A Waimea Canyon helicopter tour shows you the island's coast and ridges from above. We compared 12 tours, with prices from $155 and free cancellation; the top tour has a 4.9 rating from 1,115 reviews. The fare includes a flight along the Na Pali Coast.
Price from
Air tour$155
Today's lowest canyon tour across all 12 tours
Average rating
All 12 tours49
1,345 verified reviews across 12 tours
Your time
Shortest to longest45–65min
Shortest: Discover Kauai
Longest: Air Tour of Na Pali Coast
Everything you can book here
Twelve trips that reach the canyon. The cheapest is a Kauai airplane tour at $155; a heli tour Kauai operators run with the doors off starts at $425. Five day tours drive up to the lookouts instead.
★ 4.9 · 1 115 reviews
★ 5.0 · 47 reviews
★ 5.0 · 14 reviews
★ 4.7 · 73 reviews
★ 4.6 · 26 reviews
★ 4.2 · 20 reviews
★ 4.2 · 17 reviews
★ 4.5 · 15 reviews
★ 3.7 · 8 reviews
★ 4.8 · 4 reviews
★ 4.9 · 6 reviews
Two questions
Answer what matters most and the page picks one of the twelve.
See it before you pay for it
Two different days. From the air the canyon is red walls and waterfalls inside an hour. From the road it is a full day of lookouts, with stops at Koke’e State Park and the coast on the way back.
Side by side
Most people book before they know the difference. A flight covers the canyon and the coast in 45 to 65 minutes without landing. A day tour costs less per hour, stands you at the lookouts, and takes seven to nine and a half hours.
Swipe the table sideways →
| TOP PICKKauai: Air Tour of Na Pali Coast, Entire Island of Kauai | Kauai: Full-Day Waimea Canyon & Wailua River Tour | Kauai Private Doors Off Helicopter Tour: Ultimate Waterfalls | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $155 | $231 | $425 |
| What you are booking | A fixed-wing air tour | A full day on the road | A private helicopter flight |
| How long it lasts | 1 h 5 m | 9 h 30 m | 1 hour |
| Where it starts | Lihue | Kauai | Lihue |
| Group | Not stated in the listing | Pick-up available | Private group |
| Booking notice | Not stated in the listing | At least 10 hours ahead | At least 1 hour ahead |
| What the listing names | Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali Coast, waterfalls | Waimea Canyon, Old Koloa Town, Wailua River | Napali Coast, Waimea Canyon, Hanalei Valley |
| Rating | 4.9 · 1,115 | 4.7 · 73 | 5.0 · 14 |
| Best for | Seeing the whole island in an hour | A full day at the lookouts | A flight you do not share |
| Book this one→ | Check dates | Check dates |
Rated 4.9 across 1,115 reviews · 1 h 5 m in the air
Verdict
One listing carries most of the evidence here. The 65-minute flight over Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast is rated 4.9 across 1,115 reviews, against 73 for the next listing, and at $155 it is also the lowest price on this page. It flies on a fixed-wing plane rather than a helicopter; for a helicopter, take the 50-minute flight at $449, rated 5.0 across 47 reviews.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
Four flights leave from Kauai itself and last 45 to 65 minutes, at $155 to $539. Five day tours drive the rim instead, seven to nine and a half hours, from $187 — among them the Kauai Waimea Canyon and Koke’e tour at $187. The other three begin as a day trip in Honolulu and include the hop across; the two with a stated length run 14 hours.
Before you book
Three things decide it: how long you have on Kauai, whether you want to fly or drive, and what you want to spend. Answer three questions and find out before you pay.
How long are you on Kauai?Three of the twelve listings here start with a flight from Honolulu
What are you willing to spend?Fares are per person, $155 to $1,249 on this page
Do you want to fly, or drive?Four flights of 45 to 65 minutes, or seven day tours by road
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
Six ways to see it
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own.
★★★★★
Based on 1,345
verified reviews
Eleven of the twelve listings on this page carry a rating published on GetYourGuide.
Read all 1,345→Kauai: Air Tour of Na Pali Coast, Entire Island of Kauai
From $155 · 1,115 reviews
★★★★★
Sixty-five minutes out of Lihue in a plane rather than a helicopter — the operator calls it a deluxe air tour. The listing names Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali Coast and the waterfalls in between. Rated 4.9 across 1,115 reviews; the other ten rated listings hold 230 between them.
Kauai: Eco Adventure Helicopter Tour
From $449 · 47 reviews
★★★★★
Fifty minutes in a small group, and the one to take if you came for a helicopter rather than a plane. The listing names Manawaiopuna Falls, Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast. Rated 5.0 across 47 reviews.
