Amazing Helicopter Tours

Every year some 300,000 visitors come to Kauai and take a helicopter tour. No other island can make that claim. And for good reason. A helicopter tour of Kauai is an extraordinary experience that can't be matched anywhere else.

From a helicopter, the ageless beauty of the island's rugged interior comes into full perspective, leaving many flat-out speechless. Kauai is an island where nature has blanketed the terrain with lush waterfall-fed valleys, arid, multihued canyons and spectacular, sculpted cliffs that rise 4,000 feet from the ocean. At the top of the island, in a helicopter, the sheer magnitude of nature's handiwork comes into view.

Kauai's vast wilderness, which has remained largely untouched for millions of years, is defined by steep, cloud-capped canyons, deep ravines and acres of uninhabitable rain forest. Rising out of the wilderness is Mt. Wai'ale'ale, a 5,148-foot extinct volcano visible from many places on the island. Known as the wettest spot on Earth, Wai'ale'ale has a mean annual rainfall of 476 inches per year.

The mountain's valley is an awesome sight, one that cannot be experienced any other way than in a helicopter. Typically, you will enter the valley near the end of your tour. As the helicopter enters the valley, your pilot may try to prepare you for what is to come. That's not possible.

In the valley a light rain or mist may be falling, which means everywhere you turn there will be waterfalls cascading down the 3,000-foot cliffs. Now and then, the helicopter will hover before a unique geographic or mythical site and the pilot, like a guide standing before a masterpiece in an art museum, will fill in the details. Noise-canceling headphones wipe out the roar of the helicopter rotors. Music, like the soundtrack from a movie, sets the mood. And the narrator, that is your pilot, guides you skillfully into what many describe as a mystical experience.

Tours are conducted daily and subject to weather conditions. Flight time ranges from 30-90 minutes, but if you're not in the air for at least 50 minutes, you'll regret it. Most tours depart from the Lihu'e Airport. Heli USA departs from both Princeville and Lihue and Ni'ihau Helicopters departs from Port Allen.