Our top pick916 reviews
20 minHollywood & Beverly Hills Celebrity Helicopter Tour
★ 4.9 · 916 reviews
- 20 minutes, over Hollywood and Beverly Hills
- Hollywood Sign views
- Most booked
- Free cancellation
$199Day
Check availability→ 
Helicopter ride Los Angeles
Helicopter ride Los Angeles gives you a face-on view of the Hollywood Sign from above. We compared 14 flights, with prices from $159, free cancellation, and the top tour rated 4.9 from 916 reviews. Griffith Observatory, Universal Studios, and Beverly Hills spread out below.
Flights from
14 listings compared$159
Today's lowest price across all 14 flights
Average rating
11 rated flights48
1,398 verified reviews across 11 flights
Time in the air
Shortest to longest10–90min
Shortest: Hollywood Sign & Universal
Longest: Los Angeles Helicopter
Free cancellation
Reserve now, pay later
Verified reviews
Secure payment
Instant confirmation
Mobile voucher
Everything you can book here
Every helicopter ride Los Angeles sells, by what it flies over
Fourteen listings, and the switch decides the kind of flight. Eight are daytime sightseeing over Hollywood, Downtown and Beverly Hills. Two are night flights over the grid of lights. Two run the coast to Malibu. Two land — one on a Malibu mountaintop, one on a Downtown rooftop.
Cheapest10 minutes
10 minHollywood Sign & Universal Studios Helicopter Tour
★ 4.6 · 127 reviews
- 10 minutes, above the Hollywood Sign
- Small group
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
$159Day
Check availability→ 
Downtown20 minutes
20 minLos Angeles: Downtown LA Cityscape Helicopter Tour
★ 4.0 · 1 reviews
- 20 minutes, above Downtown LA
- City views
- Narrated helicopter tour
- Free cancellation
$239Day
Check availability→ 
Sign + Downtown25 minutes
25 minHollywood Sign & Downtown Los Angeles Helicopter Tour
★ 5.0 · 3 reviews
- 25 minutes, over Los Angeles
- Small group
- Hollywood Sign views
- Free cancellation
$274Day
Check availability→ 
Rated 4.9Night flight
30 minLos Angeles Night Helicopter Tour: Hollywood & City Lights
★ 4.9 · 91 reviews
- 30 minutes, over Los Angeles
- Griffith Observatory views
- Downtown LA lights
- Free cancellation
$299Night
Check availability→ 
Rated 4.9Coast
30 minCalifornia Coastline & Hollywood Celebrity Helicopter Tour
★ 4.9 · 60 reviews
- 30 minutes, along the California coastline
- Small group
- Hollywood Sign views
- Free cancellation
$299Coast
Check availability→ 
Three districts30 minutes
30 minLos Angeles Helicopter Tour: Hollywood, DTLA & Beverly Hills
- 30 minutes, over Los Angeles
- Small group
- Griffith Observatory views
- Free cancellation
$299Day
Check availability→ 
Malibu75 minutes
75 minLos Angeles: Malibu and Hollywood Flight Tour
★ 4.3 · 56 reviews
- 75 minutes, over Hollywood and Malibu
- Small group
- Likely to sell out
- Free cancellation
$349Coast
Check availability→ 
One hour49 reviews
1 hLos Angeles: Hollywood Flight Tour
★ 4.7 · 49 reviews
- One hour, over Hollywood and Los Angeles
- Small group
- Guided air tour
- Free cancellation
$388Day
Check availability→ 
Night flightOne hour
1 hLos Angeles: Night Flight Tour
★ 4.3 · 22 reviews
- One hour, over Los Angeles
- Small group
- City lit up in lights
- Free cancellation
$399Night
Check availability→ 
30 minutesNew listing
30 minThe LA Helicopter Tour: Beverly Hills, DTLA & Hollywood
- 30 minutes, over beach coastline and Downtown LA
- Small group
- Beverly Hills views
- Free cancellation
$399Day
Check availability→ 
Mountaintop landingRated 5.0
1.5 hLos Angeles Helicopter Tour & Malibu Mountaintop Landing
★ 5.0 · 30 reviews
- 1.5 hours, atop a private Malibu mountaintop
- Small group
- Longest tour here
- Free cancellation
$649Landing
Check availability→ 
PrivateRated 5.0
1 hLos Angeles: Private 1-Hour Sightseeing Helicopter Tour
★ 5.0 · 43 reviews
- One hour, over Los Angeles
- Small group
- Hollywood Sign views
- Free cancellation
$640Private
Check availability→ 
Most expensiveRooftop landing
1.5 hLos Angeles: Downtown Rooftop Landing Helicopter Tour
- One and a half hours, over landmarks and coastal areas
- Private tour
- Celebrity homes views
- Free cancellation
$1198Landing
Check availability→ Two questions
Which helicopter ride is yours?
