Las Vegas
Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour
Description & Accessibility
There is a variety of Grand Canyon tours available from Las Vegas, including bus tours as well as a variety of helicopter and fixed wing flights. Be sure to check out all the possibilities and pricing. Bus tours are cheaper but will take up the entire day from early morning to late evening, where a helicopter tour will only take up part of the day but are more expensive.
We took a helicopter landing tour which included a limo pickup at the hotel and drop off after the tour. The tour took us over the hover dam on route to the grand canyon where we made a landing there, during the 30 to 40 minute landing stop we where supplied with champagne as well as a box lunch. The helicopter tour is a great option for aerial views and for those that choose not to spend most of the day of the bus.
Accessibility: NO
However if can walk a little and have some strength in the legs even limited, you may still be able to take the tour if you have a traveling companion to assist. The limo ride no mobility device can be carried in it not even foldable as it is a shared ride that will pick up people from several hotels so you have a full limo with no room to carry even a foldable mobility device. I have limited mobility, so how I did it is to drive my mobility scooter to the location where the limo was due to pick us up, then my wife took the scooter back to the hotel room and returned. The limo arrived and we walked using a cane and my wife the 10 to 15 feet to the limo. At the helicopter office the limo drop us close to the building and I was able to get into the building, the walk to the helicopter was near the building and my wife was able to assist helping me into the helicopter, at the landing location at the grand canyon the picnic tables where about 100 to 200 feet from the helicopter but taking our time with my wife’s help I was able to get to and from the picnic tables.
The helicopter office / building was not far from the Tropicana hotel where we where staying so as an alternative it would have been easy to just go on our own to the helicopter building without using the limo, however I would not have been able to bring a mobility device with me on the tour itself.
On the return trip we flew over the downtown area as well as the main Las Vegas Strip
This is the helicopter that was used for the tour so you judge the step in height, there is one step before the seat (so 2 steps up). There is other companies that do tours so remember not all may use the same model of helicopter.
If you opt for a bus tour and are able to do the steps to board the bus, you should be able to bring a mobility device in the under bus storage compartments of a motor bus, but the device must be foldable or easily and quickly comes apart to fit in the the under floor storage, always enquire with the touring company what you best touring options are as some stops on certain tours are more accessible than others, so you want to pick the best tour that with closely suit your mobility abilities. A full power wheelchair cannot be brought on a bus tour but a travel type scooter that easily comes apart could. But always discuss mobility issues with the tour company before booking.
By: Donald Kerr