Grand Canyon National Park is a sight to behold. Covering more than 1 million acres of pristine wilderness, the Park is split into North Rim and South Rim by the Colorado River, which courses through it for 277 miles. It\’s a huge, majestic landscape, and the best way to experience it is by taking a South Rim helicopter tour.

The South Rim is located in Northern Arizona near the Utah border. Its closest major towns include Flagstaff and Williams, which is also the terminus for the Grand Canyon Railway. Outside the main gates is Tusayan, which hosts Grand Canyon Airport, from which all air tours depart, and the IMAX Theater.

The Grand Canyon gets about 5 million visitors a year, and lots of them come from Phoenix, Sedona and Las Vegas. Most Central Arizona travelers will choose to arrive by car, while visitors from Vegas will come by either bus or airplane, the later of which I recommend the most.

Unlike the West Rim of the canyon, which is located just east of Las Vegas, the South Rim bans helicopters from flying below the rim and landing at the bottom. This restriction is a federal one and there\’s indeed no sign soon of it lifting. Relatedly, there are no flights from the South Rim to the West Rim, so if you want to visit that destination, you\’ll have to drive.

South Rim flights depart daily from GCA. There are a number of air tour operators located here, and flight prices range from value to luxury. As all flights follow the same flight path, the next major differentiator is time. There are 30-minute trips and ones that stay up in the air for nearly 1 hour.

The half-hour flights basically go from the South Rim to the North Rim and back. In between, you\’ll fly over Kaibab National Forest and through the Dragoon Corridor, which is the Canyon\’s most deep and wide part. This particular tour is a great option for folks who plan to spend a day at the canyon and who desire to see as much of it as possible.

The 50-minute tours include everything the half-hour flight does, except start out eastward, flying past the Desert Watchtower, the Zuni Corridor, the Colorado River confluence and the more beautifully desolated stretches of the North Rim. My recommendation is go with this tour because more airtime the better.

Helicopters hold up to six people plus the pilot. Rarely will you fly alone or in a nearly empty aircraft. Seating assignments are determined on the tarmac at the pilot\’s discretion. The reason for this is that total weight of all passengers must be distributed evenly about the aircraft and this is only possible at time of flight.

I recommend that your book your South Rim helicopter tour as soon as possible. Try to do it a week ahead of time. Purchasing a same-day flight is risky as there usually won\’t be any availability and if there is it\’s probably just one seat. Further, if you purchase your tour at the heliport, you will probably pay more just like you would if you were to buy a ticket form a commercial airline like Delta, AA and United.

Buy your tour on the Internet. That\’s where you\’ll find the best deals. More specifically, purchase it direct from the tour operator, who will post specials and discounts that other online brokers like Expedia, Priceline and Viator can\’t touch. Finally, remember to complete your transaction online to get that Internet deal. If you skip this step, you\’ll probably end up paying retail.

Ready to fly over The Strip? First, bookmark this website http://www.lasvegashelicopters.org Next, check out these Strip helicopter ratings and find the one that\’s right for your budget.

Ready to fly over the Las Vegas Strip in a helicopter? Go here for a list of the best Vegas helicopter tours based on qualify, safety and price: http://www.lasvegashelicopters.org/vegas-strip

Author Bio: Ready to fly over The Strip? First, bookmark this website http://www.lasvegashelicopters.org Next, check out these Strip helicopter ratings and find the one that\’s right for your budget.

Category: Travel
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