Fourteen listings, and they come down to three decisions: how many minutes you want in the air, whether you go up in daylight or after dark, and whether landing somewhere is part of the point. Pick what matters and the page picks the flight.
See it before you pay for it
What do you actually see on a helicopter ride Los Angeles?
Three things, and the first one is the reason most people book: the Hollywood Sign from the front, which no road and no trail will give you. Then the Downtown skyline standing alone on a flat basin. And on the night flights, a hundred kilometres of street grid turned into light.
Side by side
Ten minutes, half an hour, or an hour with a landing?
Every listing here is one of three things. A short flight is ten to twenty minutes and covers Hollywood. A thirty-minute flight adds Downtown, Beverly Hills or the coast. And the long ones land — on a Malibu mountaintop or a Downtown rooftop — which is a different product entirely.
Swipe the table sideways →
| MOST BOOKEDHollywood & Beverly Hills Celebrity Helicopter Tour | Hollywood Sign & Universal Studios Helicopter Tour | Los Angeles Night Helicopter Tour: Hollywood & City Lights | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $199 | $159 | $299 |
| Duration | 20 minutes | 10 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Cost per minute | $9.95 | $15.90 | $9.97 |
| Sees the Hollywood Sign | Yes | Yes | Yes, lit |
| Departs from | Burbank | Burbank | Burbank |
| What you see | The Sign, Griffith, Mulholland, Beverly Hills | The Hollywood Sign and Universal Studios | Hollywood and Downtown after dark |
| Flies after dark | No | No | Yes |
| Rating | 4.9 · 916 | 4.6 · 127 | 4.9 · 91 |
| Best for | The whole postcard, once | The cheapest way up | A different city entirely |
| Book this one→ | Check dates | Check dates |
MOST BOOKED
Hollywood & Beverly Hills Celebrity Helicopter Tour
$199- Duration
- 20 minutes
- Cost per minute
- $9.95
- Flies after dark
- No
- Departs from
- Burbank
- What you see
- The Sign, Griffith, Mulholland, Beverly Hills
- Rating
- 4.9 · 916
- Best for
- The whole postcard, once
Free cancellation up to 24 h · Reserve now, pay later
Hollywood Sign & Universal Studios Helicopter Tour
$159- Duration
- 10 minutes
- Cost per minute
- $15.90
- Flies after dark
- No
- Departs from
- Burbank
- What you see
- The Hollywood Sign and Universal Studios
- Rating
- 4.6 · 127
- Best for
- The cheapest way up
Los Angeles Night Helicopter Tour: Hollywood & City Lights
$299- Duration
- 30 minutes
- Cost per minute
- $9.97
- Flies after dark
- Yes
- Departs from
- Burbank
- What you see
- Hollywood and Downtown after dark
- Rating
- 4.9 · 91
- Best for
- A different city entirely
Verdict
Book twenty minutes
Twenty minutes from Burbank over the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, Mulholland Drive and Beverly Hills. Nine hundred and sixteen ratings at 4.9 stand behind it, which is more reviews than the other thirteen listings on this page put together. The one reason to book something else is money: ten minutes at $159 still delivers the Sign.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
Read the review count, not just the score
One listing on this page carries 916 ratings and three carry none at all. That does not make the new ones bad — but an unrated listing tells you nothing, and a 5.0 from three people tells you very little. Read both numbers before you decide.
