This was my third time doing this tour. Once in August 2012, once in January 2015 and again this past October 2017. Was nice that the bus picked us up at the Flamingo Hotel where we were staying. Previous to that you had to go over to Caesar's for pickup. Bus driver/tour guide to Hoover Damn and Grand Canyon, Thomas, was pretty good, however, after awhile, talking to his alter ego back and forth became a little annoying.
Great scenery along the way. Once to helicopter pad area, all went well too, took us down canyon to pontoon boat. This is where I have issues now. Previously, we'd had a boat tour guide from the Hualapai Tribe. He was fantastic! Gave us the history of his people living in the Canyon, how his grandfather lived, etc. what they ate, how they lived. Very informative. Not this time.... they'd hired an Asian gentleman who knew very little of the area's history and only seemed interested in stopping mostly the entire time so other Asian tourists on board could take pictures which took up 90% of the boat tour. And of course he spoke to the group in their home language. None of us were impressed and I was very disappointed vs. the previous two trips. The pontoon boat ride was virtually a waste of money in this case. Unless there's a way to guarantee one of the Hualapai Tribe people doing the tour, I don't recommend it anymore. To top it off, the tourist group from China were very rude, acted like they were the only ones on the boat, very self-centred and pushed by everyone else to get a better seat for photos. Photos, photos, and more photos, that's all they seemed to care about. No manners.