Unbelievable day with josh! It poured rain from start to finish. Josh is a great pilot and excellent naturalist. He led us safely all up the coast and meadows for an unforgettable experience. Saw tons of bears, including sweet babies frolicking. Finn was awesome prepping us for the adventures and outfitting us with dry clothes for the drive home. Thank you for an amazing day! All of the stars!!! read more

This was a wonderful experience. We reserved the Classic Day Trip in June. From booking to checking in the day before and the early morning pre-flight was great but nothing prepares you for how incredible this experience is. We were able to walk safely around the bears on beautiful Katmai Island. We saw several bears grazing on sedge grass and one mama bear digging for clams with three cubs. The guides explained a lot about the bears and led us to the right areas to take great photos and observe from a safe distance. Not to mention the stunning ~ hour long flight to and from the island, landing on and taking off from the beach and flying over and around scenic mountains and a volcano. Highly recommend. read more

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I've heard about Alaska Bear Adventures for many years now. I've seen pictures and heard stories of encounters with the bears that at times seemed more fantasy than reality. A few years ago, I decided to add this activity to my list of "must do's" if I ever made it to Alaska. On June 13th, 2025, my "must do" became an "I did"! Words really can't describe the experience without writing a book, or at a minimum, a short story. If Disney got it right, this has become a core, golden orb memory for me, much like Riley's in "Inside Out." If you haven't seen the movie, suffice it to say that's a really good thing. The bear viewing was extraordinary, as all would hope for. Add to that the beautiful flight over and back that included scenery previously only dreamt of, and the knowledge, professionalism, and kindness of all the staff, including the orientation team and the pilots. If you ever get this opportunity, you need to strongly consider following through. Your "rest of life you" will be most appreciative. Sincerely, Larry Crump. read more

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This has to be on your bucket list when you're in Alaska. The experience was out of this world and one we will never forget. Everyone we worked with-from booking, checking in, and the visit were extremely pleasant and 5* customer service. We did the private tour and would do the same if we had to do it all over again. Words can't describe our visit to Katmai. To be with the bears in their natural habit was surreal. Ben, our pilot and guide, found us the sites and provided a great narrative and learning opportunity along the way. We have some great photos to document our way. Look no further than Alaska Bear Adventures. If you're second guessing because of the price....it was well worth it. Do this!! read more

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After a fog delay we had an amazing trip to the Katmai coast. Saw 6 bears, 4 pretty close including a mom with cubs. Our pilot/guide was fantastic and worked hard to get us close to the bears without disturbing them. Great experience and beautiful scenery. read more

We loved our trip to Katmai National Park! Our original flight on Wednesday was cancelled due to weather but they were able to get us on a flight the following day. We did the trip to Brooks falls for six hours. The pilot Shannon was awesome and Katmai is one of the most amazing places that I've ever been to. My only regret is not booking one of the longer trips! read more

A bucket list trip for me and well worth it! Highly recommend! I got to sit in the front of the plane. The views were amazing. We landed on the beach in Lake Clark National Park. While there, we walked around (since I was alone I got to be with a small group: the guide, one local high school student, and myself) and saw at least 7-8 bears total! At the end we saw one wander out on the beach to look for clams. read more

This tour is exciting and well worth the money. This is an adventure walking among Coastal Brown bears. The flight to the bears environment is glorious on a sunny day. Our pilot Zach was skilled in beach landing and take off. I was nervous at first but he did an excellent job. We were able to flight see glaciers and volcanoes. So happy with our tour! read more

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Incredible experience - the flight over was fun, our pilot/guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and the bears were amazing. We got to see a mama bear fishing with her spring cub catching flounder. We saw 12 different bears in all. We also saw bald eagles and porpoises. Oh, and lots of bay gulls. There were wolf tracks on the beach but we didn't see the wolves. I'm told they're pretty stealthy. It's a bit of a splurge but it's well worth it. read more

Alaska Bear Adventures - Mama bear, cub with lunch - Hiking Near Me - Homer, Alaska

