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We were beyond excited for our Kauai helicopter tour with Mauna Loa. As the day went on, we were getting nervous that bad weather would interfere with our plans, but as is usually our luck, weather karma was on our side!

Kauai Helicopter Tour

When 4 o’clock rolled around, we headed into the bus that was Mauna Loa’s temporary office. We signed our lives away on the consent form, paid the equivalent of a half-month’s rent and got ready for our adventure!

Kauai Helicopter Tours

Chris was our pilot who went over the safety protocols with us and before we knew it, we were in flight!

Forget Someday Helicopter Tour Kauai

Because we decided to do the doors-off tour, it was super cold and ridiculously windy! Although I pulled my hair back in a ponytail, it got wrecked! (See my ‘after flight’ photo below!) Following our tour, it literally took me hours and lots of conditioner to get all of the knots out!

Messy hair helicopter tour

Despite that, the ride was amazing!

Kauai Hawaii helicopter tour

We covered the entire island!

Kauai Hawaii helicopter tourKauai Hawaii helicopter tour

We flew through canyons…

Kauai Hawaii helicopter tourKauai Hawaii helicopter tour

by waterfalls…

Kauai WaterfallKauai waterfalls

over beaches…

Kauai coast beachKauai coast
over reefs…

Kauai reef

through valleys…

Kauai Hawaii helicopter tour

in craters…

Kauai Hawaii helicopter tour

and along the Na Pali Coast

Na Pali Coast Kauai HawaiiNa Pali Coast Kauai HawaiiNa Pali Coast Kauai helicopter tourNa Pali Coast Kauai Helicopter tour

We specifically picked the 4:30 pm tour, because they said it would be best for lighting on the Na Pali Coast. The lighting did not disappoint! I took hundreds of photos and videos! Sam had the GoPro, so he took a bunch of videos as well!

Na Pali Coast Kauai Hawaii
Our private tour lasted about an hour and Chris was sure to point out everything as we flew by/over, making our tour informative and exciting! I took Dramamine prior to our flight and felt fine while we were up there, but once we got back on solid ground, I started to feel a little queasy. We decided it was time to grab some dinner to hopefully calm my unsettled stomach, so we headed to the Mermaid Cafe in Kapa’a.

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27 Comments

  1. loving this post! We took a helicopter ride in Kauai, and it was the most epic thing we’ve ever did. (Found your post via the link you posted on my facebook page!) My post about our flight is actually due to go up tomorrow! About to check out your other Kauai posts! 🙂

    • Can’t wait to read your post! We loved Kauai! So peaceful and beautiful there! Thanks for checking out my site! (We just uploaded the helicopter portion of our vacation video to this post! Enjoy!)

  2. Wow, those pictures are incredible–I love the canyon shot. What a fun experience.

    • Thanks! What I loved about this tour was the variety of landscape we were able to see… beaches, canyons, waterfalls, cliffs, craters, etc. Kauai is one of the most beautiful places in the world to explore! We felt so fortunate to have the opportunity to visit!

  3. wow, those are some INCREDIBLE views!! What a stunning place!! lucky you 😉 now I can live vicariously through your adventures!

  4. Wow, stunning shots! I love the one of the reefs through the water.

  5. Oh my goodness… two dreams of mine in one post. Hawaii is one of my ultimate travel dreams and I have never been on a helicopter. Great photos. Thanks for sharing, you made me daydream.

  6. OMG these pictures truly rock! I’d love to go on a helicopter ride like this. It reminds me of Jurrassic Park.

  7. It looks like you had an amazing helicopter ride with some fabulous memories.

    I’ve only ever once been in a helicopter and that was at Mount Rushmore, amazing views again. I don’t think I’d want to take the ride without the doors on though.

    • Doors off was AMAZING… except for what it did to my hair! (so…much…conditioner…) It truly allowed us to capture incredible images without the interference of glare or reflections from the windows. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, however, I’d wear a tight fitting hat of some sort and tuck my hair inside!

  8. Those views are stunning!! I’ve never even thought of going on a helicopter ride, but after seeing this I’m kind of thinking of giving it a go…

    • A helicopter ride should be on everyone’s bucket list! I’m even slightly afraid of heights, but we rode with the doors off and I never once felt fearful! You just forget about the height and enjoy the scenery!

  9. These photos are absolutely stunning! What an amazing experience that must have been. We actually signed up for a helicopter tour when we were in Kauai, but I got carsick on the drive to the airport so we had to cancel last minute. I think I was just working myself thinking about possibly getting sick on the right. It might have been worth it if it was as beautiful as that!

    • That is awful that you got sick on the way to the airport! Dramamine is a beautiful thing! I didn’t take anything for the flight, but it was interesting… when I got back on land after flying for an hour, I felt a little queasy. I think I just needed to eat… and I did, and felt much better! Well, next time you’re in Kauai, give it another go! Sooooo worth it!

  10. Amazing places and amazing pictures!! Also check this company out, Helicopter Italy, if you want to take an helicopter trip from and to Tuscany, Naples, Capri, Rome, Forte Dei Marmi and so on. Don’t miss the chance!

  11. What an incredible adventure over an incredibly beautiful place.

  12. travel package hawaii

    The Hawaiian islands are an awesome place to vacation. Yes it’s got warm water marvelous beach locations as well as incredible vistas but don’t fool yourself.
    If you’re going and I do not really care if it is just for a couple of days then you better have the fund all set. We thought we had it all covered and the cost for a lot of things still caused our jaws to drop on the floor.

  13. Thank you for sharing such great info! Looks like you had an amazing time. Great pics by the way!

  14. From the writings and photos I can see that you definately had a great helicopter ride over the Kauai island!

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