Air-only helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon are ideal because they let you see the magnificent Grand Canyon when you don\’t have much time or when you have a limited budget. Landing tours are more comprehensive as far as Grand Canyon helicopters go, but they\’re also more expensive and time-consuming. That being said, you\’ll get a great taste of this magnificent place if you take an aerial helicopter tour.

Air only Grand Canyon helicopters go to the West Rim and The South Rim, but if you want to go to the West Rim, you depart from Las Vegas and if you want to go to the South Rim, you depart from Phoenix or a nearby city in Arizona. If you decide you want to land when you get to the Grand Canyon, then choose a West Rim tour because that is the only place in the canyon where the FAA allows helicopters to descend to the canyon floor.

You can pick one of two South Rim tours, the shortest one takes around a half an hour and goes to the North Rim and back to the South Rim. The longer, 50-minute tour does this too, but it also takes you over highlights like the magnificent Painted Desert, the Colorado River confluence, Imperial Point, Dragoon Corridor (the canyon\’s widest, deepest point), and Zuni Corridor. If you have time, choose the longer flight because you get to see so much more of the canyon.

You can catch a helicopter tour to the West Rim every single day at several different airfields scattered around the city of Vegas. Plan on the tour to take around 3.5 hours all together. In addition to the canyon, you get to fly over Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. At the canyon, you will pass over the famous glass Grand Canyon Skywalk, Eagle Point, Guano Point, as well as view the might Colorado River snaking along the canyon floor.

A lot of travelers coming from Vegas love this particular tour because it gives them a taste of the Park but doesn\’t take a lot of time, they\’d rather not take a whole day away from Vegas shows and nightlife. If you have plenty of time and want a more thorough canyon experience, I think you might prefer a landing tour. On one of these tours you can land on the bottom of the canyon where you can float down the Colorado River or enjoy a champagne picnic. You can also buy passes and walk out on the Skywalk if you are brave enough.

The best tours to select are the ones that use EcoStar 130 helicopters. Simply put, they\’re much better than the AStar aircraft that some companies use. The EcoStar 130 has a huge panoramic window that is ideal for sightseeing, theater style seats, comfortable climate control, a roomy cabin, and a quiet and stable flight.

You should know, Grand Canyon air tours are extremely popular so the fill up quickly. Get your tickets as early as possible, try to get them a week ahead of time.

Also, to get the absolute lowest price on your Grand Canyon helicopter tour, get your seats online. Go straight to the tour operator\’s website because prices are lower there than they are at Orbitz or Expedia. It saves you money to eliminate the middleman. Make sure you complete your transaction online though so you can take advantage of the Internet discount. If you mail in your payment or order through customer service you will pay more.

Travel editor Luke P. is an authority on helicopter trips to the Grand Canyon. He advises visiting this site for a listing of the best specials on the top flights: http://www.grandcanyoncheap.com/helicopter-deals.html

National Parks travel expert Luke P. is an authority on helicopter rides to the Grand Canyon. He advises going here for a listing of the very best bargains on the top trips: http://www.grandcanyoncheap.com/helicopter-deals.html

Author Bio: Travel editor Luke P. is an authority on helicopter trips to the Grand Canyon. He advises visiting this site for a listing of the best specials on the top flights: http://www.grandcanyoncheap.com/helicopter-deals.html

Category: Travel
Keywords: grand canyon, helicopter, tours, tips, reviews, deals, best flights, south rim, arizona,