This was an incredible experience! Last year we went to Alaska and when we were at Denali, we went on a helicopter and landed on a glacier. I couldn’t get out because of knee issues because the first step was 2-3 feet high. This year we took our grandson to Alaska (his choice) for his high school graduation gift. After reviewing several options, I chose the small airplane flight to land on a glacier this year - the “Southside Explorer with Glacier Landing” tour.
I talked to Kayla several times when I was deciding on the best Glacier Landing tour and she was very helpful and answered a lot of questions. She assured me that there were stairs and I could get off and back on the airplane at the glacier. She was absolutely right!! I was so excited to get on the glacier. The glacier we landed on this year was much different than the one the helicopter landed on last year. This was a beautiful glacier with lots of snow on it, instead of ice on the glacier we landed on last year for 10 minutes from the helicopter. This year we got to play in the snow for 20 minutes and take awesome pictures of the glacier and mountains all around us. The windows on the airplane were extra large so you could see so much and get great pictures too because there were a special plastic. Last year we just flew to the glacier and back and saw what we could. On the airplane this year, we flew through Denali Park around the mountains and glaciers on the way to the glacier landing and back. It was a beautiful scenic flight. The entire tour was about 1 hr 30 minutes.
Everyone was so helpful and nice - including Kayla and the others at the desk where you check in, the people that help you get your glacier boots, the lady that kept everyone in order while waiting for our airplane, the guy that filled up the planes, the pilots that also provide information during the flight, and everyone else that helped in any way was just super nice! They all did everything they could to make you comfortable and make it a great experience!
The other thing that said a lot about their business was their cancellation policy. They allow you to cancel at anytime, with a full refund, because they understand the “uncertainty of the issues facing us in the world today”. Our flight was cancelled for 8:30 am due to fog. The pilots made the call on whether they felt it was safe. They were able to reschedule us for 1:00 pm that afternoon. When we checked in for the 1:00 flight, they talked to the group scheduled for that time and told us that the pilots weren’t sure if we would be able to land on the glacier because of the fog and questionable flight conditions. They followed it up by telling us if we couldn’t land we would receive a partial refund. We didn’t even have to ask! It was clear that they were very thoughtful and considerate of the people that chose to fly with them. That meant a lot to me!!
I can highly recommend Talkeetna Air Taxi as a great choice for flight viewing Denali National Park and landing on a glacier! My husband agreed that this was much better than the helicopter tour the year before and our 18 year old grandson loved it!!