Tour Oahu in a Helicopter

It would be a mistake to rely on words to describe a helicopter tour of Oahu. Call it a mythical ride on a magic carpet floating just above a mystical kingdom that emerged millions of years ago from its volcanic origins in the depths of the sea. Call it a page from a James Bond thriller. It's like watching a movie, hitching a ride on a butterfly, or floating along in a dream. It's a multi-sensory experience that cannot be analyzed, digitized or translated into words much more complicated than "Wow!"

On board a helicopter, it's possible to lift off from a heliport, quickly bypass populated areas, and, in minutes, leave civilization behind. Look down and you'll find yourself flying low over deep, impossibly tangled, uninhabitable canyons where inland waterfalls drop hundreds of feet right outside your window.

Now and then, the helicopter will hover before a unique geographic or legendary 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 the experience.

Some helicopter companies offer private tours, which range from short hops to Molokai to longer jaunts to the islands of Molokai, Maui and Hawaii. The Molokai trip takes about two hours and allows passengers to land in the old leprosy colony of Kalaupapa, as well as fly alongside the tallest sea cliffs in the world on the north coast of the island.

The seating configuration in most tour helicopters is similar with two passengers seated up front with the pilot and four more in the seats behind. Because tour helicopters resemble airborn glass bubbles, the view is generally excellent no matter where you sit.