Five Ways to Get To Skywalk
The Skywalk Tours at Grand Canyon West are clearly among the most popular Las Vegas day trips.
Skywalk Tours are getting more popular every day. Not everyone wants the same type of tour, and there are some really great choices for your Skywalk day trip. Here are some ideas to help you decide what kind of tour is best for you.
As a Las Vegas tour guide, I can tell you there are really only 3 factors that will influence your final decision, and there are only 5 basic ways to arrange a day trip to Grand Canyon West. This is a good thing, because it makes the whole process very simple for you. (River-rafting down the Colorado River doesn’t count here – that is a really exciting multi-day trip, not a day trip.)
Five Ways to Get To Skywalk
- Drive Yourself to Grand Canyon West
- Las Vegas to Grand Canyon West Tour Bus
- Grand Canyon West Tours – Fly-Drive Combo
- Grand Canyon West Helicopter Tours
- Grand Canyon West Airplane Tours
3 Questions About Your Las Vegas to Skywalk Day Trip
- How Much Time Do You Have in Las Vegas?
- How Much Money Do You Want To Spend For Your Las Vegas Day Trip
- How Do You Want To Actually SEE the Grand Canyon
Drive Yourself to Skywalk at Grand Canyon West
If you drove to Las Vegas, you’re all set. A ‘Drive Yourself To The Grand Canyon Tour’ is certainly the cheapest Grand Canyon tour from Las Vegas there is.
Not only is it a ‘cheap Las Vegas to Grand Canyon tour‘, it gives you the ultimate in control over your trip. For example, you can be at the Skywalk before the tour buses even leave Las Vegas!
Advantages:
- Get to the Skywalk when you want. Plan your trip so you arrive earlier (or later) than the buses, and you will miss the crowds and the lines.
- Leave when you want – depending on when season, you may time your day trip so you can see the sunrise – or watch it set – over the Grand Canyon. Off-the-rack guided tours don’t have the flexibility for detours like that. (Call ahead to confirm the open / closed hours at Grand Canyon West.)
- You pay only the costs of fuel, admission, Skywalk entrance, lunch, etc.
- You aren’t traveling with strangers – enjoy the Skywalk tour with your friends and your family.
- You can take lunch with you, or you can stop at a roadhouse along the way. Sometimes the best Las Vegas detours happen when traveling this way.
- You can sleep on the way back to Las Vegas (unless you are the driver).
DIS-Advantages:
- If you are the driver, everyone else will be sleeping on the way back.
- You will miss out on all the local color, history, information, and stories you would get from a professional tour guide.
- NOTE: The insurance provided by the rental car companies usually does not cover damages from driving off paved roads. Diamond Bar Road is not paved for about 9 miles leading up to the Hualapai Nation. It is good road, but unpaved – so be sure you check the coverage on your vehicle.
Tour Bus from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon Skywalk
I don’t have too much to say about bus tours from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. Some of the buses are new and maintained very well; some are not. Depending on the tour company, there may be a shuttle to pick you up at your hotel – or maybe not. You may need to get your own ride from your hotel to the bus, and if that comes in the form of a taxicab ride, the overall cost of your Skywalk tour can go up quickly.
Advantages:
- Tour costs can be low, because transportation costs are split among so many travelers.
- Sometimes there is a restroom on board – ask before you book.
DIS-Advantages:
- In most cases, snacks are not provided.
- In most cases, helicopter upgrades are not available.
- Bottled water may be available on the bus, maybe not.
- A tour bus to the Grand Canyon does not travel alone. They all arrive at the Grand Canyon visitor center at the same time, and the lines are long and never-ending.
- Tour buses can be crowded, and you may get stuck sitting beside a stranger who smells bad. Especially after spending a few hours outside in the desert in July – this includes the Grand Canyon. Don’t laugh, I hear this all the time. It can make for a long ride back to Las Vegas.
- Tour buses have a strict, very regimented time schedule – they have to. So don’t be late getting on the bus coming back to Las Vegas from Grand Canyon.
CLASSIC TOUR BUS DRIVER JOKE:
Question: “What’s the difference between a tourist and a hitchhiker?”
Answer: “About 5 minutes.”
Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours
I have LOTS to say about Grand Canyon helicopter tours – I absolutely adore them!
Helicopter tours are truly an adventure of a lifetime.
If there is one best way to see the Grand Canyon, a helicopter tour is it.
Advantages:
- Can be combined with a ground tour to see the Grand Canyon more than one way.
- Las Vegas can be very demanding – there is so much to do! Helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon can save you time.
- Perfect for the time-concious traveler. An air-only helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon can take you over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead to the Grand Canyon and back to Las Vegas, finishing with a flight over the Las Vegas Strip, in less than 4 hours, hotel-to-hotel!
DIS-Advantages:
- As a Las Vegas tour guide, I can’t think of any disadvantages. Helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon are simply the best.
Grand Canyon Airplane Tours
If a helicopter tour is best, this may be the second best way to see the Grand Canyon.
From the air, you get a humbling sense of the vastness and magnitude of the Grand Canyon.
Advantages:
- Can be combined with a ground tour to see the Grand Canyon more than one way.
- Las Vegas can be very demanding – there is so much to do! Air tours of the Grand Canyon can save you time.
- Just like a helicopter tour, air tours are perfect for the time-conscious traveler. Air tours of the Grand Canyon can take you over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead to the Grand Canyon and back to Las Vegas in less than 4 hours, hotel-to-hotel!
DIS-Advantages:
- None. Just decide on the right combination for you!
Prepare yourself for an experience of a lifetime.
Go ahead and Contact Us… Book Your Tour Now!
Doc Wymer, Las Vegas Tour Guide
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