Best Juneau Helicopter Tours — Quick Picks
Which Juneau Helicopter Tour Is Right for You?
| Role | On the ice | Glacier | Best for | Rating | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best value | Time beside the aircraft | Juneau Icefield | The cheapest Alaskan landing here | 4.9★ | $429 | Check → |
| Most booked | Guided walk with crampons | Juneau Icefield | Moving across the ice with a guide | 4.8★ | $484 | Check → |
| Half-day combo | Landing plus airboat | Taku Glacier | Ice and river in one booking | 5.0★ | $688 | Check → |
Compare Helicopter Tours in Juneau
Prices, ratings and availability last checked: September 2026.
Top Pickfrom $484 Juneau Shore Excursion: Helicopter Tour and Guided Icefield Walk
- Flight areaJuneau Icefield, with a guided walk
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forMoving across the ice with a guide
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $429 Juneau Helicopter Glacier Landing Tour
- Flight areaJuneau Icefield, glacier landing
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe cheapest Alaskan landing here
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $688 Taku Glacier Helicopter and Airboat Adventure
- Flight areaTaku Glacier and the river below it
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forIce and airboat in one booking
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
How Much Does a Juneau Helicopter Tour Cost?
Fares start lower than Anchorage because the icefield begins minutes from the airport rather than an hour away. Everything else about Alaskan pricing applies: a short season, a landing on every flight and a weather margin the operator will not compromise.
Twenty to thirty minutes of flying over the icefield, a landing, and time on the surface — with a guided walk on the more expensive of the two.
A flight to the Taku Glacier with an airboat run on the river below it, making a half-day of the booking.
What affects the price?
A landing with a guided walk means crampons, a guide and twenty minutes moving across the ice. A plain landing is time beside the aircraft. The difference here is about $55.
Juneau's slots fill around ship arrivals. On a four-ship day the good times are gone weeks ahead; on a light day availability is easy.
Mendenhall is the close one; Taku is further south and pairs with an airboat run. Both are part of the same icefield.
May to September. Outside that, tourist flights are not sold at all.
Landing, Icefield Walk or Airboat: Which Juneau Flight?
Three flights, all landing on the same icefield, differing in what you do once you are down. Fares are from the listings on this page.
| Glacier landing | Guided icefield walk | Taku + airboat | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical Juneau fare | $429 | $484 | $688 | |
| Booking length | About 2 hours | 2 – 3 hours | Half a day | |
| On the ice | Free time beside the aircraft | Crampons and a guided walk | Landing plus a river airboat run | |
| Suits a cruise day | Yes | Yes | Only on a long port call | |
| Best for | The cheapest way onto the icefield | Actually moving across the ice | Making a half day of it |
Month-by-Month Guide
Outside the tourist season; no scenic flights sold.
No scheduled tours.
Still off-season, with the icefield at its deepest snow cover.
Pre-season; some operators begin taking May bookings.
Season opens with the first cruise ships and good snow cover on the ice.
Driest month of the season and the most reliable for actually flying.
Warm, busy and generally clear — the peak of both weather and demand.
Wetter, with more cancelled slots and heavy cruise traffic.
Wettest month of the season; autumn colour but frequent low cloud.
Season effectively over as the ships stop calling.
No scenic tours running.
No scenic tours running.
What to Expect on the Day
Check in near the airport
Operators fly from bases beside Juneau airport, a short drive or shuttle from downtown and the cruise berths.
Cruise passengers: build in the shuttle time both ways, and take an early slot rather than the last one before all-aboard.Weigh-in and boots
Passengers are weighed, and glacier boots are issued for landings that involve walking.
Wear thick socks — the loaner boots are sized generously.Safety briefing
Rotor safety, boarding order, and how to move around the aircraft once it is shut down on ice.
Crevasse fields are close to some landing sites; stay inside the marked area the guide sets out.The flight
Up the valley behind Juneau onto the icefield, over crevasse fields and blue meltwater pools, then down onto a snow-covered landing site.
The blue pools photograph better on an overcast day than in direct sun.Time on the ice
Twenty to thirty minutes on the surface, either free time beside the aircraft or a guided walk on crampons.
It is a working icefield: meltwater channels move and the landing zone changes through the season.What to Bring (and What to Leave at Home)
✓ Bring
- Warm layers — the icefield is far colder than the port
- Waterproof outer layer; low cloud here usually means drizzle
- Thick socks for the loaner glacier boots
- Sunglasses for the glare off snow
- Your booking voucher and photo ID
- Gloves, even in July
✗ Leave behind
- Loose hats and scarves near the aircraft
- Smooth-soled shoes for an ice landing
- Large bags — cabin space is minimal
- Drones, restricted over the icefield
- Selfie sticks, banned in the cabin
Where Flights Depart From
| Heliport / Base | Details | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Juneau airport bases | All flights on this page | Both cruise passengers and independent travellers |
| Cruise berth shuttles | Shore-excursion flights with transfer included | Ship passengers on a fixed clock |
How to Choose a Helicopter Operator
What good operators do
- Publish a clear weather policy, because in Juneau it matters more than anywhere else in this guide.
- Supply glacier boots and crampons for walks rather than expecting your own footwear.
- State whether the landing includes a guided walk or free time beside the aircraft.
- Warn cruise passengers about realistic timing rather than selling the last slot before departure.
- Refund weather cancellations in full.
Red flags to avoid
- Selling a slot that leaves no margin before a ship's all-aboard time.
- Landing photos taken in June on a listing sold through September.
- No mention of the icefield walk being an upgrade rather than standard.
- Weather cancellations issued as onboard credit rather than refunded.
What You Fly Over in Juneau
The landmarks and flight corridors these tours actually cross, and what each one looks like from the air.
The Juneau Icefield
Where you land3,900 square kilometres of ice feeding around forty glaciers, sitting behind the city and invisible from it.
Mendenhall Glacier
Most routesThe glacier that ends in a lake a short drive from downtown, seen from above rather than from the crowded viewpoint.
Taku Glacier
Combination flightsSouth of the city and one of the icefield's largest outlets, paired with an airboat run on the river below it.
Crevasse fields and blue pools
On every flightThe surface features that make an icefield flight worth doing: meltwater pools in vivid blue and crevasse patterns running for kilometres.
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