Submitted by: Princess Cruz

It’s Spring and it’s the perfect time of the year to do a Grand Canyon South Rim helicopter tour. But don’t wait until the last minute to book. These flights are super popular and sell out fast, especially when the weather is this good.

I typically recommend you buy your South Rim trip about one to two weeks in advance. Avoid booking a day or two prior to departure as prices will be more expensive and in many cases seats will be sold out. Further, make sure you complete your booking online in order to qualify for the Internet discount rate, which is always the cheapest.

South Rim

The South Rim is located in northern Arizona. It’s a 3.5 hours from Phoenix, 2.5 hours from Sedona and 5.5 hours from Las Vegas (to be exact, the drive from Las Vegas is 277 miles so factor that in if you plan to make the South Rim a day trip; most prefer to make it an overnight). In sum, the Park is comprised of more than 1 million acres and helicopters are the most effective way to view it.

All South Rim flights are no-landing and do not fly below the rim and land alongside the Colorado River. If you want to do that, you need to take a tour from Las Vegas because those flights go to the West Rim, which is outside the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and landing flights aren’t banned. There are no flights from the South Rim to Las Vegas or the West Rim.

There are two no-landing tours available. The first is the 30-minute trip, and it goes from the South Rim to the North Rim and back via the Dragoon Corridor, which is the widest, deepest section of the Canyon. The other is the 50-minute trip, which does everything the 30-minute trip does, plus everything up to the East Rim. Personally, I recommend the 50-minute tour because you’ll see up to 75 percent of the Park.

Basic or Deluxe

There are two versions of the 30 minute tour, and they’re categorized as basic and deluxe. The essential difference is that the basic tour uses the old helicopters and the deluxe tour uses the new ones. Because of this, I recommend deluxe tours. The new helicopter, which is called the EC 130, is the best chopper in the air today.

The EC 130 features a 180-degree wraparound window, theater-style bucket seats, and a cabin that’s 25 percent larger than the older helicopter. Further, the EC 130 is extremely quiet and noise-proof so you’ll be able to clearly communicate directly with the pilot and your fellow passengers during the flight. I also like the EC 130 because it’s better for anyone who wants to take photos during the tour.

There’s also a great option to combine a 30-minute helicopter tour with a 2-hour Jeep trip, which is a guided tour that goes inside the Park and stops at all the key landmarks and highlights. Indeed, you can drive yourself within the Park, but I’ve found that having a guide who knows the best spots and the history of the Canyon far surpasses having to figure this out for yourself.

Conclusion

The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a terrific place to take a helicopter tour this spring. The weather is ideal and you have two no-landing flights from which to choose. My recommendation is you go with the 50-minute helicopter tour as it lets you see up to 75 percent of the National Park. I also recommend that you book either the 30-minute or 50-minute or the helicopter-Jeep combo in advance and online. That way you’re guaranteed to get the best seats at the lowest price.

About the Author: The author is a Grand Canyon expert and recommends going here for the best

South Rim helicopter

tours and here for ones that depart from Las Vegas:

grandcanyonhelicopters.org/las-vegas/

Source:

isnare.com

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