Know Which Canyon Tour Is Right for You

Posted by eliteinternet on January 21st, 2020

If you're planning to visit the National Park, you'll first need to decide whether to do the South Rim or the West Rim. You'll head for the South if you're starting from Phoenix, Flagstaff, Williams, Sedona or somewhere else in AZ. Vegas-based travelers are lucky because they can choose either rim.

Motor Coach Tours

Bus tours are the cheapest of all the Grand Canyon Tours From Las Vegas. Day trips set out for the South Rim, from Phoenix, with a stop in Sedona along the way. Vegas coach tours headed for the South Rim are full-day adventures with lots of things to do. It's even possible to add an optional chopper flight. Likewise, West Rim tours can be upgraded to include a helicopter landing on the bottom, access to the Grand Canyon Skywalk, and a rafting trip down the Colorado.

Helicopter Flights

Vegas-based visitors can choose a West Rim landing tour or the air-only type. Federal regulations don't permit helicopter landings at the South Rim, so air-only tours are the only type available.

You can choose either a 30-minute or 50-minute South Rim helicopter tour. The shorter version flies from the South Rim to the North Rim and back. You'll see 75% of the entire Park by the time it's finished!

Plane Tours

Planes don't land on the bottom (or even fly below the rim), but they do follow the same flight path as the choppers, just at higher altitudes. The South Rim plane tour, for instance, takes the same route as the 50-minute chopper tour. Las Vegas Tours are spectacular, but again I prefer the landing flights. My favorite combines the plane flight with a chopper landing on the bottom, a smooth-water rafting trip and tickets to the fabulous Skywalk.

Smooth-Water Rafting Trips

Speaking of rafting trips, they are one of the best things to do for everyone who's visiting the Grand Canyon (and that means everyone, because active seniors and kids four and up can participate). The Vegas rafting tour starts with a helicopter landing on the canyon bottom and then buses participants to the base of Hoover Dam, where the 11-mile float to Willow Beach, AZ begins. South Rim rafting tours start at Glen Canyon Dam and end 15 miles later, at historic Lee's Ferry. Buses bring participants to the dam; an upgraded version includes a 4x4 tour of Antelope Canyon and followed by a flight to the dam.