Island Helicopters Named Among America’s Best Scenic Helicopter Flights
Island Helicopters has been named one of six standout scenic helicopter experiences in the United States, in a new feature published by BusinessMirror — one of the Philippines’ leading business and lifestyle publications. The article, “Scenic Helicopter Flights Over America: Six Adventures Worth Building a Trip Around,” published August 26, 2026, highlights flights that pair aerial sightseeing with unforgettable experiences on the ground, from a private island picnic off the California coast to a Hudson Valley wine tasting in New York. Representing Hawaiʻi on that list: Island Helicopters’ Jurassic Falls Landing Adventure on Kauaʻi.
It’s good company. The roundup singles out six operators nationwide, each chosen for offering something a standard sightseeing flight can’t — a landing on a private island, dinner beside a lake, a guided tour through century-old wine cellars. Island Helicopters made the cut for the one experience no other operator in Hawaiʻi can offer: a landing at Manawaiopuna Falls, the 400-foot waterfall known worldwide as the “Jurassic Falls” from Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film.
As BusinessMirror put it, “Step into cinematic history with Island Helicopters on Kauaʻi.”
Why the Jurassic Falls Landing Adventure Made the List
The Jurassic Falls Landing Adventure begins with Island Helicopters’ Grand Skies Island Tour, circling Kauaʻi’s coastline, sea cliffs, and valleys, before touching down at the base of the falls — deep in the privately owned Hanapēpē Valley, land that has belonged to the Robinson family for generations and is inaccessible except by helicopter. On the ground, passengers follow a short jungle path to the base of the falls, learning about the valley’s native plants, volcanic geology, and agricultural history along the way.
Island Helicopters has held the exclusive landing rights at Manawaiopuna Falls since 2009, making the Jurassic Falls Landing Adventure the only way for visitors to actually set foot on this remnant of the film’s “Isla Nublar.” BusinessMirror called that out directly, pointing out that Island Helicopters is the only operator offering a landing experience at the falls — giving visitors access to a part of Kauaʻi that a conventional sightseeing tour simply can’t reach.
Beyond the Falls
The BusinessMirror feature doesn’t stop at the landing. It points travelers to keep exploring on the ground at Waimea Canyon and neighboring Kōkeʻe State Park, just a scenic drive from Līhuʻe, where lookouts and hiking trails frame the same rugged coastline and valleys passengers glimpse from the air — a fitting way to extend a Jurassic Falls flight into a full day on Kauaʻi.
A Global Spotlight on a Local Experience
BusinessMirror reaches readers well beyond Hawaiʻi, and its choice to feature the Jurassic Falls Landing Adventure alongside iconic experiences in South Dakota, Massachusetts, California, Tennessee, and New York is a reminder that this isn’t just a local sightseeing tour — it’s a genuinely singular experience, recognized internationally as one of the best ways to see the United States from above.
See Manawaiopuna Falls for YourselfBook the Jurassic Falls Landing Adventure — the only helicopter tour authorized to land at the falls made famous by Jurassic Park.Book Your Flight →islandhelicopters.com · 808.245.8588 |