Good morning travelers. My, this week has certainly been an educational one for yours truly. First I learned that Robert Ripley, of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" fame, was the first person to give the first ever live radio broadcast from the Grand Canyon. And today I learned something a bit new about options for Grand Canyon tours from Williams AZ, courtesy of TripAdvisor of course. 🙂
OP (and what does that mean boys and girls? That's right "original poster!") 'Florence J' asks:
I will be staying in Williams without a car. Do you know an helicopter tour company that picks up from Williams AZ?
To which Destination Expert DetroitTigerFan replies:
I'm not aware of any organized Grand Canyon tours from Williams AZ but I would think that you would be able to arrange a private tour that combines transportation from Williams to the airport in Tusayan for the helicopter ride and then onto the National Park at the South Rim. It might be easier and certainly cheaper to rent a car in Williams and drive yourself to Tusayan. The yellow pages does list one car rental agency in Williams.
A couple of elements of this statement caught my eye and compelled me to respond. Firstly, there are in fact several excellent Grand Canyon tours from Williams AZ. The Grand Canyon Railway is one that I would recommend to 'Florence J's' particular desires.
'til next time, make this day as "grand" as you can! 🙂
Hello
I'm doing the hotel and train package in May would like to know if there is a helicopter tour in Williams Arizona as that's where we are staying .
Thanks Shannon Kelly
Shannon,
There's not a helicopter tour in Williams, however there is a way to do this, and this is a BIG However right now during COVID or late COVID...you can arrange a Helicopter Tour for when the Train is at the Canyon, but...it really eats up MOST of your time at the Rim of the Canyon in the Grand Canyon Village. And I'm totally PRO taking a Helicopter Tour, however, I don't want you to miss time on the Rim either. The Train arrives at 11:45am and departs at 3:30pm if memory serves me correctly. (And it should, I heard the Train whistle two Saturday's ago while coming up the Bright Angel Trail...alright, alright, I'll go do my homework on TheTrain.com real quick...as it seemed like it was early...and I thought, is the Train already pulling out???) Ah...my memory was correct for May! BUT it actually pulled out at 2:30pm in November when I was on the Bright Angel Trail. So, YES, IN MAY it will arrive at 11:45am and pull out at 3:30pm...so, the problem is that by the time you take a Taxi to the Heliport wait for your departure then hustle back to the Grand Canyon Village area...the majority of your 3 hours and 45 minutes will be GONE! Like 2 1/2 to 3 hours of it...then you'll just have time for a quick run through the El Tovar, Lookout Studio, Bright Angel Lodge, Kolb Studio area and then think about getting back on the Train.
So, right now, getting the Transportation back and forth to the Heliport is the issue. I don't think Xanterra is operating the Taxi yet due to COVID. You can try getting Buck Wild Hummer Tours to do it...however, they might be sold out in May.
So, what's the real answer...um, after the Train Tour...drive up to Tusayan the next day to the Heliport, take the Helicopter Tour over the Grand Canyon, and then head back to I-40 and continue on with your vacation. The upside is that you DON'T have to enter the Park as you will already have done that with the Train. Entering the Park can be very time consuming depending on how and when you get to the South Entrance gate.
Anyways, I hope that helps you,
Karlyn