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My friend and I decided to do this as the first day of our 6 day trip and boy was it the best possible start to our vacation. We met all the different guides before the tour and each of them was so fun & energetic! We were matched with Joe who was PERFECT. My friend and i are fairly silly and were mainly there for a good time and he was right there with us. We did the full day tour from about 7:00AM - 3:00PM(ish) - We flew to the Lake Clark National Park and had a little over an hour in the plane on the way there (with insane views). Once we landed we spent about 3 hours among the bears. We saw bears fight, mate, clam, poop, sleep, and one of them walked up about 15 feet away from us. The flight home was about the same amount of time and our guide took us over volcanos!! Truly some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. 10/10 I recommend this to anyone coming to Alaska (4.5 hours from anchorage) read more

We had a decent viewing experience with Alaska Bear Adventures. There were 4 of us, and groups are typically 5 people. I had paid extra for a private trip and was surprised when we went for our "orientation" that there were 15 other people there. I felt a little like I was part of a cattle drive being in a little room (amidst Covid). No masks were enforced, and there was no social distancing. The 4 different groups all went to their different planes but ended up flying to the same location site (when I inquired about a refund for just the surcharge I paid to have the trip be private since we didn't end up being on a private trip, I was told they put us all together for a better bear viewing opportunity and no adjustment was possible - admittedly, I wasn't thrilled about this and felt a little mislead). The next day we viewed bears with a different company -- Go See Bears, who I would highly recommend. We were in a group of 6 people - but there was only 1 group. We flew to a different site and there were bears roaming around everywhere. They suggest you don't get too close to the bears but once you see one you are interested in watching, you sit down and they come very close to you (in our case within 10-15 feet). It was truly an amazing experience. We saw several mama bears with cubs (we were close enough that my 13 yr old was able to get some great photos with her little camera). Additionally at Alaska Bear Adventures, the pilot and guide are the same. It's difficult to be an expert guide and an expert pilot. At the other company, we had a pilot and a guide, and it was clear how much more knowledgeable the other guide was (nothing against our guide at Alaska Bear Adventures, we liked him, he just didn't have the same knowledge and experience). All in all, our experience with Alaska Bears was fine. We had good bear viewing opportunities and our guide was nice. It just felt a little touristic and our experience with Go See Bears was more "one of a kind" and truly special. read more

I really do not understand how they are able to charge this amount of money for this tour when nature is so "unpredictable". You pay $700 and it's a gamble on whether or not you will see any bears. I went on this tour and was severely disappointed. We briefly saw bears at the very beginning but then spent the rest of our time chasing around the woods trying to find some. Eventually - time was up. I understand that nature is unpredictable but maybe the price should be lowered because of that factor. Sure plane tour was scenic but I would not pay $700 for that alone either. I would recommend going to a zoo instead. read more

What an epic adventure this was. From our briefing, to our pilot and tour guide Mike this was a great experience all round. We got up close and personal with the black bears, and I got some amazing photos. Two adult bears fighting over food only 3 1/2 meters away, and an inquisitive Bear cub coming within half a metre until our guide stood up and yelled to warn him off....I was in absolute awe of Mother Nature at its finest! This is a must do if you make the trip to Alaska. Totally Epic, and a lifetime of memories you will never forget! read more

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This was a trip of a lifetime! It was well worth the money spent! I had never been in a small plane before and out pilot/guide Joe made it so easy! We had the best time! From the moment that we landed we were seeing bears! It was so surreal! So hard to believe that we were walking toward the bears and not trying to get away! Joe was awesome! We were laughing the entire time. He engaged the group and made sure that we were all having the best time. The day was beautiful, we saw SO many bears and walked away with memories that will be with us forever! Thank you ABA! We will be back to see bears with you EVERY time we visit Alaska! read more

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We had a frightening experience with Alaskan bear adventures with K air. Went in bad weather, saw nothing on way over. Rain the who,e time, we were soaked and cold, camera got waterlogged and stopped working as did my iPhone with all travel info. On takeoff, plane seemed to crash into something, jolted us and went dead. Pilot said they hit "soft sand'". Maybe not wise to take trips in bad weather. Freezing and wet with no blankets. We waited over an hour and a half wet and cold for a rescue plane. Owners didn't give a hoot about us. No towel, no sorry, no refunds. And yesterday THE SAME COMPANY HAD A CRASH IN TAKEOFF INTO THE WATER!! I'd not take them if you value your life. read more