Two-minute check
Which helicopter ride Los Angeles suits you?
Fourteen listings and a lot of near-identical titles. Three answers narrow it to one: how many minutes you want in the air, day or night, and whether landing somewhere is part of the point.
How long do you want to be up?This decides more than the price does
What are you willing to spend?Per person unless it says private
Day or night?Two listings go up after dark
Answer the three questions above
You'll get the flight that fits your answers, the thing about it that catches people out, and an honest word about how much evidence its rating rests on.
Six kinds of trip
1,398 reviews across fourteen Los Angeles flights
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown exactly as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own. One listing here carries 916 ratings at 4.9; three carry none at all, and we say which is which on every card.
4.8
★★★★★
Based on 1,398
verified reviews
5 ★84%
4 ★11%
3 ★3%
2 ★1%
1 ★1%
Every rated listing on this page, scored by the people who took it on GetYourGuide.
Read all 1,398→🎬
Hollywood & Beverly Hills Celebrity Helicopter Tour
From $199 · 916 reviews
★★★★★
Our top pick, and the best evidenced flight in the city
Twenty minutes from Burbank over the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, Mulholland Drive and Beverly Hills. 916 ratings at 4.9 — more reviews than the other thirteen listings put together.
💰
Hollywood Sign & Universal Studios Helicopter Tour
From $159 · cheapest here
★★★★★
The cheapest helicopter ride in Los Angeles
Ten minutes over the Hollywood Sign and Universal Studios. 127 ratings at 4.6. It is short, and it still gives you the one view that has no ground-level equivalent.
🌙
Los Angeles Night Helicopter Tour: Hollywood & City Lights
From $299 · 91 reviews
★★★★★
The city after dark, which is a different city
Thirty minutes over Hollywood and Downtown once the grid lights up. 91 ratings at 4.9. Two listings here fly at night and this is the better evidenced of them.
🏖
California Coastline & Hollywood Celebrity Helicopter Tour
From $299 · 60 reviews
★★★★★
Hollywood and the Pacific in one flight
Thirty minutes over the Sign and then out along the California coastline. 60 ratings at 4.9, and the best answer if you want more than the city.
⭐
Los Angeles Helicopter Tour & Malibu Mountaintop Landing
From $649 · 30 reviews
★★★★★
The one that lands on a mountaintop
Ninety minutes with a landing above Malibu and time on the ground looking down at the Pacific. 30 ratings at 5.0.
🏙
Los Angeles: Downtown Rooftop Landing Helicopter Tour
From $1198 · the highest price
★★★★★
The most expensive listing on the page
Ninety minutes with a landing on a Downtown rooftop, priced for the aircraft. It is here to show you the ceiling — our top pick costs about a sixth of it.
What it really costs
How much is a helicopter ride Los Angeles?
The cheapest helicopter ride in Los Angeles is $159 for ten minutes over the Hollywood Sign. Twenty minutes over Hollywood and Beverly Hills is $199. Thirty minutes runs to $399, and the flights that land go to $1,198.
Swipe sideways →
| What you are paying for | Price | What you get | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A short sightseeing flight, 10–20 minutes | $159–$274 | The Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory and the Hills — the frame everybody comes for | Free cancellation 24 h |
| A longer flight, 25–75 minutes | $299–$399 | Adds Downtown, Beverly Hills, the coast or the city after dark | Free cancellation 24 h |
| A flight that lands, 1–2 hours | $640–$1,198 | A Malibu mountaintop or a Downtown rooftop, with time on the ground | Private, per aircraft |
What the listing doesn’t show you
- Where the airfield is. Burbank or Van Nuys, not LAX or Downtown — thirty to fifty minutes from most hotels.
- That your seat is assigned by weight. Unless the listing guarantees a window, the side you get is not your choice.
- What the marine layer does in May and June. A grey ceiling over the basin flattens the whole flight.
- That three listings here carry no ratings at all. We label every one of them.
