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| - Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopter Ride
http://www.papillon.com/popris/show_package.aspx?package_id=21&lang=en-US
Whenever we travel I usually like to do some type of flight tour or helicopter ride. Unfortunately, I am usually solo most of time as all of the others in our group are chicken! During a trip to Las Vegas over Thanksgiving, I decided to try a helicopter flight over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Western Rim of the Grand Canyon. There are several companies that offer different types of tours and packages available. I opted for Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters departing from Boulder City airport about 25 miles south of Las Vegas. They are quite a bit cheaper than some if the others I researched that depart from Las Vegas proper. But, it takes about an hour more of your time (1/2 hour travel each way) to fly out of Boulder City. I think the savings was justified and if you have a little extra time, I would recommend them.
I was picked up at the Mirage Hotel at 5:50 a.m. sharp by a very polite Papillon Tour bus driver. We had another stop at NewYork, New York Casino to pick up a few more people before heading out to the airport. Once we arrived we went through a quick safety briefing and soon boarded an EcoStar EC-130 helicopter. The seating was a bit tight I though with the pilot and 2 others plus myself in the front row. The rear row had 4 seats, but had a little more room as there were only 3 people.
The pilot of our bird was Greg and he was very polite, humorous and informative. Our flight was quite smooth and we flew out over Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and Southern Nevada for about a half hour before arriving at the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. We flew for a bit and then descending down to a landing area a few thousand feet beneath the West rim. We were offered a light breakfast once on the ground consisting of pastries, fruit and champagne if you wanted. There was plenty of time for photos and enjoying the beauty of the canyon. On the return, we took a different route back and flew near the Indian glass Skydeck not too far away. The flight back was smooth as well and uneventful. We were back at the airport in about a half hour or so with the bus ready to take us back to Vegas.
Prices seem to vary after talking to others on our tour but I paid $259, plus an additional $50 for an option that I requested to sit in the front seat. Others in the group sitting in the back paid $279-$289. The day was beautiful and the tour was great. I would do it again.
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