When you are arranging the itinerary of the Grand Canyon, are you always confused by the West Canyon and the South Canyon, don't know which side to go to, or where to sign up for the tour?

Below we will give you a complete comparative analysis of the West Canyon and the South Canyon, so that you know whether you are more suitable for the West Canyon or the South Canyon!

The Grand Canyon, commonly known as the Grand Canyon, covers a very wide range. In short, we can roughly divide it into the West Canyon, the South Canyon, and the North Canyon.

From the geographical point of view,The West Canyon is the closest to Las Vegas (about 125 miles, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive), while the South Canyon is much further away (275 miles, a four-and-a-half hour drive).The North Canyon is relatively undeveloped and inconvenient (260 miles, but from Las Vegas north, the journey is nearly six hours one way), except for the road closure in winter, no tour groups will be brought here, Therefore, most people will not consider or discuss the North Canyon, but in fact the landscape of the North Canyon is very good, and the height of the canyon is even deeper than the South Canyon.

Because of its proximity to Las Vegas, the most popular one-day group is West Canyon. It only takes about 4 hours for the round-trip transportation on the day, and the rest of the time is in the park.The one-day tour of the South Canyon will take more than 9 hours to drive back and forth on the same day, and then about 2 to 3 hours at most in the park.If you want to save time and not spend so much time in traffic, you can consider joining a helicopter or small plane tour. (Please refer to: Complete Helicopter and Small Aircraft Participation Guide)

Below we will introduce and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of West Canyon and South Canyon in detail.

In fact, the West Canyon is not like the South Canyon and the North Canyon, which are both included in the national park area. The West Canyon belongs to the original Hualapai Indian Reserve.Since the West Canyon is closer to Las Vegas, it is more convenient for the tour group to bring tourists.After the glass bridge was completed in 2007, it attracted a large number of tourists. However, there are very few scenic spots in the West Canyon, and the visiting route is very short.If you don't consume the glass bridge (tickets are $30-35 per person, and you can't take pictures on the bridge), or if you don't participate in the helicopter experience, it is actually a relatively disappointing canyon experience.So when going to the West Canyon, if the budget permits, we recommend that you consider taking a "helicopter" or "small plane" to enhance the richness of the entire experience.Click here to view and book "All Air Tours".

From the geographical point of view,West Canyon is the closest to Las Vegas (about 125 miles, about two and a half hours by car), while South Canyon is much farther (275 miles, four and a half hours by car).North Gorge is relatively undeveloped and inconvenient for transportation (260 miles, but from Las Vegas north, the journey is nearly six hours one way), except for the road closure in winter, no tour groups will be brought here, Therefore, most people will not consider or discuss the North Gorge, but in fact the landscape of the North Gorge is very good, and the height of the canyon is even deeper than that of the South Gorge.Self-driving travelers can take the North Canyon into consideration.

Xixia Ticket Reservation (applicable to self-driving travelers): From $57 per person
Self-driving option consumption items: glass bridge $30 per person, helicopter + valley cruise $235 per person.

Xixia One Day Tour (English Bus Tour): From $129 per person
Optional consumption items: glass bridge $30 per person, park helicopter and valley cruise $235 per person.Remarks: The above group fees do not include tour guide tips of $12 per person.

Xixia small plane air and ground one-day tour: from $33 per person Or Xixia Helicopter Air and Ground One-Day Tour: From $475 per person
Optional consumption items: Glass Bridge $35 per person.

Three-day tour group including Xixia: From $463 per person 
There are different options for consuming items, please check the relevant webpage.

Our advice is: yes! Since you're all in the West Canyon, it's worth it to walk on the glass bridge.

Advantages: The group is dispatched every day, and the one-day bus group has plenty of time, and the ride time is not too long (one-way journey is only about 2 and a half hours).Additional glass bridges can be purchased.It is suitable for tourists who have a short stay in Las Vegas and only have one full day to visit the canyon.

