[Closed] Off topic - Grand Canyon

Helicopter, Takes hours by road.

Not a cheap option looking like 400usd each

Better waiting and booking when we are there? Any operator you recommend?

I went with heli USA, but only because the operator I booked with had a crash the day before we were going to go, they were called papillon and all 6 passengers were killed.

IIRC it's about 4-5 hours drive to get there, at least of you drive then it's less time to endure Las Vegas.

Yeah had thought about renting a car for a couple of days..... Ideally would like to drive to the south ridge but can't seem to find a spot to aim for that will just do a flight over and into the canyon.... Like a half hour flight or something...

The west (where the sky bridge is) seems to be nice but not the 'real' canyon (not in the national park)

Booked a package whilst I was there, where I flew up from Vegas in a plane then transferred to coach.
Cost about £150 , 7 years ago. Was a good full day out.
If you are into shooting / fishing etc make sure you take a trip out to the bass pro store in Vegas

I love Vegas, it's not real! We had a plane tour over the GC it was brilliant.

Other things to do are the Hard Hat Tour of the Hoover Dam and getting drunk watching the British get sunk at the big open air show about midway along the strip (from hazy memory, I got plastered on margaritas as I was tipping the unfeasibly large breasted oriental waitress rather too much)

If you rent a car, try to book it over here and pay for upgraded insurance .
We left it until we got there last year and they wanted mega money for insurance, as opposed to what I had researched prior to going

Well worth going for a couple of days trip from Vegas, for me one night was plenty in Vegas!

We stayed in Flagstaff which is South of the canyon and about 4 hours (from memory) from Vegas and about an hour to the Canyon. I was there with work though so there may be better places to stay that are closer.

You'll pass over the Hoover dam which is also worth a couple of hours of your time.

If I were you I would get a cheap hire car (ours was a Chevy Impala which was cheap and v comfy) and explore it a little yourself. I found it to be quite awe inspiring just from the sheer scale of it.

My sister did a whitewater tour when she went and reckons it was one of the best things she has ever done

Revs.... Yeah will Deffo book b4 going if we go the driving route..

White water rapids is also something I'm looking at

Rent a car, take a few days over it. Vegas is a shithole anyhow.

GC is about a 4.5 hr drive from Vegas. Slightly longer if you go via the old Route 66. The plus is you also go via the Hoover Dam.
There are a couple of access points to the rim, but the main one is run by the National Park Service and is accessed via the 180 from near Flagstaff.
You can stay in one of the accommodations on the rim edge. They're expensive; but considering they're only yards from the rim and you can watch the spectacular sunrises / sunsets. I think if you've limited time then the investment is probably worth it.
Car hire from LV is cheap & easy.
I think for the cost of a helicopter flight you could probably pay for the car and the accommodation and then have more time to explore the South Rim.
Enjoy.

If you can, walk down. I did a few years back, stayed at Phantom Ranch at the bottom and then back up the next day. Spectacular.

I'd recommend hiking down and camping at the bottom. October is out of season so should be relatively quiet. I did it in January with snow at the top but t shirt weather by the tiime we reached the bottom.

Drive to the canyon, do a day hike there on the Angel Trail out to Plateau Point which you should be able to nail in under 5 hours if you're in any kind of shape. Then drive down to Sedona and do some biking.

We drove from Vegas, and stayed a couple of nights in one of the Xanterra lodges at the south rim- was about $100 a night for 2 adults, 2 kids, in a decent motel standard accommodation. About a hundred metres from the rim, so no hassles being around for sunrise/sunset.
We were there in October as well- it was snowing and settling when we drove in.....

We drove - takes a long time and apart from the Dam there isn't much on the way. We also went in October and the canyon was shrouded in mist, so you may want to take a few days just in case...

One other thing is that unlike most of the US, motels etc were really expensive there, so don't expect a cheap stay.

Always wanted to walk the Havasupai gorge....

Helicopter, was amazing flying over Vegas, Hoover dam and Grand Canyon. Vegas is best from the air, hateful place on the ground!

Cheers for the input.....

Heli tour it is then.... Just have to pick which one

Any other info or ideas..... Fire away

Not as expensive as the Helis

Scenic Airlines fly out of North Las Vegas airport.

Twin Otter aircraft with large windows ........lots of tour options.

an awesome experience. car hire in vegas is/was very cheap. drive via hoover and stay overnight. we also stayed overnight at phantom ranch at the bottom. if you're fit and used to mountain walks/fell running you can walk in and out. we took the overnight mule ride ! i am sure the flights are great but to experience it up close is the real deal

Cheers, whatever flight we do it will Deffo be a landing one with a few hours in/at the canyon ..

I'd recommend hiking down

This^^ if you have the time. I have hiked into the canyon several times and it is pretty spectacular.
The North Rim is really cool as well--very remote (you access it by going up into Utah from Vegas and across to the East).
As I recall, there are only one or two motels/lodges (small).
You can hike along the north rim (bike as well) without all the crowds at the South Rim (but in October you should encounter fewer people).
I have camped, hiked and biked the North Rim and there were days when I never saw another person. Last time I rode there, I did run into a buffalo herd that roams the north rim.