Opinions wanted- flightseeing and whale watching

[phillie gal]

DH and I are doing our own land tour with acsouthbound cruise to follow June 9-21. So far we have booked a flight out of Talkeetna with glacier landing at Sheldon Ampitheater, shuttle to Wonder lake in Denail, Kenai Fjords Tour in Seward and will do Alaska Sea Center.

We would like to do a second flightseeing tour and would like opinions camparing flights out of Juneau and Ketchikan. Will flights from Juneau be more of the same as Denali or an entirely different experience? How are flights out of Ketchikan if there are no bears to see? If you had already done our Denali flight, which other one would you want to do? I also realize the Denali flight could be canceled but would like the answer to be on the assumption that it will be a go,

 

One more question, is there a better choice for whale watching between Juneau and Icy Strait?

[tmitchell82]

DH and I are doing our own land tour with acsouthbound cruise to follow June 9-21. So far we have booked a flight out of Talkeetna with glacier landing at Sheldon Ampitheater, shuttle to Wonder lake in Denail, Kenai Fjords Tour in Seward and will do Alaska Sea Center.

We would like to do a second flightseeing tour and would like opinions camparing flights out of Juneau and Ketchikan. Will flights from Juneau be more of the same as Denali or an entirely different experience? How are flights out of Ketchikan if there are no bears to see? If you had already done our Denali flight, which other one would you want to do? I also realize the Denali flight could be canceled but would like the answer to be on the assumption that it will be a go,

 

One more question, is there a better choice for whale watching between Juneau and Icy Strait?

 

We did both a glacier landing flight into Denali just like yours, except we flew from Healy further north. The landing in the Sheldon Ampitheather was incredible. We also did a flightseeing tour in Ketchikan to Misty Fjords. Both were unique and different and we enjoyed them both. One we saw the glaciers and mountains and the other was saw the fjords so the scenery was different. There are links to both if you want to see in my signature (Denali is part 2 & Misty Fjords is part 6) I was glad we did both since the each offered something different. This summer we are going back and doing a flight from Ketchikan to Anan Creek to see the bears which is another option (provided you are there during bear time)

 

Tim

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done whale watching in both Juneau and Icy Straight a few times.

JMO -- maybe it was just our luck (or bad luck) but we have seen more whales on the Icy Straight excursions.

[NoobCruise]

DH and I are doing our own land tour with acsouthbound cruise to follow June 9-21. So far we have booked a flight out of Talkeetna with glacier landing at Sheldon Ampitheater, shuttle to Wonder lake in Denail, Kenai Fjords Tour in Seward and will do Alaska Sea Center.

We would like to do a second flightseeing tour and would like opinions camparing flights out of Juneau and Ketchikan. Will flights from Juneau be more of the same as Denali or an entirely different experience? How are flights out of Ketchikan if there are no bears to see? If you had already done our Denali flight, which other one would you want to do? I also realize the Denali flight could be canceled but would like the answer to be on the assumption that it will be a go,

 

One more question, is there a better choice for whale watching between Juneau and Icy Strait?

 

We did the Mountain Top Flightseeing and Crab Feed in Ketchikan. I don't recommend it. The flight, while beautiful, was only about 20 minutes. Then we were herded like cattle very quickly to a very small room with one long table that sat about 20 people. There were some windows on one wall so only half the people got to look at the view. The rest of us faced a solid wall. Then we weren't given any time to relax on the deck and enjoy the view. As soon as everyone was done eating, we were herded onto a bus and sent back to the ship. The food was good, but DH and I both wish we had done the Misty Fjords Flightseeing instead.

[Italy52]

We have done whale watching in both Juneau and Icy Straight a few times.

JMO -- maybe it was just our luck (or bad luck) but we have seen more whales on the Icy Straight excursions.

 

We have had the same experience. Our Juneau experiences have been so-so and our Icy Strait experiences have been outstanding. We go with no expectations and enjoy whatever experiences we are given.

[Budget Queen]

DH and I are doing our own land tour with acsouthbound cruise to follow June 9-21. So far we have booked a flight out of Talkeetna with glacier landing at Sheldon Ampitheater, shuttle to Wonder lake in Denail, Kenai Fjords Tour in Seward and will do Alaska Sea Center.

We would like to do a second flightseeing tour and would like opinions camparing flights out of Juneau and Ketchikan. Will flights from Juneau be more of the same as Denali or an entirely different experience? How are flights out of Ketchikan if there are no bears to see? If you had already done our Denali flight, which other one would you want to do? I also realize the Denali flight could be canceled but would like the answer to be on the assumption that it will be a go,

 

One more question, is there a better choice for whale watching between Juneau and Icy Strait?

 

It's up to you, while I don't find a ski plane glaicer landing as stunning as some other flights- it may have the plus of flying the aircraft for the first time. My clear preference, having flown "Denali" at least 10 times would be the summit flights.:) You don't state where you are going to be? But if only looking for information on Juneau- and absolutely- no, no comparism to Denali- big difference is having a lot more ice exposure, and depending on the lighting- stunning blue hues. Ketchikan, can have glacier viewing on extended flightseeing, but Misty Fiords certainly is a winner. No matter what you choose, you are missing on plenty of others. :)

Take some time and look at photos and videos- should be easy to find. Pick out what you want to see the most, or book several.

 

As for whale watching- despite, single stat reports, claiming one better than the other- whale watch tours go to concentrated feeding areas at each location. They are the same whales- humpbacks, with no "special" superior ones, having the Point Adolphus, club admission. Pure chance what you see. I have been on numerous whale watches out of both areas- with enough experience to stand by my comments. You can not make any assumptions based on a few glowing reports, and think about it. People rarely report about their "so so" whale watches. It's also sometimes the same people people reporting on the same trip. :)

 

So a suggestion would be to consider scheduling tours where the time fits the best and allows you your full choice of tours.

[phillie gal]

Thanks to all, I appreciate your input. We just may have to do three flights!