Grand Canyon Trips - Great Bargains on Tours During Labor Day Vacation

With Labor Day fast approaching, the time to reserve your Grand Canyon trip is now. Learn about what's available and which is best for you. Peruse this article.

Tour Departures

Most canyon tours begin in Tusayan, Arizona (a tiny place just outside the main entrance to the South Rim) or Las Vegas, Nevada. Folks coming from Williams, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Sedona, or other Arizona cities will begin their tours in Tusayan.

You can tour by bus, helicopter, airplane or raft. Here is a quick look at each kind of tour.

Bus Tours

A lot of people like bus tours because they offer a full day of fun. In addition to being awesome, they're the most inexpensive way to enjoy the Canyon via a tour that's guided. Based on past history, the most popular Labor Day bus tour will be the one that does the South Rim. The day long tour package is all-inclusive and covers the cost of Park fees and taxes, plus the tour includes a tour guide and lunch. Lots of travelers prefer the West Rim because it's home to the Glass Bridge, which lets intrepid adventurers walk nearly 70 feet over the edge until they are suspended a whopping 4,000 feet over the Canyon floor.

Grand Canyon Airplane Tours

If you depart from Las Vegas, you can fly to the South Rim or the West Rim. Both destinations offer tours with a landing option. It takes about 30 minutes to fly to the West Rim and around an hour to fly to the South Rim from Vegas. My favorite South Rim landing tour includes a 2 1/2-hour bus tour in the Park. The West Rim has an exciting landing tour that comes with a helicopter ride that drops you off on the floor of the canyon so you can take a raft trip along the Colorado River. When it comes to tours that land, expect lots of fun and side trips.

Helicopter Tours

There are two versions of air-only South Rim helicopter tours (both fly out of Tusayan): one gives you 50 minutes of flight time while the other is in the air for 30 minutes. My preference is the 50-minute flight because you get to see and do more and when it's all said and done you'll have flow over 75% of the National Park. The helicopters that depart from Vegas only fly to the West Rim, and you get to pass over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam on the way there. Air-only tours circle the West Rim highlights and then turn back. When you take a landing tour at the West Rim, your chopper can fly right down to the floor of the canyon where a Champagne picnic awaits, you can't do that at the South Rim since helicopters cannot fly below the rim there.

Rating Tours On Smooth Waters

Children four and older, as well as senior adults, are welcome on smooth-water raft tours because the rafts stay on the calm water sections of the Colorado River. They are a fun way for families to relax on the water and get a rest from the summer heat. Tours that take place in Grand Canyon South come in two kinds: the first option gets you to Glen Canyon dam by bus wherein you'll go to the base and transfer to your boat for the start of a 15-mile float. The other South Rim version includes a 4x4 tour of the "Slot Canyons" at Antelope Canyon and then flies you to the dam for the rafting segment.

Wrapping Up...

Grand Canyon tours are great things to do for Labor Day weekend. It's smart to book ahead because holiday tours sell out fast. There are many tours available, so if your first choice is sold out, you should still be able to find a suitable tour. For example, if the chopper tour you want is sold out, consider a plane tour instead. It doesn't really matter what kind of tour you choose, they are all fantastic fun!

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