This was an AMAZING trip! 5-Star will pick you up at your hotel door step in a very nice Mercedes van with lots of room for everyone! Then drive you to Boulder City hanger where you meet your pilot and get your seating chart for the helicopter based on weight. Our pilot was Manny and he was great! He was definitely “Dad joke funny” which was perfect for this early morning excursion. As for the helicopter, unfortunately, I got the middle left rear seat which for a 5’ 8” slender female I was kind of cramped! My knees were wedged against the seat in front of me with no relief for the entire hour ride. After about 45m my hip joints from the vibration of the helicopter started to really hurt. I had a bit of discomfort for about 30m after unfolding out of the helicopter. Other than being cramped in the small space in the middle the views were ABSOLUTELY amazing and was worth the discomfort. After our arrival back to the hanger we were offered snacks, soda, and champagne! We tipped our pilot, but we were unaware that our Mercedes drivers changed 3 times so we did not tip them. Had we known they were going to change every ride they each would have received a tip!
We got back into the comfy van and drove to Blazin Paddles kayak tours. Where we met our tour guides and the rest of our kayak trip buddies. We got back into a similar comfy van and drove to Willow Bend, abut a 15-20m drive. We got a simple, informative crash course on how to work the kayaks with rudders. Then we set out on the water! Again, AMAZING! The views are so breathtaking and the water which is so cold (50 degrees Fahrenheit), even in 114 degree weather, was just perfect! We didn’t feel the heat because it was so amazing! BRING SUNSCREEN and a hat! Emerald Cave was beautiful and the tour was very informative! Definitely bring an under water or water proof phone case. A fully charged phone will get you amazing pictures of helicopter and kayak pictures! I have an iPhone X and it died at the very end of the trip which was perfect. Oh and don’t forget to be on the look out for sheep! We had a contest to see who could find a sheep first. This is very challenging! Whoever did find a sheep, got a special gift prize at the end of the trip! It took almost the entire kayak ride but I won and the final prize was just PERFECT! Just what I needed at the end of a long day of excitement! It was like they knew exactly what to get me! Thank you Andrew and Seth you made this trip so worth it and fun!
Upon arriving back at the Blazin Paddles base, our 5-star Mercedes van was waiting for us with our delicious sandwiches, chips, soda, and cookie from the local sandwich restaurant, we all ate and devoured our sandwiches within 10 minutes! The driver then drove us back to our hotel door step and we took a much needed two hour nap when we reached our room!
This trip is a great trip! I have nothing bad to say about it! We are in our 40s and consider ourselves an outdoorsy couple that enjoys adventure! The helicopter ride, kayak trip, and short hike to a look out point was nothing to us! We were ahead of the group the whole time because we were so geeked to be there! I would definitely do this again! Only my husband says he wants to do the experience that you shoot the machine gun out of the helicopter next time😂
Perfectly great and worth the money!