Why take a five-hour bus ride from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim when you can fly there in 45 minutes?
Papillon offers the flight daily for under $200 per person on its website (nearly 40 percent off the retail price.). The package includes hotel pick up and drop off, a light meal, and a luxury bus transfer to the Grand Canyon Village.
Can an already incredible tour get better? Yes. Add a helicopter tour to the package and now you’ve booked what’s being billed as the Canyon’s “super-trip.” The 30-minute helicopter trip takes you over the Kaibab Plateau and through the Dragoon Corridor, the deepest, widest part of the Canyon.
I’ve read a lot of posts on forums like Trip Advisor and Virtual Tourist in which travelers put the South Rim on their “to-do” list, only to scratch it off because the bus ride is too time-consuming. Papillon’s airplane tour changes that by completing the 270-mile trip in under an hour! In other words, you can enjoy all the South Rim has to offer and be back on The Strip by late afternoon.
The company uses a private fleet of Vistaliner fixed-wing aircraft for these trips. Built for sightseeing and comfort, each aircraft features oversized windows (great for taking pictures and shooting video), climate-controlled cabins, and lounge-style seating. Taped narrations in multiple languages are available via personal headset. The flight is quiet, too, as turbine engines instead of rotor ones power these planes.
Papillon’s airplane and helicopter pilots are some of the best in the business. Each pilot must pass the company’s rigorous entrance exam and be re-certified annually. Two pilots – a Captain and a First Officer – are on board for each airplane tour (helicopters are flown by one.) and know the Grand Canyon airspace better than any other tour company flying it.
From Las Vegas, the airplane lands at Grand Canyon Airport in Tusayan, AZ, a small town minutes away from the South Rim’s main entrance. There, you’ll transfer to a luxury motor coach and be chauffeured to the most famous lookout points in the Park before heading to Bright Angel Lodge in Grand Canyon Village for souvenirs and snacks.
The bus will then return to the Airport, where you’ll board for your return flight to Las Vegas. Or, if you’ve upgraded your package, you’ll step inside a helicopter and take off over the South Rim, where you’ll see sheer cliffs, red spires, soaring condors, secret canyons, and the North Rim. This aerial tour is guaranteed to give your South Rim “ground time” extra significance.
Taking an airplane trip like Papillon’s Grand Canyon Deluxe to the South Rim is the quickest way to enjoy the most famous part of the Canyon. No longer do you have to ride a bus for five hours – the plane can get you there in 45 minutes, making it the perfect alternative for people with limited time and who want to comfortably visit the South Rim in less than a day. Upgrading to include a helicopter tour makes an already great trip even better, as the helicopter gives you a bird’s eye view of what you’ve explored by foot. If you want to really “see” the South Rim, book a Grand Canyon airplane tour by Papillon
