Las Vegas Grand Canyon - helicopter?

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Thinking of going on a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon when in Vegas - anybody done it and could recommend a company that does these trips?

Any advice or alternatives welcome.

Cheers!

Bowlardo

A friend of mine went on honeymoon and did..... Biggest rip off of us his life he said

Metric Tensor

I've done it. Really enjoyed it. It was our honeymoon too and we asked if we could get the two seats in front and they sorted us out!

It was a good bit cheaper (although still saucy!) to get the trip from Henderson. So we were picked up by a mini bus at our hotel, driven to Henderson (about 40 mins if I recall) and then the helicopter took off and landed from there.

I can't even remember the name of the company. We didn't book it before the trip. We booked it we were out there - I don't know if that made it more expensive or not. There's plenty of those little booths selling that kind of thing in the main hotels on the strip.


P.S. It brings you to the closest part of the canyon to Vegas. There's a whole lot more cool grand canyon to see if you rent a car and take a couple of days on the road.

The Specialist

Bowlardo wrote: »

A friend of mine went on honeymoon and did..... Biggest rip off of us his life he said

Was he expecting to get thrown out of the chopper?

Staplor

Flying over Vegas is cool, plus you can go in a helicopter, which once the novelty wore off was boring. If you time it right you can fly back into Vegas as it is getting dark and see the lights from above.

Am I glad I did it? Yes
Would I do it again? No, would consider the car as someone mentioned above.

johnire

Hi there
We did the coach trip from Vegas a few years ago but never again. The round trip is just too long.
As it happens we're going back to Vegas next month and plan on doing the helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon with a company called Papillon.
The trip we're doing is the Sunset onw which includes a trip over Vegas at dusk. It looks really good.
Have a great time over there.

xlogo wrote: »

Thinking of going on a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon when in Vegas - anybody done it and could recommend a company that does these trips?

Any advice or alternatives welcome.

Cheers!

tricky D

Used Papillon at $250. You get picked up by bus which does the rounds of a few hotels and then a drive to Boulder Airport. Anybody I've recommended it to or had previously gone liked it despite the price. Bucket List item imho.

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tricky D wrote:

Used Papillon at $250. You get picked up by bus which does the rounds of a few hotels and then a drive to Boulder Airport. Anybody I've recommended it to or had previously gone liked it despite the price. Bucket List item imho.

€250 seems a great price - was that long ago?

thebiglad

Lucky me, I have visited GC a few times, by coach (1st visit on a budget) Helicopter and twice by plane.

For me the best by far was South Rim and by plane - it is a small propeller with all seats having a window. The South Rim is stunning, easily the best views.

To your question, the Helicopter is great fun but you really do miss out on the canyon experience - our helicopter landed in the canyon and we didn't have long enough on the ground. Flying to the canyon was great and arriving, kind of swooping into the canyon was brilliant but honestly not the best canyon experience.

With the helicopter they will distribute people based on where they need the weight for balance, you may be sitting in the middle with more limited views.

I would strongly recommend the South Rim by plane and take a helicopter down the strip to get the helicopter experience.

Don't think its an option for you but avoid the bus - hell of a long journey!!

West Rim and the Sky Walk is overhyped in my opinion.

Fr Tod Umptious

thebiglad wrote: »

Lucky me, I have visited GC a few times, by coach (1st visit on a budget) Helicopter and twice by plane.

For me the best by far was South Rim and by plane - it is a small propeller with all seats having a window. The South Rim is stunning, easily the best views.

To your question, the Helicopter is great fun but you really do miss out on the canyon experience - our helicopter landed in the canyon and we didn't have long enough on the ground. Flying to the canyon was great and arriving, kind of swooping into the canyon was brilliant but honestly not the best canyon experience.

With the helicopter they will distribute people based on where they need the weight for balance, you may be sitting in the middle with more limited views.

I would strongly recommend the South Rim by plane and take a helicopter down the strip to get the helicopter experience.

Don't think its an option for you but avoid the bus - hell of a long journey!!

West Rim and the Sky Walk is overhyped in my opinion.

I did the helicopter from the South Rim, did not land or anything, it was good.

The next day I did a hike as far as Cedar Point, a few hours round trip.

It was amazing, far far better experience than the helicopter would ever be.

If anyone has the time or interest I'd advise them taking one of the many free guided hikes run by the National Parks Service over any helicopter tour.

tricky D

xlogo wrote: »

€250 seems a great price - was that long ago?

3.5 years ago. Basic package no landing and no below rim.

dbagman

Sorry if mentioned before but I didnt read through comments, me and herself did vegas october 2015. was there for a full week so a car trip out to the canyon taking up a whole day didnt bother us and to be honest, broke up our trip to vegas nicely as a whole week of slots and drinking and madness is tough going. But if you can sacrifice a whole day i cannot recommend it more. We hired a soft top 4.6 litre mustang ( a bucket list tick for me) and drove out to the south rim of the grand canyon. I'm told the helicopter and coach trips only take you to what a local informed us is the " fake canyon". a tourist trap on the west rim of it. The 90 or so minutes we spent there was amazing. I dont think ill ever see panoramic views like it again in my lifetime and was so worth the days round trip to see. Car rental isnt too expensive, and definitely cheaper than a chopper, and that was with us upgrading from a standard car to the mustang. each to their own i guess but if you can go and see the real canyon. I promise you wont regret it.

dbagman

dbagman wrote: »

