Guide · Boat or plane

Misty Fjords boat tour or floatplane: two ways into the fiords

A Misty Fjords boat tour shows the cliffs from below, the floatplane shows the whole landscape from above. Here is what each costs in time and money, and who each one suits.

Check availabilityfrom $349 · free cancellation possible

Editorial team, mistyfjordsflightseeing.comUpdated October 25, 2026Reading time about 7 minutes10 sources

The tour for this guide Misty Fjords floatplane flightseeing from Ketchikan 4.4 (303 reviews) 2 hoursWindow seat for every guestVan from Berth 2 and back from$349per person Check availabilityCancel for free up to 24 hrs ahead

In a nutshell

01By boat: 5.25 hrs from downtown, from $232.
02By floatplane: 2 hrs from Berth 2, from $349.
03Both refund: Free cancellation up to 24 hrs before, on both listings.
04Boat shows: Cliffs of up to 3,000 ft and New Eddystone Rock up close.
05Plane shows: Lakes, ridges and fiords at once, from a window seat.

Misty Fjords boat tour or floatplane: the real difference

On a day trip from Ketchikan you reach the monument either on the water or through the air, and the Forest Service names both: by boat or by floatplane along Behm Canal, the major waterway through the heart of the area.¹ A Misty Fjords boat tour runs on the water for most of a day; a floatplane covers the same country in a short flight. Neither is the wrong choice, but they suit very different days and different travelers.

The boat listing compared here, Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer from Ketchikan, lasts 5.25 hours, leaves from downtown and starts from $232, rated 4.24 from 49 reviews. The floatplane this site features takes 2 hours from Berth 2 back to Berth 2 and starts from $349, rated 4.37 from 303 reviews. Either one can be cancelled for a full refund until a day ahead.

What you see differs as much as the clock. From the boat you look up at the walls from water level and pass New Eddystone Rock close by; from the plane you look down on lakes, ridges and fiords together, and the scale of the wilderness becomes clear. The best way to see Misty Fjords depends on whether you want to feel small beneath the cliffs or see how far the cliffs go on.

The boat day

What a day on the cruise looks like

15 min before

Meet at Berth 3

Check in downtown, 15 minutes before the boat leaves.
Setting out

Past Saxman

The boat passes Saxman and Annette Island on the way out.
Behm Canal

New Eddystone Rock

A plug of lava standing 237 feet out of the water.²
Rudyerd Bay

Between the walls

Cliffs of up to 3,000 feet and waterfalls close by.
After 5.25 hrs

Back in Ketchikan

The cruise returns to town after about 5.25 hours.

A day on the water, from Berth 3 to Rudyerd Bay

The boat leaves from Berth 3 in downtown Ketchikan, and the listing asks you to be there 15 minutes before departure. On the way out it passes Saxman and Annette Island, then runs up Behm Canal to New Eddystone Rock, a plug of hardened lava that stands 237 feet out of the water.² For many guests the rock is the first real sight of the day.

The heart of the trip is Rudyerd Bay, where the itinerary names cliffs of up to 3,000 feet and waterfalls close enough to feel the spray. Punchbowl Cove lies near the mouth of the bay, and its gray granite and blackish basalt walls are easier to read from the water than from the air.³ ⁴ ⁵ The boat moves slowly here, and there is time to look.

Snacks and coffee or tea are included on board, while binoculars are not, so bring your own if you have them. The listing describes the boat as wheelchair accessible and gives children 3 to 12 their own fare, from $179, with infants free. For families and travelers who cannot climb into a small plane, those 2 points can decide the matter.

Side by side

The boat cruise and the flight compared

Detail	Boat cruise	Floatplane flight
Total time	5.25 hrs	2 hrs
Starts at	Berth 3	Berth 2
Adult price	from $232	from $349
Children	3 to 12 pay less	Adult fare from age 2
Free cancellation	Up to 24 hrs ahead	Up to 24 hrs ahead
Wheelchair access	Yes	Not stated
Rating	4.24 from 49	4.37 from 303

From the 2 listings on Viator; prices are from-prices per person and can change with the date.

Three choices

Boat, plane or a landing flight

Misty Fjords Floatplane Flightseeing Tour

Quickest

The floatplane

2 hrs from Berth 2

From: $349
Best for: The whole landscape
Refund: Up to 24 hrs ahead

See the flight

Lowest price

The boat cruise

5.25 hrs from Berth 3

From: $232
Best for: Cliffs and whales
Refund: Up to 24 hrs ahead

See the flight

Stand on a float

A landing flight

2 to 2.5 hrs

From: $450
Best for: Silence in the wild
Refund: Non-refundable

See the flight

Decision helper

Boat or plane for your port day?

Choose the line that fits your plans

My ship is in port only a few hours We are a family on a budget Someone in our group uses a wheelchair I want to see how big the wilderness is I get seasick easily I am nervous about small planes

The floatplane

It takes 2 hours from Berth 2 back to Berth 2.

The boat cruise

Children aged 3 to 12 start from $179 on the boat.

The boat cruise

The boat listing is described as wheelchair accessible.

The floatplane

Lakes, ridges and fiords appear together from a window seat.

The floatplane

The cruise lasts 5.25 hours on the water.

The boat cruise

It asks nothing of a nervous flyer and stays at water level.

Travel either by boat or floatplane in Behm Canal, the major waterway through the heart of the area, and sightings of killer whales, porpoises, mountain goats, and bears could be possible.

