Up, up, and away: Helijet chopper tour over Vancouver
Fortune often favours the brave, especially for those who rarely get to see Vancouver from a height of 1500 metres (5000 feet). This city may be my birthplace, but this is my first helicopter tour. The only other occasions I’ve seen Vancouver from the air are from planes on approach to YVR international airport.
We arrive at Vancouver Helijet Heliport on a weekday morning, and hang out for a few minutes in the spacious waiting area, sipping on coffee and chatting with the folks at the front desk. We head outside, file down the walkway to the landing pad, and hop into a Bell 206L-3 LongRanger helicopter (chopper) for our 20-minute sightseeing tour.
The “West Coast Spectacular” tour heads across Burrard Inlet to the North Shore, goes up and over the nearby coastal mountains, flies past Crown Mountain and The Lions (The Sisters), before emerging over Howe Sound. It’s easy to forget this abundant B.C. evergreen wilderness is at the doorstep to Vancouver. After heading south down the Sound, the final half of the tour proceeds past West Vancouver to English Bay (Salish Sea), enters and covers False Creek, crosses over the downtown Vancouver peninsula, makes a small loop over Burrard Inlet, before landing at the harbour base. The map below shows in green the chopper’s path, the Heliport in downtown Vancouver is marked by the helicopter icon, and the blue pins indicate mountains I identified during the tour.
The scheduled 20-minute tour goes by quickly; blink or look away for a moment, and a part of that view in that moment disappears. Not surprisingly, there’s not a lot of chatter throughout the flight, and we’re astonished by what we’re seeing below. After returning to base, we rediscover our voices and express our wonder with grateful enthusiasm. Helijet’s sightseeing tours go for a pretty penny; the “West Coast Spectacular” tour costs $224 CAD per person (minimum of two people, 2014), but the price goes down to about $150 per person for a group of five. These photos show there’s a different side to Vancouver that’s tantalizingly close and within reach.
Modes of transport : cruise ship, local harbour catamaran, helicopter
‘Rotorcat’ has their own Twitter + Instagram accounts (+ August 2014)
Bell 206L-3 LongRanger lifting off from heliport
Fellow travel writer, getting ready!
Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver; Second Narrows
North Shore mountains, from Fromme to Lynn to Seymour
Cathedral, Burwell, Coliseum, Needles, Bishop: over eastern ridge of Goat
Over Godmother Peak (Crown N1)
Capilano watershed, with Tantalus & Garibaldi, waaay in the back
Capilano watershed, Tantalus and Garibaldi in background.
East Lion peeks out from behind the shroud
Wrottesley, Sedgwick, Tantalus: over Lions Bay & Howe Sound
View over beautiful Howe Sound
Over Whytecliff: Bowen Island, BC Ferries vessel Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo
“Watch out for that `no step’; it’s a lulu …”
Looking out to Point Grey, over the English Bay ‘parking lot’
Left: cargo ship bulk carrier Astoria (IMO 9663635, MMSI 636015672). Centre: Jericho Sailing Centre.
Stanley Park: Lost Lagoon (left), Coal Harbour (right)
Downtown Vancouver peninsula
Cruise ships at Canada Place: ”Rhapsody of the Seas”, “Zaandam”
North Shore mountains: Crown, Dam, Grouse, Fromme
Stanley Park, Lions Gate Bridge, 1st Narrows: over Burrard Inlet
Harbour Tower, Waterfront Station, Canada Place: Vancouver harbour
Much of Helijet’s business is generated with commuter traffic between Vancouver and the provincial capital city of Victoria. In the quieter summer season, the company commits more of its operations to sightseeing tours over Vancouver, as well as additional charters in Haida Gwaii.
For “standard” views of Vancouver, sit on the port side (left, facing forward) for a counterclockwise loop, or on the starboard side (right, facing forward) for a clockwise loop. For less common but equally gobsmacking views, sit on the starboard side for a counterclockwise loop, or the port side for a clockwise loop. Click on the “arrow-window” icon at the upper-left corner of the map below for additional details.
