Safari Helicopters

We drive 2 hours here, and they told us the flight is cancel. My son is very disappointed!

Our friends went on a Safari Volcano tour for their honeymoon and told us it was the only helicopter tour to call during our recent trip to the big Island. We were SO happy with the friendly staff and the AMAZING pilot! Katie was a pro, so friendly and accommodating. I am very prone to motion sickness, and Katie managed to make the flight smooth enough for me while ensuring the rest of the group still saw the most amazing sights. Safe and fun, an amazing experience. Maholo to all!

Our pilot, Katie, who seemed new but was extremely informative and took us through various volcanoes and lava strems. She was also very methodical and calm pilot with slow maneuvers while showing us scenes. She also made sure that all the passengers were able to see the sights by going through the scenes atlest two times from different sides. Dave was descriptive snd provided us detailed security procedure. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

Weather cooperated and we got in a nice flight over the flow areas of Puu Oo volcano. Check out the recent history of it’s activity here (Wikipedia:
). We saw smoke rising along the 2014 lava flow (in East Rift Zone). Brush fires still burned along the advancing edge of the flow and hot lava spots (orange, quickly turning to silver) flowed at one point, indicating lava is present in lava tubes below the surface. We were lucky to see these lava hot spots, judging from some previous comments here. The pilot claimed he always saw lava – but the company does not guarantee it.
Our tour also included some water-​fall fly overs. These seemed rather anti-​climactic after the volcanic activity we’d just witnessed. I would have prefered to stay in the area of the volcanic activity a little longer, possibly moving back and forth in the area more slowly, thus helping to avoid nausea that can creep in for some folks during that bit? Also, unlike these lava flows which are accessibly only by air, you can access several water falls from Hilo by car. Rainbow Falls and Boiling Pots are just a few minutes west of Hilo.
This company seemed efficient and customer friendly. Thank-​you Safari Helicopters!

This is just for the customer service! I had call an hour earlier & advised Safari Helicopter that I had 4-​people & we wanted to do the Volcano tour. They stated the entire plane had to be filled or for 4– people to fly we had to pay for all 6 seats! Wow. Pay for seats we weren’t going to sit in. We went with paradise helicopters instead.

We had a great pilot who gave us a lot of information about the volcanos and waterfalls as well as the areas around them. Everyone at Safari was friendly and they stayed on schedule without being rushed. GOOD Outfit!

Not the experience a family would want. We had booked a volcano ride for our last day on the Big Island — Safari reviews seemed positive and were pleasant on the phone & confirmed the day before. On arrival — terrible service and shady workers that I would not trust my family’s safety with.
As the last trip of the day for them (and not full) employee Dave told us that they may cancel it, but would know when the pilot returned. When we asked why — Dave changed his answers several times and ended up saying «radio difficulties» with the pilot… which the pilot radioed in. He assured me it would be resolved by the next day, but «impossible to repair today as parts have to come in from another island».
His dishonesty and multiple changing stories through our 20 minute conversation convinced us that we would never trust Safari with our lives. Extremely shifty company and likely better options for your helicopter tour. The employees there said that «since we weren’t charged everything was fine», but definitely was not fine as our 7 and 9 year olds could not do what they had waited a year to experience. We made a big mistake choosing someone as unreliable as Safari.

My family and I went to the Big Island of Hawaii with one goal in mind: to explore volcanoes as much as we could. Part of that exploration would include aerial views of the volcano, lava, and destruction. Safari offered the most value at the time that we booked it, and overall, I was happy with the experience. My family on the other hand, was not so thrilled.
We arrived and got our safety brief which was short and sweet. We were then geared up and waited on the flight line for our helicopter to return so we could hop on. While we were sitting there, we also observed the Blue Hawaii fleet of helicopters, which appear to be more modern. Safari just has one helicopter, so they are a more simple operation that only allows them to fly one family at once. It’s kind of nice because you have their undivided attention.
My family was composed of five people and we had an additional passenger ride with us for a total of six passengers + the pilot. It was cool. We explored forests that were currently on fire from the lava, we saw lots of lava fields, and neighborhoods that were decimated from lava. We also flew over the coast to see where the lava had once flowed into the ocean. Lava was not flowing at the time of our visit, but it was still cool to see the contrast of the black lava meet with the sapphire-​blue ocean waters.
Our only complaints came from the fact that the ride was not very smooth and our pilot’s microphone was waaaay too loud. Everyone in my family got nauseous except for me and the hubby. I felt so guilty because it was my idea to do the helicopter tour and everyone got sick. Additionally, no one briefed us about the microphones available on the helicopter, so we didn’t know we could speak to the pilot to ask questions. The main issue with this is that the pilot’s microphone was so loud our ears were rumbling the entire time. I alternated taking one headphone off at a time so I could give my ears some relief. Once we landed, we told the receptionist about it, and she said «oh you could’ve have told him through your microphones.» I let her know that no one told us about the microphones, so we were disappointed in that.
Overall, we got to see some cool stuff because let’s face it, riding in a helo is awesome and you gain access to sites you can’t get to on foot or car. Would I do it again? Probably not, but I’m glad I did it this once.

