A Helicopter Ride Chicago delivers a quick aerial view of the city and lakefront. We compared 10 tours from $130, with complimentary cancellation, and the top option rates 4.4 from 233 reviews. Your fare covers a flight over the downtown skyline and along the lakefront.
Price from
Helicopter flight$130
Today's helicopter flight price · other listings cost less
Average rating
All 10 tours47
31,350 verified reviews across 10 tours
Start to finish
Shortest to longest7–90min
Shortest: Downtown Chicago Skyline
Longest: Guided Architecture
Choose your tour
The heli tour Chicago travelers book here lifts off from Vertiport Chicago for 7 to 20 minutes, at $130 per person. The other nine cost $27 to $50 per person: three observation deck tickets, a flying theatre at Navy Pier and five river or lake cruises. Book a Chicago tour by the view you want.
★ 4.4 · 233 reviews
★ 4.6 · 5 125 reviews
★ 4.5 · 3 824 reviews
★ 4.6 · 421 reviews
★ 4.9 · 969 reviews
★ 4.8 · 9 647 reviews
★ 4.8 · 4 716 reviews
★ 4.7 · 2 234 reviews
★ 4.7 · 1 265 reviews
★ 4.7 · 2 916 reviews
Still deciding?
There is one helicopter tour in Chicago on this page and nine other ways up or out onto the water. Pick what matters most: the flight itself, a glass ledge 103 floors up, the architecture from the river or the skyline at night, and we will point at one.
See it before you pay for it
One photograph for each answer above: a helicopter over the river downtown, the glass floor of The Ledge, the old towers along the river and the same river after dark.
A helicopter downtown; the listing flies 7–20 minutes.
A glass box on Willis Tower, the street straight below.
Architecture cruises cover all three branches of the Chicago River.
The night cruise runs the river and lakefront, through the Harbor Lock.
Side by side
Three ways to see the same skyline, each priced per person. From the helicopter Chicago’s skyline and lakefront fill large panoramic windows for 7 to 20 minutes. Skydeck puts you on The Ledge, and the architecture cruise spends 1.5 hours on the river with a live guide.
Swipe the table sideways →
| Chicago: Willis Tower Skydeck and The Ledge Ticket | TOP PICKChicago: Downtown Chicago Skyline Helicopter Tour | Chicago River: 1.5-Hour Guided Architecture Cruise | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $47 | $130 | $45 |
| How long, as listed | 45 minutes | 7 to 20 minutes | 1.5 hours |
| Cost per hour | $62.67 | – | $30 |
| Where you are | Floor 103 of Willis Tower | In the air, along Lake Michigan | On the Chicago River |
| What you see | Up to four states, 50 miles out | Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Soldier Field | All three branches of the river |
| Also on the listing | The Ledge, a glass box | FAA-certified pilot, panoramic windows | Live guide, cash bar on board |
| Rating | 4.6 · 5,125 | 4.4 · 233 | 4.8 · 9,647 |
| Best for | Looking straight down | The whole skyline from the air | The buildings, with a live guide |
| Check dates | Book this one→ | Check dates |
Free cancellation · Reserve now, pay later
Verdict
The helicopter tour Chicago IL visitors can book here is a single listing: 7 to 20 minutes with an FAA-certified pilot, past Navy Pier, Millennium Park and Soldier Field, then along Lake Michigan. It is $130 per person. To see the same towers from the water, add the 90-minute architecture cruise on the river, $45 per person, with 9,647 reviews.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
The listing gives a range rather than one fixed length, so read what your booking includes before you pay. Flights leave from Vertiport Chicago, so plan how you will get there. No night helicopter flight is listed here; for the skyline lit up, the night river and lake cruise passes Buckingham Fountain’s light display. The Flyover at Navy Pier is a theatre with motion seats, not a flight.
Two-minute check
Three things decide it here: how much time you have, who is coming, and what you most want to see. Answer three questions and we will point at one listing.
How much time have you got?The flight is 7 to 20 minutes; most cruises run 90
Who is coming with you?Every price here is per person, so a group multiplies it
What do you most want to see?This is the answer that picks your listing
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
What travellers say
Six of the ten, in travellers’ own words. Ratings and review counts are the live figures, and every price is per person.
★★★★★
Based on 31,350
verified reviews
All ten listings on this page, rated by travellers.
