Grand Canyon Helicopter tours [ex Vegas]?

[Hvr]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

It's a wonder I didn't run into you. :mrgreen:

We must've been close, I was there on 16 April, first flight of the morning.

 

[amaroo]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

Just booked Maverick (Dream Catcher Sunset) for our visit in Dec........FWIW, if you're a member of RACQ or any of the other AAA clubs you get 10% off......Saved US$196

Edit - only cost $57 to sign up for lifestyle RACQ membership - instant return of around US$135.

 

[amaroo]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

Did the chopper yesterday - Had a great adventure.....worth every $$. Maverick are very professional and put on a wonderful experience.

 

[RB]

Re: Grand Canyon Heli tours

I enjoy seeing peoples photos! When we visited in May 1998 it was hot in Vegas but snow at the canyon- some people only had shorts & T shirts. We were lucky to get our flight in

 

[Princess Fiona]

We didn't do the helicopter trip this time around. We did an early start and drove to GCNP South Rim. I've been there once before and forgot quite how spectacular it is

 

[Jason7]

This was one of the highlights of a USA trip I did a couple of years ago. Took a helicopter down to the canyon and it was amazing. We then got in a boat and went down the Colorado river, they flew us back to the top and we had a walk around. The view and landscape is breathtaking. It also included the skywalk which was also a great experience. This was a whole package but i cant remember how much it cost or who it was with.

 

[chooms]

Anyone done a canyon heli tour recently? Thinking of doing the Maverick 'Dreamcatcher sunset' (US$599) and booking before we head over in a couple of weeks to secure the spot. It is very pricey though... I've read a lot about the South Rim being better and we would prob shell out a bit more to do it for the right tour.

 

[amaroo]

Anyone done a canyon heli tour recently? Thinking of doing the Maverick 'Dreamcatcher sunset' (US$599) and booking before we head over in a couple of weeks to secure the spot. It is very pricey though... I've read a lot about the South Rim being better and we would prob shell out a bit more to do it for the right tour.

We did this in Dec - fantastic and highly recommended.

The big tip - join RACQ and get the AAA discount. It wasn't on the website I only found out about after exchanging emails with them and asking for a discount for a booking of 4...it's a decent discount! You may want to check with them before forking out the RACQ joining fee IIRC <$40

Date of Flight: December 19, 2013
Number of Seats: 4
Flight Type: Dream Catcher Sunset
Flight Time: 2:30 pm
Pick-up Location and time: Mandarin Oriental – Main Entrance @1:35 pm
Total Amount Due At Check-In: $2100.00 with RACQ membership letter at check-in

I did a TR with a few photos: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....iles-helicopter-airboat-57072.html#post973354

 

[chooms]

We did this in Dec - fantastic and highly recommended.

The big tip - join RACQ and get the AAA discount. It wasn't on the website I only found out about after exchanging emails with them and asking for a discount for a booking of 4...it's a decent discount! You may want to check with them before forking out the RACQ joining fee IIRC <$40




I did a TR with a few photos: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....iles-helicopter-airboat-57072.html#post973354

Thanks Amaroo. MsChooms has RACQ already so I will email them.

Did you notice when you were over there if it was much cheaper booking from the strip?

 

[amaroo]

Thanks Amaroo. MsChooms has RACQ already so I will email them.

Did you notice when you were over there if it was much cheaper booking from the strip?

No I didn't bother looking. IME (2 other times in LAS) I've bombed out getting the tour I wanted or any tour for that matter.....I went for the ease of pre-booking and forgetting about it.

Vegas is dead in Dec and they still filled 3 choppers with 21 people for the tour we did ... at this time of year I'm guessing it's going to be a hell-a-lot busier.

 

[Homer]

Anyone done a canyon heli tour recently? Thinking of doing the Maverick 'Dreamcatcher sunset' (US$599) and booking before we head over in a couple of weeks to secure the spot. It is very pricey though... I've read a lot about the South Rim being better and we would prob shell out a bit more to do it for the right tour.

We were in Vegas in June and I was pretty keen on Maverick's Dreamcatcher tour too until I did way too much research (typical for me) and worked out that we needed to go to the South Rim. The thing is, all the chopper tours from Vegas go to the "West Rim". I'm using quotes as apparently that's a made-up name to sell the location to tourists. It's convenient, but it's not the Grand Canyon you know from photos and films. It's not even inside the Grand Canyon National Park. So we went with Maverick's Canyon Dream tour which involves a light plane flight to the Grand Canyon airport, a trolley car ride to the rim and then a helicopter flight over the canyon. I highly recommend this tour.

