To start off I must say we had a minor problem - we got there and they had a mechanical problem or something and our flight was bumped and another lady was downgraded to an A-Star instead of an Eco-star. That said the trip was phenomenal - granted, to give others the benefit of a doubt, being in the helicopter was the cool part so other places could do just as good a job.

If you have the time and money do the full big island trip. The volcano is neat but the valleys at the other end of the island are amazing!

note about vog: (yes vog, not fog) vog is only on one side of the island, your helicopter trip will not be obscured if you're swimming in pea soup since the winds seem to blow one way.

note about seating: you cannot choose your seats and they tell you they arrange it by weight but i'm not so sure. What they seem to do is take couples and space them out, you if there are 3 couples on of each of the couples gets an outside seat and one an inside. We got to sit in the front, but I have a feeling that's because we were bumped off our original flight and they felt guilty and not because we weighed anything different than anyone else (I'm certainly not complaining about it!) - but bribery and asking won't get you anywhere.

We had booked the afternoon tour on 20 May 2008. I knew from the cloud cover that our Maui Spectacular tour might be in jeopardy. When we checked in, we were told there would be a decision from the pilots on what they could do. After about 10-15 minutes, our group was briefed that they couldn't do the Maui Spectacular due to cloud cover and rain on Haleakala, but the West Maui tour could be done with a tour of Molokai, as well. They gave us a choice of either rebooking later, or doing the West Maui tour at that particular rate. We all decided to do the West Maui tour.

The pilot (Marty) was talkative and narrated our tour professionally. Friendly and a great pilot. Saw some HUGE manta rays off the coast of Molokai and great, up close scenery. Worth every penny! We plan on doing the Maui Spectacular next year. See my videos and pictures! Enjoy!

Aloha!

Save your money and put it towards the zipline in Maui! We were scheduled for a morning ride of Hana/Haleakala but due to weather conditions (cloudy), our ride was postponed until that afternoon. We were offered an "upgraded" tour of West Maui/Molokai which we happily accepted because the man who called to cancel made it seem so appealing. There was nothing upgraded about this tour! We saw more on our flight to and from Maui. We would have been much happier if they had cancelled our flight and rescheduled the one we originally booked. We basically flew over the ocean and sugar cane fields for an hour! Upon arriving home, I emailed the company to inform them of our disappointment and they didn't even respond. I wouldn't recommend Blue Hawaiian to anyone.

This is my wife and I's 4th flight with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. We took the Hana/Halaekala tour last May with Emery Lee and West Maui Mountains with Gernot last May. And then this trip we took the Circle of Fire plus waterfalls with Mike ? on Hilo. Then back to Maui the next day for a Maui Spectacular with Emery Lee again.

We specifically requested Emery Lee as a pilot, due to his vast knowledge and wonderful sense of humor. The flights are informative and truly spectacular.

What I would recommend for those that have never been..

1. Plenty of Dramamine
2. Ginger Ale
3. Light breakfast or lunch

Bring your camera and most certaintly buy the DVD of the flight at the end. So much stuff you miss with your camera and you can share the flight with your friends and family.

For those saying they expected more.... Some of the pilots we have flown with admittedly could have been a bit more talkative and informative. But considering they have your lives and the 1Million + helicopter to be concerned about, I would just be happy that I'm on Maui and flying over Maui. You could of course be at the office not experiencing the trip. But I've found nothing in Maui that has disappointed me or my family in our 2nd trip to the Valley Isle.

For the money Maui Spectacular was great. Landed on an old volcanic vent and shut the helicopter down and got to walk around and take pictures outside the helicopter.

Emery Lee is a top notch pilot and I would highly recommend any potential customer of Blue Hawaiian to get him as the pilot for their flight. He knows his stuff.

Mahalo to the staff of Blue Hawaiian and Emery Lee for another pleasant and rewarding flight.