Kauai Private Doors Off Helicopter Tour: Ultimate Waterfalls
From $425 · 14 reviews
★★★★★
A private flight with doors-off or doors-on options, which is the only listing here that says so. It names the Napali Coast, Waimea Canyon, Hanalei Valley and the waterfalls of the Mount Wai’ale’ale crater. Rated 5.0 across 14 reviews.
Kauai: Full-Day Waimea Canyon & Wailua River Tour
From $231 · 73 reviews
★★★★★
Nine and a half hours with pick-up offered: the canyon, Old Koloa Town and a cruise up the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto. The longest itinerary on this page that still starts and ends on Kauai. Rated 4.7 across 73 reviews.
Kauai: Waimea Canyon and Waterfall Adventure Day Tour
From $190 · 26 reviews
★★★★★
Seven hours on a panoramic day tour that takes in Hanapepe Town and a photo stop at the Kalalau Lookout. The listing also carries the operator’s own note about canyon closure dates, so read it before you pick a date. Rated 4.6 across 26 reviews.
From Oahu: Kauai Waimea Canyon and Koke’e Adventure Tour
From $576 · 4 reviews
★★★★★
Fourteen hours, because the flight between the islands is inside the price. Waimea Canyon, a nature walk at Koke’e, historic sites and a coffee plantation. Rated 4.8 across 4 reviews — a short record, so read it yourself.
What it really costs
This is the part no booking page leads with. The cheapest way to see the canyon here is from the air, at $155 for 65 minutes. A day by road costs more and gives you seven to nine and a half hours on the ground.
Swipe sideways →
| What you book | Price | What that buys | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight over the canyon, fixed-wing | $155 | Sixty-five minutes over the canyon and the Na Pali Coast | Check the listing |
| Day tour by road, canyon and river | $231 | Nine and a half hours, lookouts, river cruise, hotel pickup | Free cancellation |
| Helicopter flight, private, doors-off option | $425 | One hour, your own aircraft, waterfalls and the canyon | Free cancellation |
| Private day by road, canyon and Koke’e | $1,085 | Nine hours with a private guide and a private vehicle | Check the listing |
The honest answer
One hundred and fifty-five dollars for 65 minutes, against $187 for a nine-hour day by road — so the question is fair. What the flight buys is the canyon from above and the Na Pali Coast in the same hour.
The day, hour by hour
Four flights here run 45 to 65 minutes, $155 to $539. Seven day tours run seven to fourteen hours, $187 to $1,085. The steps below follow one of the days.
This listing asks to be booked at least ten hours in advance and says pick-up is available. It is $231 per person and runs nine and a half hours.
Pick-up is one of the things this listing names, which is part of why nine and a half hours covers so much ground on one island.
The canyon is the first thing the listing names. Seven of the twelve listings on this page reach it by road; the rest see it from the air.
Old Koloa Town is named in this listing and in no flight here. It is the part of the day that only the road version gives you.
The listing ends on the water: the same booking is a Waimea Canyon tour Wailua River cruise to the Fern Grotto, which two of the twelve listings here name.
That is the whole booking. The air tour covers the canyon and the coast in sixty-five minutes instead, for $155.
Best time of day
These two are not rivals for the same morning. A flight over the canyon runs forty-five to sixty-five minutes in the air, so the trip fits inside a half-day and leaves the rest of the day yours. A road tour to the lookouts runs seven to nine and a half hours and takes the day whole. Put them on separate dates and you get both: the parts of Kauai that have no road to them, and the rim on your own feet with time to stand at it. Tours run all year, and every listing opens its own calendar.
On the ground
Where the road tours stop: the marked lookout above the canyon.
The valley view from Koke’e, named in three of the listings here.
The fern wall the river cruise reaches, named in two day tours.
Waterfalls in green cliffs, named in four of the listings from the air.
What it's like
The word in the name of this page is helicopter, and most people arrive with that picture in their head. It is worth knowing, before you pay, that the trip almost everyone here books is not one. It is a small fixed-wing plane, and it is also the cheapest way into the air above the canyon.
That listing is an air tour of the Na Pali Coast and the whole island: $155, one hour five minutes. The operator’s own words are “deluxe air tour”, and its route names Waimea Canyon, the coast and the waterfalls. It carries 1,115 reviews at 4.9. The next listing on this page has 73.
If it has to be rotors, three listings here are genuinely helicopters. The private doors-off flight is $425 for an hour, rated 5.0 across 14 reviews, and its description offers doors off or doors on. The eco adventure flight is $449 for fifty minutes, 5.0 across 47. The Princeville departure is $539 for forty-five minutes.
