A Grand Canyon helicopter tour could be a thrilling option to expertise the awe-inspiring views and beautiful magnificence that the Grand Canyon has to supply. Soar throughout the Grand Canyon like an eagle and be amazed by the sheer dimension and grandeur of the canyon.
Helicopter excursions depart from Las Vegas, the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, and from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This text captures worthwhile insights from what we realized after researching the varied choices, after taking a helicopter flight ourselves, and after street tripping between Las Vegas, the West Rim, and the South Rim.
Map of Las Vegas, the West Rim, and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour
Flights from the South Rim
Flights from Las Vegas to the West Rim
Flights from Las Vegas to the South Rim
Flights from the West Rim
Corporations Providing Flights over the Grand Canyon
Security
Sort of Helicopter
Choice For A Entrance Seat
Hidden Charges
Flight Movies
Greatest Time for Pictures
Is a Helicopter Flight over the Grand Canyon Price It?
About Our Expertise
Last Issues to Think about
Flights from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
There are three helicopter firms that provide excursions from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon: Maverick Helicopters, Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, and Grand Canyon Helicopters. All of them fly out of the airport that’s situated in Tusayan, AZ, which is a couple of 15-minute drive south of Grand Canyon Village.
Because of laws, these firms fly the identical two routes. And each routes are “air solely” routes which means that they don’t land throughout the Grand Canyon.
30 Minute Tour of the Grand Canyon
There’s a 25-30 minute out-and-back route that flies from the South Rim to the North Rim after which turns round to observe the same trajectory again to the airport.
This gives a bonus as passengers on each side of the helicopter will get to see related views out their window, which may make it simpler to take pictures. Plus, the portion of the Grand Canyon this flight crosses is known as the Dragon Hall. The Dragon Hall is the widest and deepest part of the Grand Canyon, so the views are spectacular.
Picture from Maverick Helicopters
The Three Corporations that Provide this Tour:
Papillon refers to this route because the North Canyon Tour. This tour makes use of Bell helicopters and costs begin at $219 per individual and go up from there. In case you e book the North Canyon Tour with an EcoStar helicopter, the costs begin at $259 per individual. Extra on the distinction between these helicopters later within the article.
Grand Canyon Helicopters refers to this route because the Majestic. Grand Canyon Helicopters and Papillon are sister firms, so regardless that the identify of the tour is completely different, it’s the similar as reserving the North Canyon Tour with EcoStar by Papillon. You’ll find yourself on the identical helicopter no matter which firm you make the reservation by.
Maverick refers to this route because the Canyon Dancer Tour for $279 per individual. They use the EcoStar EC-130 helicopter.
45 Minute Tour of the Grand Canyon
There’s additionally a 45-50 minute counterclockwise route. This enables you see the jap a part of the Grand Canyon and extra of the North Rim earlier than returning on the same route throughout the Dragon Hall that the 25-30 minute tour follows. So, you get to expertise much more of the Grand Canyon’s spectacular views along with the Dragon Hall.
Picture from Maverick Helicopters
The Three Corporations that Provide this Tour:
Papillon refers to this route because the Imperial with EcoStar Tour. Costs begin at $309 per individual and use the EcoStar EC-130 helicopter because the identify of the tour counsel.
Grand Canyon Helicopters refers to this route because the Grand Kingdom. Once more, regardless that the identify of the tour is completely different, it’s the similar as reserving the Imperial with EcoStar Tour by Papillon. You’ll find yourself on the identical helicopter no matter which tour you e book.
Maverick refers to this route because the Canyon Spirit Tour for $309 per individual. They use the EcoStar EC-130 helicopter.
We opted for the 45-50 minute flight with the intention to see extra of the Grand Canyon and to benefit from the flying expertise longer. Now we have extra details about our expertise later on this article.
Flights from Las Vegas to the West Rim
Helicopter excursions departing from Las Vegas provide many tempting choices to select from, together with choices to land within the Grand Canyon, choices to return at sundown so you’ll be able to see the lights alongside the Vegas Strip, and choices that may be mixed with different excursions. Many of those flights additionally fly over Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, and a few even embody champagne.
Costs can vary anyplace from $250 per individual to over $500 per individual. Maverick gives a tour that features a flight over the Las Vegas strip and half-hour on the bottom in Grand Canyon west. In case you e book a day flight, you’ll be able to see the Las Vegas metropolis flights once you return to town. Though this flight doesn’t go do the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, it nonetheless feels like a beautiful tour, because you additionally get to see Las Vegas.