We did quite a bit of research on which company to pick for viewing bears and we are happy we chose this one. They guarantee to deliver bears and they kept that guarantee. We were asked to check in the day before for weight. We had given them our weight when we made the reservation. If you are not more than 10 pounds off you probably don't need to check in the day before. It would have been nice if that had been a little clearer as we rushed on our drive from Seward to make it there before their office closed. The day of the tour we were assigned to our pilot Martin. He was fantastic! Not only is he serious about safety, you can tell that he really loves his job and cares about the bears. His knowledge of bears and the surrounding area was amazing. We learned so much. He was very friendly and funny. His flight skills were superb. We were amazed at how smooth our take off and landing was. When you are looking down at a small strip of sand on Katmai, you wonder how a smooth landing could be possible, but he did it! During the tour the bears were so close. We saw a mama bear and her cubs along with several other adolescent and adult bears. After our bear viewing, the tour wasn't over. Martin flew us over some peaks and glaciers. The scenery was stunning. I don't think either one of us have ever been so close to mountains in a plane. The entire trip we felt very safe. If we come back to Homer and do a bear viewing trip, we will definitely use them again! read more

I will never ever forget this. So. Awesome. Our first criteria in selecting was environmental sensitivity. This outfit is super in tune with the impact of humans on the habitat and behavior, and also informative. Second was safety, and these guys are dialed in. Top notch pilots, excellent equipment, lots of experience. The provided gear was great, and the guides were awesome. The flight over to Clark lake was unforgettable and the landing on the beach was so cool. If you're gonna go, which you should, this is a great company to go with. Dress warm and waterproof, as the weather was much different than homer. Highly recommended. read more

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This bear tour was by far the highlight of our Alaska trip. We did the longer tour, so we were on the beach with the bears for about 3 hours. And it was incredible!!! Our tour guides flew over two different national parks before we landed, making the tour already worth our money. The views were breathtaking. Then, the guides made sure to select the national park with the most bears that day which I'm very thankful for. I can't even count how many bears we saw! There was mama and cub, bears grazing in meadows, clamming on the beach, mating, playing, and much more. What an unforgettable experience! They also make sure to keep the tour groups really small, so it doesn't feel like you're surrounded by a million tourists. It's a true authentic Alaskan experience! And shout out to our incredible guide Bear Man Joe for showing us an amazing time!! read more

Our guide Martin is so wonderful. He guided us to watch bear mother with cubs so close. And he had 15 years as a pilot and let us see mountains, volcanoes and lakes. read more

Alaska Bear Adventures - Guide Martine photographing bears. - Hiking Near Me - Homer, Alaska

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We joined the Alaska Bear Tour and we were very disappointed. If you expect to see bears catching fish or clams, chances are you won't see it. We only saw a few bears walking around on the grass, very boring. The mountain view on the plane is great and the pilot/guide is very friendly though. Overall, we believe that the price is too high, half of the price may work, saving your money to join other activities. read more

Great tour, fun and knowledgeable pilots / guides. They even turned the flight over and back from Lake Clark into a bit of an air tour. We got some awesome views of the volcanoes and Lake Clark surroundings from the plane. We saw our first bears, a momma and her cubs, no more than 10 minutes into our tour as we were walking up the beach from the plane and turned a corner around some rocks. We were no more than 15 feet away..., what a view! I would estimate we saw about 20 different bears that day including a young male and female that were playing at one of the viewing benches as we approached. Joe was our pilot and guide for the day, he took some great photos, was knowledgeable and fun. Everyone we met in this group was great, including the office location on the Homer Spit to the exceptional staff at the hanger. read more

If you plan to visit Alaska, this should be at the top of your list of things to do! Alaska Bear Adventures is one of the most spectacular tours to do while in Alaska. The short plane ride to Katmai National Park & Reserve allows you to view Alaska from above with its beautiful scenery. Once you land at the national park, your guide gives you two rules and then you are off. YOU WILL SEE BEARS! This was a totally awesome experience, Mike was a great guide, and at one point we had 13 bears surrounding us. I would suggest going in the summer months so you can see the momma bears with their cubs. I highly recommend this day trip, you will not regret one second of it! read more

