The Grand Canyon - Top-Rated Plane Rides

Are you wondering which Grand Canyon air tours are the best? Tough question because each flight has its own unique way of exploring the canyon. The best tours take you over notable landmarks and offer amenities for a comfortable flight. First of all, you have to decide which rim of the canyon you want to see. There are two: The West Rim and the South Rim. If you are in Las Vegas, you can fly to the West Rim. If you want to go to the South Rim and leave from Vegas, you can, but you have to stop at the Grand Canyon National Park Airport along the way. There are no direct flights between the West and South Rim. You can book an aerial flight over the Grand Canyon every day, even on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rarely are flights cancelled, but if they are, you will in most cases receive a 100 percent refund or a reschedule to a time and date that best fits your itinerary. Vegas flights to the West Rim take less than half an hour, as the distance from the metro area to the National Park is just 120 miles. Flights come in two flavors: Air only and landing. Air only tours are ideal if you don't have much time or have a limited budget. However, the landing tours are very popular for several reasons. Since you are visiting one of the most popular Seven Natural Wonders of the World, you definitely want an experience to remember. Taking this approach, you'll interact with the canyon from the air and the ground. By the time you've finished, you'll have a thorough understanding of the Park's greatness. So which landing tours are best? Book a flight that includes passes to the glass Skywalk bridge and takes you to the Grand Canyon West Airport where you can hop on a helicopter to descend to the canyon floor. Another option is to choose a tour that lands on top of the rim and gives you a little over two hours to explore these exciting points of interest:

• The educational Indian Cultural Center
• Beautiful Eagle Point
• Scenic Guano Point
• The exciting Hualapai Ranch

Expect to spend anywhere from six to nine hours on landing tours like these. Some people really enjoy seeing the South Rim. It is a short flight that takes under an hour (if you go by bus it takes 5.5 hours) and includes a 2.5 hour bus tour to the Grand Canyon Village and Mather Point lookout. You can also add an exciting helicopter option that takes you from rim to rim. This tour takes off from Grand Canyon Airport and is a good one if you are coming from Sedona, Flagstaff, Phoenix, or Scottsdale. This is an extensive air tour that lasts 45 minutes and lets you fully appreciate the immensity of the canyon. The tour covers three rims, the South, East, and North, and takes you over these sights:

• The impressive Colorado River Confluence
• The vast Navajo Indian Reservation
• The Dragoon Corridor which is the deepest and widest area
• The interesting Zuni Corridor
• Painted Desert
• Imperial Point which is the tallest formation in the Park

The other South Rim airplane tour I like combines an Antelope Canyon Jeep tour with a 15.3 mile smooth water float tour from the base of Glen Canyon Dam to historic Lee's Ferry. The Colorado River tour has no rough waters so it is great fun for everyone, even kids over the age of four. There are more Grand Canyon Airplane tours out there but these are the ones I like the best based on the quality and cost of the trip. Give them a look. It is easy to find a quality tour of the Grand Canyon by airplane that suits everyone in your group.