Read all 31,350→The helicopter flight
$130 · per person · 233 reviews
★★★★☆
7 to 20 minutes from Vertiport Chicago with an FAA-certified pilot, along Lake Michigan. Rated 4.4. “Once we were in the air, the views were incredible. … I wish we had a little more time in the sky” — Ayu, United States
Skydeck and The Ledge
$47 · per person · 5,125 reviews
★★★★★
45 minutes on the highest observation deck in the U.S., with views up to four states. Rated 4.6. “Great views and ledge experience. It was a clear day & not very busy.” — Janet, United Kingdom
The 90-minute architecture cruise
$45 · per person · 9,647 reviews
★★★★★
A live guide on all three branches of the Chicago River, running since 1935. Rated 4.8. “Excellent guide, very insightful information about the history and architecture of Chicago.” — Jean-Philippe, United States
River and lake cruise
$45 · per person · 2,234 reviews
★★★★★
90 minutes on the Chicago River, then through the Chicago Lock onto the lake. Rated 4.7. “It really gave us a sense of how large Chicago is.” — Paul, United States
Night river and lake cruise
$50 · per person · 1,265 reviews
★★★★★
90 minutes on the river and lakefront after dark, with Buckingham Fountain’s light display. Rated 4.7. “We started in daylight and ended at night so we were able to enjoy the sights both ways.” — Debora, United States
Flyover at Navy Pier
$28 · per person · 969 reviews
★★★★★
30 minutes in motion seats before a giant spherical screen, with wind and mist. Rated 4.9. “This was just crazy how real all of the places it takes you through the city.” — Renae, United States
What it really costs
Every price on this page is per person, and all ten listings have free cancellation. The one real jump is the helicopter: $130, against $27–$50 for the decks, the theatre and the cruises.
Swipe sideways →
| What you book | Price | What you get | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| The helicopter flight | $130 | Lake Michigan, Navy Pier to Soldier Field, with a pilot | 7–20 minutes |
| Skydeck and The Ledge | $47 | Floor 103 and a glass box over the street | 45 minutes |
| 360 CHICAGO deck | $27–$44 | Floor 94; the second ticket adds a drink | 30–90 minutes |
| Flyover at Navy Pier | $28 | Motion seats and a spherical screen, not a real flight | 30 minutes |
| Architecture cruises | $28–$45 | A live guide on the river; one also goes onto the lake | 45–90 minutes |
| Night river and lake cruise | $50 | The skyline lit up, through the Harbor Lock | 90 minutes |
The honest answer
Worth it if you want the city from the air rather than from one window: the flight follows Lake Michigan past Navy Pier, Millennium Park and Soldier Field. If the view matters more than the flight, Skydeck gives you floor 103 for $47.
A Chicago day, hour by hour
One reviewer’s flight was moved several times for poor visibility before it went. Booking near the start of your trip leaves room to move it, and free cancellation covers a change of plan.
The flight departs from Vertiport Chicago. One reviewer describes signing in, watching a safety video, then being walked out to wait for the helicopter to land.
Along Lake Michigan, past Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Grant Park, Soldier Field and the Magnificent Mile, through large panoramic windows. Reviewers say the pilot points out landmarks as you go.
The Skydeck ticket gives you 45 minutes: floor 103 and The Ledge, a glass box with the street straight below. Reviewers mention a short history of the tower before you go up.
The 1.5-hour architecture cruise covers all three branches of the Chicago River with a live guide. Sit on the open deck or inside in climate-controlled seating; the bar is cash.
The night cruise runs the river and lakefront for 1.5 hours, through the Chicago Harbor Lock, past Buckingham Fountain’s light display. One reviewer’s departure started in daylight and ended at night.
Day or evening
No listing here names a best hour, but two are built around the evening. The night cruise spends 1.5 hours on the river and the lakefront after dark, past Buckingham Fountain’s light display, and the sip-and-view ticket is a cocktail hour 1,000 feet above the Magnificent Mile. The flight has no night version in these listings, so it belongs to the day. Fly or climb first, and keep the evening for the water.
On the ground
Named on the helicopter route; the Flyover theatre is here too.
The helicopter listing names it, with Grant Park and Soldier Field.
The listing says the flight runs alongside Lake Michigan.
Two cruises go through a lock between the river and the lake.
What it's like
Search for helicopter tours in Chicago IL and you find one listing that actually leaves the ground: a skyline flight from Vertiport Chicago, $130 per person, seven to twenty minutes in the air. Everything else on this page sees the city from a fixed height or from the water, and knowing which is which is the first decision.
