Why Las Vegas is a Great Place for Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

Vegas is a superb place by which to take a Grand Canyon helicopter trip. You are able to fly over the top or cruise to the bottom. Discover the one that's best for you. Look at this article.

Lift Off Points

Grand Canyon tours depart from the Vegas Strip and from airfields in the suburbs of Henderson and Boulder City. The tours that take off from airfields in the suburbs cost less because they are not as convenient, so if you want to take off from the Strip, you'll pay more, but the cost is worth it.

The majority of Las Vegas resorts and hotels are a mere 10-minute ride from the helipad. On the other hand, it takes about 30 to 45 minutes to get to the airfields in the suburbs by shuttle van. Eliminating the longer commute makes it worthwhile to pay more to leave from the Strip.

But two things about the Strip helicopter flights really put the icing on the cake. First and foremost, if you trip is aboard one of the helicopters from Las Vegas, expect to enjoy your aerial adventure in comfort and style - in a chauffeur-driven stretch limo instead of an ordinary shuttle van. And, on the flight back to Vegas, you'll enjoy the incredible spectacle of flying over the Vegas Strip and major Las Vegas hotels. I think these perks make Strip departures well worth their higher price.

Helicopter Tours

You can take a helicopter tour out of Vegas that lands at the West Rim, or one that just flies over it. The flight path for both types of tours takes you over Lake Mead, the Hoover Dam, and Grand Cliffs Wash on the way to the West Rim. If you take a landing tour, your chopper will set down on the canyon floor or on top of the rim, but if you take an air-only tour, the chopper will circle the rim and fly back to Vegas.

One of the most popular landing tours descends to the canyon floor and lands near the Colorado River where you can enjoy a Champagne picnic and explore the area on foot for about a half an hour. One crowd-favorite is to extend the trip with a rafting tour down the Colorado River. Your choice of activities once you get to the canyon are up to you.

If you take a tour that lands on top of the rim, you'll have around 2 1/2 hours to explore the area. The perennial favorite comes with VIP access to the Skywalk (the "Glass Bridge"), an all-glass, horseshoe-shaped structure that lets you walk 70 feet past the Canyon's edge while you're almost 4,000 feet above the river far below.

Airplane Tours

The airplanes from Vegas to the Grand Canyon fly along the same route as the helicopters. If you want to land on the Canyon's bottom, you'll need to book a package that includes a bottom-landing helicopter flight (you could also add the Colorado River float trip if you want). Plane rides can be either full-on aerial or land at the top of the Canyon's rim. You can even add Skywalk tickets on to the plane tours just as you can the helicopter tours.

When it comes to the cost of the tours, the airplane tours are the least expensive. Also, airplane tours don't sell out as fast since they hold a lot more people per aircraft than the chopper tours do.

Get Your Seats Early

Since these air tours are so popular, you definitely want to book your seats about a week or two before you plan to go. The benefit of purchasing your flight on the Web is that you will get a nice Internet discount and avoid paying full retail. Don't forget to note important details of your tour such as the pickup time and location at your Vegas resort. Your hotel's concierge will know if you're unsure about the spot.

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