Alaska Seaplanes: Beautiful Flightseeing and Transportation from Juneau

Juneau is such a fun and beautiful place to visit, so getting to enjoy an adventure with Alaska Seaplanes is just the cherry on top. Leaving from the Juneau Floatplane Airport (NOT from downtown), Alaska Seaplanes offers both flightseeing and transportation to other parts of Southeast Alaska. We’ve got ideas for how to add a quintessential seaplane experience to your trip as well as tips for making it the best experience possible.

I know that flying in small planes and helicopters may be a scary experience for a lot of people, but if you can brave it, you’ll love the views and maybe even conquer your fear of flying. Alaska Seaplanes are a fun way to see Juneau and Southeast Alaska from a different point of view, so if you have any questions about it, please leave a comment or send us a note. We’re always happy to share more and help you plan a great time exploring the 49th State.

Why Do Flightseeing with Alaska Seaplanes

Flightseeing is such a treat to get to experience, especially out of Juneau where the landscapes are simply epic. Alaska Seaplanes leaves from the Juneau airport float plane pond and then soars over the city and surrounding area to a variety of destinations. It’s gorgeous and unforgettable! Flightseeing in Alaska never disappoints so if you can find it in your schedule and budget, you’ll be glad you did.

When you start in Juneau with Alaska Seaplanes you’ll be immediately taking in the epic views from the sky, including seeing the famous Mendenhall Glacier, no matter the direction you’re heading (usually). You’ll find that the flight options, whether you’re doing an exciting wildlife adventure or if you’re using the flight as planned transportation between destinations, you can really get a better understanding of the surroundings and layout of the iconic sights of Juneau and the Inside Passage. I know I always am a bit taken aback when I start to understand that layout of a place by seeing it from the air. I love that aspect of flightseeing.

Alaska Seaplanes isn’t just for flightseeing though, as they also provide commuter services all through Southeast Alaska. Getting from town to town on the Inside Passage can be costly and time consuming, so if you’re already going to be spending a pretty penny, you might as well make it a pretty flight and also save a lot of time. There’s the old saying of “you can get someplace fast and cheap, but it won’t be classy. Classy and cheap, but it won’t be fast. Or classy and fast, but it won’t be cheap.” That’s just it with seaplane travel, but I feel that with the beautiful views, time saving, and overall experience seaplane travel does offer some of the best value for the price. Especially when it’s from Juneau where you have mountains and glaciers all around.

Tips for a Great Alaska Seaplanes Trip

If you haven’t flown on a seaplane before, don’t worry, it’s much less nerve wracking than you might expect. I actually much prefer a seaplane flight over a helicopter flight, without question. I feel that the turbulence seems to be less dramatic, the changes in flight path less stressful, and the landings are an absolute breeze. I love it, and so do our kids.

For a first-timer, keep in mind that Alaska Seaplanes are propeller planes, so they are pretty loud when you’re flying. Ear plugs are provided and they do really help, but even with them you’ll still hear the engine quite loudly. While bringing excess items or luggage is discouraged, if you know you need heavy duty ear coverings or noise cancelling headphones, bring them and let the crew know.

When you’re flying, you’ll want to take pictures, even if you’re using Alaska Seaplanes as a transportation option from Juneau to Ketchikan or Gustavus or somewhere else. Yes, do it! You’ll not be successful using a large telephoto lens from a seaplane due to the windows, but a camera phone or a nice camera with a lens going up to 200mm will work well. I find that even just extending a lens as far as to the 250mm mark isn’t useful due to the windows and the air currents impacting the clarity of the images. Enjoy the flight as much as you can with just your eyes, but keep your camera at the ready because you never know what you’ll see.

Being Prepared for Alaska Seaplanes

When you’re planning your trip with Alaska Seaplanes, what you can bring will vary based on the type of flight you’re doing. There are different weight allowances for flightseeing vs transportation. The general rule of thumb is to bring as little luggage as possible, and to keep your backpack as light as possible. For flight seeing, keep it chill and try to bring just what you need on your person (coat and camera). We went with Alaska Seaplanes for flightseeing and packrafting, so we each had a small dry bag with us with hats and snacks and such, so small baggage like that just sat with each of us.

If you’re using Alaska Seaplanes as transportation and have checked baggage, up to 50 pounds is allowed and then there are extra baggage fees beyond that. Also, if you have “excess baggage” it may actually travel to your final destination separate of you. When you book your travel, they’ll review the baggage policies with you to make sure everything makes sense. Summertime travel in Alaska can be an easy

Alaska Seaplanes Transportation Destinations

Flying from Juneau, Alaska Seaplanes actually does commuter flights all throughout Southeast Alaska. If you don’t have the time to do the Alaska Marine Highway but want to visit some of the more remote towns in Southeast Alaska, these small commuter flights are a great option, and sometimes the price can be just right. Here are the destinations you can get to from Juneau with Alaska Seaplanes:

• Ketchikan – very popular cruise port and home to Saxman Native Village, Totem Bight State Park and more
• Sitka – quiet, beautiful and a hub of Tlingit culture
• Skagway – famous cruise port with a beautiful town
• Haines – awesome destination for wildlife and scenery, including Chilkat and Chilkoot State Parks
• Gustavus / Glacier Bay NP – West of Juneau
• Hoonah / Icy Strait – West of Juneau on Chichagof Island, known for being a cruise destination
• Tenakee Springs – West of Juneau on Chichagof Island
• Angoon – South of Juneau on Admiralty Island
• Pelican – far West side of Chichagof Island
• Elfin Cover – Northern point of Chichagof Island
• Kake and Klawock – smaller communities and destinations for fishing

What Flightseeing Tours do Alaska Seaplanes Offer?

I mentioned that we did a flightseeing packraft adventure with Alaska Seaplanes that was amazing. We booked this one through Above and Beyond AK, but you can book a different one than we’ve written about directly through Alaska Seaplanes. Pack rafting is really fun and where they fly to is absolutely gorgeous, with amazing scenery and the coolest glacier.

Alaska Seaplanes also offers two different bear viewing tours to different locations. When you’re planning your trip, ask questions about the difference in bear tours so you can figure out what’s best for your group. Flightseeing for bear experiences is amazing and I will always say yes when I’m asked if I’m interested.