Kilauea Volcano Doors-Off Helicopter Tour - Lava & Waterfalls Flight from Hilo
Overall Rating
4.68
Do it!
Reviewed by: Tish, 2024/04/02I ask others to go with me, and get...
'is it a big helicopter? must be stable'
'need a seat in the middle up front or I'll barf'
'doors off, are you nutz?'
Don't let them ruin it for you. Small copter with doors off is the full woohooo. The ride is smooth and stable enough. The view out the open door is wondrous. Accept nothing less. Watch a video in the comfort of your couch or get the whole experience.
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
| Activity Date: | 2024/03/31 |
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Absolutely amazing experience!
Reviewed by: Balazs P., 2023/12/22An absolutely fabulous experience, feeling the wind while the endless lava fields pass by below our feet. Photos without glare, a dream!
High safety, perfect pax care, highly recommended to anyone.
Many thanks!
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
| Activity Date: | 2023/12/17 |
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AMAZING flight!
Reviewed by: Yes to Hawaii, 2023/08/25This was the BEST flight I've ever done on Big Island. The doors-off was the way to go. It was a 4-seater with only 3 of us on-board so we each got a window seat.
Tips:
-Bring/wear a windbreaker. It gets VERY chilly with the wind.
-Sunglasses are a must
-Cameras or cell phones for photos must have a wrist strap
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| Attended as: | Friends |
| Activity Date: | 2023/01/10 |
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Absolute amazing Experience
Reviewed by: Kara, 2023/07/01Wish we got to see lava but the experience alone made us know we will soon be back!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2023/04/21 |
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Awesome flight over Kilauea
Reviewed by: Tom, 2023/01/29We had a wonderful experience with Tiana as our helicopter pilot. She was extremely skilled at flying and was a wealth of information regarding the areas we were flying over.
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
| Activity Date: | 2023/01/26 |
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Great Experience
Reviewed by: Vickie, 2022/12/28Tianna was our pilot and was a phenomenal one. She handled that very tiny helicopter without a problem. I have a tendency to be motion-sick and I had zero problems with her at the stick.
We were disappointed that there wasn't any lava flowing but we got great views of Kilauea's craters and the changes since we were last on the Big Island. She made sure everyone got a good view of what we were seeing and was quite knowledgeable about the area.
They give you advice about what to wear and I fully advise everyone to pay attention to it. Temp in the chopper was ~50°F with buffeting winds from the rotors. Because we listened, we were comfortable. The only complaint was the wind was strong enough to make my eyes water and it was hard to see at times. That said, it was a fun experience and I highly recommend it.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2022/12/26 |
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Eye opening
Reviewed by: GingerBeardNYC, 2019/02/07We intend to do this everywhere we travel now. We loved it that much.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2019/02/03 |
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Awesome experience!
Reviewed by: Theron, 2018/06/19Rob was an excellent pilot. Everything was well organized and went smoothly. The view was awesome. Could have stayed up there all day.
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| Attended as: | Friends |
| Activity Date: | 2018/06/16 |
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An awesome doors-off experience
Reviewed by: Mr.Anonymous, 2018/06/05The cool thing about this helicopter flight is that you get to see a lot of volcanoes national park in a relatively little amount of time. Especially since the lava wasn't flowing a lot that day, flying over the greyish lava wasteland made it a lot easier to spot minor lava flows (see picture).
Since it was raining that day, there was too much steam for us to fly directly over the caldera, but otherwise the flight was great. If conditions are stable, I definitely recommend a helicopter flight as the best way to see the volcano. There's a lot you can only see from up in the sky.
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
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Fantastic
Reviewed by: Deborah, 2018/05/16WE were very fortunate to have our tour just after the eruption. An unforgettable experience that lasted not long enough
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2018/05/03 |
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Amazing
Reviewed by: Caryq, 2017/10/13Best thing we did in Islands. Great staff. Doors off small helicopter was of course windy, but also awesome.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2017/10/10 |
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special feeling!
Reviewed by: Rene and Pattatiya, 2017/09/10We enjoyed the flight a lot. The flight without doors is realy special. The pilot flight direct over the crater with magna and we can made beautiful pictures and feel the cold wind and the hot magna!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2017/09/07 |
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Open door laba helicopter tour
Reviewed by: Bengisu, 2017/08/07It was an amazing experience to see the beautiful view of big island from above and observing the bubbling lava inside the crater of an active volcano together with a great crew before during and after the flight.
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| Attended as: | Friends |
| Activity Date: | 2017/07/30 |
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AMAZING
Reviewed by: BOB W, 2017/07/03MY 12 YEAR OLD GRANDSON AND I WENT ON A DOORS OFF VOCANO TOUR WITH ROBERT AS OUR PILOT. AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING EXPERIENCE, TOTALLY UNIQUE AND WORTH EVERY SINGLE CENT OF THE COS, FROM CHECK IN TO DEPARTURE. SOMETHING THAT BOTH OD US WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER. THANKS FOR A DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE!!!
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
| Activity Date: | 2017/06/29 |
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Awesome pilot and fabulous flight!