The other half of this page never leaves the ground. Seven day tours drive up to the canyon lookouts, from $187 to $1,085 for a private car, and they run seven to nine and a half hours. Between them the listings name Koke’e State Park, the Wailua River and Fern Grotto, Spouting Horn, Old Koloa Town and the swinging bridge at Hanapepe.
Two of those road days start on Oahu instead. Both fly you across to Kauai in the morning, spend the day on the canyon road and fly you back: fourteen hours, $576. One of them finishes at the Wailua River, the other at Koke’e and a coffee plantation. The crossing is what makes them long and what makes them expensive.
From the air the route is different rather than shorter. The flight descriptions name Manawaiopuna Falls, Hanalei Valley, the Na Pali Coast and the crater of Mount Wai’ale’ale — places the canyon road does not reach. From the road you get the lookouts themselves, a nature walk, and stops with time to stand still at them.
So the trade is plain enough. Forty-five to sixty-five minutes in the air, $155 to $539, against a whole day on the road from $187. One shows you the parts of Kauai that have no road to them; the other puts you at the rim on your own feet, with the canyon in front of you and lunch somewhere in the middle.
What works for most people is not choosing at all. A flight is short enough to sit inside a morning and a road tour owns the day whole, so the two fit together across a two-day stay rather than competing for the same hours. Tours run all year here, and every listing opens its own calendar.
If it has to be rotors
The trip most people book on this page flies on a fixed wing. These three do not. Forty-five minutes to an hour of flight time, $425 to $539, two of them small group and one of them private with the doors off or on.
50 minutes · ★ 5 (47)
$449See dates 1 hour · ★ 5 (14)
$425See dates 45 minutes · ★ 4.5 (15)
$539See datesPractical
Four things decide how it goes: whether you go up or drive up, which day tour stops where, where your trip starts from, and how far ahead the listing wants you to book.
One hour five minutes on a fixed wing over the canyon, the coast and the waterfalls. $155, 4.9 from 1,115 reviews.
Fifty minutes, small group, $449. Its description names Manawaiopuna Falls, Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast.
An hour, private group, $425, doors off or doors on. Waterfalls, Hanalei Valley and the crater of Mount Wai’ale’ale.
Forty-five minutes, small group, $539, departing Princeville rather than Lihue, with narration on board.
$1,249, starting in Honolulu. It is flagged as a new activity and carries no reviews yet, so there is no rating to weigh.
Between them the four flight descriptions name Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali Coast, Manawaiopuna Falls, Hanalei Valley and roaring waterfalls.
$231, nine and a half hours. Waimea Canyon, Old Koloa Town, the Wailua River and the cruise to Fern Grotto. 4.7 from 73.
$190, seven hours, with Hanapepe Town and a photo stop at Kalalau Lookout named in the listing. 4.6 from 26.
$187, nine hours, small group. Scenic lookouts, a nature walk, lunch on your own at the lodge, and a coffee plantation.
$189, seven hours, a meal included. The guides tell the story of Kauai past and present along the way. 4.2 from 17.
$1,085 for nine hours with the car and the guide to yourselves. Canyon views, the rainbow cliffs and the Waipo’o Falls.
$576 each, fourteen hours. One finishes at the Wailua River and Fern Grotto, the other at Koke’e and a coffee plantation.
Two listings here leave from Lihue, including the $155 air tour that most people on this page book.
One helicopter listing departs Princeville rather than Lihue, which matters if you are staying at that end of the island.
Two of the road tours carry a pickup badge. Read the one you are booking before you arrange a hotel transfer.
Three listings start on Oahu: two fourteen-hour road days and one combined air trip at $1,249.
A Waimea Canyon drive tour takes that road with a guide, so the stops, the timing and the commentary are what the ticket buys.
Two of the road listings are flagged wheelchair accessible. Where that matters, read the listing itself rather than this page.
Dates open month by month on each listing’s own calendar. Booking a few weeks ahead is the safe habit here.
Some listings ask you to book at least ten hours ahead, one at least an hour, one at least thirty minutes.
The terms sit on each listing and they are not the same across the twelve. Read the one you are booking.
Two listings are private: a doors-off flight and a nine-hour car. Two of the flights carry a small-group badge.
One seven-hour road tour includes a meal. On the nine-hour Koke’e day, lunch at the lodge is on your own.
Eleven of the twelve listings carry ratings. The newest, at $1,249, has none yet, so there is nothing to judge it on.
Best time
Tours run all year, and nothing in these listings promises weather or a view, so neither do we. What the durations do tell you is how much of a day each kind of trip takes — that is what the bars show.