They promise you will see bears and they delivered. We probably saw i excess of 25 different brown bears. At one point there were 10 bears within eyesight. In spite of the videos you see playing in Homer, the closest we came to the bears was 60-yards. The bonus was to see a sow catch a salmon from the stream directly in front of us and share it with her spring cub. The adventure did involve much more hiking than we anticipated. We walked between the grassy fields, mud flats and the stream where the bears foraged for food. The bears would have been more concentrated around the stream if the salmon had been running. read more

Homer, Alaska. An tiny airfield and a tinier plane. A freezing cold ocean far below. White mountains. Azure lakes. Honest-to-God glaciers. The top of the world. Wilderness unbound, unfettered and unchained, so big and pure that it hurts your eyes. We landed the plane on a tiny ribbon of sand peppered with bleached logs that had washed up in the Japanese tsunami. And there, right there, not thirty feet away, were two grizzly bears, one dark brown, the other golden, snuffling about and digging for clams with their frighteningly large scimitar talons. Cue dropping of jaws and shitting of pants. Never could you imagine you'd be this close to a bear the size of a tractor. They're beautiful and terrifying and hypnotising, and for the next two hours we stalked a handful of these beasts with cameras instead of guns, across mud flats and grassland, rivers and sandbanks, staying downwind and hardly daring to breath. I could see the muscles bunching beneath the powerful hump at the top of their necks. Their thick fur ruffling in the breeze. Hear them chomping grass and cracking clam shells and, most frightening and thrilling of all, the hellish snorting of their breath as they sniffed and huffed, thrilling because we were ten feet away now, it had wandered up on our position, knew we were there but hells, it didn't care, this was Hudson Bay, bear paradise, a utopia with all the natural food sources they could possibly want, leaving them no need to bother we puny humans. (We'd been told not to handle fish the day prior, just in case. Yeeps.) The most memorable, unforgettable, most amazingly cray cray ridic totes rad thing I have ever done. Recommend. A hundred, thousand times recommend. read more

Elizabeth says: We did a lot of research before we booked a company for bear viewing. We chose this one (and there are many to choose from) because they seemed very experienced, excited about the bears, committed to everyone's safety, and also because they seemed like a wholesome, quality family. My perception from their website was accurate when I met them in person. We met the ladies when we went for our weigh in they day before, down at their office on the Spit. They were relaxed and funny and we hit it off right away. We met Michael the next day and he was our pilot and guide. Total stand up guy. All of them answered every question I had- from "Should I wear long underwear?" to "Why are those bears blond?" and "Can I stop and look at the poop?" Michael led us on an adventure that was very exciting and sometimes scary, but I never felt that I was in danger. We both felt SAFE the entire time. We landed on a beach, we ate lunch sitting down watching the bears, we crossed a moving river, at one point had bears on every side of us, on the way home we flew incredibly close to a venting volcano and we flew over a glacier. It was a total adventure and adrenaline rush and we were in great hands! You can "go see the bears" by standing in line to get on a viewing platform or you can eat your lunch WITH them on the beach. I would hire this company again because we were among the bears for hours, were with experienced professionals , the entire staff was incredibly knowledgeable about the bears, but also because they were FUN to be with. This family company is a good one and I would feel comfortable taking my children on one of their trips. **I would definitely into consideration that you will be spending close to 8 hours with these people and in potentially dangerous situations. Safety came first but their personalities were a close second. These guys were fun to hang out with!! Bob says: If you want to see the bears, this is the company to go with. HANDS DOWN! Michael and Dee are the best. They will make sure you have the best experience possible. Safety is their first concern and you can be confident that your adventure will be worry-free. So sign up and show up and get ready to be treated to a beautiful day of up close bears and scenery you will never forget. The bears were right there, maybe 20-25 feet away. Very cool. read more

These guys are Pros. Usually these types of tours over promise and under deliver , but these guys deliver. Great attitude, we flew out with Derick, landed on remote area, with lots of bears. The 1st go around, we saw a lot of them, but it was difficult to get real close, so we took off on the beach for a short hop, and landed in a different area close by where we got to within maybe 30 feet or less of a Sow and her Cubs, it was amazing. The guys balance being serious and safe, without taking themselves to seriously, which provides for a great time. Coming in Derick also flew close to the volcanos for us, so we can get a better view. If you want to really see big brown bears in the their natural habitat up close...and have a great time, this is the way to go. read more

