Hi
We're going to Vegas on 14th March for the first time - should we book a Grand Canyon excursion from home or wait til we get there? There seems to be a huge variety of ways to see the Canyon and from different vantage points - what do you recommend for the first timer - coach/helicopter? which area of the Canyon??
Many thanks
maudvilla
xx

maudvilla,

See my trip report below, there is more info about helicopter flights over GC in there.

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=57771&highlight=

The coach one is a full day 10hr + and can be very tiring, the helicopter took about 3 hrs altogether and that inc landing at the bottom for breakfast.

Hope this helps
Jaime C

We flew with HeliUSA from Vegas to the Grand Canyon, stayed overnight on a ranch on the canyon's west rim, then flew back the following morning.

Thankyou all for your replys
Sharon

beki_b,

Really fancy staying overnight at the ranch. Could you please supply a more comprehensive review of the trip. In particular:-
Did you stay in a cabin or a tepee?
What was the entertainment like?
Similar for the food.
Did you go horse-riding?
Can you get a beer whilst you're there at the camp i.e. do they have a bar?
How much, did you get a special offer or pay full price?

Thanks in advance.

Jim

I am so confused by all the different trips offered.

We are travelling with a 8 year old so I am not looking for a long day but I definately do not want to be disappointed by a short fly over either.

I like the idea of landing in the bottom and taking a boat trip, this is costing up at around £200 each. It is a once in a lifetime trip so it is worth the money. Can anyone recommend a company they travelled with or has anyone actually taken a similar trip

Also we are travelling from las Vegas to Sedona in Arizona (approx 5 hours) Will the drive take me anywhere near the canyon for a second look? Any comments on Sedona, we are staying at the Juniper log cabins by the creek

Has anyone taken a riding trip with Cowboy Trails from Vegas, they offer a horse ride and night BBQ, was it any good?

Thanks

Papillon are pretty decent. My parents are here in the US visiting us and we did a Grand Canyon flyover with Papillon the weekend before last. They are the only company I have done the tour with but I didn't have any complaints. If possible, I would leave from Las Vegas. We did it from Boulder City and that's not an airport that would inspire confidence in nervous flyers (although I suppose nervous flyers wouldn't be flying over the Grand Canyon anyway).

Sundance are really good. We had a super trip out to the canyon with a champagne picnic although be warned their champagne tastes more like Babycham. Foul !!

It is so worth doing. The canyon is just amazing & the views of the Hoover Dam are spectacular. We had a great pilot who pointed out loads of things like Celine Dions house etc. They then fly you down the strip when you arrive back. All set to appropriate music through the headphones.

We just came back from Vegas and a week's drive around USA last Thursday (will be doing a full report later!) and we did the Grand Canyon with Looktours...we did the most expensive option which is the Cessna plane ride from Henderson airport nr Vegas to the Grand Canyon...it's a small landing strip on the West Rim nr to Guano Point..then we transfered into the chopper to fly into the canyon which landed near the river, we then had a boat ride on the Colorado for about 20 minutes....when you book the champagne picnics you fly a bit further on....I didn't care much for the Cessna (and we had two false starts but that's another story) I would take the chopper anyday and fly by chopper to the GC! The plane should have taken us closer to the Strip on the way back, it was very difficult to get photos as we weren't close enough even with 16 x zoom on my camera but when I read the small point it did say a view of the Strip not a fly past of it so do read the small print!

Hi..Of to Vegas in late may..Only there 3 days and want to do a Grand Canyon tour. Looks like we are going to book with Pappilon, going on a 3.30 flight..Can anyone tell me which times they would reccommend..3.30 or the 6.30 one? will the weather be really hot if we opt for the 3.30 one?
Thanks for help...
Cant Wait!!

I'm not sure it will make much difference. It shouldn't be too hot once you are up in the air. This is just a guess but I imagine the helicopter trips are hotter than the plane trips because the planes tend to go higher. I've done the plane trip before but not the helicopter one. Also, our flight time was around 12:30 and it was only last month when my parents came over to visit us. Papillon are decent (that's who we went with, out of Boulder City) and the tour was worth the money.

only a few days ago we were there.....

now its back to reality

we did a trip with maverick and it was an experience of a lifetime.

Personally i'd go for the 3.30 for two reasons

1 we found the traffic at about the 5.30 - 6.30 ( and onwards) pretty slow ( but nothing compared with UK) so getting to the airport will be harder

2 at 6.30 you will have to make the decision about eating before with the obvious risk if your not a good flier or eating later

.... just a thought , will it be dark on the return for the 6.30 trip? lights would be wonderful to see

Hi scutineer

Hope you had a great holiday. We would be delighted if you could write a review of the hotels you stayed at, if you haven't done so already. If any of the hotel are not listed, you can post in the Help and Assistance forum as request them to be added.

luci

1 we found the traffic at about the 5.30 - 6.30 ( and onwards) pretty slow ( but nothing compared with UK) so getting to the airport will be harder

That depends where you are flying out of.

thats very true .... we went from the GC village so had no problems with traffic but as tracey is staying in vegas , i assumed she was flying from there

Hi there..Thanks for your help..we are staying at The Mirage and it says we have to make our own way to Boulder City airport, thats were we start the tour i suppose.How far is the city airport in realation to our hotel? and how do we get to the airport? We first timers in Vegas! dont know any of this! We will go for the 3.30 trip, then we have the rest of our last night to do more gambling
Thanks..

Boulder City is...hmm...about 15 miles south east of Vegas. I forget the highway you need to take but look on Map Quest and you'll find it. The airport is very small and I had trouble finding it, even though I've been driving here for a number of years. But the trip is well worth it and I'm sure you'll have a great time. For directions to the airport, like I said you can look on Map Quest or, my personal favorite, use Google Maps.

Hi..We havent got a hire car while we are in Vegas..So how do we get to the aitport? taxi? train? bus?

Taxi, I suppose. I'm sure there are buses than go between LV and Boulder City but a taxi might be more reliable, albeit more expensive.