Fly Katmai — Local services in Alaska

I was honestly disappointed and frustrated with parts of this tour. According to the company’s website, we were supposed to arrive at Katmai National Park around 9:30 AM and leave between 3:00–3:30 PM. However, on the day of our tour, we didn’t arrive until 10:00 AM and were told to leave by 2:30 PM, with no explanation and no flexibility, even after we raised our concerns with the staff. There were no weather issues or other uncontrollable circumstances that would justify the shortened visit.

After a long and tiring flight, we ended up with only 4.5 hours in the park. I even asked other families in our group (about ten people in total), and not a single person had enough time to reach the famous upper platform where most people hope to view the bears. It was frustrating to travel so far and not be able to experience the main highlight of the trip.

When we returned to Anchorage, the company staff seemed in a rush to leave, which added to the overall sense that the tour was cut short without proper regard for the guests’ experience. Given the price each of us paid, I believe we deserved a tour that matched the schedule and expectations set on the...

This was quite the adventure of the lifetime. Our pilot pointed out a lot of cool features on the flight there and on the way back. He pointed out caribou, bears, other planes, and more from the sky. Taking off and landing on the water was a unique experience and great. We arrived earlier than most other guests due to fog over which meant that we had a good view of the bears feeding before they even set a time on us. This was a phenomenal sight to see so many bears up close and some even walking right under us. The bears catching the fish as they jumped up stream was amazing. Once we our time was up, we put our name back on the list and went to view the bears again for another 30 minutes. This was just as unique as the first time. Afterwards, we headed to the lodge for food. The buffet was mediocre at best but given the location, it's understandable. At least we were able to fill our bellies. This was such an amazing experience and I highly recommend for anyone just doing a day trip. It would have been nice to stay longer if we were picked for...

Pro: This company has some great guys working for it. Everyone was so nice. They went out several hours later when others canceled which showed they cared out their customers. con: they have 2 experience that are fairly different that cost the same. If you book later, you will not get the float plane the whole way but a twin engine and then float plane to the park. This takes an extra hour to get to the park and an extra hour to get home. This seemed very unfair for us who were on the twin engine than float plane as we got cut a whole hour off our time in the park. This really reduced the enjoyment of our experience as we only has about 2.5 hours in the park which was not enough and we’re rushed the entire time. For the money I spent, this was not the experience I was hoping. It would have been more fair to give each group the same time in the park by switching planes to and from. Overall, once in a lifetime experience and I would recommend this company, just book early and try to get on the...