On our last full day in Vegas we booked to go on a helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and the strip. It almost didn't happen as Jonathan is scared of heights and has never been on a helicopter before but he overcame his fears and off we went!
It was a little pricey as helicopter trips tend to be but it was definitely worth it. We didn't want to miss out on seeing the Grand Canyon just incase we never go back to this neck of the woods, and the other types of tours didn't appeal to us (e.g. going there on a coach: 11 hours +!)
We were picked up from our hotel at 12noon and taken to the Maverick helicopter base where we had a very short wait before our pilot called our group. Our pilot was great and made us all feel very safe and welcome on board. As I was the smallest I got to sit up front next to him on the first leg of the journey and it was fascinating to watch him start things up and take us up into the air!
It was such a great experience, especially going over the Grand Canyon. What we saw was so incredible and so vast, and we got quite low and near to the rocks (or so it felt) which I'm not sure Jonathan was too keen on. He looked a bit peaky at this point!
After a stop in the middle of nowhere to refuel (both the helicopter and ourselves with water - it was 100degrees outside!) we headed back to base. It was surreal seeing the landscape go from miles and miles of nothing to a sudden burst of weird and wonderful hotels on the horizon. Flying over the strip was incredible, giving us the chance to see all of the sights of Vegas from the air. We flew close to the Stratosphere hotel which we would be eating at later that evening.
It was a little pricey as helicopter trips tend to be but it was definitely worth it. We didn't want to miss out on seeing the Grand Canyon just incase we never go back to this neck of the woods, and the other types of tours didn't appeal to us (e.g. going there on a coach: 11 hours +!)
We were picked up from our hotel at 12noon and taken to the Maverick helicopter base where we had a very short wait before our pilot called our group. Our pilot was great and made us all feel very safe and welcome on board. As I was the smallest I got to sit up front next to him on the first leg of the journey and it was fascinating to watch him start things up and take us up into the air!
It was such a great experience, especially going over the Grand Canyon. What we saw was so incredible and so vast, and we got quite low and near to the rocks (or so it felt) which I'm not sure Jonathan was too keen on. He looked a bit peaky at this point!
After a stop in the middle of nowhere to refuel (both the helicopter and ourselves with water - it was 100degrees outside!) we headed back to base. It was surreal seeing the landscape go from miles and miles of nothing to a sudden burst of weird and wonderful hotels on the horizon. Flying over the strip was incredible, giving us the chance to see all of the sights of Vegas from the air. We flew close to the Stratosphere hotel which we would be eating at later that evening.
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