Best Los Angeles Helicopter Tours — Quick Picks
Which LA Helicopter Tour Is Right for You?
| Role | Route | Cabin | Best for | Rating | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest | Hollywood Sign & studios | Shared | A short first flight | 4.6★ | $159 | Check → |
| Most booked | Hollywood & Beverly Hills | Shared | The classic city route | 4.9★ | $199 | Check → |
| Best private value | Long Beach & Catalina | Private | Two people at a window each | 4.9★ | $214 | Check → |
| After dark | Hollywood & city lights | Shared | The basin lit up | 4.9★ | $299 | Check → |
| Coastal | Coastline & Hollywood | Shared | Santa Monica to the canyons | 5.0★ | $299 | Check → |
| Longest | Private, 1 hour | Private | City, coast and canyons in one flight | 5.0★ | $640 | Check → |
Compare Helicopter Tours in Los Angeles
Prices, ratings and availability last checked: September 2026.
Top Pickfrom $199 Hollywood & Beverly Hills Celebrity Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaHollywood, Beverly Hills and the hills
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe most-booked route here
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $159 Hollywood Sign & Universal Studios Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaHollywood Sign and Universal Studios
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe cheapest city flight on this site
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $299 Los Angeles Night Helicopter Tour: Hollywood & City Lights
- Flight areaHollywood and downtown after dark
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forNight photography over the basin
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $214 Private Helicopter Tour over Long Beach: See Catalina, Queen Mary
- Flight areaLong Beach harbour and the Catalina channel
- MachinePrivate aircraft
- Best forA private flight at a shared-seat price
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $299 California Coastline & Hollywood Celebrity Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaCalifornia coastline and Hollywood
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forCoast and city in one flight
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $640 Private 1-Hour Sightseeing Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaCity, coast and canyons, one hour
- MachinePrivate aircraft
- Best forThe longest route sold here
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $649 Experience Helicopter Attractions of Los Angeles
- Flight areaLos Angeles landmarks circuit
- MachinePrivate aircraft
- Best forA long private sightseeing flight
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $248 Downtown LA Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaDowntown Los Angeles
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe tower cluster up close
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $550 Hollywood and Beaches 50-Minute Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaHollywood and the beaches, 50 minutes
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forA long coastal route
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $450 Hooray for Hollywood 35-Minute Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaHollywood, 35 minutes
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forMore air time over the hills
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $450 California Coast and Canyons 35-Minute Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaCoast and canyons, 35 minutes
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forCanyon country and the shoreline
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
How Much Does a Helicopter Tour in Los Angeles Cost?
LA is the cheapest big American city to fly over, mostly because there are several operators, several airfields and no heliport monopoly. Short Hollywood routes start at $159; night flights and coastal circuits sit around $300; a private hour is $640 and up.
Twenty to thirty minutes over the Hollywood Sign, the studios, Beverly Hills and downtown. The standard first flight.
The basin after dark, or a coastal run from Santa Monica down to Long Beach and back over the canyons. Longer air time and better light.
Fifty to sixty minutes, private cabin, and routes that cover the coast, the canyons and the city in one flight.
What affects the price?
Twenty, thirty-five, fifty and sixty-minute routes are all sold here, and the price tracks them closely. Twenty minutes covers Hollywood; you need thirty-five or more to add the coast.
Night flights cost around $100 more than the equivalent daytime route and are the version of Los Angeles that photographs well — a grid of light running to the horizon.
Operators fly from Long Beach, Van Nuys, Hawthorne and Burbank. The one you pick determines what the route reaches first and how far you drive to get there.
Private fares here start unusually low — $214 for a Long Beach and Catalina flight — so for two people the premium over shared seats is often marginal.
Day or Night in Los Angeles: Which Flight Should You Book?
Same aircraft, same routes, entirely different city. The fares are from the flights listed on this page.
| Daytime short route | Daytime coastal route | Night flight | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical LA fare | $159 – $248 | $299 – $550 | $299 | |
| Air time | 20 – 30 minutes | 35 – 50 minutes | 30 minutes | |
| What it shows | Hollywood Sign, studios, Beverly Hills | Plus Santa Monica, the canyons and the harbour | The basin as a grid of light to the horizon | |
| Photography | Haze softens distance most afternoons | Best after winter rain | The strongest photographs of the three | |
| Best for | A cheap first flight | Seeing how the city and coast connect | Anyone flying once |
Month-by-Month Guide
Clearest air of the year after winter rain, with the San Gabriels visible behind the city.
