Are you planning to celebrate Valentine's Day in style by heading to Vegas? You can make your trip even more memorable with a Grand Canyon helicopter or plane tour. You'll see many beautiful sights, which is very romantic when you tour with someone you love, but Valentine's Day is a busy time at the Canyon, so you need to book your tour as soon as you can.
Flights from Vegas go to the West Rim and the South Rim, which is farther away in Arizona. Tours depart hourly on Valentine's Day, just like they do every day of the year. There are two basic tour options that let you choose an air-only tour or one that lands at the Canyon.
If you choose to visit the West Rim, you can even land inside the Canyon in a helicopter, right next to the Colorado River. To ensure that you don't miss out, you will need to book in advance, and book your tickets online. I suggest booking as soon as you have confirmed your hotel room. Leaving it too late, can mean increased prices, or even missing out on seats for the day that you want to fly.
Helicopter Tours
As an added bonus, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead are along the flight path to the Canyon, so you get an aerial view of them as well. Once at the National Park, you will complete a scenic flyover, before heading back to Las Vegas. If you take a landing tour instead, you'll have time to explore the Canyon. I prefer landing tours because they offer more adventure. For instance, one of the landing tours flies to the bottom of the Canyon, where you can toast Valentine's Day with a Champagne picnic. The Skywalk is on the West Rim too, so you'll get the chance to experience standing on the glass bridge that's suspended 4000 feet above the floor of the Canyon if you're brave enough to try it.
If you want to take a helicopter tour of the South Rim from Vegas, you'll begin with a plane ride to the rim and then you'll choose a 30 or 50 minute helicopter tour. The shorter flight tours the North and South Rims. The longer tour goes over the South and North Rims and also includes a jaunt to the eastern boundary of the park, so in all, it covers about 75 percent of the whole National Park. It is worth the extra expense to take the longer tour because you see so much of the park.
Touring By Airplane
Airplanes take the same routes as helicopter tours, with the differences being that they fly at higher altitudes, and they can't land at the bottom of the West Rim. Planes also seat 19 passengers, while helicopters can only accommodate 6. If you're travelling in a group, an Airplane may be the best option.
Airplanes can't fly to the bottom, but they can land on top of the rim, so you can still enjoy all the fun activities at the Canyon including taking a helicopter ride to the Canyon floor. When you take a plane tour of the South Rim, your airplane follows the same path as the longer helicopter tour. If you want a land experience at the South Rim, you can add on a scenic 2 1/2 hour bus tour through the park.
Airplane tours are more affordable, but you do have the tradeoff of diminished visibility as compared to a helicopter tour. When you take a tour on a deluxe helicopter, you get panoramic views from a wraparound windscreen on the chopper, but when you fly on an airplane, your views are limited to the sights you can see outside the window by your seat.
Conclusion
Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion for a trip to Vegas and a tour of the Canyon. The tours are available at different price ranges, so to have the best experience, you'll want to spend as much as your budget allows. When it comes to adding on tour options, you get what you pay for, so the more, the better. The Champagne picnic landing tour is my favorite at the West Rim, while the 50 minute helicopter tour is my recommendation for the South Rim.
Remember to book your tour in advance so you don't miss the opportunity to make this Valentine's Day one you'll always remember.
Flights from Vegas go to the West Rim and the South Rim, which is farther away in Arizona. Tours depart hourly on Valentine's Day, just like they do every day of the year. There are two basic tour options that let you choose an air-only tour or one that lands at the Canyon.
If you choose to visit the West Rim, you can even land inside the Canyon in a helicopter, right next to the Colorado River. To ensure that you don't miss out, you will need to book in advance, and book your tickets online. I suggest booking as soon as you have confirmed your hotel room. Leaving it too late, can mean increased prices, or even missing out on seats for the day that you want to fly.
Helicopter Tours
As an added bonus, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead are along the flight path to the Canyon, so you get an aerial view of them as well. Once at the National Park, you will complete a scenic flyover, before heading back to Las Vegas. If you take a landing tour instead, you'll have time to explore the Canyon. I prefer landing tours because they offer more adventure. For instance, one of the landing tours flies to the bottom of the Canyon, where you can toast Valentine's Day with a Champagne picnic. The Skywalk is on the West Rim too, so you'll get the chance to experience standing on the glass bridge that's suspended 4000 feet above the floor of the Canyon if you're brave enough to try it.
If you want to take a helicopter tour of the South Rim from Vegas, you'll begin with a plane ride to the rim and then you'll choose a 30 or 50 minute helicopter tour. The shorter flight tours the North and South Rims. The longer tour goes over the South and North Rims and also includes a jaunt to the eastern boundary of the park, so in all, it covers about 75 percent of the whole National Park. It is worth the extra expense to take the longer tour because you see so much of the park.
Touring By Airplane
Airplanes take the same routes as helicopter tours, with the differences being that they fly at higher altitudes, and they can't land at the bottom of the West Rim. Planes also seat 19 passengers, while helicopters can only accommodate 6. If you're travelling in a group, an Airplane may be the best option.
Airplanes can't fly to the bottom, but they can land on top of the rim, so you can still enjoy all the fun activities at the Canyon including taking a helicopter ride to the Canyon floor. When you take a plane tour of the South Rim, your airplane follows the same path as the longer helicopter tour. If you want a land experience at the South Rim, you can add on a scenic 2 1/2 hour bus tour through the park.
Airplane tours are more affordable, but you do have the tradeoff of diminished visibility as compared to a helicopter tour. When you take a tour on a deluxe helicopter, you get panoramic views from a wraparound windscreen on the chopper, but when you fly on an airplane, your views are limited to the sights you can see outside the window by your seat.
Conclusion
Valentine's Day is the perfect occasion for a trip to Vegas and a tour of the Canyon. The tours are available at different price ranges, so to have the best experience, you'll want to spend as much as your budget allows. When it comes to adding on tour options, you get what you pay for, so the more, the better. The Champagne picnic landing tour is my favorite at the West Rim, while the 50 minute helicopter tour is my recommendation for the South Rim.
Remember to book your tour in advance so you don't miss the opportunity to make this Valentine's Day one you'll always remember.
About the Author:
Grand Canyon specialist Beth Adams is a huge fan of these Canyon tours and suggests readers visit here for a list of the top heli and plane rides for Valentine's: http://www.grandcanyondaytrips.com/grand-canyon-flights-helicopter-airplane-tours/
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