What is genuinely included
- The flight itself, from ten minutes to an hour depending on the listing
- A noise-cancelling headset with live commentary from the pilot
- A safety briefing and a seat assigned by weight for balance
- The Hollywood Sign front on, which nothing on the ground gives you
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, on most listings here
The honest answer
Is a helicopter ride Los Angeles worth it?
For the Hollywood Sign, yes, and the reason is not the flight. There is no public access to the letters. The hillside is fenced and monitored, the trails reach them from behind, and every photograph taken from the ground is either distant or of the back. Ten minutes in the air is the only way to see them the way they were meant to be seen.
What makes it worth it
- There is no public access to the Hollywood Sign and no road that reaches it
- Every trail on Mount Lee arrives from behind or from the side
- 916 ratings at 4.9 on our top pick — the strongest evidence on this page
- Flights start at $159 for ten minutes
- They run all year, and two of them go up after dark
Keep in mind
- Most flights leave from Burbank or Van Nuys, not from central Los Angeles
- Ten minutes is genuinely ten minutes — about an hour door to door
- Window seats are assigned by weight unless the listing says otherwise
- The marine layer can grey out a summer morning
- Three listings here carry no ratings at all, and we label every one
The flight, minute by minute
What happens on a helicopter ride Los Angeles
Get to the airfield
Most flights leave from Burbank or Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley, not from central Los Angeles. Allow for traffic; it is the part people underestimate.
Check in and weigh in
Names, weights and a short briefing. Weight decides where you sit, and where you sit decides which side the Sign is on.
Walk out to the aircraft
Four to six seats, headsets on, and the pilot talks to you through them for the whole flight.
Over the ridge
Two minutes from lift-off the Hollywood Hills are underneath you. This is why Burbank is the departure point rather than the coast.
The Hollywood Sign
Front on, which no road or trail gives you. On most flights the pilot circles so both sides of the cabin get it.
Griffith Observatory and Mulholland
The observatory on its ridge, then the road along the spine of the hills with the basin on one side and the valley on the other.
Beverly Hills and the Westside
Bel Air, the Getty on its hill, and the grid running to the ocean.
Back at the field
Twenty minutes gone on our top pick, ten on the short flight, an hour on the longest. Door to door it is about half a day less than you think.
The one thing to know
You cannot get to the Hollywood Sign
Everything else on this page is a preference. This one is a fence. The letters stand on the south face of Mount Lee inside a closed, monitored area: there is no visitor road to them and no path that reaches their front. The hiking trails on the mountain all arrive from behind or from the side, which is why so many photographs taken on foot are either of the back of the letters or from far enough away that they are a smudge on a hillside. From a helicopter they are simply there, face on, at the angle every postcard uses. That is the whole product, it takes about ten minutes, and it is the only view of the Hollywood Sign that cannot be had any other way.
Four parts of the flight
What you fly over, in order
The Hollywood Sign
No road reaches it, and every trail arrives from behind.
Griffith Observatory
On the ridge between the Sign and the basin, on almost every route.
Downtown
A cluster of towers standing alone on a flat basin.
The grid at night
Two of the flights here go up after dark, and it is a different city.
Start here
What does a helicopter ride Los Angeles buy you?
Here is the thing that decides whether a helicopter ride Los Angeles is worth the money, and it has nothing to do with the flight: you cannot get to the Hollywood Sign. The letters stand on the south face of Mount Lee inside a fenced, monitored area. There is no road for visitors and no path to the front of them. Every hiking trail on the mountain arrives from behind or from the side, which is why almost every photograph taken on foot is either of the back of the letters or from so far away that they are a smudge.
From the air they are simply there, face on. Ten minutes is enough. The flight lifts off from Burbank, crosses the ridge in about two minutes, and the Sign is directly below you at the angle every postcard uses and nobody standing on the ground can reach.
Which is why the cheapest flight here is not a compromise. Ten minutes at $159 delivers the one view with no ground-level equivalent. Everything above that price is adding other things — Downtown, the coast, Beverly Hills, the dark — rather than improving the Sign.
