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If you’re looking for the best way to see the Grand Canyon without having to spend eight hours sweating on a trail or squinting through bug-smeared car windows, the answer is obvious: take to the sky.
GC Flight’s helicopter tours launch from Las Vegas and head straight for the West Rim, slicing over the Mojave Desert, Hoover Dam, and Lake Mead.
Once you reach the canyon, the scale hits you like a cinematic gut punch. From the air, you see the winding Colorado River carving through layers of geologic drama that took a few million years to build.
The most iconic experience? A landing tour on the canyon floor. Yes, inside the canyon. You descend 4,000 feet into a whole other world, pop a bottle of champagne, and soak it in. You’ll cover more ground in 45 minutes than most people do in a day, making this hands-down the best way to see the Grand Canyon if you’re short on time and high on wanderlust.
The Grand Canyon is vast. So vast that even the best photos don’t do it justice. If you’re serious about seeing the full sweep of it—the deep inner gorge, the wide-open desert, the distant plateaus that feel like they belong on another planet—then an airplane tour is your answer.
Flying at higher altitudes than helicopters, GC Flight’s airplane experiences give you an unmatched perspective of the South Rim, where the canyon is at its widest and most dramatic.
And it’s not just flyover sightseeing. Many of these tours include ground time at Grand Canyon National Park, with shuttles to major viewpoints like Mather Point and Yavapai Observation Station, where you can stretch your legs and feel the enormity of the place from solid ground. You’ll also find visitor centers, walking trails, and enough photo ops to keep your phone gasping for battery.
Compared to helicopters, airplane tours can reach farther and carry more people, which often makes them a more cost-effective choice, especially if you’re traveling with friends or family. If you’re wondering how to visit the Grand Canyon and actually grasp the scale of it, this is it.
Some people go to the Grand Canyon for peace and perspective. Others go because they want to check off five bucket list items in one afternoon. Combo tours are for that second group—the ones who believe life’s too short for just one mode of transportation.
These tours are exactly what they sound like: layered experiences that mix flying, floating, walking, and occasionally, what-was-I-thinking levels of adventure.
GC Flight offers combos that start with a helicopter ride over the West Rim (already enough to melt your brain), then bring you back to earth for more adventure. Raft or kayak down the Colorado River, or hop on an ATV and cruise through the Mojave Desert—the whole experience is seamless, guided, and time-efficient.
This is the best way to tour the Grand Canyon when you’re hungry for variety. You’re not just a tourist after a combo tour, you’re a canyon connoisseur. A sampler of the sublime. A person with strong opinions about sandstone.
Hiking the Grand Canyon is not a casual afternoon stroll. It’s a full-on adventure, the kind that humbles you, challenges you, and occasionally makes you question your life choices. But if you’re up for it, there’s no more immersive way to experience this place.
Most hikers start from the South Rim or North Rim, heading down into the Inner Canyon on legendary routes like Bright Angel Trail or South Kaibab Trail. These are no-joke treks—steep, exposed, and long. You’ll descend thousands of feet, crossing ecosystems and time periods with every switchback. It’s quiet. It’s intense. It’s the kind of thing you feel in your legs and your soul.
Want to go all the way to the river and back? That’s not a day hike (unless you’re part mountain goat). Most visitors break it into an overnight trip, camping at Phantom Ranch or along the Colorado River, with permits from the Backcountry Office.
Pro tip: Plan this way ahead. Like months ahead. The canyon doesn’t care if you’re spontaneous.
Hiking is hands-down the best way to visit the Grand Canyon if you want to feel its size, smell the desert, hear the echo of your own footsteps, and maybe cry a little. It’s slow, personal, and unforgettable. Just pack more water than you think you need, wear actual boots, and leave your flip-flops and overconfidence at home.
Not everyone comes to the Grand Canyon looking for a core memory forged in fire and quad cramps. Some people just want to see the beauty, breathe in the silence, and maybe find a decent gift shop. For those folks, driving the rims is the ultimate low-stress way to tour the Grand Canyon—and honestly, still one of the most rewarding.
If you’re starting from the South Rim, which is the most accessible and visitor-friendly area, you’ll roll in via US 180 from Flagstaff or AZ 64 from Williams. This route takes you into Grand Canyon Village, the gateway to classic overlooks like Mather Point, Yavapai Point, and Desert View Drive.
Want something quieter, cooler, and less traveled? Head to the North Rim. It’s a longer drive (about five hours from the South Rim), but it’s higher in elevation, less busy, and gives you a totally different perspective on the canyon. The vistas are sweeping, the air smells like pine, and you can pretend for a moment that the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
Driving tours are ideal if you want flexibility—pull over when the view hits, skip the ones that don’t, and take your time. It’s one of the most accessible ways to see the Grand Canyon, and while it doesn’t have the same jaw-drop factor as flying or the immersive thrill of hiking, it still delivers with big skies and canyon edge sunsets. You may even get a bighorn sheep cameo.
So you’ve flown over the canyon. You’ve hiked through it. Maybe even driven around it like a scenic overachiever. But have you ridden the river that carved it? Because if you haven’t, you’re missing one of the rawest, most unfiltered Grand Canyon experiences on the planet.
Rafting the Colorado River is a whole different kind of adventure. You’re not just seeing the canyon—you’re in it, swallowed by its towering walls, drifting (or crashing) through a geological marvel that’s been in progress for millions of years. It’s part thrill ride, part nature documentary, part “is this really happening?”
There are two general styles:
This is absolutely one of the best ways to tour the Grand Canyon if you want a visceral connection with nature (and don’t mind being soaked, sunburned, and slightly terrified in the process). It’s not for everyone. Definitely not ideal for small children, pregnant travelers, or people who think “roughing it” means skipping room service. But for the wild-hearted, there’s nothing like it.
Here’s the deal: there’s no wrong way to see the Grand Canyon… but there are definitely better ones. Whether you’re gliding above it in a helicopter, hiking into its ancient depths, or rafting straight through its heart, the best way to see the Grand Canyon depends on what kind of experience you’re after—and how much energy you’re willing to spend earning it.
No matter your preferred tour, GC Flight makes it easy to find the tour that fits your vibe. With expertly curated helicopter, airplane, combo, and other experiences, you’ll see more, stress less, and remember everything. Book your Grand Canyon tour with GC Flight today, and let the bucket list take care of itself.
Book Your Preferred Tour at GC FlightStill have questions? Here are some quick answers to help you plan your Grand Canyon adventure without falling into a research rabbit hole.
It depends on how you want to experience it. A quick helicopter or airplane tour from Las Vegas can take just a few hours round-trip, while hiking or driving trips can range from a full day to several days if you’re exploring multiple rims.
Spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) are ideal—mild temps, fewer crowds, and stunning light for photos. Summer is popular but brutally hot, while winter offers serenity and snow-dusted views (especially on the South Rim) for those who don’t mind the cold.
You’ll be picked up (often from your hotel), flown over iconic landmarks like Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, then into the canyon itself, with optional landings on the rim or even the canyon floor. The whole experience is guided, narrated, and designed to deliver maximum wow with minimum hassle.