Yes, it's worth it. It's a pity that the phrase "...in their natural habitat," is so boring. The difference between a bear in a cage and a bear framed against snow-capped mountains is the difference between a pixel and the Sistine Chapel. Deciding to spend the money on this trip was the hardest part of our Alaska trip. My wife DALOR (Did A Lot Of Research) and there can be no guarantees about what you'll see. Our day highlighted that: we had thin ground-fog that limited visibility to a couple hundred yards. If the air was three degrees cooler, it would have been soup and we might not have seen anything; if it had been three degrees warmer and the fog burned off, we would have seen more and my photos would be twice as sharp. One thing we learned was that Alaska Bear Adventures has the best reputation for fair-dealing in the case of weather cancellations and so forth. But, on the ground, I don't think anyone can guarantee "You'll get within X yards of Y bears." As it was, I'd say we approached this bear within 40 yards: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8547/8903754822_46d71a82a3.jpg And the Momma and her cubs within 60 yards: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7422/8903755666_784d0d67e0.jpg We flew to Hallo Bay, the site where the Discovery Channel's "[Great Bear Stakeout](http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/great-bear-stakeout)" was filmed. It's apparently within a few bays of where Timothy Treadwell of "[Grizzly Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/)" was killed. So, as far as locations go, this is the right place.  We visited in late May, and were a little concerned about whether the bears would have come down yet, but as you can see, we had no problem approaching two on the ground. From the plane we spotted another bear, a large male, that we could not find in the mist and not seeing a dominant male was the only "disappointment" of the day. On our return flight we flew over another bay and spotted four bears. Our pilot and guide was Jarrod, who was great. He's a young guy, but flies delivery and mail into the Alaskan interior in Winter, so extremely competent. He was very knowledgeable about the bears and their biology but it was his enthusiasm that really set him apart. Imagine flying and walking around with a happy Edward Norton and you've pretty much got the picture. We had excellent flying weather (we had zero turbulence, which I have to think was unusual, given the mountains) and the flight-seeing was great. We flew over snow-covered volcanoes with lava-heated lakes at their peaks and steam coming from vents and spilling down their sides, over glaciers spotted with brilliant azure melt-ponds, and saw a lone wolf trotting along a driftwood-covered beach.  The plane was tight, naturally, but heated and everyone had a window (1 in the co-pilot seat, and then 2 rows of side-by-side). There's a short but thorough safety briefing as well as a briefing on the protocol for hiking with the bears. Everyone is given a pair of hip waders and almost all the time on the ground is spent walking over mudflats, which is very easy. The hardest part is that, when viewing the bears, you kneel for long periods of time. The mud's soft, but you get pretty stiff! The benefit is that the bears really, *really* don't seem to worry about you. With both adult bears we saw them take notice of us, and I'd say that the mother avoided us initially (she took her cubs into some brush) but once they started feeding (the mother on clams, the other on lichen) they hardly glanced at us. We were close enough to hear the scraping of their claws and not just the squabbling of the cubs, but their growling complaints that it was time to be nursed. I honestly have no idea how long we were on the ground -- a few hours anyway -- and probably 80% of the time we were viewing bears. The thing that will either work for or against you is the environment: if you're going to be disappointed by anything but highlight-reel footage of bears battling on two legs, maybe you'll be disappointed. If it's enough for you to closely watch magnificent animals in a magnificent setting, it may be the highlight of your trip. http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8124/8903128567_a25663aa33.jpg read more

Lived in Alaska for almost 30 year, and our multiple Alaska Bear Adventures (ABA) trips have been some of the greatest experiences My wife and I have had. Once you are in the air, and away from the road system, you understand how vast and wild Alaska really is. The Katmai coast & Nat'l Park, Lake Clark Nat'l Park and Hallo Bay are simply fantastic. Dee, Michael and their pilots/guides are great at what they do. They know where the best viewing is, and have observed these communities of bears, for years. Fast 206 aircraft, professional in all respects. You can't make a better choice the a day spent with ABA! read more

