Guide · Port day

Juneau helicopter excursions on a cruise day

Juneau helicopter excursions fit neatly into a port call if you plan the margins. Here is where pickups happen, how long the flights take, the buffer the operators ask for and a plan for gray days.

Check availabilityfrom $429 · no cancellation fee

Editorial team, juneau-helicopter-tours.comUpdated October 17, 2026read in 6 minutes18 sources

The tour this guide is about Juneau helicopter glacier landing tour 4.9 (49 reviews) 2.5 hoursAbout 25 minutes on Herbert GlacierPickup from your ship or hotel from$429per person Check availabilityFree cancellation until 3 days before start

Port day in brief

01Pickup: The landing tour sold here picks up at the cruise terminal or hotels near the airport.
02Total time: 2.5 hours from pickup to drop-off, from $429.
03Buffer: Coastal asks for 45 minutes after your ship docks and before it leaves.¹
04Cancel: Free cancellation up to 3 days ahead.
05Bad weather: Decisions often come within an hour of departure.²

Fitting a flight into a port call

A day in Juneau on a cruise is long enough for a glacier flight and a walk around town, if you plan the margins. Juneau helicopter excursions are short in the air but need time on the ground: a van to the heliport, a safety briefing, the flight, the time on the ice and the ride back. On the landing tour sold on this site, all of that adds up to 2.5 hours.

The listing breaks the outing down as about 15 minutes by van to Juneau International Airport, about 45 minutes of safety briefing, about 15 minutes of flying each way, 25 minutes on Herbert Glacier and about 15 minutes back by van. The flight itself is only a short part of the outing, which is worth knowing when you look at your ship's times.

The other variable is the weather. Juneau lies in a temperate rainforest, and many tours fly in the rain.³ Low cloud is another matter: flights wait for it to lift or are cancelled, and the call can come late. TEMSCO, for one, usually decides within an hour of departure.² Build your day so that a delay costs you nothing more than a slower lunch.

A port day, in order

From gangway to glacier and back

Docking

Leave a margin

Coastal asks for 45 minutes after the ship arrives.¹
Pickup

Van to the airport

About 15 minutes from the pickup point.
Briefing

Safety first

About 45 minutes at Juneau International Airport.
The flight

Out and back

About 15 minutes each way and 25 minutes on Herbert Glacier.
Back aboard

Keep a buffer

Finish at least 45 minutes before the ship leaves.¹

Where the pickups happen

Pickup is included on the landing tour sold here, from the cruise ship terminal or from hotels near the airport. The pickup points named in the listing include the Goldbelt Tram building near the docks, Juneau International Airport, Statter Harbor and several hotels, with the Coastal Helicopters base itself among them.

Coastal Helicopters, which runs that tour, asks cruise passengers to leave a buffer of 45 minutes after the ship arrives and before it leaves.¹ Other operators set their own margins. NorthStar asks guests to book at least one hour after the ship's arrival and to finish no less than 45 minutes before departure.⁴

Floatplanes work differently. Wings Airways flies from the downtown seaplane base and is based in the blue Merchants Wharf at the head of the harbor, so you check in on the waterfront rather than driving to the airport.⁵ Its 5-glacier flight lasts 40 minutes, from $383.

Side by side

Excursions that fit a port day

Excursion	Leaves from	Total time	Price
Glacier landing	Pickup to the airport	2.5 hrs	from $429
5-glacier floatplane	Downtown seaplane base	40 min	from $383
Taku Lodge flight and meal	Downtown seaplane base	3 hrs	from $532
Dog camp flight	Pickup to the airport	3 hrs	from $709
Dog camp and glacier walk	Pickup included	3.5 hrs	from $839

Lengths and starting prices from the GetYourGuide listings.

For a port day

Short, medium or long

Juneau: 5-Glacier Flightseeing Discovery by Seaplane

Shortest

Floatplane loop

From the waterfront

Price: from $383
Length: 40 min
Rating: 4.95

Find a time

Lands on ice

Glacier landing

Pickup from the terminal

Price: from $429
Length: 2.5 hrs
Rating: 4.90

Find a time

Longer day

Dog camp flight

Huskies on Herbert Glacier

Price: from $709
Length: 3 hrs
Rating: 4.65

Find a time

Decision helper

What fits your time in port?

Start from the hours you have

Floatplane loop

40 minutes from the downtown seaplane base.

Glacier landing

2.5 hours with pickup from the terminal.

Dog camp flight

3 hours, about 1 hour at the camp.

A trek, booked direct

NorthStar's trek gives 2 hours on the ice.⁶

Book with free cancellation

The landing tour can be cancelled for free up to 3 days ahead.

Please book your tour at least one hour after your ship’s arrival time. The tour should conclude no less than 45 minutes before your ship’s departure time.

NorthStar TrekkingSource 4

Booking with your cruise line or on your own

You can book a glacier flight through your cruise line or directly. If you are weighing up a Princess cruise Mendenhall Glacier helicopter tour against one you book yourself, compare three things: which glacier the helicopter lands on, how many minutes you spend on the ice, and what happens if the ship's schedule changes. The name on the brochure tells you less than those three answers.

When you book through the ship, the cruise line plans the excursion around the ship's own schedule. Booking on your own gives you the full choice of operators and terms. The landing tour sold on this site, for example, allows free cancellation up to 3 days ahead and includes pickup. Either way, give your ship's docking and departure times when you book.

