2 h

VIP

Sunset & Sunrise

About this activity

After hotel pickup, head to the Kona airport to begin your VIP helicopter tour over the Big Island. When you arrive, enjoy a traditional lei greeting and glass of Champagne to mark the occasion. Then board your comfortable Bell 407 helicopter and take off, heading north to fly over the secluded beaches and lava fields along the Kona, Kohala and Hamakua coasts. Throughout the tour, listen to commentary from your pilot, who you can communicate with via your two-way headset.

Next, fly to the far side of the Kohala Mountains to look down on a series of lush hidden valleys, and then cruise down to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to hover over Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on Earth, and Kilauea, the most active of the Big Island’s volcanoes. By this time, the sun will have fallen behind the mountains, allowing you to spot the glowing lava more easily and admire the magma lake in Halema'uma'u Crater.

Continue to the southern tip of the Big Island, passing over the black-sand beach of Punalu’u and the green-sand beach of Papakolea, two of Hawaii’s most striking stretches of coastline. Round the tip of the island and head back north along the west coast, flying over Pu’uhonua ‘o Honaunau National Historic Park, which once served as a refuge for ancient Hawaiians who broke a law. As you fly from the park to Kealakekua Bay, a couple of miles north, the sun begins to set, creating quite a show.

Watch the sky turn shades of yellow, orange, red and purple, and keep your eyes peeled for the rare flash of green that appears on the horizon when the conditions are just right. When the sky finally turns dark, return to the airport, from where you’ll be transferred back to your hotel.

Flight time is approximately two hours; total duration is approximately three hours including the check-in and pre-departure process.

Read more Show less

Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off from select hotels ONLY
2-hour helicopter flight
Champagne toast
Lei greeting

Not included

Food and drinks, unless specified
Gratuities

Additional

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 7 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Wheelchair accessible - if assistance is required, passenger must provide their own caregiver
Capacity Surcharge: All guests weighing between 265 and 315 lbs will be assessed a Capacity Surcharge of $50. The guest will be guaranteed a window seat.
Guests weighing above 315 lbs. at check-in will be charged for an extra seat for weight and balance purposes. The rate of the extra seat will be determined by the specific tour that they are booked on. This cost is calculated by adding an additional seat to the one that has already been purchased.
A maximum of 6 people per booking
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund

Features

Original

95%

Tourism

95%

Adrenaline

80%

Cultural

30%

Reviews

4.5

4

G

Gloria F

4 | 2017-01-12

Jamie met us and took us to a private room where we sipped champagne and received a flower lei. Jorg, our pilot, gave us a safety talk. The Big Island has some beautiful scenery. I especially enjoyed flying over the waterfalls, volcanoes, whales and macadamia nut plantation. The Vog, volcanic smog, was quite thick and kept us from seeing some things clearly. I did get a good shot of the lava flowing into the ocean. This tour was a birthday gift from one of my son's. Jamie and Kay, staff members for Paradise Tours, were very accommodating and made me feel special, giving me a birthday card at the end of the tour along with another glass of champagne. The process of setting up the tour was easy and we were contacted several times, to reconfirm and answer questions. A 6 seat helicopter is problematic as two of the seats face backward and the seats opposite are very close. The middle seat facing forward is not the best for taking pictures. These are my reasons for not giving them a five rating. Anyone with claustrophobic tendencies would not do well.

r

rodneynyland

4 | 2016-10-31

Saw many waterfalls, and lava.

Collections This experience is part of these collections