New York Manhattan Scenic Helicopter Tour

New York City, United States of America

Take to the skies on a helicopter tour to see New York's amazing skyline! On this scenic 18-minute helicopter flight you'll soar through the sky and experience a bird's eye view of Manhattan's world famous landmarks. This is the best view you can get of New York City!

After taking off from Downtown Manhattan Heliport, you will fly over Governor's Island, a former Revolutionary US Army post, and the birthplace of New York. Next you will come face-to-face with the Statue of Liberty, which has become synonymous with America's most fundamental value, freedom. Don't forget to pack your camera for unique shots of this famous landmark!

Next your pilot will guide your state-of-the-art helicopter past the humbling site of Ground Zero, before heading up the Hudson River alongside two magnificent feats of civil engineering: the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings.

Fly over Central Park, check out the George Washington Bridge from above and enjoy amazing views of bustling Times Square and the world-famous Madison Square Garden. Catch a glimpse of the WWII aircraft carrier, USS Intrepid and hover over the most passed-through point in the history of immigration, Ellis Island. You'll be able to see it all without battling the crowds on this New York City helicopter tour!

This is the perfect vantage point to take in New York's skyline. Don't miss out on this incredible scenic helicopter flight!

USD $174.99

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Greg N	April 2012
One member of our party of 3 had not previously experienced a helicopter tour. It was the start of our New York visit, so set the scene for us A must for the first-timer in NY.

Review by: Inge V	March 2012
Loved it, Glad I took the scenic tour and takes you up all the way to G Washington bridge. The only thing I would suggest the heli company to avoid is the middle seat. Views are still great but if you have bad luck and the person next to you is going wild with his camera in front of the window ...it's okay to be on the middle seat but way better to be right next to the window. Nevertheless it was a SUPER experience.

Review by: Ernesto F	January 2012
My experience was great. The crew was very organized and the trip was spectacular.

Review by: patriek v	January 2012
we had to wait for 3 h and we didn't see a lot

Review by: Gwenda K	December 2011
excellent way to view the city-all safety procedures adhered to and the pilot was both informative and friendly with a good line in banter to put passengers at ease.

Review by: Diane	December 2011
This is a must do. We found everyone very helpful. Had heard horror stories about long delays but we had no problems. It was my daughter's 21st and she got to sit up front. The helicopter was very smooth and the views unbelievable. There was no hard sell for souveniers, photos etc. If booking, you pay an additional charge locally. If you know as we did, it does not come as a surprise. A highlight for sure.

Review by: Simon S	November 2011
Fantatic - loved every minute of it !

Review by: goldring	November 2011
if you do nothing else do this !! the whole experience AMAZING .......

Review by: Nicolas F	November 2011
- We paid 250 euros for 2 (18 minutes around Manhattan)_br/_ - The weather was beautifull _br/_ - We had a rendez vous at 10AM but we had to wait until 11AM_br/_ - 5 people in the helicopter, my wife had the best place, next to the pilot ! I was between 2 spanish boys, behind (not as good!)_br/_ - It was a great experience _br/_ - I 'd love to do it again !!!

Review by: Ernie G	October 2011
Helicopter trip was excellent - it gave us a great overview of Manhatten with good information from the pilot.

Review by: Robin W	October 2011
Thankyou for a wonderful experience. Your staff were very friendly and well organised. The flight and scenery was amazing and never to be forgotten. This is an experience not to be missed. Just be aware that you may have about an hour to wait but this was no problem for us.

Review by: Jean Marc M	October 2011
Arrival and flight arrangement at the terminal was a complete mess with problems with a fuel pomp and obviously nobody really in charge. Flight went smoothly but unfortunately too short! Beautiful views but our back seats were the worst. Avoid them (back of front passagers). First choice are front seats of course and then behind pilot.

Review by: barbdoll	October 2011
This was a gift for my husband and daughter. The experience in their words was 'awesome'. President Obama was in town so they didn't get the original tour (which was longer) partial airspace was closed. This was not Viators fault and I was reembursed the difference on my return home. This was a fabulous experience and my family would recommend it!

Review by: Gillian S	October 2011
Excellent - the day we had booked was bad weather with poor visability but we were able to reschedule for following day which was clear and sunny. Location easy to find and close to ferry to Statue of Liberty which we also visited afterwards making it a great day all round. The pilot invited my daughter to sit up front so she had a terrific view throughout the trip . Pilot gave clear commentary and we got some fabulous photos. Don't be put off by extra 20 dollar charge on site and previous reviews complaining of nowhere to leave personal belongings. There are now lockers for your valuables. It was worth every penny. Was one of the main highlights of our trip to New York.

