Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours Complete A Vegas Vacation

By Ione Mahler


For visitors in Las Vegas, Grand Canyon helicopter tours provide an exciting day trip option. It combines the awesome sight and beauty of the Grand Canyon with Sin City's unique ability to provide an adrenalin rush for just about every activity here. To top it off, there are many more sights and famous attractions to be seen along the way and during a ground tour in between.

The tour begins with a hotel pickup in a limo which takes passengers to the airport. Once everybody's safely seated, the chopper takes off for a 45 minute aerial narrated tour on the way to the West Rim. These helicopters fly low, and tour members on board get a bird's eye view of famous attractions like Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam.

When the chopper reaches Grand Canyon West, passengers get their first view of some of the most amazing sights in the world. It's hard to describe the glass Skywalk that hangs over the edge, because it has to be experienced. There is virtually no way to prepare anyone for the next 8 minutes either, because it is a sheer vertical 4,000 foot flight along the walls and down all the way to the bottom.



Passengers are allowed to disembark at the bottom, and enjoy sweeping views of the legendary Colorado River. There is a package tour option here that includes pontoon boat rides up the river, which is an unforgettable experience all by itself. After the boat ride, passengers get back on board the helicopter to enjoy another vertical ride up the Canyon's face back to the top.

The next stage is by road and passengers join the bus excursions heading into Grand Canyon West, which is owned by the Hualapai Nation. The tribe requires an entry fee from visitors. But those who book the Grand Canyon helicopter tours won't have to purchase the entrance tickets or a Skywalk Pass. The hop-on, hop-off shuttles take visitors to Guano Point, where passengers can have their lunch while enjoying the view on the rim.

Next on the itinerary is a walk on the glass Skywalk, which might seem like an adventure to some given that there's nothing except glass between the visitor's feet and the bottom 4,000 ft below. The view at Eagle Point is pretty good, and then visitors have some free time to visit nearby points of interest like the Hualapai Native Village.

With all this wrapped up, passengers get back on board for the trip back to Vegas. The tour offers one more magnificent sight when the chopper flies over the Vegas Strip with its monstrously large and exotic casinos filled with neon. After landing, passengers are whisked away back to their hotel in a limo.

The total time required for Grand Canyon helicopter tours from Las Vegas may vary. But set aside at least half a day for it, at the very minimum. In case anyone's worried about it, the helicopters are state-of-the-art and the ride is perfectly safe and routine.




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