What Are Grand Canyon All-Inclusive Tours, Anyway?

There are all sorts of package trips to the Grand Canyon. The choices include helicopter tours, airplane tours and bus tours. You can even take a smooth-water rafting tour down the Colorado River - the river responsible for the Canyon's formation!

It's pretty common to see these package trips being described as all-inclusive tours, but you might not know exactly what "all-inclusive" means in this context unless you've already been on one of these tours. So, what are Grand Canyon all-inclusive tours? What does "all-inclusive" really include?

Includes Everything

In part, the answer depends on the type of tour you're talking about. As a general rule, though, all-inclusive tours include several things. Typically, package trips include free shuttle pickup and drop-off at the Vegas Strip hotels; the services of a professional pilot, bus driver or river guide who also doubles as the tour guide and provides interesting information about the Canyon and its sights; and all Park fees and applicable taxes. Landing helicopter tours, bus tours and smooth-water rafting trips include lunch, but plane tours and air-only chopper tours do not.

Although almost everything you'll need to enjoy the Grand Canyon will be included in your all-inclusive tour, certain things normally aren't part of any tour package. You'll need to pay for those things separately if you want them. A few examples of what's not included in all-inclusive package trips are:

• Any tip you might want to give to your pilot, bus driver or river guide
• Any souvenirs of your trip (including the DVD of your airplane or helicopter flight that will be available after your tour)
• Any alcoholic or specialty beverages you might want to enjoy

If you noticed that these package trips typically include free shuttle pickup and drop-off at the Vegas Strip hotels, you might be wondering whether that means they only benefit travelers staying in Las Vegas. Well, although it's true that the shuttle pickup and drop-off service is a significant benefit that's only useful to Vegas travelers, package trips have a lot more advantages than that.

In addition to the convenient shuttle service for Vegas travelers, all-inclusive tours are a terrific value. For example, you couldn't charter a plane or helicopter to fly over the Grand Canyon for anywhere remotely close to the price of a package tour ticket.

All-inclusive tours also eliminate most of the planning that would otherwise be necessary for a trip of this type - there's no need to bring your own lunch, and you won't need to worry about whether you'll have the extra cash needed for the Park fees and taxes. Your route will be carefully planned out for you, although you'll also have some free time to wander on your own during bus tours and helicopter landing flights. They're the best way to know you won't miss any of the highlights.

Experience Counts!

Your Grand Canyon trip will also be much more meaningful if you take one of the all-inclusive tours. In addition to ensuring safe transportation, your pilot, bus driver or river guide will share interesting information and stories about the Grand Canyon, its geology and history, and the Native American cultures of the area. This is exactly the type of information that can make an already-wonderful Grand Canyon trip even better!

Guided tours are available for the West Rim and the South Rim. If you are starting from Las Vegas, NV, you'll most likely go to the West Rim, which is 120 miles east of the city. Folks heading out from Central Arizona cities like Phoenix, Scottsdale and Sedona will go to the South Rim.

There are more tours from which to choose if going from Vegas. The West Rim, which is situated on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, is one of the few places where helicopters are allowed to land at the bottom of the canyon. Once at the base, you have the option to take a Colorado River boat ride. At the top, there's the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the famous glass bridge that lets you walk some 70 feet past the edge! Other key landmarks include Hualapai Ranch, Guano Point, Eagle Point and the Indian Cultural Center.

South Rim air tours are restricted from flying below the rim and landing on the bottom. I don't see this as a huge deal because the 50-minute airplane and helicopter tours cover a huge amount of ground. In nearly all cases, you'll see three of the rims as well as Desert Watchtower, the Zuni Corridor, the Painted Desert, the Colorado River confluence and the Dragoon Corridor, the National Park's widest, deepest part of the chasm.

RSVP & Deals

Tours are very popular and often sell out, especially during summer. To get the tour you want, I strongly recommend that you book it at least a week in advance. I know of one bus tour operator who will only accept reservations four days in advance! Further, don't buy into the idea that it's cheaper to wait until the last minute and purchase your trip at the destination. Doing this will result in two things: 1) you won't get the tour date and time you want; and 2) you'll end up paying more (a lot more!). Do yourself a favor. Book online. And remember: in order to quality for that Internet discount you must complete your transaction online.

Click Here for Grand Canyon All-Inclusive Package Tours!

Make It a Grand Day!