We did a helicopters ride in Kwai many years ago and it was fantastic.
There have been several fatal crashes over the years on Hawaii over the years, but they remain popular with tourists
We haven't been to Hawaii with Tauck (yet) but have flown over the Grand Canyon of Kauai (Waimea Canyon) and along the Na Pali Coast with another company during a family trip. We also took a helo flight along the Cape Peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa after B,SA,Z.
A few things to ask people who took the helicopter ride with Tauck-
What size was the helo and how many people did it carry?
You DO NOT want to be stuck in the middle of 3 across seating- it could be very hard to see, especially if the people sitting on either side of you have their faces plastered against the windows. Behind the pilot, some larger helos have two rows of 3 seats facing each other, so one row faces aft towards the tail. In the front, some helos have a seat for the pilot and 1 or 2 seats for passengers- again, you don't want to be stuck in the middle though the you have a better view in the front looking through the canopy windscreen, than you do if stuck in a middle seat in the back. I prefer to face forward when I fly.
We flew in the small helo pictured below, a Robinson R-44, with seating for 4, a pilot and passenger in front and two passengers in back. There were just two of us so I sat next to the pilot while my wife had her choice of left or right window seats.
Also, does the helo fly with doors off? (Our's did) While it may sound scary and dangerous, it really isn't because you will be wearing seatbelts that have a single or double strap shoulder harness. With the doors off you have the best view and it is easier to see almost straight down. It can be a bit cool and is definitely breezy so you need to remove your sun or regular glasses or make sure you are wearing a glasses keeper.
25 yes ago we were on a Tauck tour in Hawaii. We took the copter early in the morning. None of the afternoon schedule could fly because of winds. Also, they will seat you according to your weight.
Alan is correct about the three in a row seating but you often have to sit exactly where the pilot asks you to sit according to weight. This can indeed be a problem. On one of our flights, a woman was placed in the middle seat and literally spent the entire flight protesting about being placed there. In my opinion she could see just as well as anyone else, in fact, she could see out of both sides. If people would not be so obsessed with taking photos, it probably would not be an issue. The experience with her marred the enjoyment of the flight for everyone else.
Some of you may recognize Honopu Arch, the natural arch, in my next-to-last photo- it was a filming location for a scene in Pirates of the Caribbean, on Stranger Tides with Johnny Depp. Kauai and the Na Pali coast were used as locationa for filming scenes in over 70 movies and TV shows (Jurassic Park I, II, III, the upcoming Jurassic World, King Kong, LOST, South Pacific, Fantasy Island, Blue Hawaii, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum P.I. obviously, just to name a few of the lesser-known ones ) and you can't truly see and appreciate many of them any other way than from the air.
I did a helicopter flight on the Big Island last August. The helicopter held 7 people, including the pilot , with 4 seated in back and 2 of us in front with the pilot. We were weighed before boarding and seated by weight. I was fortunate to be on the outside in the front row, so I could see out the front and side windows. It was definitely a worthwhile experience, even though clouds precluded us from flying over a volcano.
We tried to do a helicopter ride after our Iceland tour last July. Low skies cancelled our flight. The only helicopter ride I've done was for work. I flew from Cape May, New Jersey to a drill ship 100 miles out to sea. I've flow in a glider and a sea plane. Doesn't come close to Alan's or Sealord's likely 1000s of flights in various aircraft, but the glider, helicopter, and sea plane were a lot of fun.
We’ve flown in helicopters twice--once out of the canyon after jet skiing in New Zealand, and the other to the top of a glacier in Alaska for a glacier hike. Both were great experiences. We had planned to do both helicopter excursions in Hawaii, but they will have to wait until January 2023--when the Kauai excursion is included (rather than an extra) on the Best of Hawaii tour.
Only heli ride I've done was on the Aus/NZ tour through the mountains of Queenstown. It was great. I got to sit up front next to the pilot, so no obstructed views. Only disappointment was he didn't have The Ride of the Valkyries playing.
BKMD and jan_page522 -- I took that helicopter ride outside Queenstown, too. As I watched the helicopters approach us over the mountains, to pick us up, the theme from M.A.S.H. kept running through my head.
