Island Helicopters

What Island Helicopters is and where it flies

Island Helicopters Kauai, Inc. is a family-owned helicopter company that flies its own tours around the island of Kauai, Hawaii, and nowhere else. All flights leave from Lihue Airport, and the tours page gives the address as 3788 Ahukini Road, Lihue, HI 96766. The About page says the company has flown "since 1980", has been "family-owned and operated for over 45 years", and "has been providing deluxe helicopter tours from the Lihue Airport longer than any other company". Its headline claim is that it is "the only company on Kauai permitted to land at a waterfall during a helicopter tour". The homepage shows a "Voted #1 in the U.S.!" banner for "Best Helicopter Tour" from the USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards 2026, and the tours page adds a Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice award.

The owners are named on the About page: Curt and Bonnie Lofstedt, who live in Kalaheo and employ "a staff of 18 (on average)". The page says Curt has flown Kauai tours for over 45 years, has "nearly 30,000 hours", and "personally selects and trains every one of its exceptional pilots". It also recounts the company's film work on Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, King Kong, Six Days Seven Nights and 50 First Dates, among others.

The homepage carries a notice that the company "is open" and that its aircraft and facilities "did not sustain damage from Hurricane Lowell", while asking visitors to follow official updates on island conditions.

The three tours

The tours page compares three flights side by side. The Grand Skies Island Tour, which the site calls its "signature tour for 45 years", gives 50 to 55 minutes in the air and costs $311 per person, which the homepage breaks down as $228 cost plus $83 surcharges and fees. It leaves Lihue and passes the Menehune Fish Pond, Olokele Canyon, Hanapepe Valley, Manawaiopuna Falls (the "Jurassic Park" waterfall), Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali Coast, Bali Hai and Lumahai Beach, Hanalei Bay and Valley, and the inside of the Mt. Waialeale crater, "one of the wettest spots on Earth". It is an air tour only. The site says "we fly lower than anyone else".

The Jurassic Falls Landing Adventure includes the whole Grand Skies route plus a landing at the falls, with 75 to 80 minutes of tour time including the landing, at $449.30 per person ($336 cost plus $113 surcharges and fees). The site says the price covers landing fees and regular environmental studies, and that guests "walk a short jungle path to the base" of the falls. The About page explains that the landing was approved after "five and a half years" of permitting and environmental studies, with sole permission from the Robinson family, who own the land.

The Exclusive Personal Tour puts "your group alone, up to 6" in the cabin, with pricing "quoted on request" and the time in the air listed as "your call". Groups of more than 6 are asked to call.

How a flight works

The fleet is "six-passenger, Airbus (formerly Eurocopter) AStar helicopters" with "custom ceiling-to-floor windows", and the company flies "doors-on" because of Kauai's variable weather. The tours page says "Every seat is a window seat" and that the route "is flown so nobody gets the poor side". Pilots narrate live, and the site says all of them live on Kauai full time. Specific seats cost extra through the Private or Preferred Seating options, by phone.

The rules are published. The site says "All ages are welcome. Because the doors stay on, there is no minimum age", and infants can be added during booking. Under its FAA weight rules, passengers weighing 240 pounds or more, or 2 passengers traveling together with a combined weight of 420 pounds or more, must buy an extra seat, and every passenger is weighed with carry-on items at check-in. Tablets, large cameras with extended lenses and selfie sticks are not allowed in flight. The site suggests a dark shirt and dark pants or shorts, because light colors reflect in the windows.

The site describes the company as an FAA Part 135 air carrier and says that "Lesser certifications, such as Part 91, are not legally permitted to fly distances greater than 25 miles from the Lihue Airport", which it gives as the reason its tours can cover the whole Na Pali Coast.

Booking and cancellation

Bookings are made through a reservation request: the guest picks up to 6 passengers aged 2 and over and gives up to 3 priority dates, and the company confirms "within 24 hours after submission". A credit card is required. The phone lines are 808.245.8588 and 800.829.5999 toll free. The site says it does not use booking companies, which it says "may take over 30% commission", and that all surcharges and fees are in the published price. A code on the Grand Skies page, Aloha30, gives $30 off when the flight is assigned to a Thursday or Sunday, with exclusions.

The cancellation policy is clear: "FREE cancellation up to 48-hours prior to scheduled departure time", requested in writing by email. For weather, the site says "If your tour is canceled due to weather, you will either be refunded or we will make every effort to reschedule your tour for another date", and adds that weather calls belong to the pilot.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The site does not say how long guests spend on the ground at Jurassic Falls within the 75 to 80 minutes, or what the Exclusive Personal Tour costs. The site states that routes "may vary due to weather", but does not say how often the landing is replaced by an air-only route. The full Terms & Conditions page is linked for anyone who wants the detail behind the weight and cancellation rules.

Island Helicopters suits Kauai visitors who want the whole island in under an hour at a price with fees already included, families with young children, since the site sets no minimum age, and Jurassic Park fans who want to stand at the base of the falls rather than see them from the air. Travelers looking for a doors-off photo flight will need another company, since this one does not fly doors off.