Sorry if mentioned before but I didnt read through comments, me and herself did vegas october 2015. was there for a full week so a car trip out to the canyon taking up a whole day didnt bother us and to be honest, broke up our trip to vegas nicely as a whole week of slots and drinking and madness is tough going. But if you can sacrifice a whole day i cannot recommend it more. We hired a soft top 4.6 litre mustang ( a bucket list tick for me) and drove out to the south rim of the grand canyon. I'm told the helicopter and coach trips only take you to what a local informed us is the " fake canyon". a tourist trap on the west rim of it. The 90 or so minutes we spent there was amazing. I dont think ill ever see panoramic views like it again in my lifetime and was so worth the days round trip to see. Car rental isnt too expensive, and definitely cheaper than a chopper, and that was with us upgrading from a standard car to the mustang. each to their own i guess but if you can go and see the real canyon. I promise you wont regret it.

forgot to mention the small matter of being able to stop and see the hoover dam on the way, but really it pales in comparison to the canyon.

shamrockvilla

South Rim, in my opinion is the only way to see the Grand Canyon. One of the most incredible experiences of my long life. If you have time, hire a car and take a an overnight.

anewme

Did the helicopter trip from Grand Canyon (we were staying beside Grand Canyon) in June 2016. We were there for about 3 -4 days. It was 284 dollars per person for helicopter.

The weight is distributed as someone else said so you don't get a choice where you want to sit , there were 4 in the front and two in the back. I was in front right hand side which was all glass.

It was a fantastic experience. Worth every cent. When the helicopter goes to the edge of the canyon and then just that drop below you as you go out over the canyon.

We had a full 45 mins over Grand Canyon itself as we were staying there. The helicopters took off from there. Not sure I'd go from Vegas though.

After a half hour I was starting to feel motion sickness!

Even know, just thinking back over it, I can still think back to that wow moment when you head out over the canyon. Then back into the canyon sitting on the rim eating pizza and watching the sun set. Times that make the daily grind worth it.

xlogo

Cheers for the replies - is there really that much of a difference between the south and west rims?

Jayop

Did it two years ago and it was amazing. Flying over the hoover dam, down into the Canyon where we had a champagne lunch and had maybe an hour to walk around and take photos. Would absolutely recommend it.

thebiglad

xlogo wrote: »

Cheers for the replies - is there really that much of a difference between the south and west rims?

Yes, South Rim is way more photogenic and impressive.

Google the 2 for photos/internet opinions - with a 1st visit to GC the West Rim is impressive and certainly do not recommend against it but the South Rim is different class...

x43r0

We did this last year - Booked it through viator

This is the tour we booked

Well worth it for the experience. Like someone else mentioned, it's expensive but it is a bucket list experience.

We picked the early morning slot so we were in the air as the sun rose which was spectacular. We landed in the canyon for a light breakfast and plenty of time to take it all in and get lots of pictures

Limo picked us up from our hotel and dropped us back later. A key benefit for us (as were only in town for 3 days) was that we were back in our hotel by 10.30am so didn't lose a day like we would have if gone by bus



Go for it!

xlogo

x43r0 wrote:

Limo picked us up from our hotel and dropped us back later. A key benefit for us (as were only in town for 3 days) was that we were back in our hotel by 10.30am so didn't lose a day like we would have if gone by bus

Many thanks for the reply - was there a surcharge with Viator when you got to the airport and was the limo shared?

x43r0

xlogo wrote: »

Many thanks for the reply - was there a surcharge with Viator when you got to the airport and was the limo shared?

The limo was shared with two other couples

I don't know about the surcharge for sure but Viator being a tour operator I'd assume yes

dbagman

x43r0 wrote:

Limo picked us up from our hotel and dropped us back later. A key benefit for us (as were only in town for 3 days) was that we were back in our hotel by 10.30am so didn't lose a day like we would have if gone by bus

Yeah if you're only there for a long weekend then most definitely go for a helicopter. A whole day is alot to lose when you only have 3 or 4. I was there for a week so driving out to the south rim didn't leave us tight for time and broke up our week nicely. But if at all possible time wise I wouldn't even think twice about which rim to go to going on any advice we received and our experience of the south rim. It's a once in a lifetime thing. If you can do it right you won't regret it.

thebiglad

You can fly to the South Rim - with the pick up, time at canyon etc from memory its 6-7 hours though.

as already mentioned the plane is basically arranged so all seats have a window (1 seat to each side) - views are great.

Its a trade off, South Rim and fly (which is still fun) or West Rim but get a helicopter ride - there are helicopters at South Rim when you arrive as an extra...

Sexual Chocolate

Would $79 per person sound about right for the south rim tour by bus ? The south rim seems to be the cheapest to do of the three.

circular flexing

We just got back from there. Hired a car in Vegas and drove to the Grand Canyon. Only the South Rim is open at the moment, the North Rim is closed until mid-May. The West Rim is not part of the National Park, can't comment on East Rim.

I also can't comment on the cost of the heli tour or bus tour, but I would say that it's absolutely worth spending a couple of days in the area. The sunsets over the Canyon are spectacular and when it gets dark, looking up in the sky is like being in a real life planetarium. We also visited Zion NP in Utah, which is a smaller canyon but just as interesting and the road runs right through the canyon.

jme2010

circular flexing wrote: »

when it gets dark, looking up in the sky is like being in a real life planetarium.

+1

One of my favorite things to do on a long road trip was to pull over for a little while and gaze up at the stars. Especially in Arizona where they just look extra bright to me.