Alaska, for me, is about the adventure and nature’s beauty and when you can combine the two that’s even better. On my first visit to Alaska many years ago, I flew in a helicopter to the Mendenhall glacier to do a bit of glacier hiking (crampons, poles and helmets required) and rappelling. For this visit to Juneau, I decided to visit the Taku glacier from a different angle – via hovercraft. Yes, hovercraft with Allen Marine Tours which offers their tours through the cruise ships tour desk, in my case, Holland America Eurodam Shore Excursions (new name EXC Tours).
The four hour tour began with meeting our shuttle driver in port to transport us to the dock to board a boat ride around the forest and lake of Juneau. With multiple tours that day, the one hour cloud covered ride was full of information as we all hoped the rain would go away.
When we reached The Glacier boat near the glacier, we disembarked and received instruction while we waited for the hovercrafts to return from an earlier tour. Our boat of 23 was divided into three groups (generally eight people on each hovercraft, as I was solo, there was only seven passengers) and lined up outside ready to board our hovercraft after the passengers disembarked them and came on board. We were offered boots to wear (tip: put them on!), offered snacks and given the opportunity to use the bathroom before our hovercraft adventure began. As a solo traveler, I was able to sit up front across from the driver and we had three couples onboard. We were given a quick overview of the boat and told to put on our headsets to communicate. And then the boat rose up and began floating on top of the shallow water (the hover part) as we glided quickly across the water toward the sand along the shoreline. With his StarWars bobblehead, we were off to a great start! Our driver was one of many who travel the world during the seasons (what a life!) – he was in Alaska for the summer season.
I’ve sailed and experienced many types of boats and watercrafts over the years but this was definitely a different type of experience – it was so much fun (and loud, hence the headsets).
Visiting Taku Glacier by Hovercraft
We would come to rest in the sands on the shore and exit once the other hovercrafts had landed and safely settled – it was pretty cool to see that – they slide in and over the sand and then sink into the sand. The first thing I noticed was the quiet – out in the middle of Alaska it was stillness and quiet and frankly wonderful. For anyone visiting Alaska for the first time, this was the perfect experience – the scenery, the glacier, the stillness, the quiet.
Our driver/guide would walk us around the glacier area to show us different parts. It could have been a scene from a movie as explorers land on the unfamiliar shores to go wander about. We hiked a bit uphill (wear good shoes) and then the three groups walked through the waters (one girl carried her mother who didn’t wear boots).
As for me, I was bootless in my hiking shoes so I had to stay on the one side of the glacier because the water was a bit too deep (and cold) for me to walk through (and no one could carry me across). No worries about this as I was left with my side of nature to explore all to myself plus they didn’t walk too far as my telephoto lens could capture the same views from afar. As the Taku Glacier is advancing (moving ever so slightly), you could see the white/blue colors of the glacier as well as the darker parts.
When the groups reconvened we trekked back to the sands and our hovercrafts to make our way back (time passed too quickly).
The ride back to the sightseeing boat –
On the way back we diverted a bit as the driver spotted brown bears in the distance, he got as close as he could (still far away) and we just stared at our first bear sighting.
As we made it back to the transfer boat, we were all a bit sad that the adventure was over but it was a special day in Alaska. The staff had local snacks waiting for us to enjoy on the ride back to the Juneau dock.
The tour was one of the shorter offerings and offered multiple times during the port day so many could experience it. With only three hovercrafts, the adventure is limited which is nice so that you aren’t competing with so many other boats or cruise passengers and overwhelmed. The other plus was that the weather can be iffy and this tour doesn’t depend on helicopters or weather – it can go in most weather conditions (unlike the planes and helicopters). The last thing you want to do is come to Alaska and get grounded due to weather – the boat to hovercraft tour was a fun adventure that all can enjoy in my opinion.
The cost was $339.95 via the ship tour on Holland America Eurodam (Alaska isn’t cheap and few seem to tell you that!). This tour was offered in summer 2017, hopefully enough people loved it so that it becomes a regular tour offering. I tipped the Hovercraft driver directly and then tipped the guide boat staff as well (they have a tip jar).