Traitors Cove Bear Viewing | 4 hours 15 minutes

38 Reviews | Ketchikan
From $525.00 per person Lowest Price Guarantee
Select Date and Travelers
You can select up to 12 travelers in total.
Adult (19-99) Minimum: 1, Maximum: 12
2
Child (2-18) Minimum: 0, Maximum: 12
0
Infant (0-1) Minimum: 0, Maximum: 12
0
Non Refundable All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Traitors CoveBear Viewing Tour
2 Adults x $525.00
$1,050.00
Approx Total
$1,050.00
Pickup included

Inclusions / Exclusions

  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English
  • We operate well maintained six-passenger DeHavilland Beaver floatplanes
  • Guaranteed window seats for all passengers
  • Voice activated, noise cancelling headset for each passenger
  • Interactive narration with your Pilot
  • Pick-up and drop-off by Island WIngs van from the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau on Cruise Ship Berth 2
  • US Forest Service Special Use Permit for Bear Viewing within Tongss National Forest
  • All inclusive tour
  • No food or beverages, except bottled water, allowed on the flight
  • Gratuities

Overview

Island Wings Air Service is owned and operated by Alaska veteran pilot Michelle Masden, who started flying in 1977 and began her business in Ketchikan in 1993. Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Share our love of flying through our vast Alaskan wilderness. Experience the freedom of flight over the wild grandeur of the mountains, the islands and the endless sea. In business since 1993, Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Our focus is the quality of your experience. From the handling of your reservation, to the equipment we operate, to the places we visit; we don't compromise and neither should you. The total time for this tour is 4.25 hours including: the flight, three hours onsite at Traitors Cove Bear Viewing Observatory, and fifteen minutes for the pick-up and drop-off.

Pickup points

Ketchikan Alaska

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Pickup details

The pick-up and drop-off location is at the Liquid Sunshine Gauge located outside of the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau building in Cruise Berth #2. Tour times vary daily with cruise ship schedules. Please contact us directly for tour pick up time. ... Read more â–Ľ

Itinerary

  • Tongass National Forest

    Between July20th and September 30th you can visit the bear viewing observatory at Traitors Cove. Fly by floatplane along the beautiful waterways of the lush Tongass National Forest across Revillagegedo island to a US Forest Service maintained trail and the Margarete Creek Bear Viewing platform. Bears can be seen plunging into the rushing water to retrieve their meals of wiggling salmon. This is a perfect opportunity to photograph Alaska's real fisherman in action! In addition to bears feeding, you will also see bald eagles picking over the scraps left by the bears and of course, the real stars of the show, the salmon as they battle their way upstream to spawn. Your journey will be accompanied by the Island Wings bear guide who will provide information about the flora and fauna along the way. Combine a short hike, beautiful scenery and a magnificent wildlife experience in one trip. This is a four hour tour that includes a floatplane flight, a one mile drive by van on a US Forest Service road and a short hike along a boardwalk trail to the viewing platform. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring plenty of camera batteries! The US Forest Service restricts access to Margarete Observatory by permit. As a result, only small numbers of people have the opportunity to visit this beautiful site, so book early! The four hour Traitors Cove bear viewing tour includes: a thirty minute flight each way and three hours at Traitors Cove. All tours include complimentary ground transportation to and from our dock which adds fifteen minutes to the beginning and the end of your tour. For this four hour tour you will need to budget four and a half hours total time. Season: July 20th through September 30th.

    3 hours

Sample Menu

Additional Info

  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Please wear layered clothing and comfortable walking shoes.
  • All passengers MUST provide us a contact phone number when booking or call us at (907) 225-2444 to confirm a tour time.
  • Passengers travelling via cruise ship MUST provide their cruise ship name to us so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Non Refundable

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews

4.7

38 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
  • 5 stars
    34
  • 4 stars
    0
  • 3 stars
    2
  • 2 stars
    1
  • 1 star
    1

Reviews by TravelOne travelers

Showing 1-5 of 34 reviews with 5 stars

Magically Day Ended with an Eagle Flying Overhead! Doesn't Get Much Better!

