Most of the time when I talk about Papillon it's about their helicopter tours, which are superb. In reality, however, they are a full-service tour company, offering bus, airplane and rafting trips.

Let's start with the trips that put Papillon on the map - helicopters. The company got its start in the 1960's by offering air tours from Las Vegas and Tusayan (a/k/a South Rim). Back then, there weren't a lot of companies offering such flights, and if they were, it was the South Rim from whence they flew versus Las Vegas.

But that all changed once the West Rim (WR) got hot as a travel destination.

Hot Spot!

In the beginning, the WR was a desolate place and only a few hardy soles made the trip to the edge. Then the Skywalk launched in 2007 and WR tours took off like a rocket. It's also when Papillon went "all in." Today, the company runs WR air and landing tours every day of the year except Christmas Day (if you want an air tour on that occasion, I suggest you take an airplane tour because they run non-stop). Air tours are the cheapest and are the one's that Papillon often has special pricing on.

Pap's landing tours are more expensive but they are by and far the way to go, especially the one that lands at the bottom of the canyon for a Champagne picnic. This particular trip is unique for several reasons. First, it would have never been a reality if the Hualapai Tribe hadn't agreed to let Papillon land at the bottom. Second, it's the only place in the Grand Canyon where you can take a heli to the base.

Papillon's success with helicopter rides spurred the company to acquire Scenic Airlines, which, prior to acquisition, was the leader in airplane tours to the canyon, both from Las Vegas and the South Rim. Thus when you book a plane tour with Pap it's actually going to be provided by Scenic.

Frequent Flyer

Scenic was a great company before Papillon bought them. They're even better now that they have Papillon's muscle behind them. From Vegas, airplane tours go to the West Rim and the South Rim. My favorite West Rim trip is the one that lands at Grand Canyon West and comes with a heli to the bottom and a boat ride. The other that travelers like is the one that lands on top of the rim and gives them the option to do the Skywalk.

For those who want to fly direct from Las Vegas to the South Rim, an airplane ride is the only way to go. The flight takes all of 60 minutes, comes with a 2.5-hour tour inside the park and can even be extended to include a helicopter ride! Incredibly, total tour time is just 6 hours, which means if you plan it right you can be back on The Strip in time to cavort the night away.

At South Rim, Scenic/Papillon is the only airplane tour option. You'd think a "monopoly" like this would not be good for travelers. Oddly, it just hasn't been the case. The price is a great value and I've rarely seen it spike. As for the tour, it's one that let's you see up to 75 percent of the National Park in under an hour. The only other way to do this is to take a helicopter ride and that costs twice as much.

Big Bus

Bus tours from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon are big business and Papillon's got a big piece of the pie. They offer coach packages to the West Rim and the South Rim. These tours run daily, departing once in the morning around 7 a.m. From a price perspective, bus tours are some of the cheapest trips out there and are an incredible value.

Buses go to the West Rim and the South Rim and require an entire day. By "entire" I mean between 13-15 hours depending on the rim you visit. They come with lunch, guide and all taxes and fees. West Rim tours can be extended with Skywalk tickets, heli rides to the bottom and boat tours on the Colorado River. As for South Rim trips, you can add a rim-to-rim helicopter ride. To my mind, it's another scenario where Papillon's synergy comes into play as it combines elements of all of its tours to make individual ones like bus trips great.

The final Papillon tour offering is the 1-day rafting trip. The West Rim option comes with a helicopter ride to the bottom followed by an 11-mile float down through Black Canyon to Willow Beach. South Rim adventures either start with a plane flight or a bus ride to Page, AZ, home of Glen Canyon Dam. If you take the plane package, you'll squeeze in a 4x4 tour of Antelope Canyon. Both trips go 15 miles down the Colorado to Lee's Ferry, wherein you'll transfer to a bus and make the trip back to the South Rim. The really cool thing about float tours is that kids as young as 4 can do them. Please note that float tours are seasonal and run from mid-March through the first week of November.

Wrap Up

My intent is to show Papillon Tours as more than just a helicopter company. Indeed, helicopters are their expertise, but the company also offers airplane, bus and 1-day rafting trips. The benefits of being multi-faceted is that Papillon can take one tour, say a bus trip, and add different side trips to it (e.g. helicopter flights, boat rides) to make a trip that nobody else can offer. Further, I like the one-stop shopping aspect of Papillon. If the helicopter tour I want is sold out (which is common), I can book an airplane or bus tour. And finally there's price. Papillon is the largest Grand Canyon tour company in operation (especially in Las Vegas), and they use that clout to offer prices that few if any of their competitor's can touch.

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Travel on!

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