Pacific Helicopters Hawai’i — Attraction in Maui

If you are serious about taking a great helicopter flight please read the entire review. I have tried to be frugal with my words but that was a challenge trying to convey how great our flight was.

We have taken about 10 helicopter rides prior to this one but this was by far the best. My wife is a helicopter "freak" and she only wants to go "doors off" so Pacific Helicopter was the best choice! They fly the R-44 which is perfect for 2 passengers in the back and a 3rd in the front, if there is one, but with our flight it was just the two of us so we both sat in the back with an open door for both of us. We have been to Maui many times but never over to Molokai so we took the hour flight over the West Maui north shore and across the channel to Molokai. The weather was perfect for our flight with the trade winds basically non-existent. This allowed us to go into valleys and visit majestic waterfalls that sometimes are not accessible when the trade winds are blowing. To say the views were magnificent is a huge understatement.

Aside from the venue the best thing about our flight was our pilot Matt. 18 years+ experience flying all kinds of helicopters and it showed. The flight was very intimate with just him and the two us. The thing we have experienced before is the "bored pilot" that does these flights day after day and you can tell they are trying to be engaged. With Matt it was clear he really loves to fly and never gets tired of the beauty and majesty of these places he takes you. It was apparent he enjoys sharing this with his passengers. We felt like we were flying with a good friend and not just our pilot for the hour we were in the air. It was not only the conversation and information he shared but also the fantastic way he flew, safe but exhilarating, as we followed ridge lines up the valleys and hovered near the falls. My wife asked if we would see any animals and Matt said probably not due to air speed and tree canopy. He mentioned the largest animals were wild pigs and the Axis deer that had been introduced to the islands but not seen very often. We were egressing from a beautiful valley and waterfall and approaching to cross the crest of a ridge line into another valley at what seemed like about 15 to 20 feet above the trees. There directly in front of us were three Axis deer just standing on the ridge line. They of course scattered as they were just as surprised to see us as we were them! I can't enough about Matt and the best flight ever! FLy with Pacific Helicopter Tours and Matt and you will remember it for...

AHH! So I managed to find out about this helicopter tour thanks to a youtuber who reviewed his trip to Hawaii, he mentioned that this was a doors off excursion that was one of the only that allowed you to bring your own cameras. Now this was my first trip to Hawaii so I booked the Hana rainforest and waterfalls tour - not realizing we would be doing the road to Hana tour the day before, so the morning of I called Kasey the manager who was more than happy to rebook us for the same time that day for the Molokai and west Maui waterfalls excursion instead with our pilot Matt.

He was actually so happy that we decided to do the Molokai tour instead as he said there were much better scenery to view over that way so I'm really happy I asked to swap!! He took us over the island over that way and showed us some incredible waterfalls and valleys also making sure he was turning and tilting the helicopter so both my friend and I got some outstanding pictures and videos to take home and remember from this experience, honestly the one of the best experiences of my life to date and I would never hesitate to do this one again.

Matt was such a friendly and funny pilot/guide and clearly loves what he does for work which put us at ease - I'm afraid of heights but I put my fear aside when booking because I just knew it was going to be absolutely fantastic and I my expectations were immensely blown away and exceeded. When back on the ground we just wanted to cry, I absolutely loved this experience and would recommend it to anybody thinking of doing a helicopter tour and more so, especially with Pacific Helicopter Adventure tours.

Remember a warm top! It does get a little chilly up there - the adrenaline does counteract the cold but I would wear one anyway!

Next time I make my way to Hawaii - which will be sooner rather than later - I would love to book the 3 Island combo tour.

This company is worth every...

We were back and forth on text regarding some details. Kamille was my contact person before the tour. She was able to tell me what times had the best lighting and so we opted for the 8:45 tour. Our tour guide was Lawrence. He was nice and informative. The tour was doors off but we felt safe through out. We did the 45min west maui waterfall tours. The water falls weren't grand and jetting down like in videos or pictures but being up there in with the lush green scenery and flying over valleys was thrilling. I honestly felt like this was enough. Maybe the molokai tour that they offer would have better waterfalls if that's really important to you. Another thing to note is when you're over the ocean it's warm but as you get into the valleys and above the forest it definitely requires layers to stay warm. This was May 7th and temps in Kahalui were in the 80s. They ask that you arrive 30 min earlier because they expect that you will have trouble finding it. That was the case for us. Both google maps and apple maps was not able to bring us to the location. It Brought us to paths that had a gate that blocked access. my advice would be to ask for more detailed verbal instructions from them directly.

When both google and apple failed us. These were the directions that got us to our destination "you folks should be less than 10min away. you just need to head back to the main intersection. Hana and Haleakala and take a right towards Kahului heliport. do not turn into the heliport you want to take another right at the stop sign outside of the heliport. follow that road all the down till you see the fire station"

Aside from the sunset on healakala this was one of the better experience in maui. Would definitely recommend and do it earlier...