Review: Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters

Papillon Helicopters is known as a best Grand Canyon tour on the planet. My family and I a few weeks ago flew with them. This is my assessment of the flight.

Papillon Helicopters is renowned for it's Grand Canyon National Park tours. I was in charge of the family's canyon trip this holiday season. Naturally, I booked with Papillon. Here's a quick review of my trip:

There was six among us. We stayed at El Tovar in Grand Canyon Village, which is located in the boundaries of the National Park. I recommend this hotel. It can be pricey, however it's more than worth it since you are seconds from the rim's edge.

I believe you can make arrangements with Papillon to get picked up. If not, you can set up a pick up at the transportation desk inside the Bright Angel Lodge. I rented a Chevy Tahoe for our trip. I loaded the gang inside and made the 10-minute drive to Grand Canyon Airport.

Grand Canyon Airport is situated just outside Tusayan. It's hard to miss it. There's lots of activity. Helicopters and airplanes arrive and depart from it often. The Papillon terminal is the biggest. I parked the SUV and got us checked in (incidentally, the coffee there is delicious!).

The atmosphere is very friendly. I met plenty of travelers from the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. The main receiving area is comfortable. We were up late last night so I slipped in a power nap. I awoke to my sister tugging on my coat and saying the time had come to fly.

Choppers hold up to six people (should you weigh in excess of 275 pounds you may be asked to get what they call a "comfort seat."). Since this was family, I upgraded everyone to the EcoStar 130, which has 25% more cabin room, theater-style seating, and a 180-degree wraparound windshield for better views.

I also booked us on the extended flight. Papillon Helicopter's standard South Rim heli trip is half an hour. That's plenty for lots of people. I estimate that what you see 30 minutes would take a few days on the ground. But I wanted more (it isn't every day someone flies the canyon), so I went with a tour that gave us between 45-50 minutes of airtime.

Take off was phenomenal. Our chopper, nose pointed forward, blasted from the runway and made a low-altitude flight over Kaibab National Forest, which hosts the biggest stand of Ponderosa Pine in the world. In ten minutes, we said good-bye to the edge and found ourselves front and center in the Dragoon Corridor, the widest ,deepest section of the canyon.

It was a wonderful sight. The Colorado River was below us. So was the Temple of Ra. The spires and buttes were unreal. There was no clouds on the horizon. Our pilot explained that our visibility was approximately 140 miles compared to 30 for individuals on the ground! The helicopter powered towards the stately North Rim. Here we turned back, enjoying Hopi Point and Grand Canyon Village while we made our descent.

Papillon records all flights using cameras on the exterior and interior of the heli. Make sure you obtain a copy of your trip on DVD. I did. The quality was great. I made copies for all of us. They loved it. Undoubtedly a great keepsake of our heli tour.

Papillon Helicopters Grand Canyon National Park tour gets two thumbs up from us. It was a tour of the South Rim. I'm glad we did the extended flight. The additional airtime was worth it. Our pilot was great and amused us with facts and anecdotes of the area. He made the canyon come alive for us. This was definitely a trip highlight for my family and me. We'll definitely do this air tour again.

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