There was so much to see aside from volcanoes, and the volcanoes visited were highly visible and clear from the skies.
I worried myself after reading all the negative reviews here which in hindsight was pointless. I ended up booking an afternoon time slot as this was all that was available on the dates we were in Hilo. I had hoped for a morning flight as the weather is less reliable in the afternoons and sure enough, the weather rolled in right as the previous flight landed.
I was upset to hear we wouldn’t be able to ‘fly over the volcano’ mistaking this as not seeing volcanoes at all. In reality, we flew over some of the other many craters, some of which were also steaming away and fascinating as well. The clouds ended up parting briefly, long enough for our pilot to complete two circuits of the Kilauea caldera, one in each direction so that both sides of the helicopter could easily see.
The weather did prevent us from seeing the waterfalls (which we drove to the following day anyway) however we did get an up-close and personal view over the stunning coastline instead.
I have done a couple of other heli trips in the past and found this one to be the most interesting. Our pilot Sam was very friendly, knowledgeable, professional and great at chatting to patrons, as was the lady providing our briefing and check in process.
My suggestions are to try to booking a morning time slot and if that isn’t possible, to go with the flow and allow the pilot to share some other incredible local sites with you. Also, I went to the Volcanoes Park the day prior and covered most of it by foot or by car - it was great to spot locations that I had visited previously from the air and to put everything I had seen in to perspective. I would also try to book the heli trip on day one of your Hilo stay, so you don’t miss the experience should the weather restrict the flight from going ahead