Grand Canyon Airlines & Coaches

Elite '09

925

1203

Ed U.

San Francisco, CA

7/31/2006

$89 probably sounds steep for a fifty-minute plane ride, but clearly you will get no more instant gratification of the entire canyon than you could on the Grand Discovery Tour flight on a six-seat Vistaliner aircraft. Personally I don't have the patience or the butt for a pack mule train, and this allows you to see most of the highlighted nooks and crannies through this part of the Colorado River --- the North Rim, Zuni Point, Desert View, Dragon Head. The pilot will even circle around the landing where Thelma and Louise supposedly took their final drive.

A pretty standard audio tape narration is given on headphones. The plane is light, so expect some turbulence throughout the flight. On the plus side, it's not as loud as a helicopter. The airport itself is just a few miles south of the southern entrance to the park just outside of Tusayan where most of the motor lodges and chain hotels are. I have to say that this may be your best photo opportunity to capture the majesty of the canyon, and try to catch the last flight at 5PM in order to get a better angle of the sun moving to the West.

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