Doors off!

Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars

In a nutshell: The only optional doors-off helicopter flight in Maui.
Minuses: Some folks think this is a substitute for driving the Road to Hana – don’t make that mistake, do both!
Sound-bite: [...speechless...]

Stunning views of the untouched remote areas of Maui. Many of these places can only be seen by helicopter, and that is something you’ll never forget. Even if you’re on a tight Maui budget, you don’t want to skip this activity if you can help it.

AlexAir has been flying since the early 70’s – and they focus exclusively on Maui. Not only are they the best and most experienced on Maui, they’re also the least expensive.

AlexAir has A-Star & Hughes 500 helicopters – all are outfitted with 2-way headsets so passengers can ask questions and communicate with the pilot (only one other company offers this on Maui.) The A-Star is pretty much the standard six-passenger tour helicopter for Hawaii and is a great helicopter designed for touring. But the real star at AlexAir is a classic four-passenger Hughes 500 helicopter – the only one like it in Hawaii. This old-school beauty has optional doors-off tours that will wow and provide views and photography options that no other operator on the island can. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the founder of AlexAir, Eli Alexander developed the aircraft for Hughes? Yeah, I suppose these guys might know a thing or two about how it works

Key Info:
Location: Kahului Airport #108
Phone: 888-418-8455
Rating source: MauiGuidebook.com & Yelp
Web: http://www.helitour.com
Price: $89 – 300+

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Offering both the A-Star and Eco-Star helicopters – the A-Star is pretty much the standard tour helicopter for Hawaii – a great helicopter designed for touring. The Eco-Star is the luxury upgrade – more space, individual seats (A-Star has benches) and even better viewing than her sister.

This video shot on Blue Hawaiian is of Manawainui located at the Back Side of Haleakala – unless you’re an extreme back-country hiker, you can see only the smallest fraction of this valley outside of a helicopter tour.

Key Info:
Location: 1 Kahului Airport Rd. #105
Phone: 808-871-8844
Rating source: Google
Web: http://www.bluehawaiian.com/maui/tours
Price: $130 – $400+

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They fly A-Star & Eco-Star Helicopters.

Key Info:
Location: Kahului Heliport Get directions
GPS Coordinates: 20.889056,-156.433876
Phone: 808-270-3999
Web: http://www.sunshinehelicopters.com/
Price: $165-$400+

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Key Info:
Location: Kahului Heliport Get directions
GPS Coordinates: 20.889056,-156.433876
Phone: 877-238-4942
Web: http://www.airmaui.com/
Price: $120-$300+

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