Viator VIP: The Sunset Experience Helicopter Tour from Kona

After hotel pickup, head to the Kona airport to begin your VIP helicopter tour over the Big Island. When you arrive, enjoy a traditional lei greeting and glass of Champagne to mark the occasion. Then board your comfortable Bell 407 helicopter and take off, heading north to fly over the secluded beaches and lava fields along the Kona, Kohala and Hamakua coasts. Throughout the tour, listen to commentary from your pilot, who you can communicate with via your two-way headset.

Next, fly to the far side of the Kohala Mountains to look down on a series of lush hidden valleys, and then cruise down to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to hover over Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on Earth, and Kilauea, the most active of the Big Island’s volcanoes. By this time, the sun will have fallen behind the mountains, allowing you to spot the glowing lava more easily and admire the magma lake in Halema'uma'u Crater.

Continue to the southern tip of the Big Island, passing over the black-sand beach of Punalu’u and the green-sand beach of Papakolea, two of Hawaii’s most striking stretches of coastline. Round the tip of the island and head back north along the west coast, flying over Pu’uhonua ‘o Honaunau National Historic Park, which once served as a refuge for ancient Hawaiians who broke a law. As you fly from the park to Kealakekua Bay, a couple of miles north, the sun begins to set, creating quite a show.

Watch the sky turn shades of yellow, orange, red and purple, and keep your eyes peeled for the rare flash of green that appears on the horizon when the conditions are just right. When the sky finally turns dark, return to the airport, from where you’ll be transferred back to your hotel.

Flight time is approximately two hours; total duration is approximately three hours including the check-in and pre-departure process.