Vegas / Grand Canyon Any Ideas????

crazyhazel

Hi guys,

we are due to be going to vegas on May 5, Hubby's birthday is May 12 and I would like to make it special for him. Does anyone have any good or bad experiences of a Grand Canyon trip? Helicopter / Bus / Train??? Would like to do this experience so would appreciate any assistance.

Cheers:beer:

nelly_2

I did a helicopter, aparently a car is a full day out.

inmypocketnottheirs

I did a Grand Canyon trip years ago in a light aircraft. If you think about it, in the middle of the desert flying around in a light aircraft with all that hot air and thermals, you are going to get some turbulence. In fact a lot of turbulence! I went up in something like an eight seater, and everyone around me was sick! I don't remember how long the flight was, probably about 30 minutes, but I remember thinking if it had been 5 seconds longer I would have been sick too!

I don't know if a helicopter is less susceptible to turbulence or not, bit I for one would never do it again!

trets77

a Grand canyon helicopter trip is amazing. awe inspring and a once in a lifetime experiance.

all the major operators out of Mccarren airport are professinal outfits and will pick you up from your hotel.

here is a recent thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=352275

just remember the Grand canyon is not even in the same state as Las Vegas and a bus tour is a long day ( 10 hours at least i,m informed)

Don,t get a cheap heli or plane tour as it very probably does not leave from vegas and means anthor long drive.

expect to pay £200 each with the current good exchange rate.

Ningaloo

friend of mine did the bus trip and regretted it, i did the helicopter trip and thought it was fantastic. you can book it over the internet, they pick you up at your hotel and drop you back, real easy..... do it, you will not regret it.

torbrex

I did the train trip to the south rim (popular side) in mid-winter to avoid driving in icy weather, it was a full day out. There was a transfer to a coach with a guide and we toured the popular photo sites and various gift shops.
I also had a trip to the north rim during a different holiday trip, it was a lot quieter with about half the numbers of the south rim, the views were just as spectacular but looking into the sun made photo's difficult.
If you can afford it you would get more out of the canyon if you were able to stay a couple of night close by so that you could take a day trip down and a flying trip over,I did regret not doing the walking and flying bits but I will save them for another time.
Have a great trip.

jfdi

Just before Christmas some friends & I actually drove up to the Grand Canyon from Vegas & spent 3 nights there in a hotel.

We did a 1hr Helicopter trip from the little airport there, then drove around all the viewpoints, had a mozie round Grand Canyon Village etc.

If you can afford the time I'd recommend doing this - it was great & very relaxing.

Just be careful of the elevation/dryness - 2 days later I had some bad nosebleeds by which time I was in California! TMI I know, but it was scarey!

A
xx

wdyw

It's nice and simple - if you are booked uin a hotel for your full trip in Vegas then the helicopter tour is the way to go. If you haven't booked a hotel for every night then drive to the GC and hike. Wouldn't dream of driving to the rim and just viewing ..got to get down into it. Something like 8-9 miles to bootom via Bright Angel trail so either book a stop at the bottom or set off at first light.

Not as impressive as Bryce Canyon IMHO.

trets77

here is one of many photos i got from the helicopter

navidson

I went to the Grand Canyon and got stuck in a blizzard - effectively blinding me from seeing just how grand it was!

Check the weather before you go.

Sheel

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

I did a Grand Canyon trip years ago in a light aircraft. If you think about it, in the middle of the desert flying around in a light aircraft with all that hot air and thermals, you are going to get some turbulence. In fact a lot of turbulence! I went up in something like an eight seater, and everyone around me was sick! I don't remember how long the flight was, probably about 30 minutes, but I remember thinking if it had been 5 seconds longer I would have been sick too!

I don't know if a helicopter is less susceptible to turbulence or not, bit I for one would never do it again!

The first time we went to the GC was in a small plane and was a similar experience to yours. I was one of the 4 or 5 people that were sick . Also as others have said it's a long drive and the view from the plane was obstructed to a certain extent. On the bus drive back to Vegas the driver got stopped because the bus had a broken tail light , but then it was discovered he didn't have the correct license so we had to wait for another driver to come out and pick us up! :rolleyes: Definitely wouldn't do that trip again.

So the next 2 times we went by helicopter and thoroughly enjoyed those trips. Went with Papillon and Sundance , both very good , just have different landing points in the canyon.

Last year we hired a car and drove to the canyon and stayed there a couple of nights. We did THIS TOUR which was good fun.