Review by: wmogford	September 2011
Amazing, would do it again!

Review by: PETER D	September 2011
flight cancelled on the sun as president was arriving but we were booked for the tues instead with no problems. pity it was raining but the pilot was very informative and ground staff were helpful

Review by: dodge	September 2011
Our booking was between one and three we were told to come back at four. Meanwhile waited outsite on pavement without a seating area.

Review by: louise o	September 2011
loved the flight....best part of our trip... BUT when i rang to confirm they couldnt find my booking, nor could they do my 10-12 flight....i had requested 10 am. even upon arrrival in New York I rang for the following day, they said come at 9.30..we did, we were not on any schedule nor could the find the booking...nearly spoilt my sons 18th....don'y assume anything...HOWEVER flight was worth the agro

Review by: Nathalie M	September 2011
Excellent! Vue panoramique sensationelle.Nous avons été très bien accueillies.A faire absolument.

Review by: paul K	August 2011
Very badly run . We Got there at 11:00 AM for a 12:00 noon flight, and we finished after 2:30. PM. I would not do it again. Once in the air the flight was great.

Review by: stevew	August 2011
Brilliant and absolutely fantastic. This was the highlight of our trip. Do it towards the end of the visit so that you can have an ariel view of everything that you have seen at ground level.

Review by: Roger P	August 2011
Super tour to discover Manhattan

Review by: Jaclyn M	August 2011
This tour gave an experience of Manhattan I have never had - after 23 years of living here. The facilities were clean and the staff were welcoming, attentive and even made me feel comfortable and calm while I was nervous. I would definitely recommend this tour/company to all my friends and family - its a MUST DO in NYC!

Review by: elizabeth g	July 2011
While we really enjoyed the actual flight and felt it was worth doing, we had to wait over and hour past our scheduled time for the flight to depart which was frustrating. More frustrating still was the fact staff seemed inefficient and happy to put their friends and people who arrived later than us before us in the line to get on. I would do the flight again for sure, but not with this tour operator.

Review by: Hetty A	June 2011
A fantastic experience with views of all the main attractions in New York this trip should not to be missed it was so special.

Review by: Esther S	June 2011
Great views

Review by: Philip J	June 2011
Awesome. Friendly staff, simple processing to get us on the helicopter. Took off about 35 minutes after our check-in time. Sit on the right of the helicopter if you can.....

Review by: Kimberley M	June 2011
When we went for the original booking we waited over 1.5hrs when finally we took off we had to return because the weather took a turn for the worse. re-booked later in the week lovely day excellent trip worth the wait......

Review by: Anne O	May 2011
We booked this particular tour because reviews had mainly said out of the tours this was the one where there wasn't too much waiting around. The waiting time (1 hour) was the only thing to spoil what was a fantastic experience. My friend Dawn was able to sit with Dave our pilot and the whole flight was amazing-so glad we did it. Definitely to be recommended.

Review by: Colin S	May 2011
Couldn't fault the trip itself - absolutely breathtaking but was somewhat spoilt by bad organization that led to an unacceptably long wait to get on the helicopter- otherwise it would have been a five star experience.

Review by: Alison A	May 2011
Fantastic trip - once we finally got airbourne!! Despite having been given a check in time of 11am, we then had to wait 1hr and 40mins for our flight. Luckily had already seen similar reviews so was half prepared but pretty annoying when you've made the effort to get down to Pier 6 early. Once airbourne, however, the trip was fantastic. Our pilot was fab - very informative and happy to answer questions. All in all I would highly recommend with the caviat be prepared to wait around.

Review by: Kim H	May 2011
I cannot discribe the level of disappointment I felt as a result of this tour. It was to be the highlight of my trip, I choose your site to book because of good reviews and couldn't have had a worse experience. Cramed in corner behind passenger seat, with a central post, the front seat passenger and two passengers to my right meant all views being pointed out by the pilot were totally blocked. I saw nothing, felt bewildered by what was happening and couldn't understand how he was so insensitive to my position. He clearly had a great view and enjoyed talking about it. The helicopter flew mainly over the river with all the views to the right of it, I unfortunately was on the far left and had no clue what was going on. .A huge waste of money but more than that the disappointment at seeing non of the sights reduced me to tears. I will be posting a fuller review on other websites. Perhaps the pilot should take the trip sat in the left rear seat and experience it from my perspective. Dredful and I certainly won't recommend your trips to my friends. I suspect this won't be posted on your site. If I could give this no stars I would.

