The pilot, Maia, was great with good information and a very smooth safe tour. Everything ran on time and with great precision. I think it is common that clouds prevent you from some parts of the whole island tour. We stayed with the longer tour and enjoyed our time seeing an arial view of the old lava flows. The norther coast is spectacular. Very happy with our tour. read more

This experience was great in every way. The company is organized, prompt and reliable with pick up, and when our first flight was cancelled Due to rain/poor flying conditions, they quickly rescheduled and honored our early a.m. discount. They were professional, carefully went over safety procedures, and our pilot was informative and fun. We saw places and had views that are only accessible from the air. Highlights were seeing whales , the newer lava field and crater, gigantic waterfalls, valleys that are difficult to access without long strenuous hikes or a boat. It was a very very special experience and well worth the money. read more

it was fun it had a lot of water falls and volcano with lava and the pilot was super nice

Absolutely amazing! The view was gorgeous and the pilot explained a lot! Staff was super nice and helpful.

Well worth it. Incredible experience, much more special than I imagined. Thank you to our amazing pilot. I can't remember her name but she was very thoughtful and knowledgeable and added to our flight experience. Thank you for the kind consideration to the pilot! read more

Do the full island tour - you won't regret it! During the flight you are wearing a head set where the pilot gives you pieces of information as to what you are flying over, things to look for, etc. When he is not talking it just plays music to avoid any awkward silence. Our pilot (Shane) did an excellent job making sure that everyone in the helicopter got a chance to see all of the water falls and volcanos that we passed over. Being on the helicopter felt just like being on an airplane. Very cool experience overall. Highly recommend it! read more

Sunshine Helicopters - The helicopter we took! - Aerial Tours Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

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so fun! loved the pilot. so beautifu. definitely with the trip. The waterfalls are amazing

Helicopter Tour was great. was very cool to see the volcanoes and flying over the water

We took a 1 hr 45 min ride on Sunshine which covered about 2/3 of the Big Island of Hawaii. Started out from seeing the expansive 250,000 acre Parker Ranch to the compulsory cinder cone view of Pu`u ` ` on Mt. Kilauea and the beautiful waterfalls of the west coast. It's a comfortable chopter and prices were on par with other services on the island. It will be a lot more comfortable if riders are able to quickly adjust to the changing altitudes and the sometimes sharp turns that helicopter makes. Our pilot was good to manage the flight according to the needs of the passenger (my wife unfortunately did not feel so good after the flight). read more

Sunshine Helicopters - The Black Beauties - Aerial Tours Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

We booked a 4,000 dollar private volcano tour for 6 people about 1 month in advance. Literally 30 minutes before we were to meet at the business, they called and cancelled the tour with nothing more than "sorry". They did refund the money, but we were unable to rebook bc it was the week of Christmas. I understand "mechanical" errors happen and you want them to be safe, but they may be an unreliable business and at a minimum, it would have been nice to get a voucher for a future flight or discount. Something to acknowledge the inconvenience. I'd avoid this group and go with the competitor Blue Hawaii which we have used before without incident. read more

Ben made the tour excellent. Fun guy. Tour was on time and very informative. Go in the early morning before the afternoon clouds roll in.

Sunshine helicopters provided a fabulous experience from start to finish! Their 1 hour 45 minute flight also is a deal compared to the cost of much shorter flights with other companies on the Big Island. Maria, the pilot, was very personable and knowledgeable. I would recommend buying the first class seats - the view up front is worth it. read more

Island, Ben, very knowledgeable, an excellent pilot, and very accommodating, so everybody got a chance to see the sites. I would highly recommend a sunshine to anyone. read more

What a fabulous experience! We had a two hour tour, saw the volcanoes, the coast, the beautiful slopes of the volcano. Much more than we had expected. The pilot seemed very competent, knowledgeable, and we felt safe the entire flight. One of the best travel experiences of my life! read more

Wonderful tour and only 4 stars cause the wildlife didn't cooperate as much as I would've liked And because it would've been nice to be able to communicate with the pilot with more than , but I suppose he does need to fly the helicopter and not play 50 questions with passengers. Super easy to make reservation. Easy location to find and park. Staff was very friendly and informative. I was very nervous as this was my first helicopter tour. Our pilot, Cody was great. Very informative and knowledgeable about the locations. If passengers couldn't see he would make another pass. Overall it was a great first helicopter tour and we will definitely be doing another soon!! Thanks! read more