Reviewed by: Darcy S, 2017/02/08My husband and I loved the doors off heli ride over the Kilauea volcano lava flow! Would highly recommend it!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2017/01/31 |
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Door off Helicopter Tour Adventure
Reviewed by: The Leiths, 2016/09/10We would like to thank the staff of veltra for their outstanding services with helping making our dream vacation a reality, we really enjoyed the Helicopter Tour - the staff were perfect, sights were great! It was a little foggy so we couldn't complete whole tour but were offered a refund which was very nice.
Thanks Again,
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| Attended as: | Families |
| Activity Date: | 2016/08/28 |
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| Attended as: | Families with Young Children |
| Activity Date: | 2016/08/28 |
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Great trip, life experience!
Reviewed by: ChuckBr, 2016/07/18We had an amazing experience and will go again for sure!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2016/06/24 |
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Kilauea Helicopter tour
Reviewed by: Vicki Wales, 2016/04/07We took this trip on monday with our pilot Pete and it was totally awesome! We saw bubbling lava and were indeed able to 'feel the heat'! Pete tailored our tour to us and made us feel very welcome. Many thanks! Highly recommended!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2016/04/04 |
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Doors Off Helicopter tour
Reviewed by: Diane Viands, 2016/03/12I ended up with some great pictures. Wasn't sure if I was getting any because it was so windy. Not complaining as I knew that it was going to be windy. I did think that we were going to fly near the volcanoes, but perhaps I read the description wrong. It was a great tour and I am glad I did the doors off tour. Collin was great! Thanks so much for the great tour!
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers |
| Activity Date: | 2016/03/07 |
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Exciting and Smooth
Reviewed by: Going back to Hawaii, 2016/02/19Very professional pilot. Incredibly smooth ride without stunts or surprises. However, the doors off was wonderful with nothing between us and the lava. We were high enough to not be at risk but the views of the lava flows, vents, as well as the area waterfalls and scenery were superb. Securely strapped in. Noise dampening headphones with mics allows two way communication, and the pilot was a knowledgeable and helpful tour guide. Worth the time and money.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2016/02/06 |
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Aaaaamazing!
Reviewed by: G from GA, 2016/02/06An unforgettable experience! Viewing flowing lava burning trees, the spots where the lava begins to flow, the breathtaking coastline of the Big Island with its many waterfalls, humpback whales from overhead, and the wonders of the island with the unbelievable views of every hue in the ocean's water= memories that will last a lifetime! Add a fabulous staff and the best pilot ever, and that's what you can expect.
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| Attended as: | Friends |
| Activity Date: | 2016/02/03 |
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Doors off is the only way to FLY!!!
Reviewed by: Alan, 2016/02/02The doors off tour was incredible and well worth the price! I highly recommend this tour to anyone that wants to get a real helicopter volcano tour!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2016/01/09 |
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What the --, I can't ... OMG! I cried.
Reviewed by: Silas, 2015/10/14Thank 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!
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| Attended as: | Friends |
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Awesome, Breathtaking, Not Enough Great Words to Describe
Reviewed by: DWAungst, 2015/09/21The 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.
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"Captian Cook", his initial landing point on the Big Island.![]()
Green Sand Beach![]()
Main Volcano Laval Pool on the Caldera![]()
Lava pool in the second vent on the southern slopes of the volcano.![]()
Flowing Lava - we were hovering only about 50 feet off this, the heat wash from the lava made the ride bumpy but worth it.![]()
More Flowing Lava, Oozing Out of a Crack![]()
North Shore Cliffs![]()
One of Many Waterfalls![]()
Intrepid Adventurers (us), Post Flight
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| Attended as: | Couples |
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Fantastic
Reviewed by: Miked, 2015/09/17First 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!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2015/09/14 |
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Awesome Flight!!!
Reviewed by: DWAungst, 2015/09/13Weather 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.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2015/09/10 |
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Up, Up and Away
Reviewed by: Jeanne A, 2015/02/15My 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!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2015/01/30 |
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Kilauea experience
Reviewed by: Deb Stuckey, 2015/01/26This helicopter trip was fabulous! Our pilot, Reese, was very informative, friendly and helpful. Gave us a great view of lava fields, the active Kilauea volcano and waterfalls. He was very attentive to BOTH sides of the helicopter, making sure everyone got a great experience. Well worth the money.
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2015/01/21 |
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The Most AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!
Reviewed by: Scott & Tammy, 2014/07/27We selected the Doors OFF Helicopter Tour and it was the BEST decision we ever made!!! The Views were Breathtaking and when we arrived at the Lava Flow, the Lava Flow/Lake was Spectacular and the HEAT was Awesome!!! The Doors Off was the Best!!! Then we travelled to the Waterfalls North of Hilo and the Views were equally Breathtaking!!! Our Pilot and Co-Pilot were Awesome and Funny!!! They Made the experience even better!!! This tour was TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
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| Attended as: | Couples |
| Activity Date: | 2014/07/10 |
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Aloha GingerBeardNYC,
Mahalo for your review! We are happy to hear you enjoyed your Doors off Lava & Rainforests Adventure. Our Doors-Off flights are definitely one of our most popular flights, it is an indredible way to see the landscape from a new perspective.
Thank you for choosing to fly with us, we hope to see you back soon!
Mahalo,
Paradise Helicopters