First trip to Alaska and the first thing we did was a Bear Excursion with Alaska Bear Adventures (ABA). Best decision we made during our 2 week trip. Everything we did in Alaska was great, but the bear trip took exceeding expectation to a whole new level, WOW!!! One I doubt will ever be meet again. Truly a trip of a life time!!! Selecting a company seemed like a daunting task, but once I spoke with ABA I knew I had the right folks. I had a 1000 questions and they took the time to go over everything with me an assure me that we'd see bears and be safe throughout the trip. If you're looking for a personal touch from a family run business and folks that really know what they're doing then you've found them in ABA. I can't say enough positive things about our trip, other than our expectations were exceed every step of the way. If you're wondering if we saw bears. WELL OF COURSE WE DID, I stop counting when we got to 25 different bears. From the dominate male to a mother with two 1.5 year old clubs to another mother with three 6 month old cubs. We saw every size and shape of brown known to man, or at least to me. Everyone that has seen the photos we took on this trip thinks we're crazy and would never want to be as close as we were able to get to the bears. We took our trip on 6/23/15, before the salmon were running. But that didn't stop us from having an unforgettable adventure. Maybe it made the trip that much better allowing the bears to move about the valley. Seeing the young cubs mock fighting was priceless. The dominate male was big, or huge, or enormous, you pick the word I'll take magnificent. We were able to get so close but safe, all because of knowledgeable and well trained staff. Stop reading reviews and book your tour with ABA today. It'll be the best thing you do in Alaska, and remember the rest of your life!!! read more

Went this past June and had a fantastic time, felt extremely safe as they were very aggresive about getting everyones accurate weights. The flight alone was worth the trip, great views and scenery. Then when we went to land a mother bear with 3 cubs was walking down the beach we were landing on. We got so close to the bears you could hear them chewing the celery. The pilot and guides were the best, very informative and safety conscious. I would highly recommend them. read more

The key take-aways from my narrative below: 1) They advertise for the Classic Tour that you will get "3 HOURS WITH THE BEARS" 1A) We only had 5-10 minutes with mother/cubs at 1st location, and about 5 minutes of real viewing time of another mother/cub that was hiding in a ditch at a 2nd location. We wasted 30 minutes hoping to see more of her. 2) They will tell you that "At Alaska Bear Adventures, bear viewing is not a sideline activity, but the main event." 2A) On the day of my trip, we had paid for "3 hours with the bears" and got 5-15 minutes. For us, bear viewing was definitely the side act. 3) When I started to express displeasure about the poor quality of our experience, and asking about a partial refund, these people started to make technical excuses to try to spin this experience as being worthy of the money I paid for me and my girlfriend. 4) This trip is like a defective product scenario Defective products are going to happen, but when it does, you expect that the company to refund you, or replace the item. 4A) This company has been unwilling to acknowledge that our 5-15 minutes of actual bear viewing time, is UNWORTHY of the 3 hours that we paid for. 4B) This comes down to basic customer service. I can acknowledge that not every bear viewing trip will be a 5-star experience, but when a customer tells you that they did not enjoy your product, your response as a business should be, "HOW CAN I WORK WITH YOU to resolve the matter and EARN YOUR BUSINESS AGAIN IN THE FUTURE?" 5) I realize that Mother Nature is unpredictable sometimes, but this company wants you to believe that you will actually get a lot of time to view bears. If you get significantly less time than the"3 hours with the bears", that you paid for, they will tell you that "Technically, you did see bears." *Update*: 8/3/2016 After over 1 hour pleading on the phone, and since this review was posted, their offer to reconcile has increased to two confirmed seats to go back out, which would be very nice to try. My girlfriend will not be able to make that, as she was vacationing from Texas, and because I lost my job and must leave Alaska, I will also be unable to rebook. I trust that most people attending this tour are on vacation, and returning to Alaska would not be feasible. I am seeking a lesser cash value than the offer for 2 rebooked seats; I've been told that cash refunds are not possible. And now, for my story: A friend went to Katmai with Alaska Bear Adventures (hereafter referred to as ABA) about 6 years ago. She raved about them; I even recommended people to ABA based on her So I paid for a trip with ABA for my girlfriends "Welcome to Alaska" trip, because I knew that the bears would make her trip so memorable. I hyped up the trip to Katmai to her A LOT We landed (at about 8:00am) and immediately had a chance to watch a sow and her three cubs, clamming on the beach. We sat for about 5 minutes watching this; it seemed that the money we spent was going to be worth it. And then the trip went downhill from there. After 5 minutes, the pilot/guide from the other plane (Tom), brought a 2nd group up and his loud approach seemed to scare her 3 cubs into the meadow with her. The pilot/guide of my plane (Jamie) said to Tom that he made too much noise. Tom brushed off the claim. We walked the beach after this, and after 2 of the 3 hours we paid for, we had seen 5 minutes worth of bears. We landed in the plane at a second location. As soon as our group got out of the planes, the bears ran away. One customer asked, "Why did the bears run off so quickly?" Jamie responded by saying that the bears at this location were not fond of people. For the next 30 minutes we stalked this skiddish bear, and it felt like a complete waste of time, because she did not want to be found. After the 30 minutes of chasing, it was now approximately 11:15pm. The guides ushered us back to the planes, and I thought that we would move to a third location so that we could finally get the quality time with the bears that we paid so much for. Right as we were buckling into our seats, a male bear popped out onto the beach, but the guides plan to take us back to Homer without informing us, was already in motion. We didn't have time to watch this last bear. (Side note: Now that I have been complaining to ABA about the amount of time we got with the bears, ABA has tried to suggest to me that the bear we saw right before take off, might count towards some of our time viewing bears. What a joke!! That bear was so far down the beach, that no pictures were taken of him.) I've been researching the reviews on social media outlets. I have told ABA that I believe that many of the poor reviews I have read about them are often unjustified. What I am upset about is that they advertise "3 Hours with the bears," and that is far from what I got. read more

