Now\’s the time of year to take a Grand Canyon helicopter tour. There are lots of choices from which to choose, and some of the best are called \”fly overs, \” which are your cheapest and quickest option on the market today.

There are two destinations that offer flyovers. They are Las Vegas, NV, and South Rim/Tusayan in northern Arizona. Both locations offer flights on the hour and nearly every day of the year.

Las Vegas

The Vegas flyover goes over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon before turning back. These tours typically last about three hours, including hotel pick up time and drop off.

There\’s a deluxe version of this flight. Instead of flying from Boulder City, you can depart from The Strip. Further, they come with complimentary limousine hotel pick up and drop off as well as an extended flight from the top of The Strip to the bottom.

South Rim

There are two kinds of South Rim flyovers. They are the 30-minute flight and the 50-minute flight. The shorter one goes from the South Rim to the North Rim and back. The longer one does that, too, plus everything to the Park\’s eastern boundary.

Personally, I prefer the 50 minute tour because once done you\’ll have see up to 75 percent of the National Park, which is quite a feat considering the Canyon is comprised of more than 1 million acres.

The South Rim offers a basic and a deluxe version of each tour. The difference between them is the type of helicopter (this also applies to Las Vegas fly overs). The inexpensive version used a Bell Ranger or an AStar while the deluxe one uses the EcoStar 130.

EcoStar 130

Frankly, I think the EcoStar 130 is the only way to go. Yes, it\’s more expensive, but the EcoStar is vastly superior to the other choppers. For starters, its cabin is 25 percent larger. Then there\’s the fact that it\’s outfitted with a 180-degree wraparound window.

Please note that there are no helicopter rides that go from Las Vegas to the South Rim and vice versa. This is because the South Rim is 270 miles from Vegas and thus out of range for helicopters to fly. If you are in Las Vegas and you want to do the South Rim, I strongly recommend you take the 60-minute airplane flight there.

RSVP

As I said earlier, fly over tours are the cheapest helicopter option, which makes them very popular with budget travelers. Thus it\’s wise to purchase your tour at least 2 weeks in advance. Even better, buy it right after you book your hotel.

I don\’t recommend booking your tour upon arrival or at the destination. You will end up paying more. Further, it\’s highly likely that the tour you want is sold out or the flight time is unavailable (this is important because morning and sunset flights are the best).

I often get asked about discounts. Well, it starts by purchasing your tour well in advance of your desired departure date. The other step is to book it on the Internet. Because it\’s \”self serve, \” the price of the helicopter ride is cheaper.

Conclusion

I hope this article about Grand Canyon helicopter tours that fly over the National Park proved helpful. To reiterate, I recommend you go with either the morning or the sunset deluxe version of these flights for the best experience. But remember: these are the most popular trips, so book early to get your seats.

The author is a Grand Canyon expert and recommends going here for the best South Rim helicopter tours and here for ones that depart from Las Vegas: http://www.grandcanyonhelicopters.org/las-vegas/

The author is a Grand Canyon expert and recommends going here for the best South Rim helicopter tours and here for ones that depart from Las Vegas: http://www.grandcanyonhelicopters.org/las-vegas/

Author Bio: The author is a Grand Canyon expert and recommends going here for the best South Rim helicopter tours and here for ones that depart from Las Vegas: http://www.grandcanyonhelicopters.org/las-vegas/

Category: Travel
Keywords: grand canyon, las vegas, grand canyon helicopters, las vegas helicopters, grand canyon flights