Compare tours that land at rim level of Grand Canyon

Rim Landing Tours

PAPILLON

MAVERICK

Helicopter tours to Grand Canyon West can land at the top of the canyon or inside the canyon near the bottom. In this comparison we look at each companies option that lands at the rim where you have up to 3 hours to explore different viewpoints at Grand Canyon West. There are some major differences in this category such as airport departure location.

Compare	Papillon	Maverick
Tour Name	VIP at the Rim Helicopter Tour	Western Journey
Price (before fees below)	$489	$549
Price per minute (flight & Grand Canyon time incl fuel surcharge)	$2.21/minute	$2.03/minute


Total Duration	7 Hours	7 Hours
Flight Duration	1 hour 10 minutes	1.5 Hours
Time at Grand Canyon	2 Hours 45 minutes	3 Hours


Landing Location	Rim level	Rim level
Viewpoints	Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon West	LV Strip, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon West
Skywalk option	$25/person	$25/person


Helicopter	EC-130 or A-Star	EC-130
Flight path	Shorter flight from Boulder CIty	Longer flight from Las Vegas Strip
Airport	Boulder City Airport	Las Vegas Airport


Hotel Transfers	Yes	Yes
Max passengers per heli	7	7
Meals	Available for purchase at Grand Canyon West	Available for purchase at Grand Canyon West




Additional Fuel Surcharge	$30/person	None
Front seat request (if confirmed)	$50/person	No fee No option
Prime time flights	$20/person	no price difference


Flight times winter	3	1
Flight times summer	3	1
Earliest flight winter	8:00AM	10:00AM





Latest flight winter	12:30PM	10:00AM
Earliest flight summer	8:00AM	10:00AM
Latest flight summer	12:30PM	10:00AM

Takeaway

When comparing helicopter tours that start in Las Vegas and go to Grand Canyon West where you have time to explore viewpoints at rim level Maverick is the better value overall when Papillon has a fuel surcharge in place. Although Papillon has a lower price, you get 23% less helicopter flight time and about 10% less time at the Grand Canyon compared to Maverick which is why Maverick is a lower price per minute when you strip out non-sightseeing related activity such as commuting to and from the airport. Papillon offers 3 flight times while Maverick only offers one flight time for this tour. The Maverick tour departs from the Las Vegas Strip while the Papillon tour departs from Boulder City which adds at least an hour for commuting. Once inside Grand Canyon West both tours are exactly the same with the same viewpoints and amenities.