"Summer is typically the busiest time of year for canyon airplane tours," said Keith Kravitz, owner of Grand Canyon Tours. "However, it's also the time when prices for air tours peak. Now that fall's right around the corner, we are seeing prices drop by as much as 30 percent!"
Unlike summer, getting seats on fall flights tours is much easier. "Sell-outs are common from June through mid-September," Kravitz noted. "However, inventory stress lightens late September as visitation to the Park significantly tapers off."
The increase in availability doesn't mean travelers should not plan ahead. "Regardless of the time of year one takes a canyon air tour," Kravitz noted, "it should be booked at least a week in advance. Do this and you get to pick from the best trips at the lowest rates.
"That said, South Rim travelers can wait to book 72 hours prior to take off, but that's pushing it. Concerning travelers from Vegas, stick with the 1-week-in-advance rule. I've seen too many visitors wait until the last minute and not get airborne."
Grand Canyon airplane tours depart from Las Vegas, NV, Tusayan, AZ, and Phoenix, AZ. Las Vegas travelers can fly to the West Rim or the South Rim of the National Park. Tusayan and Phoenix visitors go over the South Rim. There are no connecting flights between the two rims.
For Las Vegas travelers, the West Rim is closest (it takes planes 30 minutes to reach it). Types of tours include air-only and landing. Aerial trips are the cheapest option and go over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the West Rim. Landing tours follow the same route and can be upgraded to include helicopter rides to the bottom, tickets to the Grand Canyon Skywalk and boat rides down the Colorado River.
There's also a direct flight (60 minutes) from Las Vegas to the South Rim. "This, in my opinion, is the only way to get from Vegas to the South Rim," Kravitz noted. "If you drive or take a bus, it's a 5.5-hour drive and that's just one way."
The direct flight also includes a 2.5-hour bus tour inside the National Park and can be upgraded to include a 30-minute rim-to-rim helicopter ride. "The helicopter segment of the trip is quite spectacular as it flies through the Dragoon Corridor, which is regarded by many as the widest, deepest part of the canyon."
Tusayan visitors can opt for a 50-minute airplane tour that includes flying over the South Rim, North Rim and everything up to the Park's eastern boundary. "When you finish this flight," said Kravitz, "You'll have seen up to 75 percent of the National Park. No other tour offers travelers the ability to cover this much Park in under 60 minutes."
Phoenix visitors fly out of the general metropolitan area and essentially do the same air tour that Tusayan travlers do. En route from the Valley of the Sun, the plane flies over Sedona, the Mogollon Rim and the Kaibab National Forest. "This flight not only does the canyon, but you also get to go over some of the most beautiful parts of Northern Arizona."
For a free report on Grand Canyon airplane tour discounts, copy & paste this URL into your web browser:
http://www.grandcanyon123.com/free-report.html
Las Vegas-based Grand Canyon Tours (GCT) reviews and rates National Park tours that go to the West Rim and the South Rim from Las Vegas, NV, and Tusayan, AZ. To find the tour that best meets your needs, visit GCT at:
http://grandcanyon123.com/deal-sheet.html
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