Most flights leave from Burbank or Van Nuys. Not from LAX, not from Downtown. That is a thirty-to-fifty-minute drive from Hollywood or Santa Monica depending on traffic, and it is the single most underestimated part of the booking.
Twenty minutes is the sweet spot, and the numbers say so. The twenty-minute flight over Hollywood and Beverly Hills carries 916 ratings at 4.9 — more reviews than the other thirteen listings on this page put together, and the highest score among them.
The night flights are a genuinely different product. Two listings here go up after dark, when the basin turns into a hundred kilometres of street grid in light. It is not a better version of the day flight; it is another city.
And the last thing, which no listing says plainly: your seat is assigned by weight. Small helicopters are loaded for balance, so unless the listing guarantees a window you may end up on the inside — which on a ten-minute flight over one specific hillside matters more than it would anywhere else.
If ten minutes is not enough
Three flights that go further than the Hollywood Sign
The short flights all do the same thing well: the Sign, front on, which nothing on the ground can give you. These three keep going — out to the coast, up after dark, or onto a mountaintop with time on the ground.
Hollywood and the coast
California Coastline & Hollywood Celebrity Helicopter Tour
30 min · ★ 4.9 (60)
$299See dates After dark
Los Angeles Night Helicopter Tour: Hollywood & City Lights
30 min · ★ 4.9 (91)
$299See dates It lands
Los Angeles Helicopter Tour & Malibu Mountaintop Landing
1.5 h · ★ 5.0 (30)
$649See datesPractical
Plan the day properly
Four things decide how this goes: which airfield you are flying from, how long you booked, whether you are up in daylight or after dark, and the Los Angeles traffic between you and the helipad.
Ten minutes over the Sign
The cheapest way up, from $159.
Twenty minutes, our top pick
The Sign, Griffith, Mulholland and Beverly Hills, from $199.
Thirty minutes
Adds Downtown, the coast, or the city after dark.
An hour
Hollywood, Downtown and the hills without hurrying.
A flight that lands
A Malibu mountaintop or a Downtown rooftop.
Private
The aircraft to your group, from $640.
The Hollywood Sign
Fenced, monitored, and with no public access on foot.
Griffith Observatory
On the ridge between the Sign and the basin.
Mulholland Drive
The road along the spine of the hills, basin on one side, valley on the other.
Beverly Hills and Bel Air
The streets everybody has heard of and almost nobody can see whole.
Downtown Los Angeles
A cluster of towers standing alone on a flat basin.
The coast
Santa Monica, the pier and the Malibu shoreline on the longer flights.
Most flights leave from Burbank or Van Nuys
Not LAX and not Downtown. Allow for traffic.
Seats are assigned by weight
Small aircraft are loaded for balance rather than preference.
Ten minutes is about an hour door to door
Check-in, briefing and the walk out all count.
The marine layer greys out summer mornings
May and June especially. Afternoons are usually clear.
Night flights need dark
Which in June means late and in December means early evening.
Headsets are provided
The pilot talks to you through them the whole way.
Free cancellation to 24 hours
On most listings on this page.
Book a few days ahead
A week for weekends and for the night flights.
Check the departure airfield
It decides an hour of your day.
Read the review count
One listing has 916 ratings; three have none at all.
Window seats are not automatic
Only some listings guarantee one.
November to April is clearest
The days after winter rain are the sharpest of the year.
Best time
When is the best time for a helicopter ride Los Angeles?
Flights run all year and the weather is rarely the problem. What decides the quality of the view is the marine layer — the low cloud that sits over the basin on summer mornings — and the haze that builds through a hot afternoon.
Nov – Apr
The clearest air of the year
Winter rain scrubs the basin and the days after a storm are the sharpest views Los Angeles ever gives you: the San Gabriel Mountains with snow on them, and visibility to Catalina. Everything runs.
Sep & Oct
Warm, clear and steady
The marine layer has gone, the heat has eased and the light is long. The best combination of comfort and clarity in the warm half of the year.
May & Jun
The marine layer months
Locals call it May Gray and June Gloom: low cloud over the basin until late morning. Afternoon flights are usually fine; early ones can be grey.
