Blue Hawaiian Helicopters over Haleakala Crater

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
^{*how we rate vendors}

Rated #1 Helicopter Tour on Maui

In a nutshell: Blue Hawaiian is top of its game in every aspect of Helicopter tour operations.
Minuses: You can’t bring these guys with you to run everything!
Sound-bite: [...speechless...]

Blue Hawaiian is my hands-down favorite vendor for helicopter tours because they hit every point of our mission with the kind of precision that makes my job easy.

Safety
I think we can all agree that this is the most critical component when we’re going to be leaving the ground. I look at all the awards Blue Hawaiian can boast about, and I’m most impressed with the one they’ve got hanging on the maintenance department’s wall: the FAA’s Diamond Award for excellence. Even more impressive is the fact that no other helicopter tour operator (not just on Maui, but in the entire state) has ever received this award. Blue Hawaiian has received it every year running for over a decade. Drop the rest of this article, and that fact alone gets me on a Blue Hawaiian helicopter before anyone else.

Tours Offered

Kano Falls in the Ke'anae Valley

West Maui Mountains (~30-min; ~$140-170) Inaccessible deep-cut valleys & rainforest. West Maui and Molokai (~50-min; ~$210-250) Adds Molokai with the worlds highest sea cliffs and Hawaiis biggest waterfall. Hana/Haleakala (~50-min; ~$210-250) Rainforest, waterfalls, Haleakala crater, and Manawainui (video below.) Complete Island (~65-min; ~$255-315) Hana, Haleakala & West Maui combined. Maui Spectacular (~90-min; ~$290-360) The Complete Island tour with a landing for refreshments in Ulupalakua. Maui – Big Island (~2 hrs.; ~$410-465) Haleakala Crater & Hana (as above) and Kohala rainforest on the Big Island.

Pilots and Guides
Blue Hawaiian has first-class, knowledgeable pilots and two way communication between you and the pilot (this is not standard with all operators.)

Blue Hawaiian has aced attention to detail in this area as well, and all their pilots not only have guide training, but a decent understanding of important cultural facts and history (points neglected or misunderstood by many in our tourism industry.) Pilots are also well versed on in their understanding of flora, fauna and geology.

A Blue Hawaiian Eco-Star helicopter
exploring the Molokai coastline

Aircraft
Blue Hawaiian offers both A-Star and Eco-Star helicopters. The Eco-Star is really what you want when touring – it was designed from the ground-up for exactly this purpose (and with direct input from Blue Hawaiian, by the way.) The Eco-Star is also quieter and 23% more spacious than the A-Star, has individual seats (A-Star has benches) and even more glass and better viewing. Blue Hawaiian is one of only two vendors in Maui who fly the Eco-Star.

Awards & Endorsements
Besides the FAA awards mentioned above, Blue Hawaiian also has a host of national awards and endorsements from well-known names – waaaay too many for me to detail in an article that has already run well overtime (but I can still name-drop a few!) National Geographic, the Travel Channel and no less than two dozen top-ratings in Hawaii newspaper reader polls are among them. Blue Hawaiian is also the go-to for aerial filming on an impressive list of blockbuster Hollywood movies and TV shoes. They’ve even been awarded the prestigious International Star Diamond Award – a big deal – and a first for an activity. (If you want more details on the awards, they exercise their bragging rights here.)

Environment, Citizenry & Company
Blue Hawaiian has been here for over 25 years. They now cover all of Hawaii, but they are still based on Maui. This is a family-owned and operated business, and having owners so passionate about what they do right here at the Kahului Heliport makes Maui the shining jewel of their statewide operation.

Blue Hawaiian has also contributed to ecological responsibility both in Maui and in their industry. They were an active part in developing a much quieter helicopter to reduce noise pollution over natural areas, and that work applies not just for Maui, but has been beneficial in sensitive areas around the world. Blue Hawaiian also recently installed an impressive solar array that powers virtually all of their power-hungry Maui operations.

I’m sure that being dedicated to green business operations has got to be a challenging commitment for an aviation company, but like everything they do, Blue Hawaiian doesn’t seem to let convenience dictate the path they take in doing things right.

This video is of Manawainui on the Back Side of Haleakala – unless you’re an extreme back-country hiker, you can see only the smallest fraction of this valley on your own.

Other Reviews: ^{*ordered by accuracy}

Tripadvisor

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Yelp

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Google

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• Helicopter Tours

There are two main types of helicopters used in Maui. Blue Hawaiian Helicopters has an excellent and accurate summary of the benefits and drawbacks of each here.

Check out Helicopter Tours by rating.

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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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Doors off!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In a nutshell: The only optional doors-off helicopter flight in Maui.

AlexAir has been flying since the early 70′s – and they focus exclusively on Maui. They’re the least expensive vendor.

AlexAir has A-Star & Hughes 500 helicopters – all are outfitted with 2-way headsets so passengers can ask questions and communicate with the pilot (Blue Hawaiian is the only other vendor that offers this.)

While the A-Star is pretty much the standard six-passenger tour helicopter for Hawaii, the only one you should be showing up at Alex Air for is the classic four-passenger Hughes 500 helicopter. This old-school chopper was actually developed by the founder of AlexAir (now retired) and has optional doors-off tours that provide thrills and photography options that you won’t get if you fly in their A-Star. (Keep in mind that you *might* need to buy all seats to guarantee doors-off configuration – give them a call to confirm.)

If you don’t require doors-off, we think you’d be best served flying in the Eco-Star with a vendor like Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.

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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• Lahaina Pali Trail
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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+

View Kahului Heliport in a larger map

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