Published on Oct, 2024

This trip was above and beyond what my husband and I had hoped for! Two of his three Bucket List items on this Alaskan adventure were 1) flying in a float plane and 2) seeing bears feed in the wild. Boy did this tour deliver! (btw a glacier calving was #3-CHECK!) Although I was not looking forward to the plane ride, pilot Adam talked me through it (it's so much smoother than a big jet!) Our forest guide (I wish I remembered his name-he was incredible!) pointed out so many things and gave us so much info in the stunning Tongass Forest. The short hike (walk, really) is just beautiful, pictures don't do it justice. There was already a young male bear feeding when we arrived at the platform and for the next 3 hours it was a revolving door of bears! A precious mama and her two cubs, solo males coming and going-I never wanted to leave. Absolutely magical. Loved how the guides from all the tours work together to spot things for everyone on the viewing platform. Glad our tour stayed for so long. Some were just there for 45 minutes or so.

Amazing adventure!

Published on Sep, 2024

The Marty Party definitely had an adventure of a lifetime today. Can I just say that Mother Nature was fully awake and cooperating for our tour in Ketchikan. The sky was a beautiful blue with no rain which is a rarity we’ve heard for that area of Alaska. We met Jake right after we arrived on our Disney Cruise at the visitor center which is a very short walk from the boat. From there he took my husband and I to the Island Wings office by van where we met Adam our pilot. We were the only passengers that day for the Traitors Cove bear tour. This was our first time in a seaplane and I must admit I didn’t feel the take off or landing at all. The plane can seat 6 persons. We’ve traveled all over the world and Adam was an excellent pilot. He has headphones equipped with microphones we wear to communicate. Jake was our tour guide and sat by me on the plane ride. We spotted a humpback whale from the plane as we flew to the forest service area. Next up, Jake took us in a van on the island to our next destination. There’s a small outhouse you can use before you make the short walk to the Traitor’s Cove platform. We watched for bears near the path as we walked since it is their natural habitat, We waited around the overlook platform for around an hour and then a momma bear and cub were spotted. Later, a large male bear came out to catch salmon in the stream. It was amazing. Even if we didn’t see a bear it would have been an extra special day because of the experience and the info that Adam and Jake gave us on the area. On the flight back, Adam pointed out mountain goats and beautiful sights from the air. We had an aerial view of the cruise ship in port and enjoyed several rainbows from the window. Overall, this was a 10/10 experience for us. Jake even gave us an excellent restaurant recommendation in town for dinner before we boarded the ship to leave. Thanks so much! We loved our adventure!

Amaizing tour

Published on Sep, 2024

Incredible Experience Michelle was really good pilot. We were kinndda scared about the flight but it was smooth ride and the bears sightseen was amazing we were lucky to see 4 bears and 2 cubs. I really recommend this tour.

BEST Tour EVER!! Go to see the bears and experience a float plane.

Published on Aug, 2024

We were on an Alaskan cruise and decided to book a tour outside of the CruiseLine excursions list with Island Wings based on the reviews on Trip Advisor. The reviews are spot on Island Wings was incredible, their communication, easy of booking, staff, pick up/drop off and the entire experience was EPIC. We were a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids 9,11,14). I was a little nervous about a float plane, never having been on one, but within minutes of getting up in the air, our jaws dropped. Michelle, the pilot, was extremely kind and reassured us we would love it...and boy was she right!!! The scenery, pilot, take off and landing, were smoother than most commercial flights I've been on. In addition, the view out of the float plane was something you couldn't even dream of on your own. The water, mountains, and greenery of the trees, simply spectacular. We were blown away by traitors cove. It wasn't crowded and we saw so many groups come and go with other excursion tours. We were beyond thrilled that our tour, through Island Wings, had you bear watching for 2 hours. The time flew by, we loved every moment, so many bears and even momma's with cubs. We are hooked!!!! Our tour guide at Traitor's cover was so knowledgeable about the bears and made sure we knew when and where to look. EPIC Experience! We all agree this was the best excursion we have ever been on. We are looking forward go heading back to Ketchikan for a few more days in the future and will definitely schedule another trip with Island Wings. Next time we may do both the bear tour and the trip to Misty Fjords. This experience was that good!! Thank you Island Wings.

Fantastic seaplane and bear watching tour

Published on Aug, 2024

Excellent seaplane and bear viewing tour. Adam pilot and Jake guide were excellent. Very professional tour in all respects. Saw bears catching and eating salmon. Highly recommend

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