Memorial Day holiday is a great time to take your summer vacation, so it's time to start planning for some fun. Touring the Grand Canyon is one excellent option, and it's a fun day trip to take during a Vegas getaway, but you need to get your tour tickets soon.
Touring By Helicopter
Helicopter tours of the West Rim depart from Vegas and the tours of the South Rim depart from Tusayan, AZ. If you go to the West Rim, you can book a landing tour that sets down on top of the rim or on the Canyon floor, but if you go to the South Rim, you'll have to take an air-only tour since helicopters are not allowed to land at the Canyon in that part of the National Park.
One benefit of flying out of Vegas is that the flight to the Canyon is quite scenic. For instance, you'll see the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead from the air, which is an impressive thing to see. Then, if you book an air only tour, your helicopter circles over the West Rim and then heads back to Vegas. If you book a landing tour, you'll get to explore the Canyon on foot and enjoy other fun adventures on the ground.
I recommend landing tours at the West Rim, because they allow you to take in much more of the area. There's a landing tour that goes inside of the Grand Canyon, setting you down for a Champagne picnic. If you're up for it, you can even book a boat tour along the Colorado River. At the top of the Canyon, you could take a number of hiking trails, or even step out on the impressive glass bottomed Skywalk, which is 4000ft above the bottom of the Canyon.
There are two helicopter tours to choose from at the South Rim. One of the tours flies over to the North Rim and then back to the South Rim in a tour that gives you 30 minutes of air time. The longer 50-minute tour costs more, but it is worth it because you see so much more since the flight goes all the way to the eastern edge of the National Park. Both tours fly over the Dragoon Corridor, which is the widest and deepest part of the entire Canyon.
Touring By Airplane
You can also take an airplane tour out of Vegas, and they are more affordable than the helicopter tours. You'll see the same thing on both types of tours because they all follow the same flight path, however, the airplanes have to fly higher. The airplanes used on the tours have wings mounted on top of the aircraft so they don't block your view, plus the viewing windows are extra large, however, you won't get to do any hovering like you would on a helicopter.
The airplanes can land at the Canyon too, so you can take a landing tour when you fly by plane, however, your airplane has to land on top of the rim. You can do all the same things as you would with a helicopter tour including touring the Skywalk and taking a helicopter descent to the bottom of the Canyon.
At the South Rim, the airplane tour follows the longer helicopter route that allows you to see about 75 percent of the entire National Park. This is the same tour you'd take with the 50-minute helicopter flight. So, while you fly higher when you go by plane, you'll save money on your tour, and since the airplanes are bigger and carry more people, the airplane tours are ideal if you're traveling with a group.
Conclusion
It's important you buy your tour seats soon or they may be sold out since these tours are very popular. While it's best to book your tour two weeks in advance, the last thing you want to do is buy your tour at the last minute or wait until the day you want to go. It's easiest to buy your tour online with your credit card so you get instant confirmation of your seat reservations, plus, buying your tour online means you get to pay the low Internet rate.
You'll have a lot of options for picking the ideal tour package for your big adventure. Get your seats locked in now, and you'll be all set to make fantastic memories over the Memorial Day holiday.
Touring By Helicopter
Helicopter tours of the West Rim depart from Vegas and the tours of the South Rim depart from Tusayan, AZ. If you go to the West Rim, you can book a landing tour that sets down on top of the rim or on the Canyon floor, but if you go to the South Rim, you'll have to take an air-only tour since helicopters are not allowed to land at the Canyon in that part of the National Park.
One benefit of flying out of Vegas is that the flight to the Canyon is quite scenic. For instance, you'll see the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead from the air, which is an impressive thing to see. Then, if you book an air only tour, your helicopter circles over the West Rim and then heads back to Vegas. If you book a landing tour, you'll get to explore the Canyon on foot and enjoy other fun adventures on the ground.
I recommend landing tours at the West Rim, because they allow you to take in much more of the area. There's a landing tour that goes inside of the Grand Canyon, setting you down for a Champagne picnic. If you're up for it, you can even book a boat tour along the Colorado River. At the top of the Canyon, you could take a number of hiking trails, or even step out on the impressive glass bottomed Skywalk, which is 4000ft above the bottom of the Canyon.
There are two helicopter tours to choose from at the South Rim. One of the tours flies over to the North Rim and then back to the South Rim in a tour that gives you 30 minutes of air time. The longer 50-minute tour costs more, but it is worth it because you see so much more since the flight goes all the way to the eastern edge of the National Park. Both tours fly over the Dragoon Corridor, which is the widest and deepest part of the entire Canyon.
Touring By Airplane
You can also take an airplane tour out of Vegas, and they are more affordable than the helicopter tours. You'll see the same thing on both types of tours because they all follow the same flight path, however, the airplanes have to fly higher. The airplanes used on the tours have wings mounted on top of the aircraft so they don't block your view, plus the viewing windows are extra large, however, you won't get to do any hovering like you would on a helicopter.
The airplanes can land at the Canyon too, so you can take a landing tour when you fly by plane, however, your airplane has to land on top of the rim. You can do all the same things as you would with a helicopter tour including touring the Skywalk and taking a helicopter descent to the bottom of the Canyon.
At the South Rim, the airplane tour follows the longer helicopter route that allows you to see about 75 percent of the entire National Park. This is the same tour you'd take with the 50-minute helicopter flight. So, while you fly higher when you go by plane, you'll save money on your tour, and since the airplanes are bigger and carry more people, the airplane tours are ideal if you're traveling with a group.
Conclusion
It's important you buy your tour seats soon or they may be sold out since these tours are very popular. While it's best to book your tour two weeks in advance, the last thing you want to do is buy your tour at the last minute or wait until the day you want to go. It's easiest to buy your tour online with your credit card so you get instant confirmation of your seat reservations, plus, buying your tour online means you get to pay the low Internet rate.
You'll have a lot of options for picking the ideal tour package for your big adventure. Get your seats locked in now, and you'll be all set to make fantastic memories over the Memorial Day holiday.
About the Author:
Grand Canyon expert Erik Magnus recommends getting this free report because it will help you save loads of money on these incredible airplane and helicopter tours from Las Vegas and South Rim: http://www.grandcanyondaytrips.com/grand-canyon-flights-helicopter-airplane-tours/
