All Reviews for Hilo

First time zip-lining with my 10 year old daughter. Cant imagine a better zip line tour not only in Hawaii but in the US. You finish strong with an incredible 3,000+ foot zip line ride that goes over a waterfall and canyon. The crew is great too. Very professional, courteous. My 10 year old daughter thought this was awesome and so did I.

Very professional staff and felt very safe. I would just say that this experience had a lot for me to compare to for me and my daughter on this trip to Hawaii. We did ziplining, Parasailing, horse back riding and went from high-octane outdoor activities to passenger sightseeing. However, if I were to rank this tour as a stand-alone activity I would give it very high marks. To see the volcanic areas from the air is really interesting since you are seeing a "live" mass in motion (can't see it move but it is moving). Trees are burning from the lava, smoke and craters really lets you know who is in charge, nature.

Riding in a helicopter and seeing a live volcano checked off two of the entries on my life list. Scott, our pilot, was as excited as we were to see the molten lava gushing out in neon orange waves. It was definitely one of those,"Oh wow!" moments.

None of the retired ladies in our group had ever ridden in a helicopter before, and Scott had just the right combination of confidence and professionalism that reassured everyone. I would definitely fly with him again!

This tour was the highlight of our trip, and I would recommend it to everyone. It was worth every penny!

Thank you to Jork our pilot for an amazing flight. After breakfast, me and my friends hit up the Volcanoes Winery for some wine tasting and then whipped through the Volcanoes National Park to get an idea of what we'd see from the sky before heading to the airport for our helicopter flight. The check-in was easy (I gained a few pounds from all the Hawaiian food I ate, but it was okay) and the ground crew was super friendly. Make sure you get a phone strap if you want to take pics with doors off, or you can't take your phone with you. I really didn't expect a lot but as soon as we were hovering over small lava ponds I cried a little bit. It was so epic - it looked like we were on another planet. The black lava landscape stretched to the horizon. It was cold up there but whenever we got over the bright orange lava spots you could actually feel the waves of warmth, so soothing! We finished with a fly over bubbling pots waterfalls and some of the towns. All the buildings and cars were so tiny and perfect like a miniature model city. Thanks again to Paradise Helicopters and HawaiiActivities.com. Definitely an unforgettable moment on the Big Island. Ah man!

A enjoyable flight, if they can they take you up to the vent, to try and see lava, which may not always be flowing, the staff are very friendly, organised.

Go for the Eco star! The viewing windows and space provide an excellent ride. Brandt was a great pilot who gave us an informative tour with funny antidotes. It's the closest feeling you can get to literally flying since it such a smooth ride, felt like we floated over billowing volcanoes and gushing waterfalls. Footage from video at the end had great clips inside and outside the helicopter but was too pixeled and fuzzy to want to purchase, hopefully as technology improves so will DVD. Pics and videos we took ourselves turned out good, even with an IPhone 6 and point and low end point and shoot camera. Take the ride, it's worth it!

Now 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.

The flight was amazing, but we did not fly from Hilo. When our scheduled time (from Hilo) arrived, the weather was below minimum at the volcano. This was very disappointing since Hilo weather was nice. But, Hawaii weather is very volatile.

We rescheduled for the next day as a "reserve flight" (needed more people to "confirm" the flight). Before the scheduled time, Paradise Helicopters called to say the flight was still only "reserved", but they had an opening in a different, circle the whole island, flight from Kona. They would upgrade me for no additional cost to take that one. We jumped at it.

The flight was amazing. We got to see the whole island, in addition to the volcano and real, live, flowing lava. Our pilot was Koji and he was awesome. The weather over the volcano was mixed, but he was able to navigate through the clouds enough to maintain the FAA rules for height and get us over the actual volcano caldera. Then, we headed for the current eruption points on the southern slopes and saw even more lava in the second vent. Moving further to the new lava fields, he located some live, flow lava. "WOW!!!" is all I can say.

The rest of the flight was great, too. Flying low up the valley on the north shore was wild. Seeing all the waterfalls was also terrific.

First helo ride ever and we had the doors off. It was fantastic! Our pilot Rob was great! Would definitely recommend this if you want a close up view of a volcano!

Weather cancelled booked flight. They upgraded me to a whole island tour for second flight next day. Bucket list item checked off - I saw real, flowing lava! Amazing flight. I wanna do it again.

My Son, Daughter and Myself had a great time, our guides were funny, helpful and very personable. What can you say about finishing the day with a 3,350' run that lasts over a minute, WHOW! This is our second Hawaii Zip Line and I would recommend it as a bucket list for everyone.

I enjoy the tour very much. In addition to National Volcano Park, we also visit other interesting places, such as Black Sand Beach and Rainbow Falls. Our tour guide, Walter, helps us a lot and shares much information and living experience and makes this tour so knowledgeable. But there is one thing to remind. If you don't want to have lunch at Volcano House, you should buy your lunch earlier.

This is a must do! Our guides were simply amazing! Friendly and knowledgeable. And what an awesome job they have! Would love to get to do that everyday! There were 6 in our party from 11 to 43 and everyone had a blast. Even the one who is afraid of heights!!

It was worth every penny to get to fly over the lava fields. Grant, our pilot, has over 30 years experience piloting. He knows the area well. "Luxury" flight only allowed for 4 passengers so there was plenty of room and we all had a great view. We were also given the opportunity to ask the pilot all kinds of questions regarding the lava fields and surrounding area. I highly recommend this activity. Very much a highlight of our trip.