I've flown with Sunshine several times on Maui and chose them on the Big Island based upon my past, positive experiences with the company. While every helicopter tour is fun, Sunshine makes a big effort to personalize your tour. Check in was quick and easy, counter-agent Jahi was knowledgeable, engaging and friendly. We flew the volcano tour with pilot Ian. The company has all of the employees, even the pilots, call you by your first name making it easy for you to pay attention while on your flight and see things you might have missed. The flight included many more viewing-opportunities than was listed on any helicopter webpage including, lava tubes, huge-bubbling lava pools, cattle & dairy farms, the rugged coastline, and hidden beaches. Ian was great in his descriptions and giving all persons aboard an opportunity to photograph everything out their side of the helicopter. This was an excellent tour and much better than expected on a cloudy, rainy day. Kudos to owners Ross and Anna who still run the company with a small-town feel but a big-island experience! read more

Excellent tour of the Big Island. Pilot Ian had incredible control of the aircraft even with the buffeting trade winds. He is a very experienced pilot with safety as his #1 priority, but he has a quick witted sense of humor and wonderful ability to narrate our travel while also including very interesting geological and historical facts. We will not hesitate booking another trip with Sunshine. Every employee we came in contact with was friendly and professional. Great memories! read more

amazing sightseeing of volcano and island. highly recommend tour/flight

Chris Powell was an excellent tour guide and pilot. He took an interest in his passengers and really did a phenomenal job as a guide. Two things I recommend. Go early in the day before the weather gets bad. Go in the first day or two of your vacation, Chris will recommend a lot of cool things to do from a "local's" perspective. Way better than blue Hawaiian. Highly recommend! read more

Expected a lot more since they came highly recommended by our concierge. However, they seem to run things on their own terms. When we landed and was ready to be driven back to our hotels, we were told that they were going to pick someone else locally first so we had to wait there for another 30 minutes because of that. Also, our flight could've been a lot more interesting and fun if our pilot had some personality and knowledge. All he said was, to your left is a waterfall. And to your right is a valley. I mean!! Really!!! Do you really dislike your job that much!!! The lady that handled all the calls and photos after the flight was really good. She is the only reason this is a 3 star rating instead of 1. read more

Great tour!!! Ian, our pilot, was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. The tour covers much of the island, from Mauna Kea to Kīlauea, up through Hilo and through the canyons. Ian knows a lot about the Island and shares the information during the tour. The office staff is friendly and helpful. The tour is not cheap, but well worth the cost, even if you are familiar with the Island. Highly recommended! read more

Epic experience touring the entire big island with our great pilot Shane. A smooth ride on the Whisper Star Helicopters is the ultimate way to tour this massive island. We viewed 10 of the 12 climactic zones on earth, skirting the slopes of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Hualalai, Kohala and the Lava fields around Kilauea. Touring the periphery of the Halemaumau' Crater, we were able to peer into the Pu'u O'o vent and see the massive plume of sulfuric gas emitted from the most active volcano on earth. While this was a trip of a lifetime, my third helicopter tour of the Big Island, it's always best to go into a helitour of the volcano with realistic expectations, the little bursts of lava as seen from 500 feet above are actually 50-70 feet high. A terrific way to experience the creation of the earth, we could smell the forest burning and Pele's approach on Pahoa. read more

OK, we've never done a helicopterride before but thought since it's our anniversary we'd go for it! We enjoyed it immensely. All the staff was extremely personable. We were with another couple who were pretty physically challenged and staff did everything to assist them in and out of the ship. Our pilot Neil's was so great-he greeted us by name, kept us very informed during the TWO hour trip and gently guided us into some beautiful canyons on the lee-ward side of the island where we were right next to the waterfalls. We did pay extra for the co-pilot seats in the front-not sure that was necessary since the windows on the sides of craft were huge. Give them a try-I'm sure you'll be pleased read more

The 2 hour tour was phenomenal we got to see the active volcano, waterfalls, and due to good weather even a crashed b19 bomber. Thank you for the highlight of our trip to Big Island. Pilot was confident, skilled, and knowledgeable. read more

