Which Is Best Port for Floatplane??

[seacrystal]

We will be arriving in Fairbanks for our cruisetour and sailing southbound on the Coral Princess in June. We will be stopping in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. We definitely want to go on a floatplane somewhere. Which port has the best floatplane excursion?:confused:

 

Thanks in advance.

[JohnQ]

From Ketchikan, the Misty Fjords floatplane trips are nice. You will see lots of alpine lakes and waterfalls, great granite cliffs, maybe some sheet or goats and eagles. Sometimes bear seen there but not always. Michelle of Island Wings is very good and gives great flt and tour.

There are also flts to bear viewing of Anon Creek, Pack Creek and Traitors Cove, but I have not done that so don't know which months are best for which trip. Mostly salmon fishing black bears not the large coastal bears. BQ has knowledge of these. Summit Flt of McKinley very nice but not float plane and you don't mention any land time so maybe next time.

[Mike2131]

We will be arriving in Fairbanks for our cruisetour and sailing southbound on the Coral Princess in June. We will be stopping in Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. We definitely want to go on a floatplane somewhere. Which port has the best floatplane excursion?:confused:

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi!

We have taken some great tours in Juneau and Ketchikan that involved float planes. It is a truly Alaskan experience. I am pretty sure the Neet's Bay Bear Tour is not offered in June, but I listed it anyway.

 

1) Juneau - Taku Lodge Excursion. Terrific glacier flightseeing enroute. A wonderful salmon bake.

 

2) Ketchikan - A comprehensive flightseeing tour that included a landing on a remote glacial lake and a river landing for a cannery tour.

 

3) Ketchikan - Neet's Bay Bear Viewing is a fantastic tour with wonderful flightseeing there and back. 2 dozen of nature's best fishermen feasting on salmon!

 

As another poster mentioned, the summit flightseeing over Mt. McKinley is awesome. It is not a floatplane, but if you have the chance to go, I highly recommend it!

 

Have a great cruise!

[Budget Queen]

No the Ketchikan bear tours dont' start until end of July. Float planes are available in most ports, with perhaps the Misty fjords the most popular. Consider booking direct with Southeast Aviation, Carlin Air, Island Wings. I have flown with all of them. But for a bargain perhaps, consider a mail run- I flew with Taquan ,and if bears are the priority Alaska Fly N Fish to Admirality Island.

[seacrystal]

Thank you JohnQ, Mike 2131 and Budget Queen.

 

I am now more confused than ever. There are so many new threads asking the same questions as mine.

 

We will be in Ketchikan from 8:30-5:15. I am interested in contacting Michelle at Island Wings because I have run across her name in other threads. Because this is my first cruise, I am a little nervous about handling the arrangements on my own.

 

 

If I do the Misty Fijords Seaplane Exploration in Ketchikan through Princess, it will cost $219. If I do the Taku Glacier Lodge Flight & Feast in Juneau through Princess, it will cost $239. I am finding the choices a little overwhelming.

 

The plane over Mt. McKinley also sounds great. Princess is charging $250.

 

I really have some tough decisions to make.

 

Again,

thanks everyone!!!!!!

[WASUP]

It is a book that has alot of two for one. My husband and I are also wanting to fly alot while there, as he is a pilot himself and he wants to do as much of the flightseeing as our wallet will allow.

 

Our commercial airfare to alaska is less then taking two flight seeing tours. Amazing.

 

We will definitely do the Mt Mckinley and the the misty fjords...

[seacrystal]

WASUP,

 

Where do I get the toursaver book?

[Budget Queen]

http://www.toursaver.com

 

 

There is NO valid reason to be worried about booking direct with established venders in Alaska. Just SUPERIOR service. MOST IMPORTANT- that the vender's recomendation for tour times, with the CORRECT information on your shore times.

[seacrystal]

I contacted Michelle at Islands and set up a floatplane trip for my June 23 Ketchikan port day. I am so excited. I e-mailed her and she replied a few hours later. She has a fantastic website and she gave me detailed information about how she sets up tentative reservations until she verifies the cruise ship schedule. I will be hearing back from her toward the end of the month for financial arrangements.

