Helicopter Tour

An Oahu helicopter tour is the only way to see the island's interior — the green-velvet folds of the Ko'olau Range, the inaccessible upper reaches of Sacred Falls, and the inside of the Diamond Head crater — in a single 45 to 60 minute flight. Most operators fly Airbus AS350 or Bell 407s out of Daniel K. Inouye International (Honolulu) and run a standard counter-clockwise circle: Pearl Harbor first, then north over the central plateau, a low pass along the North Shore surf, around Kahuku Point and down the windward cliffs past Kualoa, then back through the gap at Nuuanu Pali. Doors-off flights (helmet and flight suit provided) are the photography choice; standard doors-on tours are quieter, more comfortable and still wide-window.