Air Kauai — Local services in Kauai

Air Kauai provided a fun and safe experience for my husband and I. We booked a private tour with the doors off. We've never taken a helicopter tour and I was nervous, but the pilot, Solis, was so professional and put our mind at ease with his 20 years of flying experience, and his clear love of flying as well as Kauai. He provided so much information about the island, and even took us by sites we wanted to visit during our stay on the island. I was worried about motion sickness which I've had parasailing due to the up and down motion. I let Solis know and he checked on me throughout the flight. The ride was steady and I never once felt sick. He prepared us for any motion due to the wind conditions, which wasn't often. He was very knowledgeable about how various weather conditions affected the helicopter which made me feel even more at ease. The doors off is a must! Unobstructed magnificent views! I was anticipating feeling unsafe when we turned, or if there was any shaking due to winds, but that was not the case at all. If my body moved at all, it's because I was leaning over my husband to get a good photo! It is windy so wear pants and a sweatshirt. I had my hair in a ponytail, but I lost about 10 strands of hair when I removed the headset, so really secure your hair if you don't want to deal with that. No hats allowed, but you can wear sunglasses. I can't gush enough over the scenery you'll see. The Napali Coast, and the Wai'ale'ale Crater at the center of the island. Truly incredible! The staff is so kind and helpful. We spoke with them prior to the trip which was helpful. Their building sits behind FedEx. You can't see the building from the main road, but you can call them and they'll guide you. Thank you to the entire team at Air Kauai, especially our talented...

rate 2.3 stars this is a camera not friendly company at the time we were there in Oct 2023, it may change now (hopefully), if you are using cell phone camera then ignore this review and refer to other 4~5 stars reviews, but be aware 1) it's a 6 passengers + pilot helicopter at time we were there, seating in middle seats especially two middle back seats, are very difficulty to have a clear frame to take photos. 2) the beautiful Na Pali coastline can be heavily shadowed by rising sun in early morning flight like we did.

my wife and I booked 8am door off tour in the office two day before our ride, we've been told that 1) guaranty one door seat 2) one device only either a cell phone or camara with neck strap for each person, etc... but on the day in final preparation before on board, I've been arranged in back middle seat just because I have a "big camera" Sony a7iii with a 2870 lens.

i still don't know the reasons for this unspoken cameras rule ~ it could be for military security? or just business owner's preference? ... and I'm totally fine with all these reasons if I've been informed before booking the tour.

1. for the untransparent/ ambiguous/unspoken camera rule: deducted 2.5 stars.
2. the lanyard provided by Air Kauai to secure the cell phone was a little loose, after one holding corner came off, my wife's cell phone was almost blown away during flight: deducted 0.2 star here.

p.s. we had a door off helicopter tour in Purnululu WA in 2022, we were asked to take camera only because of the strong wind during flight, and the company can't guarantee the safety of cell phone even with secure lanyard. now a place next to Honolulu are totally doing opposite. seems ending same "lulu" did not naturally produce...

The pictures really don’t do it justice! Adam was our pilot for the 8am flight on October 1, and it was just breathtaking! I was told the earlier the better as to avoid weird shadows.

On the drive over to our helicopter, I saw some of the other helicopters and noticed that Air Kauai had the largest windows and the largest doors! So it’s really a very huge doors off panel compared to the other planes— meaning more openness for our viewing pleasure for the folks in the front and the back. I had a front row door seat, my husband had the middle seat. I was able to see just about everything from my side, and so was he, though I think taking photos was more difficult from the middle seats but just as beautiful sites. I normally do get motion sickness, but found that the wind was helpful, the views were a great distraction, and focusing on the horizon line did the trick. I felt like we saw all the best parts of the island from the sky. If you spend money on anything in Kauai, it should be this! You won’t regret it! There were some bits where it was cloudy and rainy but I feel like those portions were the most beautiful. Don’t let the weather stop you.

The staff also mentioned that in the winter you can see whales in the ocean! They were not in season during our trip so we didn’t see any unfortunately but still...