 

[chooms]

We were in Vegas in June and I was pretty keen on Maverick's Dreamcatcher tour too until I did way too much research (typical for me) and worked out that we needed to go to the South Rim. The thing is, all the chopper tours from Vegas go to the "West Rim". I'm using quotes as apparently that's a made-up name to sell the location to tourists. It's convenient, but it's not the Grand Canyon you know from photos and films. It's not even inside the Grand Canyon National Park. So we went with Maverick's Canyon Dream tour which involves a light plane flight to the Grand Canyon airport, a trolley car ride to the rim and then a helicopter flight over the canyon. I highly recommend this tour.

This is exactly what I have ended up booking today after - just like you - too much research. Got them down to $477 which I was happy with. Is there an opportunity for a longer heli tour once we get to Grand Canyon Airport?

FYI - they said they didn't do AAA/RACQ discounts anymore.

 

[Homer]

This is exactly what I have ended up booking today after - just like you - too much research. Got them down to $477 which I was happy with. Is there an opportunity for a longer heli tour once we get to Grand Canyon Airport?

FYI - they said they didn't do AAA/RACQ discounts anymore.

I think that's a good decision and nice work on the price; I paid about USD $500 per person. The whole thing is pretty tight time-wise and they certainly didn't offer us the option a longer chopper ride. In fact after we got off the chopper they told me they'd have to post me the DVD of the flight as we had to re-board the trolly to go back to the plane (but then they burned it quickly so I was able to take it with me). I think the chopper tour is long enough though. And the choppers themselves have big windows and there aren't really any bad seats, though obviously the two seats in the front, if you get them, are slightly better than the three at the back.

 

[chooms]

Hi all, I am yet to do my full trip report for our visit to the USA, but I thought I would share some of the pics from the Maverick's 'Dream Canyon' Tour.

The tour involves a very (VERY) early start with a pick up from your Vegas hotel in a minivan (not limo).

Flight departs from Henderson Executive Airport NOT McCarran. Drive took about 30mins from Wynn with two stops.

Fly in aircraft to Grand Canyon Airport in Arizona. Transferred immediately to Maverick's departure area via bus. Helicopter pre-assigned via weigh-in and check-in at Henderson. We had a window seat and 1 inside seat. You can see everything from wherever you sit so don't stress about that.

Here are some pics to show you just how good the South Rim is. We flew over 'West Rim' and you can really see the difference was spectacular! Spend the extra cash and deal with the early start... you may not land down the bottom, but the lunch on the ledge up the top of the South Rim at Grand Canyon village is something you will never forget!

NOTE: The pics aren't the best quality displayed here. They have been reduced in quality due to size constraints. I used a Nikon D600 DSLR with a Nikon AF-S 24-70mm ED lens.

Our ride HSH-GCN-HSH


No, you don't need to tip the pilots... but they display this sign in the aircraft on the return trip


Vegas from the air


Our canyon tour chariot


Here is what you see on West Rim tours


Next post will show the main attraction...

 

[chooms]

Grand Canyon South Rim










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[chooms]

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[chooms]

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[get me outta here]

Chooms, they are spectacular and I'll have to do it too when I visit. About how long do the various 'rides' take?

 

[chooms]

Chooms, they are spectacular and I'll have to do it too when I visit. About how long do the various 'rides' take?

Around 45mins-1hr each way between Henderson Exec Airport to Grand Canyon Airport. Our helicopter tour of the south canyon was exactly 20mins - no change or variation offered. This is due to the area being one of the most restricted fly zones in the USA. Everything was done with precision. All the choppers flew in single file formation around the planned route.

We then took a 20min bus ride (included) from Grand Canyon Airport to Grand Canyon village (which sits literally on the edge of the South Rim of the canyon) for lunch. We ate lunch with the view that can be seen in the last four pics of my last post... it really was quite spectacular.

Oh, almost forgot... the South Rim is somewhat higher in altitude than Vegas... it was 5 degrees when we landed at the airport whilst it was 30 degrees in Vegas - bring a jumper.

 

[blackcat20]

Great photos! I've visited a couple of times and it never ceases to stun and amaze me.