Several years ago on Kauai we did the helicopter tour that landed at Jurassic Falls. At that time there was only one operator that had approval to make that landing. The rest of it was quite similar to others, flying up the canyon, out over the Na Pali coast and returning down the middle of the island. It was worth it for sure.
It has been awhile, but I have been on all of islands with Tauck in the past. I did helicopter flights of Kauai and Maui (enjoyed them both) and I also really tried hard to do another helicopter flight of The Big Island but due to the way wind was blowing and the volcano active, that particular helicopter flight was cancelled all day on my free day. I guess that the only option for me then was to see the volcano by sea but since I get seasick, I opted not to do so. In regard to the Kauai helicopter flight, after seeing how close those helicopters were during the filming of Jurassic Park on Kauai and hoping that our flights would do the same, but no, I guess that would have been "too risky" for those commercial helicopters to do so. The two helicopter flights were only OK but nothing spectacular (considering the money it cost me IMHO. :-) ) AshvEd was very fortunate and lucky to do so; if I had the option back then, I would have done so too! :-)
I agree with British comment above about some folks being obsessed with taking photos to the detriment of others; on one of my Tauck tours (Polar Bears in Manitoba, Canada), something similar happened. Sigh. Unfortunately, it is what it is. Sigh.
Just returned from this lovely tour. The first 2 hour flight does zoom over the volcanoes, and folks who took it said they could still see fires in the eye, something you cannot see from earth's rim. They loved it, attested by a zillion photos. The second, on Kuai, was 45 minutes and also got rave reviews. We had opted to do some other things that were not covered on the tour on these days. One factor to consider about the heli is the time, as it is basically a half day, when including the getting there and back.
On Kauai, my wife and I went ziplining. Another activity run by the same outfit was an inner tube/raft float on the old hand-dug sugar cane irrigation canals that remain from the heyday of sugar plantations in the 1800 and 1900s. Digging in the rocky lava soil must have been very difficult. Water still flows down and pushes you along the canals, some of which go through a few hand dug tunnels- we didn't have time for that, besides, my wife "just knew" there would be spiders in the tunnels!
Comments
We did a helicopters ride in Kwai many years ago and it was fantastic.
There have been several fatal crashes over the years on Hawaii over the years, but they remain popular with tourists
We haven't been to Hawaii with Tauck (yet) but have flown over the Grand Canyon of Kauai (Waimea Canyon) and along the Na Pali Coast with another company during a family trip. We also took a helo flight along the Cape Peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa after B,SA,Z.
A few things to ask people who took the helicopter ride with Tauck-
What size was the helo and how many people did it carry?
You DO NOT want to be stuck in the middle of 3 across seating- it could be very hard to see, especially if the people sitting on either side of you have their faces plastered against the windows. Behind the pilot, some larger helos have two rows of 3 seats facing each other, so one row faces aft towards the tail. In the front, some helos have a seat for the pilot and 1 or 2 seats for passengers- again, you don't want to be stuck in the middle though the you have a better view in the front looking through the canopy windscreen, than you do if stuck in a middle seat in the back. I prefer to face forward when I fly.
We flew in the small helo pictured below, a Robinson R-44, with seating for 4, a pilot and passenger in front and two passengers in back. There were just two of us so I sat next to the pilot while my wife had her choice of left or right window seats.
Also, does the helo fly with doors off? (Our's did) While it may sound scary and dangerous, it really isn't because you will be wearing seatbelts that have a single or double strap shoulder harness. With the doors off you have the best view and it is easier to see almost straight down. It can be a bit cool and is definitely breezy so you need to remove your sun or regular glasses or make sure you are wearing a glasses keeper.
Is it worth it? In my opinion most definitely!!!
25 yes ago we were on a Tauck tour in Hawaii. We took the copter early in the morning. None of the afternoon schedule could fly because of winds. Also, they will seat you according to your weight.
Alan is correct about the three in a row seating but you often have to sit exactly where the pilot asks you to sit according to weight. This can indeed be a problem. On one of our flights, a woman was placed in the middle seat and literally spent the entire flight protesting about being placed there. In my opinion she could see just as well as anyone else, in fact, she could see out of both sides. If people would not be so obsessed with taking photos, it probably would not be an issue. The experience with her marred the enjoyment of the flight for everyone else.
