The video does not specify the exact duration of the flight. It shows substantial uninterrupted aerial footage, suggesting a tour lasting 30 minutes to an hour, but contact Paradise Helicopters directly for precise timing and pricing.
At a glance
Length
29 min
Channel
Adventure Nation
Video from
Jan 2019
Rating
⭐⭐ Great video · 2/2
Best for
Adventure travelers planning a Big Island trip who want to see a doors-off helicopter flight
What this video answers
How long is the helicopter flight itself?
Is flying doors-off safe?
Can you take photos and video during the flight?
What's the best way to get to the Hilo side from Kona?
Can you combine the helicopter tour with other activities?
Reads the guide aloud in your browser — free, no account.
What to Expect from This Doors-Off Hawaii Volcano Helicopter Tour
This video documents a doors-off helicopter flight over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island's Hilo side, operated by Paradise Helicopters. The tour departs from Hilo and provides unobstructed aerial views of the volcanic landscape, lava formations, and surrounding terrain. It's ideal for adventure travelers who want a bucket-list experience and aren't bothered by flying without door panels—the setup gives photographers and thrill-seekers uncompromised sightlines and the sensation of flying through the landscape.
The video also captures the broader Big Island experience, including lava tubes, botanical gardens, waterfalls, snorkeling, and black sand beaches. However, the helicopter portion is clearly the standout event. If you're considering a scenic flight in Hawaii, this tour exemplifies what a well-executed doors-off experience looks like and what the volcanic terrain looks like from above.
Key Moments
Highlights of the Doors-Off Volcano Flight
Extended aerial footage over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with unobstructed 360-degree views from an open-door helicopter
Close views of volcanic craters, lava fields, and the dramatic terrain created by past eruptions
The contrast between the verdant landscape on the Hilo side and the stark volcanic rock formations
A two-hour scenic drive across the Big Island from the Kona side to reach Hilo and the helicopter operator
Post-flight exploration of Akaka Falls (442 feet—more than twice the height of Niagara Falls) and Rainbow Falls on the same day
Snorkeling at Kahaluu Bay with endemic Hawaiian fish and the chance to see Hawaii's state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapuaa
Planning Your Big Island Helicopter Tour: What to Know
Location and drive: The video shows a two-hour drive from the Kona side of the Big Island to Hilo, where Paradise Helicopters operates. Plan accordingly if staying on the drier west side.
Weather considerations: The Hilo side receives significantly more rain than Kona. The video shows heavy rain forcing hikes to be cancelled, but the helicopter flight proceeded as scheduled. Check conditions before booking and allow flexibility.
What to bring: The video emphasizes the heat of black sand beaches and the intensity of sun exposure at sea level. Bring water, sunscreen, and comfortable walking shoes for ground exploration.
Booking early:Helicopter tours fill up quickly, especially during peak travel seasons and when conditions are optimal. Reserve in advance to secure your preferred time slot.
Best time of day: Early morning departures allow you to drive across the island and complete the flight before afternoon weather deteriorates on the wetter side of the island.
Physical requirements: The video shows passengers of various fitness levels boarding and flying. There are no major restrictions mentioned, but the open-door setup is not for those afraid of heights.
Common Questions About This Volcano Helicopter Experience
How long is the helicopter flight itself?
The video does not specify the exact duration of the flight. It shows substantial uninterrupted aerial footage, suggesting a tour lasting 30 minutes to an hour, but contact Paradise Helicopters directly for precise timing and pricing.
Is flying doors-off safe?
The video presents the flight as a thrilling but routine operation; no safety concerns are raised. Doors-off helicopter tours are a standard offering at established operators. All passengers wear safety harnesses, and the aircraft is equipped for this configuration. Verify that your operator is FAA-certified and reviews the safety briefing before boarding.
Can you take photos and video during the flight?
Yes. The video is entirely composed of footage shot during the helicopter flight, showing that passengers are encouraged to film and photograph. The open-door setup provides excellent camera angles without window glare.
What's the best way to get to the Hilo side from Kona?
The video shows a scenic two-hour drive across the center of the Big Island. Rent a car and plan to drive early in the day. Stop for breakfast or sightseeing along the way, but allow ample time to reach the helicopter operator by your scheduled departure.
Can you combine the helicopter tour with other activities?
Absolutely. The video demonstrates visiting waterfalls, lava tubes, and snorkeling sites on the same trip. Many visitors schedule the helicopter tour for the morning, then explore waterfalls and beaches on the Hilo or southern side in the afternoon.
This video is genuinely useful because it shows real, uncut footage of a doors-off volcano flight from a passenger's perspective—not a professional production or drone shot, but the actual view and sensation you'd experience. It also honestly captures the unpredictable nature of a Big Island trip, including setbacks like the condo sewage incident and rainy weather, which helps you plan realistically.
What stands out most is how much the best helicopter tour footage holds its own without narration—the landscape speaks for itself. The extended aerial views of the volcanic terrain are genuinely stunning and worth the trip. If you're considering a doors-off flight in Hawaii, this video gives you an honest preview of what to expect, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend watching it before booking.
Years on the front lines of helicopter tour coordination — not as a travel blogger, but as the person responsible for making every guest experience go right. Managed 2,000+ cruise guests weekly as Shore Excursions staff aboard the Pride of America in Hawaii
Personally coordinated with helicopter tour operators to confirm age, weight, and safety requirements.
Class A Motorhome RV Living: Season 3 EP074 October 8-11, 2018 Get more of our stuff at http://themotorhomeexperiment.com/.
In this episode, we head over to the Big Island, for the first time.
We start with a sewage spill in our condo and a whole lot rain, but as usual we manage to have an amazing time on the island.
The highlight is definitely our "doors off" helicopter tour of the Volcano National Park, near Hilo. What an incredible experience!
This is the last video of season 3 so, see you next season!
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Video transcript for “Big Island Adventures | Doors Off Helicopter Tour of Volcano” Accessibility
A full written transcript of this video, provided for accessibility. Select any timestamp to jump the video to that moment.
what is going on adventure nation in this episode we not only finish up with our Hawaiian vacation but we finish up with season three this is the motorhome experiment it is 3 a.m. we're here at the airport in Honolulu switchin Islands
we're heading over to the big island so they do ok a little pro tip for everybody Honolulu Airport doesn't even open until 4:00 so not much reason to get here prior to that to jump on a flight but we are through security heading over to the aircraft and heading to the Big Island for our
first time which is cool we have arrived here on the Big Island actually come down stairs from the airplane you'll dark out it's on us starting to come up though so sunrise soon we don't see too many sunrises we used to
good thing at the run right now it's true all the gates of this airport are all completely outdoors it's crazy this is a tiny airport it is very tiny Airport very cool how's your view at breakfast I mean you can't beat this
kind of breakfast right here next videos [Music] as you can see we didn't do much that very first day now we pretty much rented the car sunny drove into a hotel sunny and then chicken pouring rain you start pouring on us yeah absolutely so breakfast was about the only thing we got that day but
the next day literally started off for the lack of a better term shitty I don't like to use that word but you're gonna watch good morning or over here on the Big Island and it's our first morning in our cool new what is this this I guess is a it's a condo so we got it through Airbnb or something I got so I want to
show this really cool place check this out pretty nice right what I do want you to do is just ignore the sewage on the floor leading out to the front and the the sewage going down into the hallway into the bathroom it's a lovely way to start the room itself is really gorgeous but the sewage running through the
apartment that's not a good amenity really it's nice having a pool in your apartment just I would prefer it's not a sewage pool because it's happened first thing in the morning and we need to have showers to go out today it's gonna be interesting I I will say the view from here is pretty spectacular
we knew the Big Island had been experiencing some lava flow over the year we just didn't realize that we were gonna experience sewage flow in our very own condo it was so disgusting it was like luckily there was like a hole where we didn't have to walk worth the thing was happening
yes so yeah our moving into our other room and this is a nightmare you got to get out come on oh you get OH you can't come in here then we left and went out to explore the island first we hit a lava tube which was really really cool yeah something that we have always seen like everywhere about the Big
Island oh we heard there was supposed to be some lava tubes out here so we pulled over on the side of the road it it's literally right here on the side of the road we're not supposed to go in it but I don't see any Harmon going up to it [Music] yeah you can see where chunks of falling
down and I think that's why they don't want you going in there but you can also see where there's light coming out the other side so I think we'll go walk up over top and see if we can see light down through there [Music] seeing that this is a collapse doesn't make me confident up here
this is one of those crazy places that's just hard to describe like you really feel like you're on another planet other than the fact that there's an airport right there it is crazy how light this stuff is now if this was a regular Rock I'd have a really hard time picking it up but it's actually fairly light I
would say that thing is about maybe 40 pounds so compared to our regular rock this stuff is super super light pretty amazing then we checked out the Hilton Waikoloa resort beautiful place touristy de [Music]
now [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right well this is kind of crazy we're just getting ready to have lunch and now there's a bunch of dolphins out
here
[Music] [Music]
all right we want to doing lunch here at the Hilton got to see some dolphins which was kind of cool kind of cool kind of sad there in a kind of a small pen but this is an impressive property kinda roll up the road and see what else we can find and I would say doesn't support the whole swimming with dolphins thing it's
like they just keep them in a pen cool then after the Hilton Waikoloa Resort we headed up to the north side of the island which is really cool you could see across to the volcano on Maui which was really neat and we stopped by the little town of javi and saw the statue the original statue I think actually of
the king kamehameha number one and then we just headed back into town after that mm-hmm it was a regional but it was restored so that's why it looks very nice I got something the town does it's like they just take care of that statute [Music]
[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well Lorena it's been a little bit of a rough start to the Hawaiian vacation but I think today is gonna be an amazing day today yeah I think it's one of those days we're gonna remember for a very long time I believe you're correct we're
up early heading over to Hilo side of the island of the Big Island which is on the exact opposite side of from where we are two hours and we are getting out of the bicycle and jogging traffic that is in the little town we're in what does the name a little town okay Kona Kai Aloha
Kona and so yes with the Ironman activities going on over there traffic and restaurants and everything has been a nightmare but today we're getting away from all that and going to have some fun so for good lots super-fit people there a lot of super-fit people make us feel bad Maureen our pancakes after a
beautiful drive across the middle of the big island we wound up in Hilo and stopped off at paradise helicopters for an absolutely stunning doors off flight over the Hawaiian volcanoes national park it was awesome it was beautiful it's one of those things that I mean you see on TV and we just it's a bucket list
for us yeah just wanting to do absolutely fantastic it's a lot of footage but I just have to show it because it was an absolutely stunning experience just supercool did I say stunning hardy probably many times but we hope you enjoy it as much as with it yeah [Music] all right Laurie are you ready for this
I am awesome meet you [Music]
[Applause] [Music] [Music]
[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
[Applause] [Music]
[Music] [Applause] [Music]
[Applause] [Music] [Music] whoo
after our volcano flyover our plan was to explore some more of the west side of the island around Hilo pretty hard to top the helicopter thing I think but we are gonna check out some more of the big island some of the botanical gardens and waterfalls and hiking and stuff so it's not about topic it's just about doing
different stuff exactly yeah because there is no topping that no it's just with no doors on the helicopter it's just awesome it looks like everybody's had the same idea about Rainbow Falls everybody's here [Music]
[Applause] [Music] okay Lorena we are now at akaka falls
and hakuna falls as in Hakuna Matata I think that's where they came from you just describe this as what no that's not what you described yes jungly very jungle jungle II I want you guys to look up that word jungly I think it's just new probably hasn't been added to the dictionary yet it's a no it's a lorena
ism yes but it is very jungle [Music] okay every now and then you run across
one of those crazy things in nature this is really one of them this is called the beaucoup Alamo oh this thing actually swims two and a half miles upstream from the ocean and then climbs four hundred and forty two feet up that waterfall that's pretty crazy it does that because it has a little suction disk on its
chest so uses its pectoral fins and the suction discs to climb up the rocks all the way up to the top of that waterfall that is pretty nuts they lay eggs up there the babies come down go out to the ocean they get a signal they come back up these guys make the salmon look like wussies another crazy fact about this
waterfall here it's four hundred and forty-two feet from top to bottom the Niagara Falls waterfall is a hundred and seventy-six feet so this is over twice the size of Niagara Falls not quite as wide up obviously but much much taller very very cool still not the tallest waterfall in the world by far I think
the tallest is Angel Falls in Venezuela it's over 3,200 feet because I've wanted the base jump off of there but they don't allow me to do that [Music] [Music]
[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] one major hike that we had set up for the day was over on the Hilo side but it
