Glacier Tours

[Emptynesters38]

My wife and I are taking the Summit Celebrity in September. We are taking a flight to Mt. McKinley prior to the Crusie. We are also taking a Misty Fjords Flight Seeing Tour from Ketchikan. We are not sure what the best glacier trip will be from Juneau? Should we take a helicoptor, a boat or some other means of transportation? Thank you for your input.

[fajitapita]

My DH and I really enjoyed our helicopter glacier excursion in Juneau on August 5th with Coastal Helicopters. We were picked up promptly at our dock, taken to the airport, and then on to the helicopter. There were a total of 3 passengers and the pilot in our helicopter. We landed on Herbert Glacier and had 15-20 minutes to walk around the glacier and take pictures. On our way back, our pilot flew us over Mendenhall so we got a chance to see it from the air. Absolutely a beautiful and awe-inspiring excursion. Wonderful weather- we just wore jeans and a windbreaker- no need for gloves or scarves- a beautiful sunny day!!! :)

Here's their website for the icefield excursion (the one we did)

http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/t_icefield.htm

They also have an adventure tour: http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/t_adventure.htm

and a dog-sled tour: http://www.coastalhelicopters.com/t_dogsled.htm

[happy2]

We did the exact same tour through Coastal Helicopters on July 27th and agree with everything that Fajitapita had to say. We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and felt it was something so different from anything else that we had ever experienced. We booked it through Orca Enterpises and scheduled a whale watching tour through them in the afternoon. Coastal picked us up at the dock, took us on the glacier flight, dropped us off in town for an hour of shopping, then we walked to the Orca office for the whale watching excursion. It was also an incredible experience. We watched a pod of humpback whales bubble net feeding. They surfaced about every 4 minutes! We still had time to stop at the Red Dog Saloon for a drink and make it back for early seating dinner. It was a great day! Orca really planned all of the connections well for us and we have memories to last a lifetime!

[yerlaw]

My wife and I did the helicopter glacier trek in mid-july. We had beautiful weather and the two hours on the glacier seemed just right and not quite long enough all at once. My wife is not a hiking fan, but she throroughly enjoyed it after she got comfortable. Have a great time.

[vettechick]

I took the Mendenhall Glacier tour from Temsco Helicopters and it was amazing! We landed on the glacier and got to walk around for about 20 minutes. It was definitely the highlight of my trip!

[kkorman]

There are also trekking tours available for extended stays on the ice. I am doing one through Northstar and have a 4 hour trek on the ice from the helicopter. It is pricey at about $450, but should be well worth it.

[Emptynesters38]

All the suggestions sound great. From what I have read, I can't tell which is better: a Mendenhall rafting/cruise or a fly over. Anyone have any input as to which one is better. We are already booked for two flights in Alaska. I'm not sure if we want to try a different mode of transportation......

[dakrewser]

We so much enjoyed the float plane trip to Taku Lodge (click the ling to see our oictures) that we did it two years in a row. If you've ever seen the Imax film "To Fly", this is better. climbing up one side of a mountain, bursting acrtoss the top, gliding down to "hole in the wall" glacier - fantastic.

 

 

If you do this trip, get to the front of the line before boarding. Often the pilot will ask for volunteers to sit in the co-pilot seat. Don't hesitate, just do it!

[Budget Queen]

I do not recommend the Mendenhall float trip. Money is better spent elsewhere, too much trees and backyards. I always go on flights and for me the most excellent tours. Will be on at least 3 my next trip.

[lucyjohnz]

I'll add my experience. We upgraded from the Mendenhall Glacier Landing ($200/pp) to the Pilot's Choice 2-glacier landing ($275) and it was fantastic. We were in the air for 1 hour and 15 minutes and on 2 different glaciers for 30 minutes. The scenery on the flight alternated between flying over glaciers and flying over mountains and valleys. However, the glacier landings are what were totally unique to me - rushing artic blue undergroud streams, blue crevasses and blue pools of water. COOL! So, you might even consider doing a Glacier hike ($350/pp maybe) which probably won't include as much flying, but seeing glaciers up close and personal is an experience not to be missed.

[gszenacm]

I'll add my experience. We upgraded from the Mendenhall Glacier Landing ($200/pp) to the Pilot's Choice 2-glacier landing ($275) and it was fantastic. We were in the air for 1 hour and 15 minutes and on 2 different glaciers for 30 minutes. The scenery on the flight alternated between flying over glaciers and flying over mountains and valleys. However, the glacier landings are what were totally unique to me - rushing artic blue undergroud streams, blue crevasses and blue pools of water. COOL! So, you might even consider doing a Glacier hike ($350/pp maybe) which probably won't include as much flying, but seeing glaciers up close and personal is an experience not to be missed.

how did you find this company? did you make reservations ahead of time or once there? Did you make them through the ship or on your own? I don't think they have coupons in the toursaver book, but do you know if they offer any?

 

Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

This is with TEMSCO http://www.temscoair.com book direct. No coupons. Make reservations in advance, they most always are sold out.

[lucyjohnz]

As BudgetQueen said, Temsco is not in the Toursaver book, but then again, there were no Helicopter coupons in the Toursaver book for any of the companies in Juneau or Skagway. We made our reservations on the phone but got the phone # and prices online - they require a $50/pp deposit and you pay the rest when you arrive at the helicopter terminal. The 4 of us were picked up in a van, but we noticed a full-size bus pulled up after us bringing lots of new customers.

 

I don't think Temsco has the absolute best prices - Coastal was cheaper. However, we did have a really good time with them and I'd recommend them. I found out about them online here by looking up every company that people mentioned here.

[carmzav]

We just came home yesterday from our Alaskan trip. We were going to do the float trip but did the canoe trip to Mendenhall instead. It was incredible. We paddled right up to the glacier- not close enough to touch obviously, but close enough to be in complete and total awe!! I am really glad that we didn't do the raft, because we both started out at the same point, but the rafts go away from the glacier, while we spent all of our time paddling around iceburgs and getting really close to the face!

 

Next time we'll do the helicopter!

 

I've just started putting our pictures up:

http://alaska2004.blogdrive.com

[gszenacm]

thanks so much for sharing them!

[GlacierLady]

Make sure to find time to go see Exit Glacier while in Seward before you go cruising.Enjoy Alaska!

[ladyw]

How much work is the canoe trip? What about an 8 year old. Could she do it with me? We are currently signed up for the float trip but are having serious doubts now.

[carmzav]

The canoe trip was a lot of work, but not impossible. Our guide said that they do have a lot of families, and that kids are fine. It's more an issue of coordinating the paddling than actual physical strength.