It ought to be famous that almost all of those excursions from Las Vegas go to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, not the South Rim. And whereas we have now not flown over the West Rim ourselves, we did journey to the West Rim portion by automobile and noticed this a part of the Grand Canyon from the Skywalk, Eagle Level, and Guano Level.
You may examine our expertise in our article Is the Grand Canyon Skywalk Price It?
The West Rim of the Grand Canyon is good to see but it surely doesn’t have the identical jaw-dropping views because the South Rim. Somebody solely seeing the Grand Canyon from the West Rim would miss out on the true grandeur and vastness that you simply expertise on the South Rim.
Views from the West Rim
West Rim of the Grand Canyon
Eagle Level, One other View of the West Rim
Views from the South Rim
View from Mather Level on the South Rim
The view from Yaki Level on the South Rim
Any helicopter experience from Vegas can be a enjoyable and memorable expertise, but when that is your one likelihood to see the Grand Canyon then we extremely advocate that you simply see it from the South Rim. Phrases can’t describe the beautiful great thing about the Grand Canyon on the South Rim. It should go away you speechless.
Flights from Las Vegas The place You Can See the South Rim
Fortunately, there are a number of excursions that may fly you on a small prop aircraft from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon Nationwide Park Airport. This airport is situated in Tusayan, simply south of the Grand Canyon Village. This is similar airport that I discussed earlier on this article for flights from the South Rim.
You board a helicopter and fly over the Dragon Hall, which is the widest and deepest part of the Grand Canyon. That is the 25-30 minute out-and-back route described above. Then, they are going to present land transportation into Grand Canyon Nationwide Park. From right here, you can even get pleasure from a few of the panoramic vistas alongside the sting of the South Rim. Lastly, you fly again to Las Vegas by prop aircraft the identical day.
Two Corporations that Provide This Tour
Papillon refers to tour this because the Grand Canyon Connoisseur with Helicopter Tour. This tour final about 9.5 hours and costs begin at $660 per individual.
Maverick refers to this tour because the Canyon Dream. This tour lasts about 7 hours and price $544 per individual.
Variations of This Tour
Papillon gives an possibility with out the helicopter flight referred to as the Grand Canyon Connoisseur Tour. You fly to the Grand Canyon by aircraft, spend roughly 3 hours touring the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, fly again to Las Vegas by aircraft. You don’t get the helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon. This tour final about 9.5 hours and costs begin at $579 per individual.
All of those are nice choices to contemplate in case you are in Las Vegas and solely have sooner or later to see the Grand Canyon. These choices help you see probably the most dramatic portion of the Grand Canyon, the place you’ll be able to actually recognize the sheer dimension of the canyon.
Flights from the West Rim
Helicopter Excursions departing from the West Rim of the Grand Canyon solely cowl the West Rim portion of the canyon. A few of these excursions will land within the canyon and allow you to stroll round. Papillon and Mustang Helicopters (see hyperlinks under) present service on the West Rim and costs begin at $175 per individual.
Sadly, I wasn’t capable of finding a helicopter tour that may journey from the West Rim to the South Rim. If you’re planning a visit to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon then learn our article right here concerning the West Rim. When you can have a pleasant expertise on the West Rim, you don’t get to expertise the enormity and splendor of the Grand Canyon till you see it from the South Rim. So, if that is your one likelihood to see the Grand Canyon then we advocate seeing it from the South Rim as a substitute.
Corporations Providing Helicopter Flights of the Grand Canyon
Maverick Helicopters: Presents flights departing from the Grand Canyon South Rim and from Las Vegas
Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters: Presents flights departing from the Grand Canyon South Rim, Grand Canyon West Rim, and from Las Vegas
Grand Canyon Helicopters: Presents flights departing from Grand Canyon South Rim and from Las Vegas
Sundance Helicopters: Presents flights departing from Las Vegas
Mustang Helicopters: Presents flights departing from Grand Canyon West Rim and from Las Vegas
Components to Think about when Reserving a Flight
Since we needed to fly over the South Rim space of the Grand Canyon I solely researched Maverick, Papillon, and Grand Canyon Helicopters as a result of they’re the one firms that provide service within the South Rim space.
Security
Right here is an article that summarizes “Air Tour Accidents at and round Grand Canyon” since 1980 and consists of hyperlinks to the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) experiences.
