South Rim Part 2 Of 2

Aug 27, 2014

Welcome back to part 2 of our coverage on the Grand Canyon National Park.

If you have missed part one, you may find it in our August posting by clicking here.

Let us get straight to business!

If you are visiting Las Vegas and looking for an adventure, but don’t have the time to drive to the South Rim, let us fly you there! What’s ideal about our airplane tours is the duration; the entire duration is approximately 9.5-10 hours long, from the time that we pick you up at your hotel of choice, to the time that we drop you off. Therefore, you’ll still have plenty of time after your tour to plan anything you’d like on the Vegas Strip.

Our airplane tours depart from our Boulder City terminal, a short ride away from the heart of Vegas. All of our tours include complementary transportation when departing from our Boulder City terminal, so there are no extra fees involved when booking your tour. Depending on which hotel you’re staying at, pickups begin anywhere between an hour to an hour and a half before your departure time.

Before we begin to discuss which tours are available, let’s go over a few more interesting bits of information, beginning with the weather. July, August, and the first part of September is Monsoon season, where the Grand Canyon gets most of its rain for the year. Usually, this means that clouds would build up in the morning and rain and thunderstorms would occur during the afternoon. Winters at the South Rim usually run from mid-October to mid-April. In the winter, there’s a higher chance for heavy snowfall and temperatures that often reach 20F or lower. The spring season brings pleasant temperatures between 60F and 80F, but will be consistently breezy.

While exploring the National park, you’re bound to witness an abundance of wildlife, ranging from squirrels to elk. Other notable residents in the National Park include mule deer, javelinas, coyotes, and more. Squirrels are notorious for begging for food from visitors or even going through unattended bags and backpacks. Please note that it is illegal to feed the wildlife at the Grand Canyon!

Now let’s discuss the tours that we offer.

The “Grand Canyon Connoisseur” is one of our most popular tours. It’s a 65 minute flight from Boulder City to the Grand Canyon South Rim airport, flying over Lake Mead and Hoover Dam and upon landing, our motor coach transfers guests from the airport into the National Park. The motor coach stops at Bright Angel Lodge and Mather Point with ample time at each point to explore and take in the surroundings. The motor coach will then return back to the airport where you’ll board the flight back to Boulder City.

Now with this tour, you have the option of adding either a helicopter flight at the South Rim or a Jeep excursion around the National Park. The “Grand Canyon Connoisseur with Helicopter” adds a 25-30 minute helicopter flight over the North Rim of the canyon. After the helicopter flight is over, you’ll board our motor coach that takes you into the National Park and stops at one of the most scenic lookout points in the National Park. Afterwards, the motor coach takes you back to the airport to board the airplane flight back to Boulder City.

The helicopter over the North Rim is phenomenal, especially during the winter. Since the North Rim is higher in elevation, it is substantially greener with vegetation and also gets more snow than the South Rim. The North Rim is inaccessible during the winter, with the roads blocked off, so there is a blanket of untouched snow that seems endless when viewing it from the air. Even during the seasons that the North Rim is open, it is hard to get to, as it takes several hours to drive all the way around the canyon. So, for many, the only way to see the North Rim is by our helicopters.

We also have the “Canyon Connoisseur with Hummer” tour that adds a Hummer excursion around the National Park with stops at Yavapai Point, El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, and Desert View Point. The hummer will pick you up after you disembark the airplane and will also drop you off at the airport after the excursion for your flight back to Boulder City.

That’s all for this post! We hope this two part blog posting helped in deciding which South Rim tour you would like to take! If you still have a few general questions that need to be answered, click here!

Till next time, over and out!

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