Amazing! Seeing the lava via helicopter was spectacular. I had never ridden in a helicopter before, and, frankly, I was nervous. The Safari staff made me feel very comfortable, assured that the ride was safe. Our operator was very knowledgeable, both with the helicopter and in his Hawaiian history. The entire thing was fun. I highly recommend this tour to anyone of any age.

Great experience. The tour was fun and very interesting. Our pilot was very knowledgeable about not only the volcano, but the surrounding areas.
I do wish they had done a pass of the coast line, but overall, I highly recommend going on this tour.

We were disappointed. We bought the most expensive tour they offered and expected to fly to where the lava flows reached the ocean and over the largest of the calderas, but we didn’t. We only saw a few instances of lava popping up from the ground. I would use a different helicopter company next time.

Nov. 3, 2013
On a cruise from San Francisco to Hawaii roundtrip we heard about a helicopter tour in Hilo that covered an active volcano and waterfalls. We were with another couple and the helicopter carried 6 passengers. My wife was VERY apprehensive as she doesn’t even like flying in a plane! Let me tell you, we had an AMAZING experience. The helicopter takes off very smoothly and the ride had very few ‘bumps’. The scenery was amazing! We actually saw hot spots (glowing red) on the ground where lava was oozing out. It truly was one of the best tours we have ever taken. My wife was actually dissappointed when she saw we were heading back to the airport. All 4 of us would definitely recommend this tour company as the pilot was full of interesting information on things we were seeing. He made sure that people on both sides of the helicopter were able to see all the interesting spots… and there were plenty! I might mention that the ‘waterfalls’ were less than spectacular, but the volcanos were so tremendous… who cares!

Not as epic as I hoped it to be but it was still an awesome experience. (Lava + Waterfall). Not the fault of the company or crew, just mother nature I suppose. The pilot did his best with what was out there and had some great stories to share but I didn’t get to see flowing lava.
I would recommend if you have the means and have never seen lava fields before. It was cool to see the destruction caused by the lava as well as some cooled lava fields and a few breakouts/​cones.

Great option for a helicopter tour of Big Island, and the best value we could find. The pilot (Gardner) was extremely informative and personable, and you could tell how much he really cared about the history of the island.
Ride was really smooth and view of the lava fields was awesome. Only knock was that the latter portion with the river and waterfalls was a bit underwhelming.

Unique experience that we cherish!
Credit to Safari for canceling the flight on the first day due to rain. They took the risk of losing us by canceling due to the weather and offering a slot the following day. Our entire family of five REALLY enjoyed the flight and the insights about the volcano and life on the island that our pilot shared with us. We were lucky to see freshly blown off cinder cones and very fresh lava flows, some of them still orange. You can tell that the pilot is passionate about the ever changing volcano. We would definitely chose Safari again and also got the DVD, it’s well worth it (standard resolution).

My second time to fly with Safari. First time was in Kauai. They owntheir own helicopters and have a spotless saftey record. So when i saw they fly out of Hilo, i did a quick compare, but Safari was an easy choice. Dave preps everyone for the trip. Capt A.J. is extremely knowledgable and experienced. He makes certain everyone aboard gets a chance to see the sights!

A very smooth ride! Very nice staff. The staff used our cameras to take pictures and didn’t sell us their pictures. Very nice.
Very knowledgable pilot. All class. Great ride, worth the cost, highly recommended.

So this was my first time in a helicopter, and my husband and I were super excited about seeing the volcano and lava so I couldn’t wait to go up.
The staff was definitely nice and helpful.
I didn’t really expect so many people would be in the helicopter. There were four people in the back, two in the front, plus the pilot. It was a little cramped. The pilot was really informative.
Just don’t be decieved by the amazing looking pictures that all the companies show on their brochures and websites. They make it seem like you’re going to see tons of flowing lava spurting up, when in actuality there’s not much to see. If you hike through Volcanoes National Park you can get a good perspective of the volcanoes and craters as well.
Of course the views of the waterfalls and Hawaiian landscape are gorgeous, but again those are things you can do without going up in a helicopter.
Yes, there is a disclaimer that says that there is not always flowing lava, but I was definitely disappointed with what we saw. Not Safari’s fault though, but something all the tourists should be aware of.

Awesome trip! I took my girlfriend on a helicopter ride and it was her first time doing so. We both had a blast.
This was so much fun. We flew right over the Kileau crater and saw lava oozing from the crater. they say you may not see lava, but we did and it was cool. It would have been worth the price just for the awesome helicopter ride, which is an amazing experience.
We also got to see the massive destruction that the eruptions have caused. They have wiped out entire neighborhoods and left nothing but cooled lava in their path.
Our pilot was a great tour guide. We found Safari to have the lowest prices on the island.
Definitely recommend this trip!

This tour of waterfalls and Kiluea volcano was amazing. Pilot Will, flying helicopters since 1966. Very safe, knowledgeable, fun. We got a DVD of our tour after. Glad we went. Highly recommended!