Check the landing site carefully. TEMSCO and NorthStar land walking groups on the Mendenhall itself, while the tour sold here lands on Herbert Glacier.⁷ ⁸ Both are glaciers of the Juneau Icefield and both make for a memorable stop; what matters is that you know which one you are buying.

Map

From the docks to the airport to the ice

Where pickups happen downtown, where the helicopters take off and which glaciers the flights head for.

Map of Juneau from the downtown cruise docks and seaplane base to the airport and the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center — Downtown to the airport

Map of the Juneau Icefield with the Mendenhall and Herbert glaciers north of the airport and Taku Glacier Lodge to the east — The glaciers

1
Goldbelt Tram
The red Goldbelt Tram building by the downtown cruise docks, listed among the pickup points of the landing tour.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Seaplane base
Floatplane trips leave from the downtown waterfront; Wings Airways is based in the blue Merchants Wharf at the head of the harbor.⁵
In Google Maps ↗
3
Juneau International Airport
Where the landing tour holds its safety briefing and the helicopters lift off, about 15 minutes by van from the pickup points.
In Google Maps ↗
4
Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center
The road-side view of the Mendenhall, 13 miles from downtown.⁹
In Google Maps ↗
5
Mendenhall Glacier
TEMSCO and NorthStar land their walking tours on this glacier.⁷ ⁸
In Google Maps ↗
6
Herbert Glacier
The landing tour sold on this site spends about 25 minutes on this glacier.
In Google Maps ↗
7
Taku Glacier Lodge
The floatplane flight-and-meal trip lands on the Taku River here.
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Port day essentials

Before you book

Your ship's docking and all-aboard times
Dressed weight for each guest
The cancellation deadline

On the day

Ship card and phone
A warm, waterproof layer
Closed shoes, no bag

Cost calculator

The port day budget

Enter your party size and compare the totals.

Floatplane loop40 minfrom $383 Glacier landing2.5 hrsfrom $429 Taku Lodge flight3 hrsfrom $532 Dog camp flight3 hrsfrom $709

People 2

Total from$766

pp from $383

Check availabilityfree cancellation

GetYourGuide from-prices, converted with the ECB reference rate. The exact figure comes at checkout.

Video

A glacier helicopter shore excursion in Juneau

The video starts loading once you tap play.

When the weather does not cooperate

Plan for rain, because Juneau has plenty of it. July sees 13 days of 2.5 mm or more downtown, and August 15, on average.¹⁰ Rain alone is not the problem: Coastal Helicopters says many of its tours fly in the rain.³ Low cloud and flat light are what keep helicopters on the ground.

The FAA describes flat light as an optical illusion that usually comes with overcast skies and hides the shape of the terrain.¹¹ ¹² In those conditions a pilot may be able to leave a site but not return to it.¹³ Coastal Helicopters notes that in rare cases weather can hold passengers on the glacier for a while.¹⁴ That is one more reason to leave a generous buffer before your all-aboard time.

Have a plan B ready that needs no booking: a walk through downtown, the Mendenhall visitor center, where a short trail ends at a platform facing the glacier, or a whale watching cruise if seats are free.¹⁵ A grounded flight is a disappointment; a missed ship is a much bigger one.

The morning or the afternoon?

If your ship docks early, a morning flight is usually the easier fit. You leave the crowds at the docks behind, you are back in town by lunch, and if the first slot is delayed by cloud there is still time for a later one before all aboard. Leave the afternoon for downtown, the tram or a walk to the waterfront.

An afternoon flight suits ships that arrive late in the morning, or passengers who want to see town first. The light on the ice is different later in the day, and on a long summer day there is plenty of it: mid-June in Juneau has 18.2 hours of daylight.¹⁰ Just remember that the buffer before departure is fixed, so an afternoon slot leaves less room for delays.

Whatever the slot, tell the operator your ship's name and times when you book, and check the starting times listed for your date. The landing tour's listing shows its starting times when you check availability, and the right one for you is the one that leaves the widest margin at both ends of your port call.

Which excursion fits which port day

On a short call, keep it simple. A landing tour of 2.5 hours, or the 40 minute floatplane loop from the waterfront, leaves time for town. Book the earliest slot that fits, so a weather delay still leaves room.

On a long call, you can choose a bigger day. The dog camp flight to Herbert Glacier takes 3 hours, and the version with a second landing for a glacier walk takes 3.5 hours and is limited to 6 guests. The floatplane flight to Taku Glacier Lodge for a salmon meal takes about 3 hours.

If you are in town overnight, the choice opens up again, with longer walks on the ice booked directly with the operators. NorthStar's trek gives you 2 hours on the glacier, and its Extended Trek 3 hours.⁶ ¹⁶ Those need a full morning and are easier to fit into a day without a ship to catch.

Packing for a flight from the ship

Pack light: the landing tour sold here does not allow bags, backpacks, umbrellas, drones, selfie sticks or tripods on the tour. Carry what fits in your pockets and leave the rest on the ship. Wear comfortable, closed shoes; high heels, sandals and open-toed shoes are not allowed.

Dress warmly even on a mild day in port. The glacier is colder than the dock, and NorthStar tells guests to expect a drop of 10-15°F between the cruise docks and the ice.¹⁷ A warm layer, a waterproof jacket, gloves and sunglasses cover most days.

Bring your ship card and a phone, and note the operator's contact number in case of delays. Food and drinks are not included on the landing tour, and a gratuity is not either, so have something ready if your pilot made the day.

Book your seat