You’ll need to choose the West Rim or the South Rim before actually booking your flight. If you are located in Arizona, you will go to the South. That’s because it is too far for helicopters to fly to the South Rim from Vegas.
Until they look into it or arrive in the area, a lot of people don’t realize that the West Rim isn’t far from Las Vegas. It is just 120 miles and a helicopter gets you there in under an hour. On the way, you will fly over the country’s biggest manmade reservoir known as Lake Mead. You will also see the massive Hoover Dam from the air. There are plenty of interesting sights to behold on your way to the National Park. Once your chopper crests Grand Wash Cliffs and enter the Park’s airspace, you’re really in for a treat!
Grand Canyon West, or the West Rim, has an advantage you won’t find at the South Rim. This is the only section of the Park where helicopters are allowed to land on the canyon floor. This is known as a landing tour and includes a champagne picnic, there is nothing more romantic than that and you can even add on a smooth-water float experience on the Colorado River. You can also choose to add on passes to the glass Grand Canyon Skywalk.
Other popular West Rim helicopter flights land at the rim top as well as on the bottom. You have plenty of time to enjoy the lookout spots of Guano Point and Eagle Point and visit the Indian Cultural Center and Hualapai Ranch.
If you decide on the South Rim instead, you can choose a 30-minute or 50-minute helicopter tour. The thirty minute tour goes from the South Rim to the North Rim and back. The longer fifty minute flight goes from the South Rim to the North Rim and then to the East Rim. The longer tours are best if you have the time because you get to see more of this fantastic region and its diverse geography.
You should seek out tour operators who use the EcoStar 130 choppers for their helicopter rides. You will ride in comfort and sit in stadium-style seats and see the sights from 180-degree wrap around windows. The cabin area is much larger than a lot of other helicopters and the climate control is perfect.
Seating will be limited on Valentine’s Day helicopter tours. Plenty of other people have the same idea to book a romantic flight for the occasion. I strongly urge you to book at least a week or two ahead. If you wait too long, the flights will be full. You don’t want to ruin Valentine’s Day so be sure to get your seat reservations early.
Booking Grand Canyon choppers onlineis always best because that’s where you’ll find the best prices — at least when you book directly on the tour company’s website. You have to complete the process of buying your seats online in order to get the big savings associated with the Internet discount and that will give you extra money to spend on a romantic dinner and flowers!
