Sunshine Helicopters

One of the best experiences of my life. We had Trevor and he was awesome! So beautiful wow. Everyone needs to do this. I would do it 100x if I could. Absolutely breathtaking.

I guess you get what you pay for. Booked this helicopter flight through our hotel only paid $ 194 per person. Flight staff at the office were nice but when you get to the Tarmac, one of the staff was walking around waving her phone around while not helping the other staff. The flight was okay, got to see some cool waterfalls but seemed rushed. The pilot flew like if he was landing in a war movie landing zone. Sharp and sudden banks and turns and no gradual turns to take any good pictures. Almost everyone got sick. Flight was only 50 minutes long rather than the 55 minutes advertised on their brochure. The windows on the helicopter were pretty scratched in some places, hindering some views. Headsets are not two way communications as they claim. No mics on the headphones. Our pilot provided very little if any narration. It was more «here is (insert name) falls». Very little back story and very little details. Googling the names of the falls or locations would have been faster. As for viewing the falls or locations, it was more like here is the falls, 5 seconds later, turn and leave. Everything seemed rushed. Would only recommend this company if you are on a budget and don’t want to take pictures. Would suggest that sunshine work on their narration and flying skills to make the flight more enjoyable.

This was the highlight of my trip! We got to see too many waterfalls to count (I counted 26 in the first 30 minutes)!!! If you come in by ship, they will pick you up at the pier… I didn’t know this, so got my early morning short walk in. Go to the street and take a right. It is in the shopping center on the right overlooking the beach. This was simply an amazing way to see the entire island. I bought the video of my actual trip and have already relived the adventure at home. Part of the video was corrupted (inside the dormant volcano which had waterfalls all around us), but I received an almost immediate call back & was told they will send me a new one. Also saw Jurassic Falls, too! Seriously, I came back telling my husband that I want to get a pilot’s license & take people on tours… what a great job!!!

The helicopter ride was awesome! Bogart (code apparently) was obviously an extremely experienced pilot as we went very near the mountains, and even at a cove surrounded with mountains. We flew toward the cove, which made me nervous, thinking how are we going to get out of there? Was he flying higher vertically? In the end, when we were very near the mountains and waterfalls, he turned the helicopter 180 degrees to fly back from where we entered. We paid $ 388 for 2 people to get an hour (more like 45 mins) of flight, sitting in front, right next to the pilot, but the discount was due to us having to listen to a timeshare presentation that lasted for 2.5 hrs. Oh well, at least we got the discount. Dont forget to tip!

I was skeptical since I get motion sickness but I am glad that I went through with it. The tour is not cheap but worth it in my opinion. It is a great way to get an amazing views of the island and a chance to see sights that you cannot get to by land. Multiple WOW moments including the volcano, Na Pali coast and multiple waterfalls.
The guys who work here seem super fun except for the one older guy at the counter who seemed surly. Our pilot was Trevor Needham and he gave us a good tour.

I understand that things go wrong and are out of one’s control, but the customer service to handle these situations is terrible. Had a tour booked and we checked in and waited for our safety video, then 5 minutes before take off they inform us that the aircrafts were down for the day due to maintenance. How do you have us check in and get ready not knowing that it’s a maintenance day? Then the lady behind the counter had absolutely zero consideration. Would not go through them again.

Cant comment on the helicopter ride… yes I’m still writing a review regarding costumer service. My flight was canceled due to rain. I received a phone call first thing in the am alerting me to that… thanks for not wasting my time driving out there. Especially thanks for not taking my money and flushing it down the toilet. Other excursions on the island take your money even when trips should’ve been canceled.

Born and raised on Kauai, this was one of the most amazing and memorable experiences I’ve done. From start to finish, the staff and ride was not only knowledgable but friendly. Jimar’s customers service was exceptional and our pilot Bogart was phenomenal. I’ll never forget this lifetime experience. Thank you Sunshine Helicopters!!!

This tour gives you a much greater appreciation of how beautiful and rugged Kauai is. Most of the interior of Kauai has no roads and is inaccessible, so a helicopter ride makes sense. We took the early bird special and saw far too many waterfalls to count. Probably over a hundred. If you have not taken a helicopter tour of Kauai yet, then I highly recommend it. Sunshine helicopters is great, and possibly be the the best.

John your an awesome pilot I cannot say thank you enough for what I would call a rock star flight! You may do this flight thousands of times yet your story telling is amazing and the views are so breath taking beautiful. I have never seen so many waterfalls in my life! To the staff I am so sorry I cannot remember your names but there were 4 of you in the office who were extremely friendly, informative and happy! Quite honestly next to the day I married my wife and the births of my 4 sons this day was the best of my life! Thank you doesnt seem enough but its all I can do!