US Forest ServiceSource 1

What the floatplane adds, and what it leaves out

The flight starts with a van from Berth 2 to the floatplane base, then takes off from the Tongass Narrows and climbs over the rainforest toward the fiords. It passes over granite walls, waterfalls, Rudyerd Bay and New Eddystone Rock without stopping, and every guest has a window seat. From above, the lakes that hang in valleys high over the fiords appear one after another, which no boat can show you.

The flight is short. Its listing says 2 hours in total, and in the newest 100 reviews 10 guests put the time in the air at about an hour of that. The listing names no water landing, so unlike the boat you never stand still in the fiords. Some other floatplane listings add a landing on a lake or a bay, at a higher price and without free cancellation.

The flight also asks more of the passenger. You give every traveler's weight at booking, the maximum is 300 lbs, and the listing does not recommend the flight for travelers with spinal injuries, poor heart health or for pregnant travelers. Infants up to age 1 fly on a lap without a ticket, but from age 2 everyone pays the adult fare, which makes a family flight costlier than a family cruise.

Packing

What to bring for each trip

On the boat

Rain jacket and a warm layer for the deck
Your own binoculars
Be at Berth 3 15 minutes early

On the floatplane

Every passenger's weight at booking
Be at Berth 2 15 minutes early
Cash for gratuities

Calculator

Boat or plane: the cost for your group

Compare the adult fares for your number of travelers

Boat cruise5.25 hrsfrom $232 Floatplane flight2 hrsfrom $349 Landing flight2.5 hrsfrom $450

People 2

Total from$463

per person from $232

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Totals multiply each listing's lowest per-person price on Viator or GetYourGuide, converted at the ECB rate; the seller's checkout shows the binding sum.

Video

A full day into the fjords on a cruise boat

The video plays from YouTube only after you press play.

Time, price and refund rules side by side

In money, the boat is the cheaper way in. An adult boat ticket starts from $232 and a child's from $179, while the floatplane starts from $349 for everyone from age 2. For a family of four the gap adds up quickly, and the calculator on this page shows the totals for your own group with live prices.

In time, the plane wins clearly. The flight takes 2 hours from Berth 2, while the cruise takes 5.25 hours, most of a port day. If your ship is in Ketchikan for a long day, both fit; if it calls for a short morning, only the flight leaves room for anything else, and even then you should keep a buffer before all-aboard.

On refunds the 2 listings are equal: both refund in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before departure. The floatplane listing allows the operator to cancel for bad weather or too few travelers, and in its newest 100 reviews 11 of the 13 one-star ratings are about such cancellations. That risk is the main reason some travelers prefer the boat.

Wildlife from the water and from the air

The waters of the monument are a prime feeding area for humpback whales, Steller sea lions and harbor seals, and bald eagles nest in the trees along the shoreline.⁶ Those are animals you see best at water level. A boat can slow down when someone spots a blow or a seal on a rock, and you watch it at its own level rather than as a dot far below.

Mountain goats are the exception. They patrol the ridgelines and can be seen through binoculars or from the window of a floatplane, which brings you level with the ridges.⁷ From the air, though, every animal is small, and one reviewer of the flight warns that wildlife at flying height is very hard to spot.

The proclamation that created the monument lists bald eagles, brown and black bears, moose, wolves, mountain goats and Sitka black-tailed deer.⁸ Nobody can promise any of them on a given day, by boat or by plane. If wildlife is the main reason you are going, choose the boat and bring binoculars; if the landscape is the reason, the flight shows more of it.

Rain, cloud and comfort on each trip

Ketchikan is wet in every month of the season. The Beaver Falls station averages 150 mm of precipitation in June and 484 mm in September, with 18 days of 2.5 mm or more in September.⁹ Low cloud hides the high country first; on a grey day the flight loses more of its view than the boat, which travels beneath the cloud.

On the boat you spend hours outside on deck if you want the best views, so dress for rain and cold wind even in July, when the average high is 18.7 °C.⁹ In the plane you sit in a closed cabin for the whole flight, and you only need a jacket for the dock. If you are prone to seasickness, a long day on the water is a reason to fly instead.

If you are afraid of small planes, the reverse applies. Several reviewers of the flight say they were nervous and found the takeoff and landing smooth, but a long cruise asks nothing of a nervous flyer at all. Be honest about which discomfort you mind more, because 5.25 hours on a boat and 2 hours with a floatplane flight are very different days.

Which one to choose on a cruise day

Start with your time in port. Your ship ties up downtown or out at Ward Cove, a dock some 5.5 miles from the town center, and both trips leave from downtown.¹⁰ A ship at Ward Cove adds a shuttle ride before and after either trip. With a long call downtown, you can choose freely; with a short call or a Ward Cove berth, the 2-hour flight is the realistic option.

Then think about who is coming. Families with children aged 3 to 12 pay less on the boat, and the boat listing is described as wheelchair accessible. Couples on a tight schedule who want the full scale of the monument in one go are the natural flight passengers, provided the weather cooperates on the day.

Whichever you choose, book with free cancellation and check the forecast the day before. If the cloud is low and your ship leaves early, the boat is the safer plan. If the sky is clear, take the flight and look down at the walls the boats sail between. On a long enough stay, the best answer is both: the boat one day, the plane on another.

Ready to fly