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| - i did the grand canyon west rim + skywalk + helicopter + pontoon boat ride with a stop at hoover dam on the way on 6/21/10. got a really good price so i couldn't pass it up.
this company didn't seem to have a lot of good reviews, so i was really skeptical when i booked this tour. i kept reading online that another rival company was the best, so i took a leap of faith when the sales guy sold me this one.
my experience was pretty good. if there were 3.5 stars, that's what i'd really give. they were prompt in picking us up at our hotel, picked up a whole bunch of other people and took us to a central meeting place where they gave us a brief itinerary and had us pay and eat breakfast. it was hardly a breakfast. it was one of those tiny Svenhard danishes (only one!), coffee, and a juice box drink. i knew i'd get hungry soon. then we split up onto 2 motorcoaches.
we had to transfer buses several times. something about the size of the bus that wasn't allowed into the canyon. the main motorcoach that we rode to get to the grand canyon was pretty awesome! it was new, double decker, had a bathroom, and small blaupunkt tv screens throughout.
the one thing that PISSED me off was when we paid, we received a red sticker for the west rim tour - we were supposed to wear it at all times so they could identify us. the stupid cashier didn't give us our orange sticker (which we didn't know about until later), that signified customers going on the helicopter tour as well. we almost weren't able to go on the helicopter tour because of this!!!! we were rudely told by the helicopter company's bus driver that we couldn't get on their transfer bus because we "don't have an orange sticker." they didn't have a list of names or anything, and they told us our receipt "don't mean nothing." thankfully we had our original booking statement with us, so they let us on the bus. who knew that a little sticker would be such a big deal?? i called airbridge tours to complain on the way to the grand canyon and they assured me that there wouldn't be any problems at the helicopter site since they had a list of names. and there weren't really any problems, just that they had us down for a party of 2 instead of 3, which was easily resolved. let me tell you about where you waste a lot of time - standing in line when you get to the grand canyon. there is a central tour meeting place where hoardes of people from different tours go to all use the same services. there are lines for the helicopter tour, the hualapai ranch, and the two different viewpoints all in one area. you have to take a separate bus to get to each place (except for the heli tour), and you can only get to the 2nd viewpoint from going to the 1st viewpoint. sound confusing? well it was. the line for the heli tour was on-site and super long, as they had to group everyone up based on weight while trying to keep families together. they only took groups of about 6 ppl at a time so you can imagine how long that would take when there are several different tour buses at the same place. it was a zoo in there.
the helicopter ride was provided by Papillon helicopters, which is supposedly the best in the area. i was pleasantly surprised to learn that airbridge partnered with them. the heli ride was pretty fun, i got to sit in the front with the pilot :) you go down to the makeshift heli pad into the canyon, then take a 30 min pontoon boat ride down the colorado river with the same group you came with. thankfully i had a nice bunch that meshed well with my family. we had a chinese (no offense) boat driver and i didn't understand 2/3 of what he was saying because of his strong accent. he was very nice though. it was great to see a different perspective of the grand canyon from the colorado river. after the boat ride, they fly you back up to the meeting area in the helicopter.
they gave us meal vouchers for lunch but didn't explain to us that we had a choice between the two restaurants on site at the west rim (at different lookouts). we found out the hard way, after ordering some not-so-great tamales from the first lookout at eagle point. guano point offered a bbq lunch that smelled awesome, especially after barely eating the tamales. so just be aware that you have a choice and don't use your voucher on the first snack bar you see. things may change so if anything, just ask about it.
the skywalk was meh. not scary at all. i guess i can say i did it though, yay. you can't bring anything on it, including cameras!
we barely had time to spend at guano point, which i thought had the more spectacular views. we had to hurry up and get back to our tour buses (but had to wait for transfer buses to take us there) so we were kind of disappointed. waiting in various lines took up a big chunk of our time. they give you 4 hours but it goes by pretty fast.
planning on the south rim next time; went when i was 4 but don't remember it!
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