On your first seaplane tour you start at a dock, not at an airport gate. You walk down to the water, climb into a small aircraft on floats, and take off across the harbour. If you are wondering what to expect on a first seaplane tour, this guide covers the dock, the take-off, the view and the rules on our listings.
Seaplanes give you long, open views of coastlines, fjords and city harbours. On Fly Over The World you can fly them from Vancouver, Victoria, Bergen, San Francisco and Whistler.
Where seaplane tours leave from
Seaplanes use water as their runway, so you meet close to town on a harbour or a lake:
- Vancouver: the downtown seaplane terminal at Coal Harbour. Arrive about 40 minutes early, with ID if you are 18 or older.
- Victoria: the seaplane terminal at 950 Wharf Street on the Victoria Inner Harbour, steps from downtown. Check in 40 minutes before and be fully checked in 20 minutes before departure, or the seat may be released.
- Bergen: the Sandviken seaplane base, with a harbour take-off.
- San Francisco: Commodore Seaplane & Heliport in Mill Valley, on Richardson Bay near Sausalito. Check in 30 minutes before, with photo ID if you are 18 or older.
- Whistler: the Green Lake floatplane dock at Nicklaus North. This is not the heliport where Whistler’s helicopter tours start.
Boarding from the dock
The crew walks you down the dock and helps you step onto the float and into the cabin. Docks and floats can be wet, so wear flat shoes with good grip and keep your hands free. Carry as little as possible. Victoria offers free luggage storage at the terminal during the flight, and the Whistler seaplane listing notes a baggage allowance of about 25 lb.
The take-off run on the water
Once everyone is belted in, the pilot taxis away from the dock and lines up on open water. Then the engine gets louder, the aircraft speeds up across the surface and spray comes off the floats. It feels like a fast boat ride until the floats lift clear and you are climbing over the harbour. The landing is the same in reverse: you settle back onto the water, slow down and taxi to the dock.
What you see from the window
A seaplane flies forward and covers distance, so you get wide views of the coastline, islands and mountains instead of a hover over one spot. On the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge Seaplane (30 min), everyone gets a window seat. On many small floatplanes the wing sits above the cabin, which leaves the view down open.
What you see depends on where you fly:
- Vancouver: Stanley Park, English Bay and the Lions Gate Bridge, and Howe Sound on the longer flight.
- Victoria: the Inner Harbour, the coastline and the Olympic Mountains on clear days.
- San Francisco: the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Angel Island and Muir Woods.
- Bergen: the city harbour and fjords, and on longer flights the Hardangerfjord, the Folgefonna glacier and Trolltunga, about 700 metres above the water.
- Whistler: glacier and volcanic country from Green Lake, where you may see Black Tusk.
Weather and routing decide which named sights you see on the day.
Weight, age and size rules on seaplane listings
Seaplanes are small aircraft, so weight still matters. On the San Francisco seaplane listings, you are weighed at check-in, the limit is 260 lb / 118 kg with an extra seat if you are over, and there are no seat-belt extensions on board. The Bergen flights use a Cessna 206 with four passenger seats, a maximum of 120 kg per passenger and 340 kg in total per flight. No passenger weight limit is stated on the Vancouver panorama listings or on the Victoria listing, so follow the check-in guidance.
For children, Bergen takes ages 2 and up. On the San Francisco seaplanes, infants under 3 may sit on a paying adult’s lap. On the Vancouver classic panorama flights, infants sit on an adult’s lap and there is no hard minimum age.
Weather and water conditions
A seaplane needs suitable weather in the air and on the water, so wind, cloud and rough conditions can change a route or cancel a flight. In Vancouver and Victoria, cancellations for weather typically come with another date or a refund. In Bergen, you get a full refund if the flight is cancelled for weather. All five seaplane hubs currently offer a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before.
A short harbour flight or a long fjord route?
For a first flight, a short scenic flight is an easy start. For the big landscapes, go longer:
- Vancouver Classic Panorama 20-Minute Seaplane Tour, from CAD 189 per person. About 30 minutes in total.
- Vancouver Howe Sound Extended 35-Minute Seaplane Tour, from CAD 311 per person. About 45 minutes in total.
- Victoria Panorama 30-Minute Seaplane Tour, from CAD 216 per person. The 30 minutes include boarding and landing.
- Whistler Glacier Spectacular 30-Minute Seaplane Tour, from CAD 290 per person.
- San Francisco Greater Bay Area Seaplane (45 min), from USD 376, or the private San Francisco Sunset Champagne Seaplane (40 min) for two, from USD 379.
- Bergen Fjord and Mountain 35-Minute Seaplane Tour, from NOK 3,184 per person, or the Bergen Hardangerfjord and Folgefonna Glacier 60-Minute Seaplane Tour, from NOK 4,650 per person.
You can also make the seaplane part of a day out. The Vancouver to Victoria Seaplane and Ferry Day Trip flies you one way and brings you back by bus and ferry, in about 9–11 hours.
Seaplane or helicopter?
A seaplane suits you if you want long views over water and coast, and the take-off and landing on the water. A helicopter can hover and, on some tours, land on a mountain or glacier. In Whistler and San Francisco you can choose either. If you go for a helicopter, read Your First Helicopter Flight: What to Think About.
Questions about your first seaplane tour? Email us at hello@flyovertheworld.com and we’ll help.