In line with this text, Maverick has had 5 non-fatal incidents and 0 deadly incidents since 1980. Whereas, Papillon has had 5 non-fatal incidents and 4 deadly incidents since 1980. Papillon’s most up-to-date deadly incident occurred in February 2018.
Grand Canyon Helicopters has not had any incidents, however they’re a sister firm of Papillon and their phrases and situations state “Papillon Airways, Inc., d/b/a Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, additionally d/b/a Grand Canyon Helicopters, will function any helicopter flight(s) you will have booked.”
We additionally checked out how these firms promote a secure flying expertise on their very own web sites.
Maverick states that they’re a recipient of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) distinguished “Diamond Award”. I did some extra digging and this text explains that they’ve obtained the award 7 occasions. The article additional states “The distinguished honor is a results of the corporate’s ongoing dedication to upkeep coaching and plane security.”
Papillon states on their web site that they’re licensed by the Tour Operators Program of Security (TOPS), which is “a corporation whose most important objective is to make sure security and reliability all through the air tour business”. This implies Papillon has agreed to function to stands that far exceed the working requirements set by the FAA. The Grand Canyon Helicopters web site has related wording.
There’s all the time some danger with any aviation expertise. The likelihood of being concerned in an incident is low when you consider the variety of flights and passengers flown annually. However the numbers from the report, and the FAA awards, have been nonetheless a key issue once we in the end chosen to fly with Maverick.
Sort of Helicopter
The EcoStar EC-130 helicopter is designed extra for tourism as it’s quieter, passengers can talk with one another by the headsets, it has a 180° discipline of view, and ahead dealing with stadium model seating.
The Bell Helicopter is noisier, passengers can solely take heed to the pilot over the headsets and might’t discuss to one another, and the seating is configured such that there’s just one entrance passenger seat with bench model seating within the rear, which means passengers within the rear are dealing with one another with the home windows on the edges.
The vast majority of the helicopter excursions within the South Rim space use the EcoStar EC-130 helicopter. Papillon gives one tour (North Canyon Tour) that makes use of the Bell Helicopter and that is the most affordable tour possibility.
Choice for a Entrance Seat
For security causes, entrance row seating is decided by the pilot on the time of your flight and relies on balancing the load of the helicopter. We supplied our weight once we made our reservation and we stood on a scale once we checked in for our flight.
For flights utilizing the EcoStar EC-130 helicopters, Papillon provides you the choice to request a entrance seat once you make your reservation. In case you make this request and are chosen to take a seat in a entrance seat, then Papillon will cost you an additional $50 per individual once you examine in on your flight.
Grand Canyon Helicopters doesn’t point out the power to request entrance row seating on their web site, however you might be reserving the identical helicopter flights as when you booked by Papillon so maybe you can also make this request throughout the reservation course of. Or simply e book by Papillon as a substitute.
Maverick then again, doesn’t cost additional when you get chosen to take a seat within the entrance row.
Even when you request a entrance seat, it isn’t assured. In the end, it is dependent upon the opposite passengers and weight distribution, and the pilot has the ultimate say in deciding who will get a entrance seat.
Papillon’s on-line costs are listed as “beginning at,” which means they could add extra charges and/or fluctuate the worth primarily based on date/time. So, use their “Examine Costs and Availability” function to search for the whole value. Additionally, you will pay extra when you request a entrance seat prematurely and also you get chosen.
Grand Canyon Helicopters on-line costs for a given flight seem to match that of Papillon. However once more, they’re each promoting the identical flights.
Maverick’s web site states a single complete value for every tour that’s inclusive of the Flight + Charges + Gas Surcharge.
Flight Video
Maverick has a digicam pod hooked up beneath their helicopters. They file your flight in addition to the audio overlay out of your headsets (music and speaking). On the finish of your flight they provide the choice to buy this as a memento. At the moment they solely present it on a DVD however I used to be instructed that they’re engaged on having the ability to provide a digital copy of the video.
Papillon and Grand Canyon Helicopters don’t provide any video seize service for his or her South Rim helicopter flights.
Greatest Time for Pictures
We spoke to our pilot and two tour firms for his or her recommendation on the very best time for pictures. We acquired a combined bag of solutions.
In the course of the morning hours, you danger having foggy situations. Within the afternoon, the skies can get hazy. Everybody we spoke to couldn’t agree on what’s the finest time for pictures. I might suppose that the late morning to early afternoon is your finest guess, with the intention to keep away from the fog and the haze.