Disadvantages: There are few actual attractions, only a corner of the Grand Canyon can be seen.The place is too commercialized and all items are extra consumption.

In addition, there is a more time-saving way to play directly from Las Vegas by helicopter or small plane! For details, please refer toHelicopter Raiders, we recommend the following helicopter and small aircraft regiment products

The South Canyon is truly listed as a national park in the United States, and the attractions are very rich, and you can't visit every attraction in a day.From Hermits Rest on the far left on the map to the Village in the middle, and the Visitor Center on the right, all the way to the Desert View on the far right, there are various attractions and trails.Usually, you will start shopping at Mather Point next to the visitor center, and go west all the way to Yavapai Point (a log cabin) where you can see a broad panorama, and then take the park bus (yellow line) back to the visitor center and transfer to the Blue line to other attractions.

If you drive into the park by yourself, you will need to pay an entry fee of $35 per vehicle.Then in the park, you can transfer to the free public shuttle bus provided in the park to walk around the various attractions in the park.It runs every 10-15 minutes during the day.If you plan to stay in the park for a long time, the bus in the park can be a very convenient transportation for you.If you are participating in a one-day group from Las Vegas, the group fee already includes the admission fee.

Bus in the park

The main bus route is the Blue Line: You can take you from the west side of the park to the east of the visitor center, and there are also supermarkets and camping areas in the middle.

There is another red line on the far left: when Hermit Drive is not accessible from March to November, you must take this bus to get to the point on the far west line.

The main park is close to the east, the yellow line of the visitor center: This line can mainly take you to the main and most famous points next to the visitor center, including Yavapai point, Mather Point, Bright Angel Point, etc.

There is a Desert View scenic spot on the far right (east) on the map. There is a tower here, which is a hot spot for watching the sunrise. This point needs to be reached by car.The main park is about 30-40 minutes' drive away.Driving further east from Desert View, you can leave the entire Grand Canyon National Park area, and then drive for about two hours to the famous Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, and the small town of Page. (Click here to watch Antelope Canyon Raiders)

If you only have one day to visit the Grand Canyon, in fact, the West Canyon is still the best choice.After all, the South Canyon has to go back and forth in a day, and it will take a lot of time to drive, and the actual stay time is not more than 3 hours.However, there is also a group that departs from Las Vegas, including hotel transfers, taking a small plane to the Grand Canyon (South Canyon and West Canyon), and a helicopter group from Las Vegas to West Canyon (because the South Canyon is far from Las Vegas). Las Vegas is far away, the helicopter is not enough fuel to fly to the South Canyon, so there is no helicopter group flying to the South Canyon), saving the time of the car, but this kind of  Small plane/helicopter regiment The price is relatively high, and there are many different products, but they all range from more than $200 to more than $700 per person. It is a more convenient and different experience. Because the price is double high, you can measure your personal budget, schedule and Decisions are made based on expected experience.For example, would like to participate inWest Canyon Bus Tour (up from $129 per person), But the desired departure date is full, then you can consider going Small Airplane Group in West Canyon (from $339 per person), the small plane group is cheaper than the helicopter group, but it is still more expensive than the bus group.But if you come to Las Vegas once and don’t know if you will come again, if the budget and time can match, you should try not to leave any regrets in your itinerary. (For more information, please see: Small plane / helicopter group strategy)

If you can arrange your Las Vegas itinerary in advance and want to put the Grand Canyon in your itinerary, you can also consider participating in the following multi-day tours that will visit the South Gorge on the way:-
[2-day tour-hot selection] Southeast Shuangxia National Park + Antelope Canyon + Horseshoe Bend + Lake Powell Bus Tour Chinese Group

You can also drive to the South Canyon and stay at a hotel in or near Canyon Park for one to two nights.If you have plans to stop by Antelope Valley, Horseshoe Bend, Zion National Park, etc. and come back around, self-driving is also a good choice, and the itinerary is more flexible.

For self-driving tours or other questions about the canyon, please leave a message through the contact window in the lower right corner of this website or email info@ifunvegas.com contact us.