absolutely poured we did however get back to Kailua Kona for us amazing sunset and dinner and wound up being a pretty nice day yeah I mean it's like any Hawaiian island right you have your side that is like less rain and this side that drains all the time so we weren't decided that where it rains all
the time so he was expected so we've seen a couple of cool waterfalls and now we're gonna head over to the Y of P o Valley for a hike the other thing is it seems the weather has
come up with a different plan for us so there will be no hiking this afternoon and we were told that this Waipio Valley was why a Pio Valley was supposed to be spectacular check that out and then we'll go back over to the dry side of the island and see if that's gonna
it's been an interesting stay here on the Big Island to say the least [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]
Loreena one of our favorite spots on Maui is the barefoot bar because we get to sit with our toes in the sand so what about on the rocks here thanks to the Hamptons actually we've got another spot like that yeah check this out guys that's awesome toes in the sand both on the rocks and
we're hearing Kailua Kona he can't see the view because of the Sun but there's a cruise ship out there and the town awesome [Music] it does our last day here on the Big Island so we decided to a little
impromptu snorkeling no you're good dude wave getting our snorkel gear here holy smokes we're gonna have to hustle this Beach is hot ouch
Oh Oh manly okay that's an that black sand is hot as hell all right so time to get our snorkel on [Music]
[Applause] [Music] [Music]
well arena that was pretty fantastic we couldn't leave Hawaii without snorkeling and although we were gonna pay for a tour yeah this is cockle Kahaluu ooh Kahaluu Beach some like that Kahaluu Bay and it was awesome as you guys saw in that video just now it was just so many cool fish they even had the state fish
which is the new COO new COO Humu Humu Humu Humu new COO new COO ahaha that's a crazy one and I'll put that up here it's really close mumumu new COO new co-op allaha I'm just sure that he has actually memorized it yeah that's the state fish of Hawaii they don't allow you to leave unless you
memorize them sorry yes you're gonna have to stay yeah I know that's gonna break your heart we are now all the way down at the far south end of the Big Island and we're at a place where there's a black sand beach pretty crazy-looking
very cool these people that last wave was a bit bigger than I thought but it's a cool shot [Music]
after the black sand beach we decided to make one last stop before calling it quits and we headed out into an area called South Pointe it was absolutely spectacular I don't know if it comes out on video or not but we caught a triple rainbow on video and it was spectacular and it was a great end to our Hawaiian
vacation and a great end to the video I think I mean it was amazing just to walk on the blunt black beach and the triple rainbow that third one is extremely hard to see I mean - you can really see them very well but there one even I have a hard time seeing it back then so you're saying I was delusional no you actually
had to point it out in this crowd and then it's like oh I see the colors so maybe was plessy me effect she's saying I'm delusional no maybe it's contagious I saw it too [Music]
all right Laurie at one point we were in Key West and we stood next to a post that said it's the southernmost point in the United States but that's not quite true it is not true because we're standing in the most silent part of the United States right yes they the sign in Key West's continental United States the
point that we are at right now on the big ahadith of Hawaii is the most southern point in the entire United States albeit this is out on the islands check this place out Oh giant waves crashing on the beach and nothing for as are far as the eye can see I would think over that area is the
French Polynesian islands and then over in this area here somewhere is like maybe New Zealand ish and then like Japan and stuff I have no idea I'm not a geography expert by any means but just there boy yeah we're in the French moaning nation we are we are in the French Polynesian
house no we're not we're in Hawaii cards of the French coronation hours I'm gonna have to look that up how can I be possible the French Polynesian islands are the US are they I'm calling your bluff on that one okay but anyways southernmost point in the United States where is northern part of the United
States exactly exactly all within a few weeks of each other from the north to the south so absolutely spectacular area but this is where we're gonna call our Hawaiian vacation this is where we're gonna call this video so if it's your first time here it would be awesome if you subscribe to the channel stay up to
date on all of our travels it would be equally as cool if you liked the video and we will catch you guys more back in the mainland bye now spectacular the size of those waves on there rat-boy right here look
all right Laurie at one point we were in Key West Florida when went by what they said was the most southern point in the tire United States but they've done true what it's not true we are now that's I guess mainland us that would be true yes but the reason we know it's not true is because we're
actually standing on the southernmost point even right now no this is not the continental US take two
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