I booked a tour for 2 people 5 months ago. I had a confirmation for the booking and paid for the tickets at the time of the booking for a helicopter tour scheduled at 9:50 a.m. A few days before the tour, I received a letter indicating that my tour, due to overbooking was being rescheduled by Sunshine tours for 11:50 a.m. To make sure our reservations were intact, we arrived at Sunshine Helicopters around 9:30 a.m. to ensure our reservations were still intact for our 11:50 a.m.tour, and we were assured they were indeed. We were told how to dress for the ride, and what we could and couldn't bring. We met the Sunshine Helicopters rep at the designated meeting point promptly at 11:50 a.m., and were transported with 10 other people to their office (5 minute drive from the meeting point). My husband and I were the FIRST of the group of 12 to check in. We put our things away in our lockers, and waited for the safety briefing to begin. We'd only been in the office about 10 minutes when the 2 groups (12 people) from the previous helicopter tours returned. It was during this time that this group of 12 began talking to those of us waiting for the safety briefing about their tour. About 30 minutes later, our safety briefing began and lasted approximately 15 minutes. We were told that there were 2 helicopters (6 seats each) for the group, and stood to board the van to the airport. By now it was almost 1 pm. During the safety briefing, the pilots of both helicopters were in the office. They passed our group a few times, looking at us, but never said anything. Additionally, the receptionists for check in were in the office the entire time of the briefing, but never interrupted the briefing. The "office" is one large open room, with items for sale dispersed around the perimeter. At the end of the briefing, we stood and headed out the door to be driven to the helicopters. It WAS THEN, AS WE WERE HEADED OUT THE DOOR, ON OUR WAY TO BOARD THE VAN, ALMOST AN HOUR AFTER OUR ARRIVAL TO SUNSHINE HELICOPTER'S OFFICE, that we were told that 6 of us would not be going on the helicopter flight. We were TWO of the six. The reason for the cancellation of our tour was because the helicopter needed "maintenance". More about this a few lines down. Here are a few additional details: 6 people in the group were allowed to continue on with their tour, in the second helicopter, that did not require "maintenance". All of these people purchased their tickets AFTER I purchased ours. Two people told me they purchased theirs just 8 hours prior to the time of the tour. The helicopter in "maintenance" was used on a tour prior to our scheduled tour. It returned while we were waiting for the safety briefing. I know this because those on both tours described the helicopter and shared information about the tour. When we learned that our tour was cancelled, we asked if we could go on the next scheduled tour, which was an hour later. Sunshine Tours told us "no". That tour was completely booked, and they would not make any accommodations for us, or our inconvenience. When we learned that the "repairs" to the helicopter requiring "maintenance" would not take long, and that helicopter would be back in service within an hour, in time for the next set of scheduled tours, we asked if we go be in that group. Again, Sunshine Tours told us "no". That tour was completely booked, and they would not make any accommodations for us, or our inconvenience. We weren't given a voucher/discount or even a refrigerator magnet...nothing except "sorry". This business allowed us to believe we were taking a tour. When they learned that we weren't, rather than telling us as soon as the tour was cancelled, they still weren't forthcoming with that information. Instead, they allowed us to wait in their office, and sit through a safety briefing that they knew 6 of us would never need. Their highly unethical behavior not only shows a callous disregard for the time of their customers, but caused us to waste our day on the island. After the rescheduling of the original time of the tour, and by the time we were told of the cancellation, it was too late for us to book a tour with anyone else, because we were leaving the island at 4:30 p.m. Sunshine Helicopters rescheduled our tour for the middle of the day, then picked us up and had us wait for the tour, attend a safety briefing and ONLY then, told us our tour was cancelled due to "maintenance". "Maintenance" of a helicopter that was used immediately prior to our scheduled tour, and would be used for a tour immediately after our scheduled tour. As we were leaving, a couple heard of our plight and recommended Blue Hawaiian helicopter tours. They did a tour with them the day before and said it was excellent. I contacted Blue Hawaiian, and they did have tours available this same day, but unfortunately the next one was at 3 p.m., and we couldn't do that because we were leaving t read more

This tour is a must do! You'll be surprised at how amazing the non-volcano parts of the tour are. There are places on the Big Island you will see that most visitors will never even imagine. Clayton is an excellent pilot, narrator and historian. The entire staff of Sunshine Helicopters take care of you from the minute you leave the hotel. read more

Our party of 5 plus an additional passenger flew today. It was a perfect ride except for the fact the not one of the passengers could hear the narration. There was background music that playing during the tour and with a lot of effort we discerned about 10 percent of what the pilot was saying. Thinking it was only my headset I did not say anything but learned afterwards that none of us could hear. It really detracted from the experience. The service itself was extremely efficient and we felt safe during the flight and the landing. The views were magnificent. read more

