I'm planning to take my husband on a helicopter tour in New York City in September.

Any recommendations on the length of trip I should book? I believe the tours vary from 10-30 minutes - with a large price variance.

Also - how early do I need to make reservations?

Thanks

30 minutes is a nice trip. You won't see all you want to but it's a reasonably priced trip. We just drove up to the Heli Port on 34th and bought a ticket. No problem at all..

I'm waiting for allygirl to chime in to tell you how dangerous helicopters are. Or maybe they are just dangerous in Hawaii....

No - they can be dangerous in NYC too. There have been at least 2 accidents in the recent past. That's why the heliports are right on the river - so if one goes down it won;t be on land. (There used to be a heliport on top of what was then the PanAm building - atop Grand Central Station - but it was closed after a major accident. Now, they're right on one of the rivers.)

Also - be aware that since the accident last year in which a small plane hit a highrise aircraft are no longer allowed to go very far up the east river - I thnk they have to turn back at 59th St.

Obviously anyone who wants a helicopter ride would do all the safety research up front though - so I'm not going to reco against it. Just that you need to be aware of the various safety/pilot trainng/experience issues.

I hate those helicopters. They are also a total nuisance for anyone living remotely near that heliport on the west side. They literally take off every other minute all day long.

Sorry just had to vent. I'm sure they are fun.

No, nytraveler...the biggest change since the Lidle accident is that now folks using that corridor MUST be in contact with the tower, whereas before the accident talking to the tower was specifically forbidden.

here's a good helicopter tourgroup:
http://www.libertyhelicopters.com/tours/tourinfo.php