Bus Tours

Why You Should Experience the Grand Canyon from the Sky

• Witness one of the world’s most recognizable geological wonders from the best vantage point possible - the sky!
• At 18 miles wide, 1 mile deep and 277 miles long, an air tour captures the Grand Canyon’s immense beauty. Soar over the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Mojave Desert on your way from Las Vegas.
• Feel the adrenaline of this once in a lifetime experience.

Choosing the Best Helicopter or Airplane Flight Over the Grand Canyon

When selecting an air tour from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, you have two options: fly via airplane, or, helicopter. While both offer a fantastic experience, there are slight differences between the two.

The chart below covers air tours that comprise of only flying over the Grand Canyon. They do not include air tours that also land at the Grand Canyon. For a more comprehensive list, check out our full collection of Las Vegas to Grand Canyon helicopter tours.

Airplane vs Helicopter

	Helicopter	Airplane
Flight Time from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon	45 minutes	30 minutes
Flights from Las Vegas to the South Rim	No, but you can travel by bus or car and board a helicopter at the Grand Canyon Airport Learn more about this experience	Yes
Flights from Las Vegas to the West Rim	Yes; you can also travel to the West Rim by bus or car and board a helicopter at the Grand Canyon Airport	Yes
Flights from Las Vegas to the North Rim	No, but you can travel by bus or car and board a helicopter at the Grand Canyon Airport Learn more about this experience	No
Perks	Flying by helicopter can cut your transit time by up to 75%. In addition, the aerial views from an airtour are undoubtedly the best! When compared with flying by airplane, helicopters offer a slightly better experience since they fly closer at a lower elevation and at a slower speed, giving you plenty of time to snap photos. For an even more spectacular experience, opt for a helicopter tour that flies over the Las Vegas strip on your way home from the Grand Canyon.	Traveling to the Grand Canyon by airplane is the quickest option available, cutting your transit time by 80%. As with helicopter tours, the aerial views are phenomenal. The sightseeing airplanes used to travel to the Grand Canyon have large windows, perfect for capturing stunning photos. In addition, an airplane can make the flight to the South and North Rims, whereas the distance is too far for sightseeing helicopters.

What kind of helicopter can I expect?

There are two types of sightseeing helicopters used for tours from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon: the ECO Star EC-130 and A-Star A-S350. An EcoStar EC-130 has 25% more cabin space than an A-Star helicopter. Both offer great visibility. Most often, fly over only tours use A-Star helicopters. All Headout tours to the bottom of the Grand Canyon use the EcoStar EC-350 helicopter.

Fly Over the Las Vegas Strip on Your Way Back

After soaring over gorgeous the Grand Canyon, extend your helicopter tour with a flight over the glistening Las Vegas Strip. Pass over the Stratosphere Tower, Caesars Palace and catch a glimpse of the Bellagio's fountains before spotting the skyline of New York-New York and the beam atop the Luxor pyramid. It’s the best way to experience the Strip during the evening.

Lean more about Grand Canyon Helicopter tours with a flight over the Las Vegas.

Getting to your tour

Most helicopter tours leaving from Las Vegas include hotel pick-up and drop-off. There are three airports typically used for air tours from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon:

McCarran Airport
– 10 min from downtown Las Vegas
– Most hotels offer shuttle service to the airport
– A taxi from the Strip should cost you around $15
– Most helicopter tours depart from here.

Henderson Executive Airport
– 25-30 minutes south of Las Vegas
– Some airplane tours depart from here.

Boulder City
– 30 minutes from Las Vegas
– Both helicopter and airplane tours depart from here.
– Flights from Boulder City can easily add an extra 1.5 hours to your tour duration just for travel between your hotel and the helicopter terminal - be sure to plan accordingly.

Find more information on helicopter tours from las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, including FAQs and insider tips.

Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour Reviews

Stacey Kimball

Amazing!

Such an incredible experience. Our pilot was excellent and made us feel completely at ease. We shopped around quite a bit and found Headout to have the best prices and tour options. The hotel pickup was a huge help and really helped make the entire trip stress free.

Josh Berrington

Absolute must-do

The views you get from a helicopter are phenomenal. If you’re in Vegas, this is the perfect day trip. We flew on an airplane, and then switched to a helicopter once we reached the Grand Canyon. It’s an excellent option if you’re on a budget but still want to take make the visit and fly over the canyon in a chopper.