Jul & Aug
Hot, hazy and busiest
Everything runs and the evenings are long enough for sunset flights, but heat haze softens the far horizon and the Sign sits in it. Book the first or the last slot.
Worth knowing
Six things that aren't in the listing
01
Check which airfield you are flying from. Burbank and Van Nuys are both in the San Fernando Valley, thirty to fifty minutes from Hollywood or Santa Monica depending on traffic. It is the single most underestimated part of the booking.
02
Book a window seat if the photographs matter. Seats in small helicopters are assigned by weight for balance, and on a ten-minute flight over one hillside the side you are on decides everything.
03
Ten minutes really is ten minutes. Door to door it is about an hour once check-in, the briefing and the walk out are counted. Do not book anything tight afterwards.
04
Avoid early summer mornings. May and June bring the marine layer, and a grey ceiling over the basin turns the whole flight flat. Afternoons in those months are usually clear.
05
The night flights need actual darkness. In June that means late; in December it means early evening. Check the departure time against sunset rather than assuming.
06
Read the review count, not just the score. One listing here carries 916 ratings and three carry none at all. A 5.0 from nobody is not a recommendation.
Round out the trip
Booked alongside
Go deeper
More on helicopter rides in Los Angeles
Common questions
Helicopter ride Los Angeles, answered
How much is a helicopter ride in Los Angeles?
From $159 for ten minutes over the Hollywood Sign. Our top pick, twenty minutes over Hollywood and Beverly Hills, is $199. Flights that land go to $1,198.
Why fly over the Hollywood Sign rather than walk to it?
Because you cannot walk to it. The letters sit on a fenced, monitored hillside with no public access, and every trail on Mount Lee reaches them from behind or from the side. The air is the only front-on view.
Where do the flights leave from?
Mostly Burbank or Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley — not LAX and not Downtown. Allow thirty to fifty minutes to get there depending on traffic.
How long should I book?
Ten minutes covers the Sign. Twenty adds Griffith, Mulholland and Beverly Hills, and is the best-reviewed option here. Thirty adds Downtown, the coast or the dark.
Are there night flights?
Two listings on this page go up after dark, when the basin turns into a grid of light. They are a different experience rather than a longer one.
Can I choose my seat?
Usually not. Small helicopters are loaded by weight for balance. Some listings guarantee a window seat — check before booking if photographs matter.
Do flights run all year?
Yes. The main seasonal factor is the marine layer, which greys out some summer mornings, and heat haze in July and August.
What is included?
The flight, a headset with live pilot commentary, and a safety briefing. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on most listings here.
Free · no account needed
Los Angeles from the air, on one sheet
One PDF: all fourteen flights by length and price, which airfield each one leaves from, what ten minutes actually covers against thirty, and the months when the basin is clearest.
- Every flight ranked by minutes in the air and what it covers
- Burbank, Van Nuys and how long each is from your hotel
- The route in order, from lift-off to the Sign to Beverly Hills
- Month by month: marine layer, haze and the clearest weeks of the year
Check your inbox
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
How we put this together
Checked, not guessed
Prices, durations and ratings are read off the live listings rather than copied from other affiliate pages. Departure airfields and route details come from the operators’ own descriptions.
We print the minutes
Every flight here is sold on scenery and priced on time in the air. We put the minutes on every card and the cost per minute in the comparison, because that is the number that actually separates them.
We say when a rating is thin
One listing here carries 916 ratings and three carry none at all. Both can be good; only one has been tested, and we label it that way rather than sorting everything by score.
Nobody pays to be featured
Fourteen listings, ordered as a shop window rather than by price, ranked on what they cover and how much evidence stands behind them. We earn a commission when you book, and it does not change what we recommend.
The answer
Twenty minutes, from Burbank, in daylight
If you are booking one flight, book the twenty-minute tour at $199. It carries 916 ratings at 4.9 — more reviews than the other thirteen listings on this page put together — and it covers the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, Mulholland Drive and Beverly Hills. If the budget is tight, the ten-minute flight at $159 still gives you the one view that has no ground-level equivalent.
Check dates and availability→ Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Reserve now, pay later