Kauai Helicopter Tour

You can take a helicopter tour of many of the Hawaiian islands. However Kauai's super rugged terrain is supposed to be especially amazing from the air. And so it was that we splurged for a one-hour joy ride at over $250 per seat. It seems even more expensive considering that we had recently paid just $100 to fly from San Francisco to Boston.

Our helicopter was a Hughes 500 with all the doors removed. Supposedly the only company that offers tours in this aircraft is Jack Harter Helicopters. This helicopter seats 5 people with three seats in the front (pilot on the left) and two in the rear. All aerial tours circle the island in a clockwise direction and so seats on the right side are better however seating assignment is determined by the company based on passenger weight so as to keep the aircraft balanced. Luckily we got the two front passenger seats! Susanne was in the middle and I was on the right which was really an ideal arrangement.

Helicopter shots

Boarding the helicopter was really smooth. Each passenger approached one at a time and an assistant helped us get the seatbelt fastened and secured and also get the headset on. Our pilot, Jason, had obviously gotten a passenger list and he greeted each of us by name once we got situated. Nice! Soon it came to take off. We lifted off the ground, did a reversing left turn to align with a grass "runway", then accelerated forward while climbing at the same time.

Lihue airport. Ship harbor. Southeast coast

Flying in helicopters is fun

Scenery on the south side of the island. The last shot is Allerton Garden

Yes we're still in a helicopter

Waimea Canyon. Unfortunately we never saw this on a clear day. The day that we drove through here it was raining.

West side of the island approaching the Na Pali coast

The Na Pali coast is on the northwest side of the island. The land here is too rugged to even build a road and the only access is via the 11 mile Kalalau trail or by boating into the beaches. We would eventually hike the entire trail on a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip