Kauai Helicopter Tours & Rides Over the Na Pali Coast

Prices by Flight Type

The cheapest helicopter seat is $235, an 18-minute doors-off flight into the Waialeale crater. The dearest is $579, a 45-minute doors-on flight departing Princeville Airport on the North Shore. Between those ends, doors-off private cabins run $384 to $425, doors-on flights $335.70 to $489, and the one tour with a landing costs $369.

Airplanes undercut everything at $159 to $189 for 65 minutes in the air. All figures below are per person, taken from each tour's own listing.

What the Price Includes

Taxes and fees sit inside the listed price at Blue Hawaiian, Safari, Air Kauai and Wings Over Kauai. Safari folds its fuel surcharge into the $335.70 fare, and Wings Over Kauai includes the landing fee, fuel surcharge and local taxes on the airplane flights. Gratuities are excluded on most cards, and no tour on this page includes hotel pickup or drop-off.

Blue Hawaiian sells USB in-flight video and photo packages after the flight, so budget for that separately if you want it. Every card carries free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure, and a weather cancellation by the operator is refunded or rebooked.

What to Bring and What to Leave

Blue Hawaiian asks guests on its doors-on ECO-Star flight to wear solid dark-colored clothing so colours do not reflect in the glass in photos. Jack Harter asks its doors-off MD500 guests to bring a light jacket, preferably waterproof, and wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants, with secure footwear since unsecured footwear is prohibited. Air Kauai provides each doors-off passenger a jacket that must be worn during flight.

• Dark clothing for doors-on flights, so it does not reflect in the glass
• Long sleeves, pants and a light jacket for doors-off flights
• Secure, closed shoes
• A phone with a lanyard or wrist strap, often provided by the operator
• Leave behind: hats, beanies, scarves and any headwear on Jack Harter tours
• Leave behind: bags, iPads, selfie sticks, GoPro sticks and loose pocket items doors-off

Check-In and Photos

Check-in times differ by operator, and late arrivals at Blue Hawaiian, Safari and Mauna Loa lose the seat with no refund. Arrive 45 minutes before at Ali'i, 40 minutes at Mauna Loa, 1 hour at Blue Hawaiian and Safari, 30 minutes at Jack Harter and Wings Over Kauai. Jack Harter requires the lead traveller to present government-issued ID at check-in.

Doors-off operators handle phones for you: Ali'i supplies lanyards, Air Kauai requires its lanyard with one hand on the phone at all times, and Jack Harter lends wrist straps. Blue Hawaiian sells USB in-flight video and photo packages after the flight. On the flight from Princeville Airport, Blue Hawaiian says no scuba diving within 24 hours before departure.

The Olokele Canyon Landing

Safari Helicopter Tour with Olokele Canyon Landing runs 1.5 hours at $369 per person in a helicopter limited to 6 participants. A pilot guide comes with the flight, and food, drinks and tips are not included. Show time is 1 hour before departure, and arriving late can forfeit the seat with no refund.

Safari Helicopters is clear that its landing is on the rim of Olokele Canyon, not at Jurassic Falls. No landing at the falls themselves is sold on this site, only by Island Helicopters on its own site.

Flights That Pass the Falls

These flights name Manawaiopuna Falls on their route and see it from the air only. Blue Hawaiian Eco Adventure Helicopter Tour passes it in the Hanapepe Valley on a 50-minute flight. Ali'i Private Doors-Off Helicopter Tour and Mauna Loa Private Doors-Off Helicopter Tour both fly over it doors-off on private charters. Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tour from Princeville covers it in 45 minutes from the North Shore. Routes change with the weather, so every operator treats the falls as a sight to attempt rather than a promise.

• Ali'i Private Doors-Off Helicopter Tour, $425 per person, 1 hour, private
• Blue Hawaiian Eco Adventure Helicopter Tour, $489 per person, 50 minutes
• Safari Helicopter Tour with Olokele Canyon Landing, $369 per person, 1.5 hours, lands in Olokele Canyon
• Mauna Loa Private Doors-Off Helicopter Tour, $384 per person, 55 minutes, private
• Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tour from Princeville, $579 per person, 45 minutes

Season

The National Weather Service splits Hawaii into two seasons. Summer runs from May to October and winter from October to April. Kauai is green in both seasons, so any month works for Kauai helicopter tours. The hard part is Mount Waialeale, in the middle of the island. The USGS calls it one of the wettest places on Earth, with an average of 373 inches of rain a year from 1949 to 2008. Cloud often sits over the crater, and operators change the route when it does. Blue Hawaiian lists Mt Wai'ale'ale on its route with the words weather permitting.

Lihue, where most flights leave from, is far drier than the crater. NOAA recorded 43.01 inches of precipitation at Lihue Airport in 2023, with February the wettest month at 8.67 inches.

Time of Day

Routes and flight patterns change with the weather. Ali'i Kauai Air Tours says its tour may be adjusted or cancelled up to 30 minutes before departure. Blue Hawaiian says tour sights vary depending on weather, and lists Mt Waialeale as weather permitting.

Safari Helicopters cancels for bad weather. Pick the departure that fits your day, and read the weather note on the tour comparison before you book.

Book It Early in Your Stay

Because weather cancellations happen, book your flight on the first days of your trip. Every tour here offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and flights cancelled by the operator for weather are refunded or rebooked. Mauna Loa Helicopters, for example, gives you the option of an alternative date or a full refund if it cancels for poor weather.

Booking early leaves room for a second attempt if the first flight is cancelled.

• Book for day one or two of your stay
• Keep a spare morning free for a rebooking
• Cancel yourself at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund

The Rules Every Tour Flies Under

FAA 14 CFR Part 136 sets operating rules for sightseeing flights flown under visual flight rules in Hawaii. The rules that shape what you experience on a Kauai helicopter tour are these. Hawaii air tours may not fly below 1,500 feet above the surface over any area of the state, with exceptions for takeoff, landing and ATC clearances.

They may not come closer than 1,500 feet to any person or property. A single-engine rotorcraft beyond the shore must carry floats with flotation gear in reach, or every person wears flotation gear. The pilot must brief water ditching, flotation equipment and emergency egress before any flight segment beyond the ocean shore.

Kauai Accidents on Record

The NTSB investigates every air tour accident. Recent NTSB reports on Kauai air tours include these four. On 26 December 2019 a Safari Helicopters AS350 B2 crashed near Kekaha, killing the pilot and six passengers.

The NTSB found the probable cause was the pilot continuing visual flight into instrument conditions, and noted that Hawaii terrain limits weather observation so pilots rely on their own visual weather assessments. On 27 February 2024 a doors-off MD 369E/500E sightseeing flight made a forced landing on a remote beach north of Kekaha, and the NTSB found maintenance noncompliance that left a clutch bearing inadequately regreased. On 11 July 2024 a Robinson R44 air tour accident near Kekaha killed the pilot and two passengers, with turbulence from downdraft winds leading to mast bumping and an in-flight breakup.

A preliminary NTSB report covers a Part 135 sightseeing helicopter that impacted water near Haena on 26 March 2026, killing three passengers and seriously injuring the pilot and one passenger.

• Kekaha, 26 December 2019, Safari Helicopters AS350 B2, pilot and six passengers killed
• Beach north of Kekaha, 27 February 2024, doors-off MD 369E/500E, forced landing
• Kekaha, 11 July 2024, Robinson R44, pilot and two passengers killed
• Near Haena, 26 March 2026, Hughes 369D, three passengers killed, two seriously injured

What You Control

A flight's safety is never promised by any operator or by this guide. What you control is the part the rules assign to passengers. Give your real weight at booking, because every operator weighs passengers at check-in and wrong weights can mean a lost seat with no refund.

Attend the full safety briefing. On doors-off flights, keep phones on lanyards or wrist straps and leave hats and loose items behind. Follow the pilot's instructions in flight and at the door.

• Declare accurate body weights for every passenger at booking
• Listen to the briefing, including the ditching briefing before ocean segments
• Secure phones, remove hats and empty pockets before a doors-off flight