We booked this trip to be the highlight of our week in Sedona: private flight from Sedona to the Canyon, Jet Helicopter tour, boat ride, Skywalk, the whole bit. Expensive but we expected a lifetime experience. Our pilot, Lloyd, was wonderful, and his plane ride over the canyon was probably the best part of the day, viewing the Canyon from above. The helicopter ride was a bust: a short trip down to the bottom of the Canyon, 4 adults squeezed into the back seat of a Chopper and the two in the center could not see a damn thing. I know as I was one of those people. My husband, at 6'4" was also jammed into the back seat while two "normal size" people were put in front where there was the most space. We have flown private helicopters in multiple vacation resorts in addition to using them for business travel and this equipment was nothing like the caliber of what we had expected. Being so jammed into it was a terrible experience. The good news was it was such a short trip, it didnt really provide a tour of the Canyon as we had expected - but we wouldnt have seen anything anyhow. the "boat ride" was a ten minute float upstream and down: nice but nothing spectacular, a paucity of narration by the captain. The Skywalk was beautiful and worthwhile, overlooking the canyon - and lunch was adequate. Lloyd took us on a short hike and really gave interesting info about the canyon, the history, etc. He was truly a gift for the day. All in all, this tour was extremely expensive and less than fulfilling.
Réponse de l'hôte
Dec 2018
Thank you for providing feedback on your tour to the West Rim. We are sorry you did not enjoy the heli/boat part of the tour as it is most people's favorite part, but we are happy to hear our pilot, Lowell took good care of you. The helicopter to the bottom is just a 10 minute ride down and about 10 minutes back up but is the only place in the whole of the Grand Canyon you can go to the bottom without going on your own two feet. The boat ride is about 15 minutes, just to get the perspective of seeing the canyon from the bottom up. This tour is a brief overview of the unique things that can only be done at the West Rim on the Hualapai land. Unfortunately helicopters are extremely weight sensitive and the lightest people tend to be put in the front of the craft for weight and balance issues and that is determined by the helicopter company and is not something we have any control over. Please call or email me personally to assist if you are able to return for another trip to Arizona. I am happy to help you determine which of the many tours we offer might be a more enjoyable option for you.