The Memorial Day holiday kicks off the summer travel season, so it's time to start planning a fun trip. Going to Vegas is always a fun idea, but you can make the trip even more memorable by taking a side trip to the Grand Canyon, but you need to buy your tour tickets soon.
Helicopter Tours
Helicopter tours of the West Rim depart from Vegas and the tours of the South Rim depart from Tusayan, AZ. If you go to the West Rim, you can book a landing tour that sets down on top of the rim or on the Canyon floor, but if you go to the South Rim, you'll have to take an air-only tour since helicopters are not allowed to land at the Canyon in that part of the National Park.
Beginning your tour in Vegas means you'll see a lot of interesting sights during your flight to the Canyon. Your helicopter flies over Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, so you get a fantastic bird's eye view of these massive landmarks. If you book an air-only tour, your helicopter will fly over the main highlights of the West Rim and then circle back to Vegas. If you opt for a landing tour instead, you'll get to add on other fun adventures and explore the area by ground as well as by air.
I recommend landing tours at the West Rim, because they allow you to take in much more of the area. There's a landing tour that goes inside of the Grand Canyon, setting you down for a Champagne picnic. If you're up for it, you can even book a boat tour along the Colorado River. At the top of the Canyon, you could take a number of hiking trails, or even step out on the impressive glass bottomed Skywalk, which is 4000ft above the bottom of the Canyon.
If you go to the South Rim, you can choose from two helicopter tours. One gives you 30 minutes of flight time and goes to the North Rim and back. There is also a longer tour you can take that is highly recommended because it lasts for 50 minutes and flies all the way to the eastern edge of the National Park, so you see a lot more for a little increase in price. You'll get to see the Dragoon Corridor no matter which tour you take, since the flight path of these tours takes you right over the deepest and widest section of the Canyon.
Canyon Airplane Tours
If you want a more affordable tour, there are also airplanes that fly from Las Vegas. Although they fly higher than helicopters, they follow the same route to get to the National Park. Although this means you won't get to do the hovering flyovers, you still get oversized viewing windows and top mounted wings, for maximum visibility.
The airplanes can land at the Canyon too, so you can take a landing tour when you fly by plane, however, your airplane has to land on top of the rim. You can do all the same things as you would with a helicopter tour including touring the Skywalk and taking a helicopter descent to the bottom of the Canyon.
When you take an airplane tour of the South Rim, the airplane flies over the longer helicopter route, so you get to see around 75 percent of the whole National Park from the air. It's basically the same tour as you would take if you booked the 50-minute helicopter tour of the rim. Even though your airplane tour flies you at a higher altitude, your tickets will be cheaper, and because the planes carry more passengers per tour, the airplane tours are the best choice if you're traveling with a large group.
Conclusion
These air tours are very popular and they fill up fast, so you need to buy your tickets soon. It's best to get your seats about two weeks ahead of time, but try to avoid getting your seats the same day. It's best to buy your tour online so you get the low Internet rate, and when you buy your tour with your credit card, your seats are reserved right there and you won't have to worry about the tour selling out.
There are many tour options you can choose from when you're ready to book your tour, and that makes it easy to find something you'll like at a price you can afford. So reserve your seats now and you'll be set for your scenic and exhilarating Memorial Day tour of one of America's most loved National Parks.
Helicopter Tours
Helicopter tours of the West Rim depart from Vegas and the tours of the South Rim depart from Tusayan, AZ. If you go to the West Rim, you can book a landing tour that sets down on top of the rim or on the Canyon floor, but if you go to the South Rim, you'll have to take an air-only tour since helicopters are not allowed to land at the Canyon in that part of the National Park.
Beginning your tour in Vegas means you'll see a lot of interesting sights during your flight to the Canyon. Your helicopter flies over Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, so you get a fantastic bird's eye view of these massive landmarks. If you book an air-only tour, your helicopter will fly over the main highlights of the West Rim and then circle back to Vegas. If you opt for a landing tour instead, you'll get to add on other fun adventures and explore the area by ground as well as by air.
I recommend landing tours at the West Rim, because they allow you to take in much more of the area. There's a landing tour that goes inside of the Grand Canyon, setting you down for a Champagne picnic. If you're up for it, you can even book a boat tour along the Colorado River. At the top of the Canyon, you could take a number of hiking trails, or even step out on the impressive glass bottomed Skywalk, which is 4000ft above the bottom of the Canyon.
If you go to the South Rim, you can choose from two helicopter tours. One gives you 30 minutes of flight time and goes to the North Rim and back. There is also a longer tour you can take that is highly recommended because it lasts for 50 minutes and flies all the way to the eastern edge of the National Park, so you see a lot more for a little increase in price. You'll get to see the Dragoon Corridor no matter which tour you take, since the flight path of these tours takes you right over the deepest and widest section of the Canyon.
Canyon Airplane Tours
If you want a more affordable tour, there are also airplanes that fly from Las Vegas. Although they fly higher than helicopters, they follow the same route to get to the National Park. Although this means you won't get to do the hovering flyovers, you still get oversized viewing windows and top mounted wings, for maximum visibility.
The airplanes can land at the Canyon too, so you can take a landing tour when you fly by plane, however, your airplane has to land on top of the rim. You can do all the same things as you would with a helicopter tour including touring the Skywalk and taking a helicopter descent to the bottom of the Canyon.
When you take an airplane tour of the South Rim, the airplane flies over the longer helicopter route, so you get to see around 75 percent of the whole National Park from the air. It's basically the same tour as you would take if you booked the 50-minute helicopter tour of the rim. Even though your airplane tour flies you at a higher altitude, your tickets will be cheaper, and because the planes carry more passengers per tour, the airplane tours are the best choice if you're traveling with a large group.
Conclusion
These air tours are very popular and they fill up fast, so you need to buy your tickets soon. It's best to get your seats about two weeks ahead of time, but try to avoid getting your seats the same day. It's best to buy your tour online so you get the low Internet rate, and when you buy your tour with your credit card, your seats are reserved right there and you won't have to worry about the tour selling out.
There are many tour options you can choose from when you're ready to book your tour, and that makes it easy to find something you'll like at a price you can afford. So reserve your seats now and you'll be set for your scenic and exhilarating Memorial Day tour of one of America's most loved National Parks.
About the Author:
Grand Canyon National Park professional Erik Magnus suggests getting this free report since it can help you save lots of cash on these amazing plane and chopper excursions from Vegas and South Rim: http://www.grandcanyondaytrips.com/grand-canyon-flights-helicopter-airplane-tours/
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