We took the Juneau Shore Excursion: Helicopter Tour and Guided Icefield Walk tour. Without even beginning to write about how spectacular this tour was, I cannot express enough how grateful I am to Coastal Helicopters for their patience and understanding. I had the start time of the tour wrong, and they patiently waited while I frantically gathered my group to join the rest of the tour. In addition, one of the members of our party developed a fever the night previous, and was unable to go on the tour. Without even asking, they generously refunded the cost of her excursion. As a side note, the parent of the child with the fever had to stay back too. He was booked on a Disney excursion that day and Disney REFUSED to refund the cost of his excursion. Why book through Disney when you can book directly through Coastal Helicopters via Viator and get superior service???.
As far as the tour, it was absolutely perfect for anyone who wants to take a spectacular helicopter ride and then explore a glacier at your own pace and at a low intensity level. I went with my two kids, ages 8 and 6. The tour operator provided all the gear needed for walking on the glacier. I felt completely safe throughout. It truly is a once in a lifetime experience. Juneau and the surrounding area are very beautiful, and seeing it from above was pretty incredible. And Ive never seen anything like glacier ice before- its worth going up there to have the experience of observing it and walking on it. The pilot basically takes a 15-20 minute route above Juneau, the mountains and the glaciers. Once you land on the glacier, you are free to roam the glacier on your own within certain distance and safety parameters.
Overall, this tour company and tour are highly recommended.
Recently took an Alaska cruise and although we loved all activities, this was by far the most memorable! The helipad crew was very helpful and our Pilot Pete was amazing! While the weather was rough, Pete was always in total control and very calm. We landed on Herbert Glacier and it felt like we had the entire glacier just to ourselves. Unbelievable experience!
This was the highlight of our holiday. An amazing experience. It would have been topped off had we had time to enjoy a sea plane trip in addition to the helicopter one. The landscape looks so different up high and to be able to walk and take pictures once we had landed on the glacier was absolutely fantastic. We did not feel that the trip was rushed in any way.