Just completed a 7 hr trip. Had an incredible day viewing bears. Closest bear was perhaps 20-30 feet away. From immediately after landing until we took off there were always 4-5 bears in sight. Our guide Derrick did a great job, very professional and always felt safe. read more

What an incredible experience we had with Alaska Bear Adventures! We went on the Fly and Float Trip, which was well worth the price for the once-in a-lifetime experience. There were so many fantastic elements to the tour, starting with a beautiful flight in a float plane and landing in lovely Chinitna Bay to find an Airboat waiting for us. If you have never been on an airboat, now is the time. Alaska Bear Adventures is the only company that offers the airboat as part of their tour and it is remarkable.The airboat allowed us to get closer to the bears than you would on land and to cover a more expansive area so we saw over 15 different bears. The guides, Duncan and Scott, were funny, engaging and knowledgeable about the bears and wildlife. One of the bonuses of the trip is that they have a guide taking photos the whole time, so you can sit back and enjoy the view and the bears without worrying about photos. They send you the photos (which are included in the package) after your trip. If you go on this tour, I suggest bringing some heavy layers that will keep you warm on the airboat. Highly recommend. Thank you for an extraordinary experience Alaska Bear Adventures. read more

I had high expectations going into this trip but this was more fun than I ever could have expected!! We had a hard time deciding which bear tour company to go with and are so so happy we chose Alaska Bear Adventures! Our trip started out with over an hour flight over Homer, mountains, volcanoes, and waterfalls. Our pilot/guide went out of his way to fly us past and point out amazing sights. When we landed we were able to immediatly move to a spot with up to 7 bears. We were able to spend a relaxing day watching bears graze, lounge, sleep, and attempt to mate -- some within 10 yards!!! Our guides were energetic and their love of bears and nature was contagious! When it was time to leave, our guide extended our trip so that we could spend time with a momma and her cub! I couldn't have asked for a better day -- worth every penny! Highly, highly recommend!!! read more

My husband and I took a flight seeing trip with the K Bay Alaska Bear Adventures yesterday and were extremely happy with the trip. We felt safe on the flight and in the field with the guide while we visited the bears habitat. The flight there was great because we didn't just go straight there ... We detoured and took a look at some of the volcanic scenery. It was breath taking! The bear viewing itself was fabulous. We were instructed on what to do and NOT to do so that we were safe and could view the bears at a close distance. It was the trip of a lifetime. Thanks K Bay!! read more