Disclosure: I received free of charge the “West Coast Spectacular” sightseeing tour; many thanks to Jay Minter and Helijet for their generosity and hospitality. I made the photos above before and during our sightseeing tour on 16 May 2014. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-52L.
Fotoeins Fotografie 
20 Responses to “Up, up, and away: Helijet chopper tour over Vancouver”
I’m heading to Vancouver in August with the family. Looks like you got to see a lot. I’m scared of heights so I’m not sure I would have the courage to go on a helicopter ride. Although, it looks like fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Carmen. August is a beautiful (and busy) time to visit! If the views are tempting in any way, think about going up on a short chopper flight. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, and I hope you and your family have a great visit to Vancouver!
LikeLike
wow, those mountains!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Rachel. From any high point in München, the view of the Alps on a clear day is pretty good, too! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and for your comment!
LikeLike
I’m hoping to make my first trip to Vancouver (and Canada more generally) next year. This looks like a must do
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Jo! Arguably, any tour of a city from overhead looks worthwhile, especially if there’s a big big view with mountains around. I do love the combination of mountains next to (big) bodies of water! Please let me know when you’ll be in town; we’ll meet and have a bit of a walkabout of the city. Thanks for reading and for your comment!
LikeLike
I would love to take a helicopter over some of the coolest places on Earth to get aerial shots…so cool!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Corinne. I’m entirely tempted to go back up again on an even better (weather) day; I can’t get enough of the spectacular views, even in my own birthplace. There is something special about seeing a city or a place from overhead. Thanks for your comment and for stopping by!
LikeLike
You got some great shots! I’ve never seen Vancouver from the air so I’ll have to put this on my someday maybe list for when I can afford it! Thanks for sharing Henry!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi and you’re welcome, Adelina! Yes, do save up some loonies and toonies, and get up on one of these flights. For those of us who’ve been here all or most of our lives, the chopper sightseeing tour allows us to see the familiar from a very different perspective, and to see a very different part of our local area, too. Thanks again!
LikeLike
This looks like a great tour! Awesome way to see Vancouver and the surrounding area. I’ve never been on a helicopter tour, but would certainly love to. Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi and thanks, Frank. I took my first sightseeing tour on a plane when I was in New Zealand’s South Island. Naturally, I “agonized” over the cost of the tour. I threw caution … er … out the window, and naturally, I’m now glad took a sightseeing tour over the Southern Alps. When the opportunity arose for a chopper tour over my birthplace (one I’ve never done before), I had to say yes; it would’ve been very foolish to say no. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and for your comments!
LikeLike
Great photos Henry! Seeing Vancouver from above is such a unique experience and one that everyone should do. I haven’t done the helicopter tour yet but flew on a seaplane which offered some great views of Vancouver, UBC and the Gulf Islands. The helicopter ride is on my list for local things to experience!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi and thanks, Megan! Some might view the price as hindrance, but it’s easy to forget that at a height of 1500 metres with a spectacular view of metro Vancouver below. I felt the same way in New Zealand, and my, how I’m glad I “took the bait” and hopped on a plane for an overhead tour of the Southern Alps. It sounds cliché, but I now view a local chopper ride as a “must do.” 🙂 Thanks again for stopping by and for your comment!
LikeLike
oh wow, gorgeous! and a cat?:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Tanja. It’s hard to make a bad picture of the area, even under cloudy skies. As a pre-flight experience with Helijet, getting to see and pet “Rotorcat” was wonderful. 😉 Unfortunately, Rotorcat passed away in August 2014, only three months after making these photographs on the Helijet sightseeing tour. 😦
LikeLike
oh, that’s sad. poor cat
LikeLike
[…] This river watershed supplies one-third of the water supply for Metro Vancouver – 16 May 2014 […]
LikeLike
[…] The Squamish people had coastal villages in and around Howe Sound (HL 20140516; see also this postr). […]
LikeLike
[…] Earth, water, and wood in the Canadian Southwest: Capilano river watershed north of Vancouver, BC – 16 May 2014 […]
LikeLike