flows are really old. We saw very little lava and after the flight we found out they use old photo's for advertising. Pretty views are to be had but not much lava.
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
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Aloha Lizjazza,
Thank you for taking the time to write a review of your experience with us. We apologize that the experience didn't live up to your expectations. Sometimes, the booking process and weight and balance considerations necessitate us splitting groups to fit into our available capacity, but in all cases we strive to accommodate the desires of our guests. We find many passengers who remain excited to see the recent 7000+ acres of lava from last year's Leilani eruption, to include Fissure 8, and many completely engulfed coastal areas.
Mahalo,
Joel
Chief of Operations Officer