Great place, informative, relaxed and amazing experience!!! Rebecca and nolu helping us were friendly and fun :) thanks for a great memory while on our honeymoon!
Weather was clear and the views were breathtaking:)
Jed was our fyler and he was fun and relaxed, bummer part was our video on our plane wasn’t working so we couldn’t get the video of our flight, I hope they fix it! Great job guys and love the window seat I had :)

Beware.
Although our agent (Pleasant Holidays) confirmed twice that should the tour encounter rain, it would be rescheduled or refunded.
Five minutes after take-​off, we encountered rain. Now that was preaty obvious because rain clouds were all over the mountains and yet they continued the flight.
We paid the extra $ 100 to have the front seats, what a waist of money. All we saw was rain, rain & rain. To be fair we had about 5 minutes of clear weather. We couldn’t do all the mountain route so the pilot spent extra time over the coast.
Upon return to the Sheraton (where Pleasant operated from) I showed the rep my photos and requested a refund. She argued with the Sunshine Manager over the phone, but to no avail. They refused outright to refund our $ 600.
Beware,
Robbo
Brisbane Australia

I was very happy with our tour of the island on July 28^th. The office was easy to find near the ABC store in Lihue. They shuttled us to the airport and gave us info on what to do do, not to do, and what to expect. I can’t weight bear on one leg due to bunion surgery and the ground crew was very helpful and kind.
Your level of happiness and satisfaction of the tour REALLY depends on the pilot. We had JED and he was AWESOME. He told us how to turn up our sound on the head phones, to let him know if we had problems hearing him, and after we took off asked each of us by name how we were doing. We had a 9 year old in our party and he made sure to tell her to clear her ears when we were going up to higher altitude. Biggest complaint in some of the other reviews I read was not being able to hear the pilot. All of us could hear him well and he gave great information as to what we were seeing. Also, Jed was very nice looking, just saying!
One thing all of these companies do now is make you pay an extra $ 100 per person to be in front for «premium setting» which is ridiculous. There were two guests in front with pilot and the four in my party were I the back; all of us felt we had good visualization and to spend $ 100 wasn’t warranted. If you have $ to burn, go for it. In the old days ’90’s they didn’t do this– American way of squeezing every dime out of you (similar to airlines charging for check on bags).

For our honeymoon my husband and I decided to pull the trigger one of our last days on the island with a helicopter tour. We were up in Hanalei when we booked but we took off from Lihue which was super convenient for us as early-​bird riders checking in a 7:15 am — up in the air by 8:05. We got the hook up sitting up with the pilot but I would assume all seats were incredible. Our guide was Bogie or Bogart. He was very knowledgable and a great pilot. Some twists and turns gave us the butterflies but the views we saw were unforgettable. The whole island is so special and Sunshine knows how to celebrate it taking us all around. Highly recommended!

These guys are amazing! Such a wonderful experience and loved our ground crew as well as our pilot! Very informative and what views of the island that one could only see from above. I would highly recommend this company and the tours they offer. Plus at the end of your tour you can get a picture and video of your experience and it’s actually VERY reasonably priced. Worth every dollar! Plus before or after the tour you can shop around at some of the local markets to get souvenirs, a bit to eat or some shaved ice. Oh and theirs a small beach right there too.

An incredible experience! Everyone was nice, and besides the breathtaking views, the tour itself was interesting. Highly recommend!

This is our second time doing a helicopter ride but its our first time with Sunshine Helicopter tour. Our original time was at 8am but was cancelled due to raining and too much foggy. so they put us at 11am schedule. The staff (Rebecca and Nolu) they are AMAZING, very friendly to my kids too.
Our tour was about 50 minutes total and we got to see a lot of spectacular view, falls, Waimea canyon, the wettest spot on earth and lovely ocean.
The price was very reasonable too less than $ 200.00 for the 3 of us. I have a lap child with me and he was very comfortable and fell asleep while we are doing the tour. Our Pilot John was very knowledgeable and told us a lot of stories.
Love Love Love this.

We were schedule for 10 am on 12÷22÷14. Tropical storms engulfed the island, but they decided NOT to reschedule. For two thirds of the trip we were in the clouds and rain. I really wanted to see Na Pali and paid a significant amount of money to do this. First time ever in a helicopter… don’t expect me to do this again!!!

Probably the only way to really see Kaua’i. Wow! What an exhilarating experience. Such a thrill. Couldn’t really understand much of what pilot Jed was garbling into our headsets. Much of it sounded like squawky doublespeak; something something something Raiders of The Lost Ark something something something Jurrasic Park something something something Hey there’s a mountain goat. Cool and colorful guy. Simply amazing excursion! Mahalo Sunshine!

Sunshine helicopter tours provided a convenient and unforgettable way to see the entire island of Kauai. Highlights included Jurassic falls, na Pali coast, Waimea canyon. Pilot was very engaging and felt very safe. First class seats in the front are the best and worth the extra cost!!!