Every Grand Canyon tour from Las Vegas on this page goes to the same place: Grand Canyon West, the rim on Hualapai tribal land in Arizona where the Skywalk hangs out over the edge. Same canyon, six very different days. What separates them is how you travel and what the ticket covers, from a full-size motorcoach to a helicopter that skips the highway altogether. They're ordered by how many people share your ride, largest first.
West Rim and Hoover Dam Photo Stop Bus Tour: the big coach
The Grand Canyon West Rim and Hoover Dam Photo Stop Bus Tour rides in a full-size motorcoach with air conditioning and TV screens, and it gives you about four hours at the rim, split between Eagle Point and Guano Point. Eagle Point has the Skywalk, the Hualapai Village with its outdoor performances, and a market for handmade jewelry. Guano Point has the better story. In 1957 the U.S. Guano Corporation strung a 7,500-foot aerial tramway across the canyon to haul out bat guano for fertilizer, and the rusted remains of its towers still stand at the point. The coach also stops for 30 minutes on the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, 890 feet above the Colorado River, with Hoover Dam below. Luggage, large backpacks and coolers aren't allowed on board. Our Hoover Dam by raft or by bus guide looks at this same coach from the dam's side.
Getting there: motorcoach from your Strip hotel. Tour length: 10 to 12 hours. At the rim: about four hours, Eagle Point and Guano Point. Skywalk: bought on site. Hoover Dam: a 30-minute photo stop on the Memorial Bridge.
West Rim and Hoover Dam Combo: the dam as a real stop
The Grand Canyon West Rim & Hoover Dam Combo is the one to book when the dam matters as much as the canyon. The group travels by SUV or Sprinter van, pauses at a Joshua tree forest on the way out, then gets three hours at the West Rim for Eagle Point, Guano Point and lunch on the rim. The dam gets a real visit. A VIP exterior tour walks the top of the dam, looks into the gorge from the Arizona side and goes out onto the Memorial Bridge walkway. The last stop is Boulder City, the town built in the 1930s to house the men who built the dam, where bighorn sheep sometimes graze in a park at the edge of town.
Getting there: SUV or Sprinter van from your Strip hotel. Tour length: about 11 and a half hours. At the rim: three hours, Eagle Point and Guano Point. Skywalk: extra fee on site. Hoover Dam: a VIP exterior tour and the bridge walkway, then Boulder City.
Check the West Rim and Hoover Dam Combo
West Rim 5 in 1: lunch on the rim with a live dance
The Grand Canyon West Rim 5 in 1 keeps the group small, in a seven-passenger SUV or a 14-passenger mini coach, and stops at a Joshua tree forest, Eagle Point, Guano Point and Hoover Dam. Nearly four hours at Grand Canyon West run on the hop-on, hop-off shuttle, so the pace at the rim is yours. Continental breakfast is included. Lunch is a barbecue picnic at the canyon's edge, with a live Native American dance performed while you eat. Eagle Point is named for the rock formation beside it, a ridge shaped like an eagle with its wings spread, and it's the photo nearly everyone takes.
Getting there: seven-passenger SUV or 14-passenger mini coach from your Strip hotel. Tour length: about 10 and a half hours. At the rim: nearly four hours on the hop-on, hop-off shuttle. Skywalk: optional add-on. Hoover Dam: a stop on the route.
West Rim by Pink Jeep: the Skywalk is in the ticket
The Grand Canyon West Rim by Pink Jeep tour is the only ground tour on this page with Skywalk admission included. The vehicle is Pink Jeep's custom Tour Trekker, with leather captain's chairs and oversized windows, and a Certified Interpretive Guide talks through the Mojave's geology and wildlife on the drive past Lake Mead. At Eagle Point you walk the Skywalk, a 10-foot-wide glass horseshoe, open since 2007, that reaches 70 feet past the rim. Then comes a short hike at Guano Point, lunch at a cafe on the rim, and a Hoover Dam photo stop on the way back. Children must be three or older. Pink Jeep's shorter rides around town are in our Pink Jeep tours guide.
Getting there: Pink Jeep Tour Trekker from your Las Vegas hotel. Tour length: a full day, about 9 to 12 hours. At the rim: Eagle Point, the Skywalk and Guano Point with a guide. Skywalk: included. Hoover Dam: a photo stop on the return.
Check the Pink Jeep West Rim tour
West Rim and Helicopter 6 in 1: the canyon floor, by air
The Grand Canyon West Rim & Helicopter 6 in 1 is the ground day with its sixth stop in the air. During the time at the rim, a helicopter lifts off from the edge and drops below it to the canyon floor, and after a look around at the bottom it climbs back out along the rim's viewpoints. Suddenly the walls are above you. The flight lasts 15 to 20 minutes. Everything else follows the 5 in 1: the SUV or mini coach from the Strip, the Joshua trees, Eagle Point, Guano Point, the picnic lunch with the dance and Hoover Dam, with about three and a half hours at the rim on your own.
Getting there: SUV or mini coach, plus a 15-to-20-minute helicopter flight. Tour length: about 10 and a half hours. At the rim: about three and a half hours on your own. Skywalk: bought on site. Hoover Dam: a stop on the route.
Check the West Rim and Helicopter 6 in 1
Skywalk Odyssey by Maverick Helicopters: no highway at all
Skywalk Odyssey replaces the road with 90 minutes of flying. Maverick Helicopters flies out past Lake Las Vegas, Lake Mead and Hoover Dam and lands at Grand Canyon West, where a private vehicle takes you to the Skywalk with a front-of-the-line pass. You get about 30 minutes on the glass, admission and a souvenir photo included, and the flight home crosses Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard. It's built around one stop. Our Maverick helicopter tours guide covers the operator's other canyon flights, including Wind Dancer's landing on the canyon floor.
Getting there: helicopter from Las Vegas, with transfers from your Strip hotel. Tour length: about four hours, 90 minutes in the air. At the rim: about 30 minutes on the Skywalk. Skywalk: included, with a souvenir photo. Hoover Dam: seen from the air.
Which West Rim day to book
Skywalk in the ticket and a guide all day: Pink Jeep. Hoover Dam as a destination rather than a window: the Combo. The simplest day with the most seats on board: the bus. A small group and the lunch with the dance: the 5 in 1, or the 6 in 1 if you want the canyon floor from a helicopter. Half a day and no highway: Skywalk Odyssey. For helicopters that land on the canyon floor and fly home over the Strip, our Papillon Grand Canyon helicopter tours comparison picks up where this page stops.
