choosing a floatplane trip from Ketchikan
 

Well, I have been in touch with Family Air Tours, Island Wings, and Taquan Air out of Ketchikan. Dave Rocke at Family Air can give me a good deal for a combination tour of the Misty Fjords and Anan Observatory. He uses a small plane and the Anan portion of the tour is not guided. The other two operators are costly enough that I would need to choose between Anan and the Misty Fjords. Frommer's says that Michelle Madsen at Island Wings gives a wonderful - and longer than the others - Misty Fjords tour. Taquan offers longer at Anan than the others and it is guided. Any suggestions? Any good or bad experiences to relate? If you had to choose between seeing the Misty Fjords and the Anan Observatory, which would you choose? I'm making my final preparations for THIS Alaska trip...

One think you shoud consider:
Visitation to Anan is highly limited to protect the bears so book early.

I would choose an Anan tour. Misty Fjords tour sounds very interesting, but is only nice in case of sunny weather. Check with the Anan tour - for how long you can stay at the Anan Observatory (I would expect a viewing time of at least 2 hrs). The time is running away and bears are no house animals and you never know, when they will appear and when not.

We book w/Island Wings and had a fantastic flight. Michelle has new windows in her plane so our pictures turned out really good and she knows her stuff.

We really enjoyed her commentary and felt she was a safe pilot. We even get Christmas cards from her.

I know you didn't ask but I'll throw in my 2¢ . . . we also took a helicopter trip to a glacier (in Juneau) and were disappointed . . . it wasn't nearly as much fun as the float plane.

Have a great trip,
Sandy (in Denton)

Definately Anan is the top choice here in my opinion, having GONE on both tours. I would go with the longest time at Anan. Guiding isn't necessary. AND I'll assume you are going peak season? One thing I strongly consider when I book these costly trips is to have peak viewing. It can be a big waste of money going on the shoulder season with unpredictabilty.

Thank you for the input. I'd be going July 31, which I understand is peak...

Does anyone have any experince at Anan in early July? We'll be in Ketchikan on July 9th and the kids would love to go bear watching. Anan looks like the most scenic location.

Don't even consider Anan before the end of July, if you want to see bears. Peak is August.

You can find more information regarding bear-viewing site and required permits

for Anan

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/rec...servatory.html

for Pack Creek

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/dis.../packhome.html

This site has been extremely useful. Thanks for all of the help. Is there any known bear watching opportunities in early/mid July (Admiralty Island, POW, Hyder)??

Regarding post above, I should preface by stating I will and Juneau and Ketchikan with cruise so not a lot o choices.

Your only option for Inside Passage bear watching tours that early will be Pack Creek. Very limited permits, go with Alaska fly N Fish. Don't even consider any trip that does not land and allow you to get to the platforms.

http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index...wing.packcreek