Sunshine Helicopters

AVOID! For $ 500 per person times four guests, this company is a nightmare! Disorganized. Clueless. The most untrained, rude person we have ever encountered handles customer service, both on the telephone and at the helipad. We were bumped three times during our week’s stay (necessitating cancellation of other fun tours like ziplining down the mountain) then only two of us were «granted» a spot for their 1.6-hour helicopter tour. Spent almost an hour hanging around their helipad waiting — they tell you to arrive WAY before the take-​off time. No offer of «upgrade to 1^st class,» which we would have paid for. A major disappointment — AVOID, or you will waste your days dealing with the problems this company causes.

So very awesome… mother nature is breath taking of course but it was really the service and our pilot. So pleasant and knowledgeable and friendly. Love them.

First time on a helicopter and it was exhilarating. Shane was a great pilot and gave great facts during the flight. The check in and ground staff were so friendly, I felt like ohana. Shane made me feel safe and in capable hands. Highly recommend Sunshine, you will see sights you cannot see from land or sea. It’s well worth the price.

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

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.

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.

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!

Go for the volcano and waterfall tour. You get to see parts you normally would not have access to. Instead of having an anti-​climatic circle island tour where you see a little bit of smoke and are stuck on a bus for 12 hours, you actually get to see lava and several waterfalls from the air. The pilot will lean the helicopter in both directions so everyone gets a good view of all the sights. If you are prone to motion sickness, take a pill or wear the wrist bands on your flight. You only get to bring sunglasses, camera and phone on airplane mode on board. Water is the only beverage you are allowed to bring on. They have a vending machine to buy beverages. They provide a locker with a key for everything else you bring with you. Wear dark colors, no patterns or whites because they reflect badly and your reflection will be in everyone’s photos (not cool man in all white sitting in the front). They will take your picture in front of the helicopter before your flight. You can purchase the photo when you get back in a frame or without. There are 4 seats in the back, 2 seats in the front (upgrade if you can afford to do so, it’s worth it). I recommend doing the first one in the morning since the weather is typically more cooperative and you have higher visibility. The company itself was great. They have a perfect 26 year safety record and everyone you deal with is super nice. The pilot also gives you some great facts and tells you about the history of the area. Music comes through when he’s not talking so there is no awkward silence. If you only do one tour while you’re on the big island, do this one.

Great experience all the way. Our first attempt was cancelled, but they rescheduled to another day and the flight was wonderful. Good helicopter with room (I am very tall). Good pilot with good commentary during the flight. Saw great views of the lava, whales, and waterfalls. My wife got a little sick during the maneuver to see the whales, but quickly recovered. Take the dizzy pills and hitch up for a great ride!

This was one of the best experiences of my life. We took a 2 hour tour of the big island. We saw active volcanos, waterfalls, and even towns destroyed by the volcano. Our pilot, Clayton was knowledgable and clearly passionate about the island. It was super expensive — but it made my whole trip.

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.

Pretty cool. Ground staff was friendly when we arrived and the helicopter was right on time. Our pilot/​guide did a good job pointing things out and narrating along the way, though it wasn’t really a friendly two way chat session (in theory we had mics). The ride can be bumpy particularly when circling over something interesting, if you’re a person who gets motion sick — definitely use a patch or down some dramamine. Fortunately, I read another Unilocaler’s review and took meds an hour before takeoff, saved my butt.
I felt safe most of the time, though when we dipped into a ravine to check out some amazing waterfalls (see pic) the winds knocked us around. The pilot reassured us it was all good, and it obviously was (still here!)… but it’s adrenaline pumping when cliff walls are a few hundred feet away.
Glad I can finally check «helicopter ride» off my bucket list!

We took the trip to view the waterfalls on the north coast. Debbie picked us up at our hotel and was very cordial. They go through a brief safety speech (sort of like what the airlines do) and then we were off. The experience in a helicopter is amazing. The views are incredible and the perspectives are visible only from a helicopter. I was seated in the front (opposite the pilot) so I had the advantage of being able look out both to the front and to the side. Our pilot, Grant, was knowledgable and told us about the history of islands. The trip was well worth it.

Not as heavily advertised at Blue Hawaiian, but cheaper and just as great. We has front seats in an EcoWhisper helicopter, and toured the Kohala coast. I can’t believe how close we got to the waterfalls! The pilot was also very accommodating, and if someone had a question about something they saw, he’d just fly over and let everyone take a look. I had expected it to be «on rails», so that was a nice surprise.

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).