We actually didn’t take off until 6.30pm. The pilot was really nice and made everyone feel comfortable and relaxed. Although the copter catered for six passengers, we were only sharing with two young women from Hong Kong.

We took off and made our way across Vegas, then over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. The views were great, you could see how huge Lake Mead really is, something you cannot appreciate from the ground. As we flew he kept pointing out places of interest and explained the history of the area and how the town of boulder was established, etc.

After the dam we flew toward the Grand Canyon, at one point it looked as though we were going to be crashing straight into a mountain, however at the last minute the pilot pulled up and took us over the top. Once we were flying over the canyon, you could see for miles, we flew down the middle of the canyon over the Colorado River eventually coming to land on a large rocky platform.

We were then told we could go off and explore, but to be careful of falling off the edge, snakes, spiky cactus . . . By this time the sun was starting to go down and the temperature had decreased to a little over 110F. We wandered around and took photos, chatted to our companions, etc. After ten minutes the pilot called us over to the picnic. This was set up on table and benches under a canopy, beautiful. We each had a wicker basket containing croissant, muffin, drinks, etc. We also had champagne.

After about half hour we took off again, by now the sun was beginning to set and beautiful colours were being cast across the sky. A little further into the flight and the sunset turned into one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. It was so red, it was stunning. The pilot said it was one of the best this year. As we got closer to Vegas it was pretty dark and we had the added advantage of seeing Vegas by night. We flew in from the south, over Freemont Street and above the strip, with great views of the hotels. We landed safely back at the airport and had the opportunity of buying photos of us standing by the helicopter. We were then taken back to our hotel by limo at about 9.45pm.

My advice – do it, it’s great, a definite must!

We took off from the Las Vegas airport at the north end of the Strip--opposite the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Other than the pilot, there were four people per copter-three in the back and one up front. You have to wear ear defenders because the ride is very noisy.

We went over the downtown area of Vegas, including Fremont Street, and then basically went up the Strip. The view from above is amazing and we are very glad we took the night flight, as we saw Vegas how it should be seen--dazzling lights, laser shows, etc.

When you walk around Vegas, you realize that the tourist part consists of basically one street--the Strip--and downtown--Fremont Street. From the air, you see that Vegas is much more than that. The actual city seems to go on for miles, and there are thousands and thousands of houses, etc.--for some reason you don’t equate Vegas with people actually living there. Also, it is very flat. You cannot appreciate these facts from the ground.

If you can afford it, you must take a helicopter ride. There are quite a few companies offering this service and costs do vary, so shop around. We actually booked through Virgin before we left for the States, which turned out to be the best thing to do as it guaranteed us a ride and the cost turned out to be competitive.