Norris Adventure: Seaplane, Paddle and Glacier Hike

I typically shy away from organized tours and prefer to explore on my own, but I am glad I made an exception for this ABAK Norris Glacier Tour. Our driver, Kelsey, gave a great orientation; our guide, Rainey, was thoughtful, informative, and funny, and our pilot, Jason, was a pro! So cool to fly in such an iconic airplane (Alaska Seaplanes’ de Havilland Beaver)! Norris provided a stunning welcome to our small group under the bluebird skies. I never would’ve thought that a glacier could tell so many stories and be so entertaining. Thank you ABAK!

This was the highlight of our Northwest WA trip & Alaska cruise. ABAK, specifically "the Corys," pilot & and guide, we're the best! We wanted to do an excursion that we couldn't do in our home state. It's totally worth every penny. The seaplane ride was very smooth. Cory, the pilot, was very competent, helpful, and pleasant. Cory, the guide, took us to a moulin. I liked that he wanted to give us the chance to experience something very few tours get to as you never know what mother nature is going to provide. It was amazing!!!! Words & pictures don't do it justice. We got to go inside the moulin. We could drink the flowing water if you were adventurous! He was very knowledgeable about the glaciers & the area. Very helpful with our gear, which was all provided by ABAK. take this excursion. You won't regret it!

We could not have asked for a more perfect day! Seaplanes, Packrafts and Micro-Crampons - oh my! Our family was looking for an adventure off the cruise ship and we definitely had one! From the moment our Seaplane landed, Lily was a ray of sunshine and wealth of knowledge. We had a 'behind the scenes' look at their base camp, a peaceful packraft journey across the small bay and an exhilarating hike on Norris Glacier. The only complaint we had was the the excursion ended too soon! The rest of the crew was equally as warm and welcoming. Highly recommend this excursion and ABAK!

This was one of the best experiences of my life! We booked this excursion through our cruise ship not knowing what to expect but expected a big group and were so happy to be with only 4 others. We began by taking a beautiful float plane to a beach by Norris glacier than met our guide Kayla. She led us through a lake kayak to Norris glacier where we hiked the glacier before doing it all again. The entire experience was incredible with the most epic views and info from Kayla. The exclusivity of being 1 of 6 guests at this experience made it even more special as we felt like we had this nook of paradise completely to ourselves. I cannot recommend this tour enough

What a great day! Beautiful seaplane ride over the gorgeous, water-fall-dotted mountain side, followed by a packraft paddle to the glacier where we got to hike up to hear the roaring, frigid waters underneath carving away. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The adventure is on the spendy side but..."when in Rome"...! The whole operation was top-notch. Mickel (sp)? the pilot and the Kayla were great. Thanks, ABAK!

What an amazing experience. Seaplane, pack rafting, and hiking a glacier. You can do it all with this one! Highly recommend and all of the staff were wonderful.

This was by far one of the best excursions I have taken, and all of our family can finally agree on something, that this is a not to be missed opportunity. While pricey, it was worth every penny as there were so many elements included that truly gave us the ultimate Alaska experience. Many thanks to the entire team, and we hope to back again.

This was one of the coolest things I've ever done! The tour was amazing. I loved that it was a small group, and we could interact with our knowledgeable guide throughout the tour. Every part of the tour--the floatplane ride, the packrafting, the glacier hike--they were all so stunningly beautiful. I would definitely recommend this tour!!

During my weeklong vacation in Juneau, I booked a total of 8 excursions. There was certainly some tough competition, but I think this was likely my favorite for the following reasons: - Ideal group size - with a limit of 6 travelers, this trip is a great way to get away from the crowds. For the record, there were a total of 3 travelers on my outing, which meant a good amount of personalized interaction and one-on-one face time with the guides and staff, as opposed to a more typical tour where you need to compete for attention and are treated more as an interchangeable tourist. - Degree of physical exertion - most tours require very little physical exertion, which sort of dilutes the 'sense of accomplishment' factor. My favorite part of the tour was the packrafting portion - it felt great to know that I had to put in some minimal amount of effort to get to the destination as opposed to being shuttled there without having to lift a hand. - Novelty factor - I had never used crampons or a packraft before (though I have kayaked previously), so it was great to experience these for the first time. - Walking on top of a glacier - always a magical experience. Finally, I wanted to add a few shout outs for whoever at Above and Beyond Alaska ends up reading this: Dan, the guide who took us out on packrafting and the glacier walk, was amazing and great to interact with. I was really impressed to learn about all of the prep work that he does to get everything set up for the tours, with one example being clearing off and marking the path we walked on to get to the packrafts, and I'm sure this applies to the other guides who do this tour as well. He also came across as a very experienced and knowledgeable guide who really knows his stuff. I interacted with Claire from the office several times that day. Through all these interactions, she was really personable, friendly, open and a joy to converse with. I felt really welcome at the ABAK office relative to other tour company offices that I've visited pre- and post-excursion. I feel bad about not remembering the name of the woman who picked us up and did the drop off (I did remember that she was from Minneapolis), but she was really friendly, sociable, and great to chat with as well. If I find myself in Juneau again in the near future, I'd definitely look into doing another tour with ABAK.

Such a fun experience! Our guide was very informative and made the trip super fun. They were able to accommodate all of us, and really made Our trip amazing!