Mauna Loa Helicopter Tours - Oahu — Local services in Honolulu

Traffic through Waikiki was horrible with all of the construction! We left about an hour and 15 minutes before our scheduled slot and still ended up rushing on Nimitz and Lagoon Dr. If there's construction going on when you're visiting, make sure to get there extra, super, early, just in case. Better early than to forfeit your fee!

We took a private, mid-day flight on a Saturday (the day between both of our birthdays) and planned on getting back to have lunch. We arrived about five minutes late but the flight before us was just walking back into the building. They had some rainy weather and had to take an alternate route. Malia greeted us in the office. After they said their farewells to the last group, we were also informed of a storm blowing in and were offered either an alternate route which we were shown on the computer, or to reschedule. We accepted the alternate route because it would fly over several of the houses that we lived in.

They had us watch a video, place our items in the provided lockable safe, and gave me a phone holder to use with a handle and a wrist strap for my "t-rex" arms (mentioned in the video). They led us out to a golf cart and drove us to meet our pilot and the helicopter. Both Malia and our pilot Hunter removed the doors and then offered to take our photo with our phone. Hunter gave us the rundown and then we were off!

Hunter gave us the option for guided or unguided. We chose guided but I think we guided them as much as they did us :D To be honest, for me, the flight was the highlight and the views were a bonus. However, it was pretty cool to see the island like this. We skirted around Waikiki, Diamond Head, Koko Head, etc., all along the shoreline. The view was beautiful and the ride was smooth, but to be honest, I was hoping for some excitement.

Then Hunter came over the com and said that we were going to cut through. They warned us that it might get bumpy because of the rain and wind. Here was the excitement I was hoping for!

We had to fly slightly sideways a few times. And we had double rainbow circles under us off and on. SO COOL!

We dipped in and out, and through the valleys, through some more wind and rain, and banked here and there (my fav). We asked if Hunter knew the Stairway to Heaven and they said they would see if they could get us close to it. Not only did they get us close, but they gave one side (hubby) a view and then spun around in the tight valley to give me a view, too! It was a bumpy ride but exhilarating! It was raining pretty good and there was a small opening where the cliffs dipped down and we could see blue sky on the other side. Hunter flew the bird sideways (my side dipped down) against the wind to punch through it. It was SO cool!

We thought that we were only going to fly over Nanakuli (one of our houses) and then head back, but we went all the way up the Westside until we couldn't go anymore (military - Peacock Flats). We flew over our houses in Waianae Homestead and Makaha. As well as saw our family houses in Makakilo, Kunia, and Aiea Loop Trail (the ranger).

The flight kept going and going. I didn't time it, but it seemed longer than an hour. I'm not sure.

We headed back and landed smoothly. Hunter had to stop the blades a little faster for me cause I would have had to give him an extra cleaning tip! Maile came out early to get us because it started to rain. Good thing, too, cause I had to lua so bad!

Mahalos to you both! Malia - for the attention and care you gave us before and after the flight...and for getting me to the bathroom in time! Hunter - for the awesome &...

My wife and I booked the Oahu Experience VIP Private Tour in advance for two at USD$380 each and added extra USD$40 for photo and video that is scheduled for the weekend. The tour is a 60-minute door-off helicopter ride round the island of Oahu. The total cost of USD$848, excluding tips for the pilot Robin, is reasonable in comparison, and Mauna Loa Helicopter Tours has a clean safety flying record and an academy that provides flight training, as well. The booking of the tour is done online, and payment can be by credit card. We were advised to take our own transport to the airport and to arrive at least half an hour before the tour starts, which we did with Uber ride, but the Saturday tour has to be postponed due to poor weather and the office did not managed to contact us before our arrival for the afternoon flight. Anyway, we finally took the tour on Monday afternoon with the pilot Robin, who was steady at the controls as a trainer himself and who also explained to us the places of interest during the tour. Before the flight we were given to watch the video and safety briefing and to remove stuff from our bodies that could pose a problem with the wind during the flight. We were given a locker to secure our belongings, safety gears, and given a handheld device that has a firm grip on the mobile phone for ease of handling and for taking shots. I could see my wife enjoying the tour, as she chose to be seated at the front besides the pilot. It was indeed an exhilarating experience although the route could have been better as certain places we could see only mountain of trees, instead of the beautiful beaches along the coastlines, among others. The flight over Waikiki was pretty fast and was over before we could take any shots of the beach, as we get ourselves adjusted and settled in to the helicopter ride. We found the extra USD$40 for photo and video rather excessive (and not worth spending on), since photography is taken only with the helicopter, which we could similarly have beautiful shots taken from the mobile phones, which we did as well, and the video is more of a overview of the tour than what we were actually viewing and experiencing during the helicopter tour. There is no transport available other than by Uber or Lyft rides and the cost can be rather prohibitive (excessive). So, we chose to walk about 30-minutes to the main road where we took TheBus, since we did not drive, to visit the Ko Olina lagoons, which was indeed a sight to behold during sunset and not to be missed. Personally, I thought Mauna Loa Helicopter Tours could do more to make the tour more memorable, since such tours are costly for most people. Also, to install a WhatsApp for ease of communication with foreign passengers who may face difficulty in communicating with the office through the mobile phone, like we did...

During my visit to Honolulu, my friend suggested we take a helicopter tour. I’ve been on helicopters before (military & civilian) but never in Hawaii so I figured it would be fun. I checked online and found several places, Mauna Loa Helicopters had a great rating on TripAdvisor so I chose them. I booked the tour $415.08 per person for April 14, 2024 @ 3:45. It was a nice day, so I was excited about getting some great pictures, a couple of hours before the flight a woman (Milea – spelling could be wrong) from the office called to say they needed to cancel because of forecasted inclement weather. I thought that was strange since the weather was beautiful. I rescheduled for Tuesday, April 16, 2024 @ 3:45. I called two hours before the flight because it had been windy and overcast all day but Milea said there was no plan to cancel the flight. My friend and I took an Uber and arrived 30 minutes before the flight as required. We watched a safety video and Milea took us to the helicopter in a golf cart. She and the pilot put the doors back on the helicopter as we were doing a doors on tour. Shortly after taking off the pilot pointed out that a small private passenger plane crashed on Oahu earlier that day, then she proceeded to take pictures of the wreckage with her iPhone. This was a bit disconcerting, I don’t want my Uber driver texting so I certainly didn’t like my helicopter pilot taking pictures while flying. The pilot mentioned several points of interest during the flight but as I mentioned earlier it was overcast so I didn’t get a good look at a lot of the locations. The helicopter which was much older than the aircraft in the pictures on their site started to shake during the flight and sounded like it was going to stall. It started to rain (drizzling not heavy rain at all) which I could see on the windshield and feel on my hands in the helicopter. Our flight lasted 48 minutes as I started a timer when we took off. As soon as we returned to the office Melia rushed us out and as we waited in the parking lot for our Uber we saw her drive away without so much as an Aloha or Mahalo. I would not use this company again and I told 4 friends who are going to Hawaii in the next couple of months to avoid this business. They had great reviews which is why I chose them but things have obviously changed because we didn’t have a good experience. PROS: Departed on time CONS: Tour did not last 60 minutes as advertised Helicopter was not what we expected Pilot was not...