The flight is short, and it follows the lake. The listing names Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Grant Park, Soldier Field and the Magnificent Mile, flown alongside Lake Michigan with an FAA-certified pilot and large panoramic windows. It gives no minute-by-minute route and no height, so book it as a view of the skyline and the lakefront rather than a tour with stops.
Its 233 reviews average 4.4. The decks and cruises, most of them with thousands of reviews, sit between 4.5 and 4.9. What the flight has that none of them can offer is the city seen from the air, with the lake on one side and the towers on the other.
From a fixed height, the choice is between two towers. Willis Tower’s Skydeck is on floor 103, where The Ledge, a glass box, shows the street straight below; its listing claims views of up to four states. 360 CHICAGO is on the 94th floor of 875 N. Michigan, the former John Hancock Center, reached in 40 seconds, with lake views and the skyscrapers close up.
The Flyover at Navy Pier is the one people mistake for a flight. It is a theatre: moving seats under a 52-foot spherical screen, with wind, mist and scents timed to the film. It is rated 4.9 from 969 reviews and it fills half an hour well, but you never leave the ground.
On the water, the 90-minute guided architecture cruise has the most reviews on this page, 9,647. It covers all three branches of the Chicago River with a live guide, in a format its listing says started in 1935, with seats on the open deck or indoors. The lake and river cruise goes out through the Chicago Lock onto Lake Michigan.
If what you want is a Chicago city tour in one sitting, the river is it: an hour and a half past the towers with someone naming them. After dark, the night cruise takes the river and the lakefront, with Buckingham Fountain’s light display and commentary on board. There is no night helicopter flight in these listings, so the evening belongs to the water.
A good plan pairs two things: the short flight for the view only a helicopter gets, and a cruise or a deck for the hour of detail. Book the flight first, because it is the one listing here with no alternative, then fit the river around it.
While you're downtown
Each takes 30 minutes to an hour and a half: the theatre at Navy Pier, the river and the lakefront after dark, and a drink 1,000 feet above the Magnificent Mile.
Practical
Each tab follows one of our guides: the helicopter flight, the architecture cruises, every boat and night cruise, the river routes, and the skyline from above. Four short answers per tab, then the full guide.
Vertiport Chicago. The listing names the departure point and the landmarks, not a minute-by-minute route or a flying height.
The time in the air is a range on the listing, not one figure. Check the length of your slot when you book.
An FAA-certified pilot, with large panoramic windows in the cabin, according to the listing.
$130 per person, the only price on this page for time in the air. Free cancellation applies.
The guided cruise covers all three branches of the Chicago River with a live guide, rated 4.8.
The skip-the-line cruise also runs all three branches, with live narration and about 40 landmark buildings.
The lake and river cruise passes through the Chicago Lock. Its listing calls it the only architecture cruise on both.
The 90-minute and the lake and river cruises offer open deck-top seats or indoor climate-controlled seating, and a cash bar.
The family-friendly cruise runs 45 minutes on the river, with live commentary pitched at families and a bar on board.
The night cruise spends 1.5 hours on the river and the lakefront, past Buckingham Fountain’s light display, with lively commentary.
Between $28 and $50 per person, the shortest cruise the least expensive and the night cruise the most.
The three architecture cruises list a cash bar; the family cruise lists a full-service bar.
Two cruises cover all three branches: the 90-minute guided cruise and the shorter skip-the-line cruise.
The lake and river cruise goes through the Chicago Lock; the night cruise passes the Chicago Harbor Lock.
The 45-minute family cruise takes the South branch of the river, past Willis Tower.
45 minutes on the family cruise, an hour to 75 minutes on the skip-the-line cruise, 1.5 hours on the other three.
Willis Tower’s Skydeck: 45 minutes, and a glass box that extends 4.3 feet over the street below.
360 CHICAGO, in the former John Hancock Center: 1,000 feet up, with lake views and the skyscrapers close up.
The sip-and-view ticket adds a drink off the Sip Menu and 1.5 hours at the full 360-degree view.
The Flyover is 30 minutes in moving seats under a spherical screen. It feels like flying; it stays on the ground.
How long, and when
No listing here names a season or a best month, so what you choose is time. The flight lasts minutes; the decks and cruises take half an hour to 90 minutes. The bars show how long each one takes.
