Lots of travelers visit the Grand Canyon over the Thanksgiving holiday. If you\’re one of them, I strongly recommend booking ahead of time and over the Internet. It\’s the best way to guarantee your seats while locking in prices before they spike prior to holiday.

Pretty much everyone is comfortable buying travel over the Internet and helicopter tours over the Canyon are no exception. It\’s easy, safe and super convenient. Moreover, it\’s cheaper. I personally have saved myself and friends and family up to 35 percent booking online.

But there is a catch. You have to complete the transaction online in order to qualify for the Internet discount. Failure to do so could result in you paying full retail price, which can get quite expensive. All major credit cards are accepted and once you submit your order you\’ll receive your tickets in a matter of minutes.

Las Vegas or South Rim

There are two locations from which to take a tour: Las Vegas and the South Rim. Both leave every day of the year except Christmas Day, and typically there are flights on the hour from early morning to late afternoon and that includes sunset tours.

From Vegas, you can fly over the Canyon, land in the bottom or land on top. It\’s your call. The flyover tours are the cheapest. Indeed, landing tours are more expensive but in my opinion are worth it because you get to significantly do and see more.

My favorite landing tour is the one that goes to the bottom for a Champagne picnic. The descent to the bottom is a stunning 3,500 feet and it\’s a magnificent arrival when you land next to the incredible Colorado River, the waterway that single-handedly dug out the Canyon.

Land on Bottom

This bottom-landing tour can be upgraded to include a Colorado River boat tour as well and many people go so far as to also add in the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which is an all-glass bridge that let\’s you stroll some 75 feet over the lip of the Canyon until your are hovering some 4K feet over the bottom.

FYI: All Vegas helicopter tours go over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. None, however, fly to the South Rim, which is 277 miles away and out of range of helicopters. If you want to do the South Rim from Vegas, I strongly recommend you do the plane tour that flies direct and comes with a 30-minute helicopter ride.

Only flyover tours are available at the South Rim, and the rides are 30- and 50-minutes in length. The shorter one goes from the South Rim to the North Rim and back. The longer one does that, too, plus everything up to the East Rim. Both fly through the incredible Dragoon Corridor, which is the widest and deepest section of the National Park.

Conclusion

I hope this article about Thanksgiving helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon proved helpful as you plan your vacation. If you\’re flying from Vegas, I recommend one of the landing tours, especially the one that comes with a Champagne picnic at the bottom. If you\’re flying from South Rim, stick with the 50-minute flight as you\’ll get to see up to 75 percent of the National Park in under an hour.

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: South Rim helicopter