Be sure to check out part 1 & part 2 of my Vegas postings, if you haven’t already. 🙂
Day 5…we took a helicopter ride down into the Grand Canyon!!! The highlight of my whole trip to Vegas.
Those who know me, know that I get motion sickness REALLY easily. I can’t ride an airplane without taking dramamine, I can’t ride a roller coaster at all (even though I love them), heck, I can’t even passenger in a car if it’s a bad day. So, as you can imagine, I was terrified that I wasn’t going to be able to handle a helicopter ride. However, I couldn’t pass up an opportunity of a lifetime on the off chance that I might get sick. I figured even if I got sick, it would still be worth it.
It was an early and cold freaking morning. I was feeling alright, but a little nervous. Once we got to the place where the helicopters were, I got really sick feeling and thought I was a goner for sure. Determined to soldier on, I took my dramamine and popped a piece of ginger gum in every few minutes. Thankfully, once we got into the helicopter, my stomach started to settle and I was able to enjoy the ride. The view was absolutely amazing! We even got to see the Hoover Dam on our ride into the canyon.
Flying in style…
Some photos from the helicopter of our ride in to and out of the canyon…
The Hoover Dam
Some cactus photos when we stopped to re-fuel…
Here we are INside the Grand Canyon! It was super cool. We got to have champagne and snacks while we hung out inside the canyon for 15 min or so.
Our pilot for the trip…a good ole southern boy. Complete with tight jeans and boots. 😉
This was my last night in Vegas so we went to see Ka’ that night. If you’re ever in Vegas and Ka’ is playing, definitely go see it! It was awesome.
Finally, here I am about to leave for the airport. So tired and chilly, but ready to get back home.
Shew! Vegas posting is complete! Now on to our regularly scheduled blogging…
My husband and I are planning to go to Vegas soon, I just have a few questions:
1) How much is the helicopter ride from Vegas to Grand Canyon? And how many long was the trip?
2) Do we need to give a ‘tip’ to the copter pilot?
Thank you in advance 🙂
Hey cessology. I believe it was around $450 a person. We did the tour that landed us inside the Grand Canyon. It was about a 30-45 min ride to the GC, then about 20-30 min inside the canyon where we had some breakfast goodies and champagne and then a 30-45 min ride back. The whole experience (hotel to hotel) takes longer, but that is the length of time we were actually on the tour.
As far as tipping, I don’t think it’s an expected thing, but I’m most of the time I think tips are accepted so if you think they went above and beyond their job, a tip would probably be nice. I was in a motion sickness meds induced fog so I can’t be positive, but I think I gave our pilot $20. Kinda sucky from a percentage standpoint, but it’s the thought that counts, right? 🙂
Oops…excuse that *I’m* that doesn’t make sense in the 2nd paragraph. 😉
Thank you for the speedy and informative reply, Katie! Wow! $450/pax is way out of our budget for now. I’m gonna save that for next time. We’re still going to Grand Canyon, but we’re gonna opt for the bus for now. 🙂 Again, thank you!