This was sooooo awesome! It was my first zipline. The company was very professional and courteous. The guides had samples of local foods in the area for us to try. They helped me with my GOPro (even though I had not rented it from them) and took still pictures for me. By the way, if you don't have a GoPro, rent it from them! It mounts right to the helmet and It is so worth it to have the video! The zips start out with a small practice line and build up to the big one. The whole tour wasn't too long or too short and the final zip was a lifetime adventure with a beautiful water fall in front of me on the way down! Just do this!

I participated alone. It was about a one-hour aerial walk in a small four-seater helicopter. It was a very valuable experience since it was in a place that you absolutely cannot see from the ground. However, it was a bit disappointing for me since all the explanations were in English and I couldn't understand them. You can take unlimited photos, and they also do a commemorative photo at the end, so it became a great memory.

一人で参加しました。
4人乗りの小さなヘリコプターで約１時間の空中散歩でした。地上からは絶対に見られない場所なので非常に貴重な体験でした。
ただ説明が全て英語なので聞き取れない私には少し残念でした。
写真も撮り放題だし最後に記念撮影もしてくれるので良い思い出になりました。

I would definitely recommend the doors off experience to the doors on. You are able to get much better pictures and video, in my opinion. There were only a few active spots for us to view, but our tour guide answered most of the questions we had and explained a lot about the landscape. The waterfalls were beautiful- I would recommend hiking to them if you are staying in Hilo for more than a day.

Great activity. Guides were good. Unfortunate about weather.

We had a great time flying over the volcano and seeing how lava makes an island. A very good way to see the vast flows. As on Kauai, the staff at Blue Hawaiian was great. They know their island and their love of it shows.

The helicopter ride and seeing the volcano steam pots was amazing! Wish we could have seen the waterfalls closer though.

Blue Hawaiian Helicopters & former Marine Pilot Greg are the best! Little nervous about 1st time in a helo but there was no need to worry! Ride was smooth , sights were amazing, pilot was very knowledgable & informative.

I had been somewhat apprehensive as had never been on a helicopter before but I loved it!! What a way to see the volcano and surrounding area!! I was accompanied by my sisters and their husbands and it was enjoyed by all!!

I wanted to do something exciting for my partners birthday this year. I found this searching the net and thought it would be an awesome experience for both of us whilst on our first holiday together and it was all that and more. The team were super friendly, professional and helpful, making this an unforgettable experience. I would highly recommend this to anyone venturing to the Big Island. Exciting, slightly frightening (sometimes you have to do things that scare you a little...) and a great way to take in all the beautiful surrounding of Hawaii. Hilo was truly beautiful, even if it was a little damp.

The zipline trip was a lot of fun. The views were great. Zipping over or past a couple of waterfalls was cool.
We happened to be there when the owners/bosses were out trying some new things. They took time to talk to us and genuinely solicited feedback that would make this and other tours more enjoyable. They were as friendly and personable as our excellent guides, Tim and Nainoa, jumping in to take photos, check on us to make sure we were having a good time, and to provide local information. Sure, they want more business, but also wanted to make sure we had enough fun that we would be repeat business as well. I'm sold. I highly recommend this zip for anyone looking to have some fun and excitement, see some cool scenery, and chat with a couple of locals.
If you go in realizing this is not constant action, you will enjoy this trip. Remember, it does take time to clip and unclip a group of people, one by one. But, take this time to talk to the guides and other members of the group, and those wait times pass by quickly...plus, you can get some fun stories or facts from the guides. Several of the stops have great views, as well.
Maholo

We were hesitant to do this because we had never been in a helicopter, but WOW. So glad we did!! Awesome views of the volcano. Pilot (Jeremy) was very knowledgable and made the experience very interesting. He was very professional and skilled with the operation of the helicopter. An experience we will never forget!! Highly recommended!!

I stayed in Hilo, and I participated on this tour on the way to Waipio. It's only 20min drive from Hilo, and the place was beautiful. I loved the casual walk in the natural rain forest, and it was like being in the Jurassic Park movie. The waterfall was secluded and awesome. I'd recommend this to anyone and especially the ones with small kids.

4 of us flew from oahu for this helicopter flight. You need to check what is happening with the volcano first as we were expecting to see some sort of action. The flow had obviously been active for sometime recently but what we saw was not what we were lead to believe was happening. Flight was good but dont take any notice of the pictures in advertising as they are deceptive. I k now this is a nature based activity and the company has no control over the volcano,but to over promise and under deliver is allways a recipe for disaster. The pilot Tim was excellent but the ground crew organinzation was lacking.Had us stand around in the sun for 30 minutes while they organised 5 flights at the same time.So dont expect to leave on the timeyou have booked,doesnt work that way.We hired a car and went to Volcano national park,fantastic and highly recommend that instead of this trip at only a fraction of the cost.The couple we shared with whilst disappointed could not speak more highly of the Maui trip they had with this company, so maybe consider that option

We really enjoyed our recent flight with Tim as our pilot. The sights were spectacular. Everything was organized like clockwork. The equipment is clearly very safety and comfort focused. Tim was entertaining ad a very competent pilot.

My husband wasn't too excited about coming to Hawaii but his one request was to fly in a helicopter to see the volcanos. His choice was the open door option. Neither having been in a helicopter before I at least had some trepidations. It was a blast! Our pilot, Rhys, a Kiwi, was very knowledgeable and a good pilot. Thank you!
And yes, you can feel the heat from the lava. Good times!

I highly recommend the tour of the botanical garden. I opted for the in-person tour and it was well worth the cost. I got a private tour, with far more information than just being told about the plants. "Doc" was very knowledgeable about the plants and their origins. I learned a great deal and got to taste and smell many different varieties. As an added plus, your admission lets you come back for a week and walk around, see the waterfall, picnic, etc.