Some of you may recognize Honopu Arch, the natural arch, in my next-to-last photo- it was a filming location for a scene in Pirates of the Caribbean, on Stranger Tides with Johnny Depp. Kauai and the Na Pali coast were used as locationa for filming scenes in over 70 movies and TV shows (Jurassic Park I, II, III, the upcoming Jurassic World, King Kong, LOST, South Pacific, Fantasy Island, Blue Hawaii, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum P.I. obviously, just to name a few of the lesser-known ones
) and you can't truly see and appreciate many of them any other way than from the air.
I did a helicopter flight on the Big Island last August. The helicopter held 7 people, including the pilot , with 4 seated in back and 2 of us in front with the pilot. We were weighed before boarding and seated by weight. I was fortunate to be on the outside in the front row, so I could see out the front and side windows. It was definitely a worthwhile experience, even though clouds precluded us from flying over a volcano.
We tried to do a helicopter ride after our Iceland tour last July. Low skies cancelled our flight. The only helicopter ride I've done was for work. I flew from Cape May, New Jersey to a drill ship 100 miles out to sea. I've flow in a glider and a sea plane. Doesn't come close to Alan's or Sealord's likely 1000s of flights in various aircraft, but the glider, helicopter, and sea plane were a lot of fun.
We’ve flown in helicopters twice--once out of the canyon after jet skiing in New Zealand, and the other to the top of a glacier in Alaska for a glacier hike. Both were great experiences. We had planned to do both helicopter excursions in Hawaii, but they will have to wait until January 2023--when the Kauai excursion is included (rather than an extra) on the Best of Hawaii tour.
Only heli ride I've done was on the Aus/NZ tour through the mountains of Queenstown. It was great. I got to sit up front next to the pilot, so no obstructed views. Only disappointment was he didn't have The Ride of the Valkyries playing.
BKMD and jan_page522 -- I took that helicopter ride outside Queenstown, too. As I watched the helicopters approach us over the mountains, to pick us up, the theme from M.A.S.H. kept running through my head.
Several years ago on Kauai we did the helicopter tour that landed at Jurassic Falls. At that time there was only one operator that had approval to make that landing. The rest of it was quite similar to others, flying up the canyon, out over the Na Pali coast and returning down the middle of the island. It was worth it for sure.
It has been awhile, but I have been on all of islands with Tauck in the past. I did helicopter flights of Kauai and Maui (enjoyed them both) and I also really tried hard to do another helicopter flight of The Big Island but due to the way wind was blowing and the volcano active, that particular helicopter flight was cancelled all day on my free day. I guess that the only option for me then was to see the volcano by sea but since I get seasick, I opted not to do so. In regard to the Kauai helicopter flight, after seeing how close those helicopters were during the filming of Jurassic Park on Kauai and hoping that our flights would do the same, but no, I guess that would have been "too risky" for those commercial helicopters to do so. The two helicopter flights were only OK but nothing spectacular (considering the money it cost me IMHO. :-) ) AshvEd was very fortunate and lucky to do so; if I had the option back then, I would have done so too! :-)
Looks like they still do Jurassic Falls. https://www.islandhelicopters.com
I agree with British comment above about some folks being obsessed with taking photos to the detriment of others; on one of my Tauck tours (Polar Bears in Manitoba, Canada), something similar happened. Sigh. Unfortunately, it is what it is. Sigh.
Just returned from this lovely tour. The first 2 hour flight does zoom over the volcanoes, and folks who took it said they could still see fires in the eye, something you cannot see from earth's rim. They loved it, attested by a zillion photos. The second, on Kuai, was 45 minutes and also got rave reviews. We had opted to do some other things that were not covered on the tour on these days. One factor to consider about the heli is the time, as it is basically a half day, when including the getting there and back.
On Kauai, my wife and I went ziplining. Another activity run by the same outfit was an inner tube/raft float on the old hand-dug sugar cane irrigation canals that remain from the heyday of sugar plantations in the 1800 and 1900s. Digging in the rocky lava soil must have been very difficult. Water still flows down and pushes you along the canals, some of which go through a few hand dug tunnels- we didn't have time for that, besides, my wife "just knew" there would be spiders in the tunnels!