Review by: Patricia F	May 2011
Wonderful experience. Staff very friendly and reassuring to first timers. Only downside the 1 hour wait before we boarded.

Review by: Toby H	March 2011
This was the very best way to see everything in NYC!! We loved the experience and would recommend it to anyone, it's expensive, but honestly worth it!

Review by: Thomas W	March 2011
Visited NYC on March 4th 2011 with my wife and 9 year old son. Booked a flight with Zip Aviation through Viator. Booking process was fine, emailed to confirm, confirmed a flight time between 11 and 12. Showed up at the office at quarter to 11 had to wait until quarter past 12 until it got to be our turn. Was not impressed by that at all. The actual flight was just OK. It just did not at all live up to our expectations as a thrilling event to remember. You stay way out over the river for 98% of the flight, and probably only get within 1 kilometer of the statue of liberty. Quite honestly I think we could have gotten a lot more entertainment and value for ~600$ if we had spent it on a totally different activity.

Review by: BRENDA M	January 2011
excellent

Review by: Emma O	January 2011
The trip itself was fantastic but the organisation of the whole place was very poor, one minute we were told to stand and the next minute we told to sit. Nobody seemed to be in control!

Review by: juan jose d	January 2011
Was a fantastic experience.

Review by: David K	January 2011
We where left waiting a while to get into the helicopter,but the trip itself was very good with the pilots commentary on the areas that we where passing over was very good.

Review by: CHRISTINA J	December 2010
fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. Worth every penny (or cent!!) best way of seeing the city. The staff were polite and courteous new york stile.(there is a diffrence between british and new york politness some may say they are rude, we didnt).

Review by: Johnny Hercules Angel	November 2010
Service was amazing...our pilot was great, and due to having to wait extra time for re-fuel, we got an extra 10mins....views were amazing and id recommend it to anyone visiting ny to do this in the earlier part of their trip.... u get a great overview of what manhatten is and get a understanding of how to get around city would definately do again next time i visit :)

Review by: Ingo K, Germany	June 2010
The flight was an absolutely amazing experience! I called viator to confirm flight and time one day before departure. The lady viator was very friendly and arranged a flight at 12.30 which was our desired deadline. When arriving at the port there was no waiting time. Staff and pilot were very friendly. The flight was great - took us around the state of liberty, along the skyline of manhatten across the hudson and back to the heliport. I highly recommend this flight! Thanks!

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	June 2010
Highly Recommended because it was the highlight of our trip, but be aware of a few things when you get to the pier! i booked the 20min approx flight but they marked our tickets as 15-17mins, this may seem petty but believe me it makes a huge difference when you are airborne!! i argued this with the desk and she checked the internet first before informing me that i was correct and changing our trip to 20min.The young man appointed to look after us took offence to me then and didnt even bother showing us the safety video. We had a long delay in the heliport due to a fueling issue but we were very well informed and the manager was very apologetic. Once up in helicopter it was fantastic and we were actually in the air for 25mins, it really is an amazing experience and one not to be missed while in New York.

Review by: Linda D, United Kingdom	June 2010
Fantastic helicopter ride - travelled up the west side of Manhattan from the statue of liberty to the top of central park. Downside is all the waiting - we booked and had to wait 1 hour before we flew whereas the people in the helicopter with us just walked off the street and only waited 10 minutes.

Review by: Karl-Josef S, Germany	June 2010
It was a fantastic trip. It shpuld be written on the voucher that you have to set up a time before you go. We didn't do that and had to wait 3 hours.

Review by: Gerhart S, Germany	June 2010
It was really realy great! We also had the very best weather conditions and so the view was great. Pity was just the time we spend there. Our flight should start at 4 p.m., we started at 5.19 p.m.. But the experience we had doesnt make it that bad, even in the review! Everyone should do the helicopter flight to see the city!

Review by: paul g, United Kingdom	June 2010
The 20 minute helicopter flight was superb. The organisation for the trip was excellent and everything ran according to plan. Well worth the money.

Review by: fiona g, United Kingdom	June 2010
fantastic trip we had 20 mins this was definately worth it

Review by: Stephen F, New Zealand	June 2010
Awesome trip was the high light of my time in NYC ,

Review by: Peter S, United Kingdom	May 2010
The service beforhand was excellent and we were looked after immediately upon our arrival. The 'check in' was very efficient & quick.We were in the air within 10-12 minutes of our arrival.The pilot was very helpful and informative. I would highly recommend this helicopter tour to anyone.