Same clarity between systems; occasional rain days cancel.
Warm, clear and reliably flyable before the marine layer sets in.
Good visibility; the first grey mornings appear late in the month.
May Gray: low cloud over the coast until midday, clearing inland earlier.
June Gloom at its most persistent — book afternoon or night slots.
Marine layer burns off earlier; hot, hazy afternoons inland.
Hazy but reliable; evening flights are the pick.
Warm, clear and the best all-round month to fly here.
Clear air, early sunsets and golden light on the hills.
Cool and clear, with night flights available from late afternoon.
Excellent visibility after rain; holiday demand on evening slots.
What to Expect on the Day
Find the right airfield
LA operators fly from Long Beach, Van Nuys, Hawthorne and Burbank. They are up to an hour apart in traffic and the listing states which one.
Check the meeting point before the price. An hour on the 405 changes the value of a $40 saving.Check in and weigh-in
Forty-five minutes before the slot, with a weigh-in for the load sheet and seat assignment.
Ask which side the Hollywood Sign passes on — it is a single pass on the short routes.Safety briefing
Standard briefing, headsets with intercom, and door handling. Doors stay on for almost every LA route.
Test the intercom; the pilot's narration is what turns a flight over sprawl into an orientation of the city.The flight
Up over the Hollywood Hills to the sign, across the studios and Beverly Hills, downtown's towers, and on longer routes the coast from Santa Monica to Long Beach.
Night departures fly the same route; the difference is that everything below is lit and the smog is invisible.Back on the ground
No ground component — most bookings run 60 to 90 minutes end to end.
Evening slots go first in summer. Book night flights days ahead rather than on the day.What to Bring (and What to Leave at Home)
✓ Bring
- Dark clothing to keep reflections off the window
- Photo ID and your booking voucher
- A camera with a wrist strap — no selfie sticks
- A light jacket for evening departures
- Sunglasses for daytime flights over the coast
- Patience for the drive to the airfield
✗ Leave behind
- Loose hats and scarves near the aircraft
- White or pale tops that mirror in the glass
- Large bags — cabin storage is minimal
- Drones, restricted across the LA basin
- Selfie sticks, banned in every cabin here
Where Flights Depart From
| Heliport / Base | Details | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Long Beach | Harbour, Queen Mary and Catalina-channel routes, including private flights | Coastal and harbour views |
| Van Nuys | Hollywood Sign, studio and valley routes | The classic Hollywood circuit |
| Hawthorne | City and coast routes from the south bay | Downtown and beach combinations |
| Burbank | Studio and hills departures on some listings | Travellers staying in the valley |
How to Choose a Helicopter Operator
What good operators do
- Name the departure airfield clearly — Long Beach and Van Nuys are an hour apart.
- State the air time in minutes rather than selling a route name alone.
- Fly the Hollywood Sign close enough to photograph rather than pointing at it from a distance.
- Publish the weight threshold for a second seat before booking.
- Refund weather cancellations in full and offer a rebooking slot.
Red flags to avoid
- No departure airfield stated anywhere in the listing.
- A twenty-minute flight priced like a thirty-five-minute one.
- Photo packages presented as compulsory at check-in.
- 'City tour' descriptions with no named landmarks on the route.
What You Fly Over in Los Angeles
The landmarks and flight corridors these tours actually cross, and what each one looks like from the air.
The Hollywood Sign and the hills
Every routeThe ridge above Beachwood Canyon, with the sign facing south over the basin and the observatory on the next spur. Aircraft pass it on a defined line rather than circling.
Downtown's tower cluster
Most routesThe one part of Los Angeles that looks like a conventional city skyline, isolated in the middle of the basin.
The coast: Santa Monica to Long Beach
Longer flightsThe bay, the piers, the harbour and the container port, with Catalina on the horizon on clear days.
The canyons and the studios
35-minute routesTopanga, Laurel and Coldwater canyons cutting through the hills, and the backlots of the Universal and Warner studios below the ridge.
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