Booking helicopter tours on-line?

[pengu1n]

Did any of you book your helicopter tours online? The prices are cheaper but I don't feel like the website have enough information for me to be comfortable. I am considering the Safari air tour in Kauai mostly although I haven't made a definite decision. How do you get to the heliport? Do they provide transportation from the cruise ship dock? It also doesn't list times for the flights, just morning & afternoon. Is it first come, first serve? I'm not sure how fast we'll be able to get off the ship although at least in Kauai, it's a dock & not a tender! We arrive at 8 am & leave at 5 pm. Does anyone know about their cancellation policies? What if we don't get to Kauai for some strange reason, or our itinerary changes and we're there on a different day? Thanks for any help!

[xpcdoojk]

I booked directly with Jack Harter in 2001. Have you checked out tom's barefoot hawaii. It allows you to compare the different tours. Then compare the direct websites, IE Safari or Jack Harter, etc.... to get the best price.

 

 

jc

[sazzle99]

I've been in touch with both Jack Harter and Safari - who will come and pick you up at the pier. We are overnight in Kauai though so are going to do the flight on the second day - so we don't have a problem with getting there on time. I seem to think though that they schedule flights at all different times throughout the morning. Both also do online booking (with an internet discount)

[sazzle99]

Sorry - also Safari (and I'm sure Jack Harter are the same) confirmed that if there was any last minute change as long as we notified them 24 hours before (which I'm sure you would know if the ship was changing itinerary) then we would be able to cancel and rebook on whatever day we got there. What happens if you never get there?? - not sure but I suppose that is unlikely - would travel insurance cover this?

[suziehmkr]

Unfortunately, you do not always know 24 hours ahead of time, and even then you may not have phone service.

 

The Island that just came back from Hawaii a couple of days ago, did not get to dock in Kauai due to winds. The harbor master refused docking. They did not have 24 hours notice. One cc member had 4 seats booked on Jack Harter and when they got ahold of them later, the said they would be charged for 2 seats since they were only able to fill the other two. That is a large chunk of change. She is not happy about it. Her situation caused me to reconsider the excursion that we were going to book in Kauai, especially since it is more often that they are late than miss it entirely. I contacted the tour company we were going to use and they said they hold to the 24 hour notice, so we elected not to book. We aren't willing to risk $400 on the weather or delayed ship.

 

So, if you book with Jack Harter and your ship is late or not docked, you will have to pay if they don't fill your seats and you weren't able to give 24 hour notice.

 

Moral of the story - if you are going to book independently, be sure to check with your tour operator about cancellation due to delays or missed ports and decide it if is worth the $$ to risk it.