Had a wonderful heli ride with a US Army veteran. Made me feel SUPER safe to know he was our pilot (not to knock other non vet pilots). 2 hour flight was delightful. We had awesome weather. They picked us up from the Hilton and whisked us off. Safety brief was brief and we were off! No time wasted. Would totally do this again! read more

Sunshine Helicopters - Aerial Tours Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

Enjoyed every minute!!! Pilot Chris Powell provided detailed information on the points of interest and the history behind the areas. There are so many areas on the Big Island that you can not see by vehicle or even hiking. The "Big Island" is just that so go early on your stay and then plan what you want to explore based on this tour. Early morning for us was best as weather is typically better. Thank you for your service to our Country Mr. Powell and thanks to Sunrise for supporting our Veterans! read more

The pilot did a great job entertaining us through the whole ride and we enjoyed all the sights he took us to

Niels did such a great job for our helicopter tour. He knew everything about the island and could answer every one of our questions. I was also very impressed with the ground crew with how organized they were. Excellent flight! I would recommend this to anyone! We will definitely be doing this again! read more

Sunshine Helicopters - Aerial Tours Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

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Not cheap but I felt very safe and well taken care of. My whole family took a trip with Beau as our pilot and despite the VOG, had an amazing ride. I had two young children who were very vocal and Beau made sure to acknowledge everyone aboard multiple times throughout the trip and ensured everyone had the best view of all sites, even taking multiple passes so both right and left side passengers can see everything equally. The video was well worth the money as I've already showed many times to friends and family. It is a great reminder of the amazing wonders we saw on our flight, waterfalls and volcanic activity included! The helicopter was very comfortable and steady. Highly recommend as we saw awe inspiring sites you'd be unable to experience any other way. read more

What a great operation! Everything ran very smoothly and all six of us had a great time on our multi generation helicopter trip. The staff was outstanding and, especially outstanding, was our pilot, Ian. He was full of knowledge and very skillful pilot. Both of my children said it was one ofOf the best experiences they've ever had. read more

Nice (but expensive) way to see everything. About an hour north of the Kona airport on the Mauna Prince hotel property but way up the hill, there's a remote road turnoff small sign so be careful. The tour was 90 minutes and took you through the mountains, the volcano with multiple passes so everyone could see, lovely valleys with amazing waterfalls, shoreline cliffs (more waterfalls), over the rainforest, grasslands, and then home. Good narrative along the way. 2 seats up front, 4 in the back. Fantastic trip. read more

My husband and I had a great fly today! We saw many incredible things! Pilot was so professional and told many things about island and nature. Thank you guys! Great job read more

Save your $$$$$$!!!!! I have taken many hellicoptor tours and this by far was the worst. Don't get me wrong, all of the employees were very nice, which is the reason for two stars, otherwise it was a one star. The pilot was nice, but a terrible tour guide. He spoke more about his personal life than the sights we paid to see, which I may add cost almost $1200 for two people. I watched as other hellicoptors from other companies, hovered and got close to the sights, but not us. Although we saw the volcano, our pilot pointed cows and cruise ships......who cares. Seriously, Sunshine does not provide a quality tour, so save your cash for a hellicoptor tour of the Grand Canyon or Sedona. read more

I don't wanna coming again because the service is very impolite, we booking the four people set, but after we pay, they guys said only three set, and we must cancel one set.and then we wanna cancel four set, but they said we can do this. I don't wanna come again. They very bad read more

My wife and I took the aerial tour of the Big Island two weeks ago and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Our pilot Neils was excellent and provided a very informative narrative throughout the trip. To our amazement, and relief, there was zero turbulence during the ride, and the views were just breathtaking. It is hard to imagine a better way to view the volcanos and the lava flows on the island. The video that you can purchase after the ride is a must. We have shown the video to everyone back home, and it provides the best depiction of a great experience. Would certainly recommend Sunshine Helicopters, and the entire team. They were very professional, very concerned about safety, and made it a truly fun experience. read more

Omg!! This was the best ride ever! The views were spectacular. Our pilot Ian was awesome! Great volcano action and waterfalls. Well worth the money! read more

Jewels at the reception desk was exceptional. Her customer service went above and beyond and made my experience on the island and with Sunshine Helicopters a great one. Thanks so much Jewels! read more