Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [153]
Don’t leave Kauai without seeing it from a helicopter. It’s expensive but worth the splurge. You can take home memories of the thrilling ride up and over the Kalalau Valley on Kauai’s wild North Shore and into the 5,200-foot vertical temple of Mount Waialeale, the most sacred place on the island and the wettest spot on Earth. (And in some cases, you can even take home a video of your ride.) All flights leave from Lihue Airport.
Taking to the Skies—It’s More Than Just a Helicopter Ride
The light on the floor-to-ceiling windshield sparkles dazzlingly. Only the sound of traditional Hawaiian music wafts through the noise-canceling headset as I relax into the plush, comfy seat. Staring at the ground, I notice that it begins to move away, almost like magic, as the helicopter effortlessly rises straight up.
Defying gravity, the high-tech aircraft smoothly glides through the air, like some kind of modern magic carpet. There really is nothing else that can compare to the helicopter’s serene motion of floating. It’s not a rocking sensation like being on a boat, nor the high-speed forward velocity of an airplane, but a gentle drifting.
Helicopter rides over Kauai are more than just a “ride,” but a tour of the island. In fact, the only way to truly see a large percentage of the island is to sail the skies in a helicopter.
“On Kauai, a helicopter is really the only way to see two-thirds of the island because of the remote nature of the terrain,” says Casey Riemer, of Jack Harter Helicopters. “You just can’t see it any other way.”
One of the first questions Hawaii’s helicopter tour operators always get asked is, “How safe is flying in a helicopter?” To which most of them respond that statistically, it is more dangerous driving in your car than it is flying in Hawaii’s helicopter tours.
“Hawaii’s [helicopter tour’s] safety record is quite frankly phenomenal,” states Riemer. In the past decade, Hawaii has only seen a handful of helicopter accidents despite the hundreds of thousands of hours that helicopters are in the sky touring the state.
In addition, the industry not only meets federal safety standards, but most helicopter companies go beyond federal requirements to ensure the safest ride possible.
Safety, as well as the entire helicopter touring industry, is a pricey business. Helicopters are expensive aircraft (costing from $1 million to nearly $2 million); maintenance is very costly (several parts must be replaced every so many flight hours); and the number of personnel necessary for the air-touring business (from the pilot to the mechanics to the dispatchers to the ground personnel to the people who book you) is immense.
The cost of a helicopter tour varies; see below. Yes, it is expensive, but worth every penny for an experience you will remember for a lifetime.
However, don’t choose a helicopter tour company based on price alone. Remember that you get what you pay for, and if you are going to pay a few hundred dollars, you might as well get your money’s worth. (Cheaper is not necessarily better.)
There are ways to save money. Check the Internet. Generally if you book 7 days in advance on the Internet, you can get 10% to 15% off. One company has an Internet discount as high as 40%.
This is one time that you might want to do the investigative work into the tour yourself—if you go to a booking agency, they may just book the helicopter company that gives them the best commission (and may not have the “right” tour for you). Also beware of timeshare presentations offering greatly discounted rates for helicopter tours only if you first sit through a lengthy presentation.
Tour operators all agree that you should book early in your trip, just in case weather cancels your tour. You will then still have several days remaining in your trip to re-book.
If a tour operator is unable to fly due to weather, then you are not charged for your trip. Some operators tell stories about taking off and then deciding that the trip will not be comfortable for their passengers, so they return them to base without charging