Our pictures have been taken on a 9 am tour in December.
About Our Expertise
Once we initially deliberate our journey to the Grand Canyon the 4 of us have been going to hike the South Kaibab path right down to the Colorado River after which again up the Brilliant Angel Path. This is called the South Rim to South Rim hike.
Sadly, earlier than our journey Kara injured her leg. An extended, strenuous hike was not going to be potential for her. So, we cut up up. Whereas Julie and Tyler descended into the depths of the Grand Canyon, Kara and I soared over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter.
We booked the Canyon Spirit flight with Maverick Helicopters. That is their 45-50 minute flight route that departs from the Grand Canyon Nationwide Park Airport in Tusayan, AZ.
We chosen Maverick Helicopters as a result of they haven’t had any deadly incidents, they’ve obtained distinguished FAA awards, and since they didn’t cost additional if we have been chosen to take a seat within the entrance.
Once we checked in on the Maverick Helicopters constructing, they took our weight and gave us a security briefing. Our pilot, a proper Blackhawk pilot within the US Military, then assigned the seats primarily based on weight distribution and steadiness. Kara and I sat within the entrance row seats with the pilot and a household of three sat simply behind us within the again row.
We placed on our headsets to dam out the noise of the helicopter. Now we might all discuss to one another and take heed to music that the pilot performed. Appropriately, with an organization named Maverick, a few of the songs performed have been from the Prime Gun soundtrack.
Our helicopter lifted off the bottom and we headed east throughout the Kaibab Forest. We flew over the Kaibab Forest for a bit earlier than flying over the rim of the canyon and being greeted with our first breathtaking view of the canyon. As we headed in the direction of the confluence of the Little Colorado River, our pilot identified attention-grabbing information concerning the big canyon partitions, a fault line, mesas, and extra.
We then turned and flew in the direction of the North Rim. As soon as we crossed the northern rim of the canyon we flew in the direction of Dragon’s Hall. Following Dragon’s Hall put us on a trajectory again in the direction of the South Rim and in the end again to the airport.
Photographs and phrases can’t describe how spectacular this a part of Grand Canyon is. You positively need to see if for your self to actually recognize it. Be ready to be shocked by its magnificence!
Is a Helicopter Flight Over the Grand Canyon Price It?
If you’re in Las Vegas and solely have sooner or later to see the Grand Canyon, one of many excursions from Las Vegas to the South Rim space is price it. The Grand Canyon is just wonderful and you can’t absolutely recognize its dimension and grandeur till you see it from the South Rim.
If you’re already on the South Rim, a helicopter experience will add an additional thrill to your expertise. It could additionally allow you to see components of the Grand Canyon that you simply can’t see from the South Rim viewpoints, and study attention-grabbing information concerning the Grand Canyon out of your pilot.
However on the similar time, the viewpoints alongside the South Rim Path are wonderful. Including the helicopter tour would allow you to see extra components of the canyon and add some additional journey to your journey.
Last Issues to Think about
These flights are common so we advocate making a reservation prematurely to ensure you get the date and time that works finest on your schedule. In the course of the busy seasons of summer time, Christmas, Spring Break, and vacation weekends, plan on making these reservations not less than a number of weeks prematurely.
Deliver sunblock and sun shades. On a sunny day, you will get a sunburn even whereas contained in the helicopter.
And naturally, don’t overlook your digicam!
For extra details about Grand Canyon Nationwide Park, take a look at our Information to Grand Canyon Nationwide Park. Get essential journey planning suggestions, pattern itineraries, recommendation on when to go, the place to remain, and extra.
Helicopter Excursions of the Grand Canyon
Are you contemplating taking a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon? Remark under if in case you have any questions or if you wish to share your expertise.
Extra Info for Your Journey to the Grand Canyon:
- GRAND CANYON: Greatest Issues to do on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
- GRAND CANYON: 16 Superb Viewpoints from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
- ONE DAY ITINERARY: The best way to Spend One Day within the Grand Canyon
- SKYWALK: Is the Grand Canyon Skywalk Price It?
- GRAND CANYON HIKE: The best way to Hike the South Kaibab and Brilliant Angel Path in One Day
- RIM-TO-RIM: The best way to Hike the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim
- GRAND CANYON ITINERARY: Grand Canyon Highway Journey: 5 Itinerary Concepts from Las Vegas
Learn all of our articles about america in our United States Journey Information.
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