A Helicopter Tour + Waterfalls experience by Mauna Loa Helicopters. Back to all Big Island tours.
Tour Summary: Waterfalls dropping close to 2,000 feet in valleys you can only reach by air. Your group flies alone, doors on or off, your choice.
Drop down into the hidden valleys carved deep into the Kohala volcano to see waterfalls few other people know. 
Waipiʻo Valley is the first of seven valleys you pass, carved into the windward side of the Kohala volcano. Image credit: Eric Tessmer, source. The windward cliffs between Waipiʻo and Pololū valleys, a stretch reachable only by air or boat. Image adapted from source (by Eric Tessmer). Pololū Valley, the last of the seven valleys, on the far side of the Kohala cliffs. Image adapted from source (by Eric Tessmer).
5 Tour Highlights:
- Seven windward valleys in one flight, Waipiʻo through Pololū, none of them reachable by road
- Waterfalls dropping 1,500 to 2,000 feet down the Kohala walls
- Doors-on or doors-off flight, decided by you, with a guaranteed window seat for every passenger
- A Kona coastline leg over Kua Bay and Makalawena where humpbacks pass through December to April
- Private helicopter, no strangers in the cabin
Important: Total weight per person cannot exceed 285lbs and total group total cannot exceed 700lbs (weights are taken at check-in)
Tour Information:
| Price: | Adult |
|---|---|
| (excluding taxes & fees) | $429 |
Price note: The $429 per-person rate applies to groups of three or four. Smaller groups pay a private-buyout rate: $643.51 per person for two, and $1,287 for a solo flight.
Tour Provider: Mauna Loa Helicopters
Activity: Helicopter Tour + Waterfalls
Tour start time: 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 4 pm
Duration: 60 - 75 minutes
Location: Hamakua Coast
Pick-up available? No
Included: Guaranteed window seat for every passenger and choice of doors-on or doors-off flying
Cancellations: Free cancellation up to 24 hours prior to the flight time. Cancellations or delays to the flight are at pilot’s discretion for safety reasons, which may include inclement weather.
Read more: about helicopter tour in our Big Island helicopter tour guide.
Read more about this helicopter tour
No road reaches the seven windward valleys carved into the Kohala volcano. A helicopter is the only way in, and you get all seven in one flight: Waipiʻo, Waimanu, Honopue, Honokea, Honokane Iki, Honokane Nui, and Pololū.
What guests mention first is the pilots. They fly with people who have never been in a helicopter, talk them through the nerves, and keep narrating the whole way. The valleys come in sequence, each one with waterfalls dropping anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 feet down sheer green walls that no hiking trail or road will ever bring you near. From the air, the scale is what gets people.
After the valleys, the route swings back along the Kona coast over old lava flows and white-sand beaches like Kua Bay and Makalawena. The coastline leg is where the wildlife shows up. January flights have crossed paths with humpback whales, and one March flight tracked a school of roughly fifty dolphins. You fly with a guaranteed window seat for every passenger, and you decide whether the doors stay on or come off.
Doors on or doors off, your call
This is a private flight, exclusive to your group, in a Robinson R44 or R66. It runs 60 - 75 minutes and costs $429. Departure is from Kailua-Kona at 73-310 Uu Street, with check-in 40 minutes before the flight, where they weigh each passenger. The limit is 285 lbs per person and 700 lbs for the group. Booking online needs a minimum of three people, and the helicopter holds four. Ages two and up can fly.
This one is for visitors who have already done Rainbow Falls and ʻAkaka Falls from the ground and want the valleys those overlooks only hint at. It also works for a group of three or four who would rather have the aircraft to themselves than share with strangers.
One thing to decide before you board
If you fly doors-off, the front seat is intense. One first-timer described it as having nothing to hold onto and a free-falling feeling. Thrill-seekers should claim it. Nervous flyers are happier in the back, doors on. Expect a phone call or message before your flight: the pre-flight communication is thorough, and check-in moves fast. If you want the coastline whale sightings, book between December and April, when humpbacks are in Hawaiian waters.
About Mauna Loa Helicopters
Mauna Loa Helicopters has been flying private sightseeing tours since 2006, starting on Kauaʻi and now operating on the Big Island. They fly a Robinson R44 and R66 fleet, and we list them because of two things most operators here do not offer: a guaranteed window seat for every passenger and the choice to fly doors-on or doors-off on the same route. Every flight is private to your group, never shared.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Booking through this page costs you nothing extra and is made directly with Mauna Loa Helicopters. We earn a commission from the operator, not from you, and it is what pays for the research that keeps lovebigisland.com free and free of paid placement. We only list operators we would send a friend to. Details on our affiliate links are here.