Talkeetna flightseeing

[nicaphile]

Has anyone done this? How does it compare to flightseeing in Juneau or other cruise ports? We will probably only do 1 flightseeing trip and are trying to decide where to do it. Our cruise stops are Ketchiken, Juneau, Skagwat and Icy Straight Point. Thanks for any advise

[IBCAR18]

We chose a summit flight over Denali/Mt. McKinnley when we are in Talkeetna via Talkeenta Air Taxi. Heard it is a must!!!! Well, we are also doing a floatplane @ Ketchican to Misty Fjiords with Island Wings. Also read it is a must too!!! Sounds like everything is a MUST in Alaska but realize that you cannot do everything in one trip. Good luck is choosing your options. Have a great day!!!

 

Michelle-Atlanta

[winterstar]

We did the summit flight with Talkeetna Aero also. It was spectacular. It was definately worth it, and I would do it again. I also got some of my fave trip photos out the window of the plane. We also did the Misty Fjords flightseeing, and took a (short) helicopter ride for our glacier hike and while we enjoyed these, the summit flight was tops for us. :)

[Mike2131]

Has anyone done this? How does it compare to flightseeing in Juneau or other cruise ports? We will probably only do 1 flightseeing trip and are trying to decide where to do it. Our cruise stops are Ketchiken, Juneau, Skagwat and Icy Straight Point. Thanks for any advise

 

Absolutely spectacular! It is still the single most awe inspiring excursion I have taken anywhere in the world (the Pyramids and Sphinx are the only competition).

 

Highly recommended!

[Budget Queen]

I have done a lot of Alaska flightseeing. It's all scenery and vastness. :) Seeing McKinley from the top is just excellent, but so are the glacier helicopter landings, the floatplanes etc etc etc. You get the idea. :)

[lmcd]

Be sure about the Mt. McKinley summitt flights. Some fly over the top, Talkeetna Aero, and others circle the summitt. Talkeetna Aero also flies from Denali as well as Talkeetna. We booked an over-the-top with Talkeetna Aero using the Toursaver coupon and paying the difference to upgrade. Spectacular views. We have also done the Misty Fjords floatplane with Island Wings and glacier landings with Coastal and Temsco. All are really magnificent scenery, but we spent more flying time was spent in the Mt. McKinley summitt flight.

 

Larry

[Tricia724]

We also did the summit flight with Talkeetna Aero last year, and it was spectacular. We had an absolutely perfect day (early June), and there were climbers on the slopes and 6 or 7 on the peak. We didn't make advance reservations, but when we arrived in Talkeetna....with the excellent weather and flying conditions....we bopped on over to the airport to inquire about the flight. They couldn't have been nicer. Took our Toursaver coupon, and we paid an upgrade fee. All in all, it was a great bargain and an unforgettable trip. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat.

[BlessedAgain]

We also did the summit flight with Talkeetna Aero in the beginning of June. We used the Toursaver coupon and upgraded to include the Summit flight. It cost us $245 for the 2 of us. We loved the flight. We were scheduled for an 11 a.m. flight but it was cloudy and rainy so we postponed until 5p.m. when the sky was clear blue and we had an excellent flight. You don't actually fly over the summit because of the wind pressure the turbulence is too great but you fly right up to the top, just not over it. At 14,000 feet you have to put on the oxygen mask. We could see base camp and also high camp. It really was amazing. You won't be disappointed if you do it!

[Complex592]

We did the flight in early June. It was awsome. Don't miss it.

[JPCruising]

We flew with Talkeetna Air Taxi, www.talkeetnaair.com on their Base Camp McKinley tour with glacier landing on June 14th, 2004. It was fantastic and if I could only do ONE, I would do this flight. I was able to capture a lot of great photos while in flight and once we landed on the glacier. You can see them on my photo website (www.jprphotos.com) in my Alaska album which is broken into 13 chapters with over 200 shots.

[Rache.]

We are in Denali with just a few free hours on Wed, 8/10. I've reserved a Talkeetna circle tour that picks us up at the McKinley lodge and returns us in time for our 11:30 departure to the train station. They are taking the Toursaver Coupons. They won't use the Toursaver coupons unless they already have some full fare passengers on the flight so we're waiting to see if we can get an upgrade to the summit tour.

 

So -- given that it's ALL fantastic, how would you rate

 

1. Denali circle tour

 

2. Misty Fjords floatplane

 

3. Glacier copter landing

 

It's so much fun to see that the exact question I'm wondering about is being asked and answered here!

[Budget Queen]

From you above list, I have taken them all. My favorite are the glacier helicopter landings, I also like float planes and ski planes. :) But the summit flights, over the top are excellent too. You get the idea, I love them all@@@

[Budget Queen]

We also did the summit flight with Talkeetna Aero in the beginning of June. We used the Toursaver coupon and upgraded to include the Summit flight. It cost us $245 for the 2 of us. We loved the flight. We were scheduled for an 11 a.m. flight but it was cloudy and rainy so we postponed until 5p.m. when the sky was clear blue and we had an excellent flight. You don't actually fly over the summit because of the wind pressure the turbulence is too great but you fly right up to the top, just not over it. At 14,000 feet you have to put on the oxygen mask. We could see base camp and also high camp. It really was amazing. You won't be disappointed if you do it!

 

 

Then you did NOT do a summit flight, which DOES fly over the top of McKinley. I have flown it several times with Talkeetna Aero.

[Shirleya53]

I am sitting here right now at 10:30 am waiting for clearance to do a flyover. It is very iffy. We had scheduled 9am flight. Mostly cloudy. They will give us a different kind of flight if we decide not to cancel, but I really want to go over Mt McKinley.

[tetleytea]

What I like about Talkeetna over the other flights is that it's Mt. McKinley. Tallest peak in North America. You have to be able to go home and say you saw McKinley. The rest are just mountains. :)

[totallynewtocruising]

I just did those three excursions (as well as others) and I rate them this way:

 

Most amazing was the pilot's choice, 2 landings on glaciers. Partly this was due to the pilot's daring, the way he took off from a cliff (very dramatic) and how the glaciers had deep blue crevasses. We brought bottles so we could drink icy cold glacier water.

 

2nd favorite and a very close second was the Mt. McKinley summit flight (we took from Talkeetna). I was chosen to sit up front and it was breath-taking. I had no idea it would be so exciting and dramatic. We were constantly going "Wow!"

 

I rate the Misty F. float plane a distant third. I know I'm in the minority here, but this was our experience. We didn't see any wildlife (that might have helped) and after all the other-worldly effect of the glacier landings, this just seemed too normal. If we had done this first perhaps it would have been more impressive - after all, it is lovely with trees and lakes. Our pilot did not help anyone out of the plane and so we struggled not to fall into the water as we only had the pontoons to balance on. Not really good for taking photos. Anyway keeping in mind that all nature is lovely, we did come away saying this trip was not worth the price.

[badger71]

We are doing a flyover with thr glacier landing what is the recommended clothing? boots,hats,gloves etc???? thanks:)

[Budget Queen]

We are doing a flyover with thr glacier landing what is the recommended clothing? boots,hats,gloves etc???? thanks:)

 

 

You do not "fly over" the summit, if you are doing a glacier landing. :) (if this is a Talkeetna McKinley flightseeing reference??)

 

You are best to take a lined jacket, and boots may be available from the vender. It really isn't as cold as you may think. :) I've never needed hats and gloves on the glacier landings.