Veteran's Day is coming up and that means three-day weekend, perfect for those considering a flight by helicopter over the Grand Canyon.

Even though it's a federal holiday, flights will be departing on a regular schedule. In most cases, that's means hourly at both the West Rim and the South Rim.

Not sure which rim to see? Here are some things to consider.

The West Rim is about 120 miles from Vegas so helicopters that depart from the Vegas metro area only go to the West Rim because the South Rim is too far away. However, the South Rim is closer to travelers in Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Sedona, so if you will be starting from that region of Arizona, you will fly to the South Rim.

You can choose from different tour options when you depart from either city.

Grand Canyon choppers that take off from Las Vegas offer landing or air-only tours. No matter which one you choose, you get to see Lake Mead and the huge Hoover Dam from the air. The air-only tours circle the West Rim and return to Vegas, while the landing tours drop you off on top of the rim or on the canyon floor.

Bit more on landing tours.

The tours that take you to the bottom of the canyon allow you about a half an hour to explore the area by foot near the scenic Colorado River, and include a fun picnic treat too. Other fun adventures you can add include a walk on the Skywalk and a boat trip along the Colorado River. You can also tour the Skywalk when you choose a chopper that lands on top of the rim.

It is interesting to note the West Rim is the only place where choppers are allowed to fly below the rim of the canyon and land on the bottom.

The South Rim chopper tours are air-only. The National Parks Service won't let helicopters fly below the rim there. That's all right by me because the aerial tours are fantastic.

You can choose between a short air tour of thirty minutes and a longer one of about fifty minutes. The shorter one goes from South to North and back, while the longer one does that too but it also comes with everything up to the Park's eastern border. Frankly, I like the later because you get to see so much more of the Park (some tell me it's upwards of 75 percent!).

Understand that Veteran's Day weekend can get quite busy. So, you should book your seats at least one week before you plan to go. On the other hand, since the busy summer season is over, if you plan a trip at the last moment, you might get lucky and find some empty seats, however, it is best not to plan on waiting.

As for deals, stick with the Internet. The best deals are found during the summer months, but you can still get fantastic discounts during the winter. You can probably save about 25 percent. That's nothing to sneeze at when you factor in the savings on a group of two or more people.

Conclusion

Veteran's Day, as usual, falls on a Monday, thus making this one of the best and last three holidays for the year. Arizona and Las Vegas are great places to enjoy a nice trip. A Grand Canyon tour is a great side trip to consider. And of all the Grand Canyon tours available, those on helicopter are the most exciting of all.