Rio Aviation Air Tours
Book a FlightThe only active aerial tour with clearance to fly you over the National Park.
Think you know Big Bend? Well, there’s two aspects you probably haven’t seen yet:
- Big Bend from the sky
- Through the eyes of Marcos Peredes
I feel I am very well acquainted with Big Bend. I’ve been on most hikes multiple times, even the undocumented hikes. When people post a pic in Big Bend, I always know exactly where they are standing. However, I was given a whole new perspective to the park from an aerial view. It was very surreal. I felt like I was visiting for the first time from a different perspective though I could recognize each place we passed over with intimate knowledge of what was below. It was marvelous and beautiful. Seeing the unique geology from the air paints a much clearer picture Viewing the formations and layers from a macro-level allows your mind to easily visualize just what happened all those years ago. From volcanos, ocean floors, to underground seas of lava, our pilot and guide explained every aspect in a very comprehensible manner.
Website: https://rioaviation.com/
Phone: 432-557-9477
Website: https://rioaviation.com/
Phone: 432-557-9477
I am still a Big Bend n00b when in the presence of Marcos Peredes. Marcos guided us through an hour of history and points of intrigue through the hour-long tour above the Big Bend. We saw the National Park, the State Park, and even the lost ghost towns in the area that aren’t as popular as the one that hosts our beloved Starlight Theatre. Sink holes, numerous desert springs, old wagon trails, seemingly hundreds of old mines, and slot canyons were abundant as Marcos expertly pointed out while giving an in-depth history tour at the same time. I was in heaven. This was everything I wanted and way more. Expectations were well exceeded.
So what’s up with Marcos? Why does he know everything. Well, aside from being just an all-around badass, Marcos has over 30 years experience with the National Park Services, mostly in charge of search and rescue. He knows every nook and cranny of both the National Park and State Park, and also has a story to accompany each part. Marcos has over 1400 hours logged in the Cessna why flew in. He is professional, experienced, and I felt completely at ease and safe flying with him. I have not met anyone more knowledgable of the area.
I will end up doing this tour a multiple times. There was a lot of info given by Marcos to take in. I also noted several new places I want to explore, especially in the State Park.
Prioritize this tour. You can easily knock it out first thing in the morning (we had an 8:00 AM flight, done by 9:00 AM) and have plenty of time for exploring the rest of the day. Your Big Bend adventures are not complete without the experience of seeing it from the air.