I recently participated in a remarkable 3 day/2 night "bear viewing" tour led by pilot/guides Dee and Michael Hughes, who are also the owners of Alaska Bear Adventures. We flew by plane from Homer, AK, landed on a beach in Chinitna Bay and stayed at a remote chalet located on a private 160 acres of pristine Alaska wilderness adjacent to Lake Clark National Park. The location itself was spectacular with snowcapped volcanos, wildflowers, bald eagles, flocks of migrating geese, etc. But the bears were the stars of the show. We saw 20-30 bears each day, some were in the distance but many were very close. the bears were so amazing doing what they do... Fishing for salmon, clamming, sleeping, frolicking, fighting, peeking in the window at our chalet. It was thrilling but never scary as we were always accompanied By Dee and Michael who were extremely knowledgeable, considerate, fun, Professional and helpful. They were both awesome. The trip was not cheap but even as a frugal person, I would say that it was worth every penny we spent and overall a bargain. For me, this was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. If you can only do 1 special activity while visiting Alaska, this is the trip that you should choose. read more

If a bear viewing adventure is on your bucket list these people are the ones to help check it off your list. From beginning to end everyone was professional, friendly and helpful. The pilots/guides were great and did everything they could to make our trip the best. They track the bear in their natural habitat and use this info to get their guests the best viewing possible. We had a cloudless, windless day, beautiful! read more

My adult son and I went on a bear viewing trip with Alaska Bear Adventures/KBay Air on August 15,2012. The one word that would best describe this experience would be "Unbelievable!!!" Prior to the flight to Lake Clark National Park across Cook Inlet from Homer, we were provided with hip boots and a complete safety briefing along with a description of what to expect. After meeting our pilots we flew in two aircraft to Lake Clark N.P. Although there were clouds we were treated to amazing sights of mountains ,glaciers and ,as we were preparing to land , bears. Once on the ground it was only a short walk to get to where the bears were looking for salmon in the streams. Michael, our pilot ,also served as our guide and provided lots of information about the bears . We were able to observe the bears' behaviors in a natural setting. The bears went about there business of being bears and catching fish as though we weren't even there. One big bear even decided to lie down and take a nap about 60 feet from us !!! We saw as many as 15 bears at one time .including quite a few cubs. The photo/video opportunities were endless. The entire staff of Alaska Bear Adventures was friendly and knowledgeable. Safety was always their first concern . I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to see bears close up in their natural habitat while at the same time respecting them and their environment. An unforgettable experience!!! Thank you!!! read more

I called I to schedule a flight and talked to the owner. I was offered a discounted offer, two bear viewing for the price of one. The first trip went well. I went with another friend but had different pilots on the second trip. Unfortunately I was very disappointed in my second trip. The guide was rude and very cockie throughout the trip to me and my friend. The passenger door to the airplane was not completely closed during the trip over he yelled at my friend and told her after they arrived and in front of other guest that it was her responsibility to make sure the door was closed. The safety factor was very concerning. We should not be responsible for the safety of the passengers. Numerous times I was told that I could not ask anymore questions and he didn't want me to talk about my previous trip either due to it may disappoint others if they did not have the same experiences. I was so embarrassed when I was the only one pulled from my group and had to walk with another group. We heard him say over the walkie talkie that he had someone that was "gimpy". That was very unprofessional and demeaning. This was a lifetime trip for me and it was so disappointing. I left crying.I did not pay this kind of money to be treated this way. I called the office to let the owners know what happen but no one returned my call. After a week I wrote the owner a letter to explain what had happen. I was told that they would talk to the pilot. I ask for a refund for being treated so rudely or at least another trip with different staff but my request was declined. I recommend the bear viewing but not with this company. read more

My bear watching trip was truly the highlight of an absolutely wonderful 3+ weeks in Alaska! Not only did we spend several hours sharing the beach with 30 or more brown bears, we got a close fly-by of Mt Illiamna on the way to Chinitna Bay and back, which was a really great bonus :) We flew out with 3 other planes, 6 people in each one, for our day of bear viewing. It seems like a lot of folks, but once on the ground, we spread out and it never felt crowded. There was plenty of time to take photos, watch through the binoculars, and just absorb the experience. Michael was my pilot and guide, and did a wonderful job. He was very clear with his instructions, with a huge emphasis on safety. We learned so much about bear behavior from him, and enjoyed his friendly manner. He has a tremendous amount of experience flying and viewing bears in Alaska. What a treat to be in a place that is so remote, and to live in the world of the bears for an afternoon. I highly recommend this trip! read more