A Juneau helicopter tour takes you from the airport to standing on a glacier in about 15 minutes. You lift off, cross the Tongass National Forest, climb over the Juneau Icefield, and set down on Herbert Glacier. The pilot shuts down, and you step out onto the ice.
That glacier landing is the reason to book. You put on boots and spend 20 to 25 minutes on the ice with the pilot as your guide, walking among moulins and crevasses.
What a Juneau glacier landing tour is like
The flight out is about 15 minutes over Tongass National Forest and the Juneau Icefield, and the flight back is about the same. Altogether you get about 55 minutes in the air and on the ice, and about two and a half hours once transport is counted.
The time on Herbert Glacier is the main event, not a quick photo stop: 20 to 25 minutes on the shared flight and 25 minutes on the private one. It is a walk on the glacier with your pilot; there is no dogsledding on these tours.
Shared or private: choosing your Juneau helicopter tour
Both tours on the Juneau hub fly with Coastal Helicopters and land on the same glacier. The difference is who is in the helicopter with you. The shared flight starts at USD 429 per person.
- Juneau Helicopter Glacier Landing Tour — from USD 429 per person, shared, six standard seats per helicopter. About 15 minutes each way and 20–25 minutes on Herbert Glacier. Groups larger than six are split across helicopters and meet on the glacier. Pick it for the glacier landing at the per-person price.
- Juneau Private Helicopter Glacier Landing Tour (up to 6) — from USD 3,140 per group. Your own helicopter for up to six, a private landing on Herbert Glacier with 25 minutes on the ice, a private van, and a Nalgene bottle. Weight and balance can change how many of the six seats you can actually fill. Pick it if your group wants the helicopter and the ice to yourselves.
It is the same glacier either way. On the private tour you pay for your own helicopter and landing, not for a different place.
Before you go
- Season: tours run seasonally, typically late April through early October. Weather on the icefield can cancel a slot and cruise days are tight, so book ahead. Live dates show when you book.
- Where: Coastal Helicopters, 8995 Yandukin Drive, Juneau, AK 99801, the brown and green hangar next to Juneau International Airport with the blue Coastal Helicopters sign. Check in at the main office.
- Cruise guests: the listed tour time is your pickup at the Goldbelt Mt. Roberts Tram building, 490 S. Franklin Street (the red gondolas). You do not ride the tram. Allow a 45-minute buffer on your ship’s arrival and departure times.
- Hotel pickup: some tickets include pickup from listed hotels. Follow your confirmation.
- Weight: everyone is weighed at the hangar, dressed, including boots. On shared flights a plus seat (about USD 150 extra) applies around 260–299 lbs, and 300 lbs or more needs a second seat. Under-reporting can cancel you with no refund.
- Children: all ages can fly, but every passenger, including infants, needs their own paid seat. There are no lap children.
- Cancellation: currently free up to 3 days before departure. No-shows and changes inside that window are charged in full. If weather cancels, or your ship is late or misses the port, you are rebooked or refunded as shown when you book.
Arriving on a cruise and not sure the timing works with your ship? Email us at hello@flyovertheworld.com and we’ll help you check before you book.