Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comNew York Helicopter Flight: Grand Island
based on 58 reviews
Duration: 25 - 30 minutes
Location: New York City, New York
Product code: 5024GRAND
58 reviews of New York Helicopter Flight: Grand Island
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the New York Helicopter Flight: Grand Island. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
The helicopter trip itself was very good, but the operator was not as good as I had hoped. Bad weather meant temporary postponement of our flight, and communication from the operator was very poor. Repeated promises to let me know what was happening and call me back were not kept. We eventually arrived at the time given and had to wait for over an hour. They appeared only to have 2 helicopters, and only one of those was in service! Do the flight but with another operator!
Reviewed by: Tim T, United Kingdom, May 2009
I booked the longer tour, but I should have booked the 12 to 15 minute tour as this is all I got. My advice is that this is worth it, but book the cheaper, shorter flight.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, April 2009
I would not recommend the tour operator to any body, they were unhelpful and very rude while we were waiting the 2 hours for our flight. There was only 1 helicopter available on the day so the "a flight every 15 mins" as advertised was not true, as a result of this the 25-30 mins we paid for flight time I feel was deduced to the low 20 mins so they could try to accommodate all the other customers waiting. On return to the heliport the pre-flight picture that was taken was not offered to us and there was no interest shown by any of the staff with regards to the flight or the picture. As I booked this for a surprise on my partner's birthday, she was totally disappointed on the time wasted on what should have been a very good day.
Reviewed by: Dean M, United Kingdom, March 2009
Having to wait 1 hour from check in to departure was too long. The accommodation in a porto cabin was very basic.
Reviewed by: Hazel L, United Kingdom, December 2008
We turned up early for our trip but kept getting held back due the operators having trouble with weight distribution despite having already provided them with our weight details. So we didn't depart 'til an hour after we were supposed to. The trip was supposed to last 25-30 minutes but was only 20 and you can't see very much of the city if you're on the right hand side of the helicopter so I was a little disappointed overall.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, November 2008
If you've never been in a helicopter before you would really enjoy it. We have been on other trips in the states and found this a bit cramped. I was in the middle at the back and could not sit upright even though I'm only 5' 6"! However, the views were spectacular for the one passenger at the front whilst not so good if you were on the right of the helicopter as you couldn't see much across the other passengers.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, November 2008
I enjoyed the ride and seeing NYC from the air, but was disappointed that my 10:30 flight was postponed to 11:30. Messed up my plans. Understandable since they were trying to fill the helicopter and only 3 of us had booked for 10:30 and 2 at 11:30. Seats 5 passengers--only one is a great seat. I was seated looking backward. Top of the Rock better in some ways--can't see as much but had as much time as I wanted to see the city.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, October 2008
I was very disappointed by this, given the cost of the trip. The weather was very poor, extremely cloudy and wet. The company refused to consider any possibility of a refund and instead we waited 2 hours for the weather to clear enough to go. When we did, where we could go and what we could see was limited by the weather conditions. Clearly they can't control the weather, but the response to it could have been much better, particularly given the cost.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, October 2008
The actual helicopter flight was great. Very scenic flight which took in almost all of New York's highlights. Before the flight however could have been run better. Seemed very disorganized and running way late. One couple who was supposed to go up at 900am didn't get in the air until 300 that afternoon. The people were very friendly and apologetic but when you are on vacation with limited time to spend in the area, the wasted time is very frustrating.
Reviewed by: Tim V, United States of America, September 2008
Booked 25-30 minute tour but it only lasted 15 minutes. Was really disappointed and complained to staff at the time but they weren't interested. Was a shame as we wanted longer in the air.
Reviewed by: Stuart B, United Kingdom, July 2008
I followed instructions and booked time for trip, 10.30 am. Arrived as requested 15 min prior to departure. After various excuses from being bumped to take a charter to a problem with windscreen our flight took off at 12.20, lasted barely 20 min when advertised as 25-30 min. Very disappointing and took edge off what was an excellent way to see New York. Pilot said virtually nothing during the trip.
Reviewed by: David C, United Kingdom, July 2008
It is a very expensive attraction however we justified this expense as we thought this would be a once in a life time experience. We are disappointed to say this fell far short of our expectations as we paid for a 30 minute tour this was cut short into 20 minutes and although we had a helicopter ride our pilot seemed to want to be somewhere else and gave us no indication of what we were looking at. I would not be able to recommend this tour to any of my friends coming to New York. Regarding the photograph it would have been a nice keep sake of the trip however we were further disappointed as the camera we were told they could not work there was no compensation given.
Reviewed by: Sheila M, Ireland, August 2008
It was a disappointment that we had bad view seats. We didn't see anything of Manhattan, the pilot flew only one direction and we sat at the wrong side, the side of New Jersey and Brooklyn. We had a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building and did NOT see Times Square and Ground Zero. The seats were pointed out, we cannot choose because of the weight balance, but we paid the same amount as the good view seats. That was a big disappointment. I am sorry to say so. The people who sat at the right side were very enthusiastic and blocked the complete window for us.
Reviewed by: Klara V, Netherlands, July 2008
