Helicopter tours from Vegas to Grand Canyon

Old Apr 22nd, 2014, 03:48 AM
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Helicopter tours from Vegas to Grand Canyon

Hi There
I'm looking for a tour company that will fly us from Vegas to the GC - south preferably- give us around 3 hours at the sight then fly back. most companies do this as a half day trip, does anyone know who I can do this with as a full day trip?
thanks
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Old Apr 22nd, 2014, 05:03 AM
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We took a small (~10 passenger) plane to the south rim several years ago. It picked up at 6:30 am at a hotel, flew from the North LV airport (not LAS), landed near the south rim, bussed us to a place for a buffet (no stars), then to the NP with stops at Bright Angel area for a short while and then out to Hermit's rest with some stops for pics and then back to the airport for the flight to LV. It was a full day and got back to the hotel at 6 pm or so. The views along the flight were spectacular and went over the mountains east of LV, up along Lake Meade and up the Colorado River. There was beautiful scenery along the way. This was our first trip to GC, and we have been back by car 6 or 7 times to spend the night since.

They do not allow helicopters in the National Park (except for extraction of injured people at great cost). I think most of the helicopter tours go to the West rim not the National Park. It is pretty, but not the fantastic views associated with the NP.

I'm not sure the trip we took in the late 90's is still available, but if you can rent a car and spend an overnight in the park IMHO it is awesome.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2014, 05:55 AM
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If you really want a helicopter ride, go out to the Hacienda casino which is 2 miles from Hoover dam. The helicopter takes off from a little hill just off the parking lot and flies over Hoover dam and Lake Meade.
The NPS has banned helicopter flights over their part of the Grand Canyon for good reason. There have been too many crashes.
Take a bus tour if you can't drive yourself.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 05:10 AM
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thanks guys! emalloy do you remember the company name?
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 07:45 AM
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I'm sorry, it was a while ago. We found it in one of the magazines in the room and called for the next day's trip. If you google something like " airplane trips to Grand Canyon from Las Vegas " you will probably find similar trips. I would read the fine print carefully and make sure they go to the National Park and allow you adequate time in the park. Personally, I would rather pick up lunch on my own than go to a less than 1 * buffet, but that was not an option for us. The trip did make us want to go back and spend more time there, and we have.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 08:03 AM
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Our Las Vegas editor Eric Wechter did this very thing recently. It's expensive (about $400), but I don't recall the name of the company. I'll ask him to post it.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 08:05 AM
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As mentioned above, make sure any tour you take goes to the National Park, South Rim, not the West Rim or the Skywalk. They are not where you want to go. If you can, try to drive to the GC and spend the night. If I recall, you have 4 or 5 days in LV, which is more than enough.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 08:27 AM
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I recently flew with Sundance Helicopters. They took us over the Hoover Dam en route to a spectacular spot in the West Rim. It was about 3 1/2 hours, which to me felt like enough time. We had about 40 minutes for a morning snack, on a scenic mesa overlooking a bend in the river. Gorgeous! I don't think they offer full-day helicopter trips, but they have longer combo trips that include a bus and river boat ride.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2014, 08:30 AM
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Here's a link: www.sundancehelicopters.com
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Old Apr 24th, 2014, 07:56 PM
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thanks i have seen tours all day costing $650 per person which for us is $700 AUD so a but pricey... i'll do some more searches and see what I find. i'd really like to spend a couuple of hours in the national park. thanks!
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