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21 May 2016

Memorial Holiday Grand Canyon National Park Chopper And Plane Trips

By Erik Magnus


The Memorial Day holiday kicks off the summer travel season, so it's time to start planning a fun trip. Going to Vegas is always a fun idea, but you can make the trip even more memorable by taking a side trip to the Grand Canyon, but you need to buy your tour tickets soon.

Helicopter Tours

You can take a helicopter tour of the West Rim out of Vegas, but if you want to take a helicopter tour of the South Rim, you'll need to begin the tour in Tusayan, Arizona. South Rim tours are air-only, but landing tours are available at the West Rim, and you can choose a tour that lands on the bottom or top of the Canyon.

Beginning your tour in Vegas means you'll see a lot of interesting sights during your flight to the Canyon. Your helicopter flies over Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, so you get a fantastic bird's eye view of these massive landmarks. If you book an air-only tour, your helicopter will fly over the main highlights of the West Rim and then circle back to Vegas. If you opt for a landing tour instead, you'll get to add on other fun adventures and explore the area by ground as well as by air.

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.

If you go to the South Rim, you can choose from two helicopter tours. One gives you 30 minutes of flight time and goes to the North Rim and back. There is also a longer tour you can take that is highly recommended because it lasts for 50 minutes and flies all the way to the eastern edge of the National Park, so you see a lot more for a little increase in price. You'll get to see the Dragoon Corridor no matter which tour you take, since the flight path of these tours takes you right over the deepest and widest section of the Canyon.

Canyon Airplane Tours

If you want a more affordable tour, there are also airplanes that fly from Las Vegas. Although they fly higher than helicopters, they follow the same route to get to the National Park. Although this means you won't get to do the hovering flyovers, you still get oversized viewing windows and top mounted wings, for maximum visibility.

You can take a landing tour of the West Rim if you go by plane, but the airplanes all land on top of the rim where you can enjoy a variety of activities. You are free to add on as many adventures as you like such as visiting the Skywalk and taking a helicopter ride to the Canyon floor.

When you take an airplane tour of the South Rim, the airplane flies over the longer helicopter route, so you get to see around 75 percent of the whole National Park from the air. It's basically the same tour as you would take if you booked the 50-minute helicopter tour of the rim. Even though your airplane tour flies you at a higher altitude, your tickets will be cheaper, and because the planes carry more passengers per tour, the airplane tours are the best choice if you're traveling with a large group.

Conclusion

These air tours are very popular and they fill up fast, so you need to buy your tickets soon. It's best to get your seats about two weeks ahead of time, but try to avoid getting your seats the same day. It's best to buy your tour online so you get the low Internet rate, and when you buy your tour with your credit card, your seats are reserved right there and you won't have to worry about the tour selling out.

There are many tour options you can choose from when you're ready to book your tour, and that makes it easy to find something you'll like at a price you can afford. So reserve your seats now and you'll be set for your scenic and exhilarating Memorial Day tour of one of America's most loved National Parks.




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