People from all over the planet come to the Grand Canyon. Most of them are truly amazed at the immensity of the National Park, which covers over one million acres. That's when they start thinking a tour on a Grand Canyon airplane would help them see as much of it as possible.

These plane tours take off from two places, Vegas and Tusayan, AZ, which is home to the Grand Canyon National Park Airport by the South Rim. Vegas travelers can fly to the West Rim or the South Rim, but people in Arizona fly to the South Rim. No Grand Canyon airplanes fly between the two rims.

Tour Selections

When you depart from Las Vegas, you have many choices when it comes to airplane tours of the Grand Canyon, plus you can choose a landing tour or an air-only tour. Air-only flights are a good value and are great for people on limited budgets. You get to see the scenic wonders of Grand Canyon West along with the massive Hoover Dam and beautiful Lake Mead. Many people opt for the landing tours though because they are a lot of fun and you get to do more.

For example, Grand Canyon West is the only section of the canyon where helicopters can land on the bottom. A chopper flight like this can be added to your tour. Or you could get a VIP pass to the exciting Skywalk, which is also known as the Glass Bridge.

If you take a tour to the South Rim, your options are different. Planes aren't allowed to land inside the National Park, so all flights are air-only. Still, you have choices in tours and one of the best is the longer one that lasts 50 minutes. This flight takes you over nearly 75 percent of the National Park! It is a lot of fun and the only other way to see so much of the park is by taking an extended helicopter tour.

The Planes

The planes hold 19 people so they are fairly good sized. The windows are huge so they are ideal for sightseeing and the reclining seats are very comfortable. Information about the canyon is played through personal headsets in eleven different languages throughout the tour.

Booking

Grand Canyon air tours are awesome and extremely popular. They are also a choice for people who couldn't get seats on chopper tours.

What does this mean for you? It means you need to book your seats early. Try to get your seats at least one week ahead of the day you want to fly. Another thing, be sure to buy your seats online because you will find the lowest prices there. But book direct with the tour company, because you won't be paying a middleman's fee and you'll get the best rates and discounts.

Recap

You can see you have quite a few decisions to make when it comes to plane tours of the Grand Canyon. While you can begin an airplane tour in Vegas or the GCN in Tusayan, you want to depart from Vegas if you want to add on a thrilling landing tour. Get your seats as early as possible Buy your tickets online. That way you can take advantage of the special Internet rates that tour companies offer on their websites. Just be sure to complete your purchase on the tour company's website. If you don't, you'll probably end up paying full retail price!