 

Thanks everyone for your input!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

ALASKA HERE WE COME!!!:D :D :D

[Lobbylin]

I'm tempted to take this trip, but won't get back from a whale watching trip with Capt Larry until 1pm - therefore I'm aiming for around 2-2.30pm to do Taku Lodge floatplane.

 

Looking at the Celebrity cruise excursions - their trip is scheduled for 2.30pm, so will we be sharing our "moment of tranquility" with LOADS of other people?

 

I have emailed Wings of Alaska for a quote and timings, but they have not got back to me.... perhaps they service the Celebrity tours...

 

Is there a fairly good view of the glacier from the lodge? (We have done glacier walking on the Athabasca Icefield so we're looking for a get-away-from it all trip...)

 

Would appreciate any feedback...

[Thoth]

Last year I took the Misty Fjords National Monument floatplane from Ketchikan and loved it!

[Mike2131]

I'm tempted to take this trip, but won't get back from a whale watching trip with Capt Larry until 1pm - therefore I'm aiming for around 2-2.30pm to do Taku Lodge floatplane.

 

Looking at the Celebrity cruise excursions - their trip is scheduled for 2.30pm, so will we be sharing our "moment of tranquility" with LOADS of other people?

 

I have emailed Wings of Alaska for a quote and timings, but they have not got back to me.... perhaps they service the Celebrity tours...

 

Is there a fairly good view of the glacier from the lodge? (We have done glacier walking on the Athabasca Icefield so we're looking for a get-away-from it all trip...)

 

Would appreciate any feedback...

 

Hi!

 

It has been a while since I took this excursion, but I remember the total number of guests being perhaps 40. The reason for the limited amount of people is two-fold: 1) The transfer is by bushplane so the logistics of carrying a lot of people to the lodge would be very difficult. 2) They want to provide a quality product and, unless it has been expanded, the capacity of the lodge is limited.

 

Hole-in-the-Wall Galcier is across the river from the lodge and you have a nice view. It is not accessable from the lodge. The trip is a wonderful getaway with terrific flightseeing both ways.

 

I highly recommend this excursion!

[winterstar]

Seacrystal: I was having the same problem as you. I originally booked the crab fishing and wilderness expedition through RCCL, but after extensively reading these boards , I cancelled that. I am only in Ketchican from 7am-2pm. I booked Southeast Sea Kayaks for an Orca's Cove outing, and the combined Misty Fjords Flightseeing (also booked through Southeast). This way I was able to squeeze in the two things when I wouldn't have been able to through the ship.

 

(I have never been in a kayak, btw and I'm scared but if worst comes to worst I can get the hubby to paddle me around the cove since it is a double kayak) :D

[mandrews2u]

Our ship will only be in Skagway from 7am-4:30 pm, we wanted to do the whitepass railroad through m&m tours in the afternoon, and also a glacier landing, but isn't it better to do a glacier landing in the afternoon also? We could do the glacier landing out of juneau as we have 7am-11pm there, does anyone know which port of call is better for glaciers?

 

Also we are trying to decide on the Misty Fjords Floatplane out of Ketchikan or the plane to Taku Lodge in Juneau, can anyone tell me which is better?

[seacrystal]

winterstar: I had never kayak'd until we did it in Newport Beach, California with my DH, DD and SIL last summer. I was a little skeptical because I didn't trust my DH to keep the kayak straight and not knock us in the water (LOL). We did fine. It is such a smooth ride. Little did we know that this was the summer that millions of tiny jellyfish had invaded Newport Bay and we were surrounded. I was paranoid that if I fell in I would be stung to death and all I could think of was what an embarrassing way to die!

 

Have fun!:D :D :D

[winterstar]

LOL that is SO funny! I too am worried that the hubby will tip us. I think I'm even more worried that I will make an ass of myself getting in. If there were jellyfish, there would be no problem of that because he screams like a girl whenever he sees one. But you didn't hear that from me.....

[dakrewser]

We liked tghe Taku Lodge trip out of Juneau so much when we took it in 2000 that we did it again the next year (and I got to ride in the co-pilot's seat! whee!!).

 

 

And the salmon bake is great, too!