7–20 minutes · in the air
The one helicopter trip Chicago has on this page: $130 per person from Vertiport Chicago, along the lakefront and past the towers. No night flight is listed.
30–45 minutes · up a tower
Floor 103 and the glass Ledge at Willis Tower, or the 94th floor of 875 N. Michigan, 1,000 feet up. The tickets list 45 and 30 minutes.
45–90 minutes · on the river
Four architecture cruises, from the 45-minute family cruise to an hour and a half through all three branches or out onto Lake Michigan.
1.5 hours · after dark
The night cruise runs the river and the lakefront after dark, past Buckingham Fountain’s light display. For a drink above the city, the sip-and-view ticket is 1.5 hours at 360 CHICAGO.
Worth knowing
There is one helicopter listing. The skyline flight from Vertiport Chicago is the only time in the air on this page; the other nine are towers, a theatre and boats.
The Flyover does not leave the ground. It is a theatre at Navy Pier with motion seating and effects. Book it for the film, not as a stand-in for the flight.
The flight time is a range. The listing gives 7 to 20 minutes in the air and no fixed route. Check the length of your slot before you pay.
Two decks, two towers. Skydeck at Willis Tower is floor 103 with The Ledge, at $47; 360 CHICAGO is the 94th floor at $27. Choose the glass box or the lower price.
For Lake Michigan, pick the lake and river cruise. Its listing calls it the only architecture cruise on both, through the Chicago Lock. The night cruise also takes in the lakefront, after dark.
Free cancellation on all ten. Each listing here offers it, so you can hold the flight and a cruise before your dates are fixed.
Round out the trip
Go deeper
Common questions
$130 per person for the skyline flight, which lasts 7 to 20 minutes in the air. It is the only helicopter listing on this page. For the view from height at a lower price, the observation decks are $27 at 360 CHICAGO and $47 at Skydeck.
The listing gives 7 to 20 minutes in the air, as a range rather than one figure. It does not set out a minute-by-minute route or a flying height, so check the length of your slot when you book.
Vertiport Chicago is the departure point named on the listing. Read the meeting details on your voucher before you set out, because the minutes on the listing are the time in the air.
The listing names Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Grant Park, Soldier Field and the Magnificent Mile, flown alongside Lake Michigan. You sit behind large panoramic windows with an FAA-certified pilot. The listing does not state the height or the exact route.
Not in these listings: the one helicopter listing here does not offer a night flight. For the city after dark, the night cruise spends 1.5 hours on the river and the lakefront, past Buckingham Fountain’s light display, at $50 per person.
Skydeck at Willis Tower is floor 103, with The Ledge, a glass box over the street below, at $47 and rated 4.6. 360 CHICAGO is the 94th floor of 875 N. Michigan, 1,000 feet up in 40 seconds, with lake views, at $27 and rated 4.5. Pick the Ledge for the drop, 360 CHICAGO for the price.
By reviews, the 90-minute guided cruise: 9,647 at 4.8, through all three branches of the river. For Lake Michigan as well, the lake and river cruise is, by its own listing, the only architecture cruise on both. Short on time? The skip-the-line cruise runs an hour to 75 minutes.
No. The Flyover at Navy Pier is a theatre: motion seating, a giant spherical screen and effects such as wind, mist and scents, built to feel like flying. It runs 30 minutes and is rated 4.9. For time in the air, the helicopter is the one listing.
One PDF · no account needed
One PDF: when to fly, which tower to climb, and which cruise to keep for the evening. Built from the listings and the same live prices as this page.
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
Prices, ratings, durations and what each trip includes are read off the live listings, and updated with the page.
Ten ways to see Chicago from the air, from a tower or from the water are on this page. Our top pick is the helicopter flight at $130 per person. Nobody pays to be featured.
There is one helicopter listing here, not several, and the Flyover is a theatre. We say so before you compare prices.
Where a listing does not give a route, a height or an hour of the day, we do not guess one.
The answer
Seven to twenty minutes from Vertiport Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore, past Navy Pier, Millennium Park and Soldier Field, with an FAA-certified pilot and large panoramic windows. It is our top pick at $130 per person, and the only view of the city from the air on this page. For the river as well, add the 90-minute architecture cruise.
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Chicago: Downtown Chicago Skyline Helicopter Tour
★ 4.4 · 233 reviews · Free cancellation