45 – 65 min
The four flights over the canyon run forty-five to sixty-five minutes in the air. Half a day covers the whole trip, and the rest of the day stays yours.
7 – 9.5 hours
Seven day tours drive up to the lookouts and run seven to nine and a half hours, stops included. Plan nothing else for that date.
9 hours, private
The private car and guide runs nine hours for $1,085. The same rim road and the same lookouts, but the stops and the timing are yours to set.
14 hours
Two road tours start in Honolulu and fold the crossing to Kauai and back into the price: fourteen hours, $576, with one island in between.
Worth knowing
The cheapest flight is not a helicopter. The $155 trip is a fixed-wing air tour — the operator’s own words are “deluxe air tour”. If it has to be rotors, the cheapest helicopter listing here is $425.
Doors off is one listing, not a category. One flight says doors off or doors on in its own description. The other three say nothing about doors, so do not assume it.
The review counts here are lopsided. One listing holds 1,115 of them. The next has 73, and five have fewer than twenty. A 5.0 from fourteen people is not the evidence that 4.9 from 1,115 is.
Fourteen hours is what Oahu costs. The two road days that start in Honolulu are $576 and run fourteen hours, because the flight across to Kauai and back sits inside them.
Lunch is not always in the price. One seven-hour tour includes a meal. On the nine-hour Koke’e day the listing says lunch at the lodge is on your own.
The newest listing has no track record. The $1,249 trip from Oahu is flagged as a new activity and carries no reviews at all, so there is no rating to set against the others.
Round out the trip
Go deeper
Common questions
No. The $155 listing is a fixed-wing air tour — the operator calls it a deluxe air tour — and it flies the canyon, the Na Pali Coast and the waterfalls in one hour five minutes. The cheapest true helicopter on this page is the private doors-off flight at $425.
The eco adventure flight: 5.0 across 47 reviews, fifty minutes, small group, $449. The private doors-off flight also shows 5.0, but from 14 reviews, and the Princeville departure shows 4.5 from 15. All three are rotors; the far more reviewed listing on this page is not.
Yes. Seven day tours here drive up to the canyon lookouts, from $187, and run seven to nine and a half hours. Between them the listings name Koke’e State Park, the Wailua River and Fern Grotto, Spouting Horn, Old Koloa Town and the swinging bridge at Hanapepe.
Two listings run it as a day trip Honolulu visitors can book: fourteen hours, $576, with the flight across to Kauai and back folded into the price. One finishes at the Wailua River and Fern Grotto, the other at Koke’e and a coffee plantation.
Forty-five minutes from Princeville, fifty on the eco adventure flight, and an hour on the private doors-off listing. The fixed-wing air tour is the longest of the four at one hour five minutes, and it is also the cheapest.
Their own descriptions name Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali Coast, Manawaiopuna Falls, Hanalei Valley and the crater of Mount Wai’ale’ale. We repeat what the operators write and nothing beyond it, because nothing beyond it is written down.
It depends what you want back. The private doors-off flight is $425 for an hour with the aircraft to your group. The private road day is $1,085 for nine hours with the car, the guide and the timing of every stop under your own control.
They do, and departures show month by month on each listing’s own calendar. Nothing in these descriptions promises weather, visibility or full waterfalls, so pick the date you want and read what that listing says about changes and cancellation.
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One PDF: which of the twelve to book if you have a morning, a day, or two days on Kauai; what the flights and the road tours each cover; and what the two long days from Oahu actually involve.
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Why trust this page
Prices, ratings, review counts and durations come from the live GetYourGuide listing for each trip, and they are read again when this page is rebuilt.
Every bookable listing that names Waimea Canyon in its own route is on this page, by air and by road. Nobody pays to be featured here.
The cheapest and most reviewed trip here flies on a fixed wing, not rotors. We put that at the top rather than leave you to find it out at the airfield.
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers, shown as published. One listing here carries no reviews at all, and we say so instead of filling the gap.
The answer
The most booked trip here is the $155 air tour: one hour five minutes on a fixed wing over the canyon and the Na Pali Coast, 4.9 from 1,115 reviews. If it has to be a helicopter, those listings start at $425. Then give a second date to the rim road and the lookouts.
Check dates and availability→ Prices and ratings read from the operator’s own listingBefore you go
The twelve tours side by side — the price, how long each one takes, whether it goes by air or by road, and the reviews behind it, in the order we would book them.
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Kauai: Air Tour of Na Pali Coast, Entire Island of Kauai
★ 4.9 · 1 115 reviews · 1 hour 5 minutes