Katmai water taxi - Naknek, Alaska

Anna Wilk

I am deeply disappointed with Katmai Water Taxi. Despite receiving a confirmation email the day before, they canceled my trip to Brooks Lodge from King Salmon on the day of travel, referring to weather conditions. In reality, the weather was suitable for air taxi flights, which were actually cheaper than the water taxi. At the airport in King Salmon and the visitor center, no one confirmed bad weather conditions, and other commercial boats were operating. The organizer did not offer any assistance and refused to refund the fee despite not providing the service. I strongly advise against using this company if you don't like being ripped off.

Zofia Kowalska

I advise against working with Katmai Water Taxi if you don't want to lose your money and ruin your trip !!!!!!!

In King Salmon we had a transport booked with Katmai Water Taxi .
In the morning on the day of the planned departure at 6:30 we arrived at the meeting point and received information that the water taxi would not work. They told us the water taxi was canceled that day due to the weather but the weather was good.
We called Katmai Water Taxi many times but no one answered the phone.
No one has contacted us so far, no one responds to emails.
We had to look for alternative transport ourselves. After reaching Brooks, it turned out that there are Katmai Water Taxi there

Adrienne Keck

While booking my trip, I called the office for help because I was using a credit from last year. The person on the phone cut me off and told me I could book it online. I tried to explain I could not book online using a credit and that I had emailed the week before but had not heard back. Then he told me to keep waiting for the response email and hung up. I waited another week with no answer before calling again and getting someone a little nicer who told me a different email I needed to contact (not the one listed on the website).
Fast forward to our trip. They canceled our return trip the night before we were supposed to head out then proceeded to ignore calls and emails. After talking with some locals in King Salmon, we found out they do this frequently. Several people on the boat had not seen the email (there is no cell service in King Salmon) and had no idea they didn’t have a return trip until AFTER they had been dropped off at Brooks Camp. They offer no help in booking alternate accommodations and instead tell you to talk to a park ranger (who can’t actually help you). We had to book a flight home for an additional $225 and now have a credit for the water taxi because they don’t give refunds. The flight companies DO offer refunds if they cancel due to weather. They are far more reliable and faster and you get fantastic views. The flights are also the same price as the water taxi.
Additionally, katmai air has some kind of contract with the park so once you are in the park you can’t book through anyone else. Katmai air was great but I would have liked having the option shop around. Had this company given adequate notice (you can see wind forecasts days in advance) I could have compared pricing with other companies and planned accordingly.

Karen Veches

The taxi service claims to be the most reliable form of transportation, yet they cancelled our trip. They also cancelled trips for at least the days both before and after our reservation due to wind, even though there were boats on the lake the day of our reservations. The company doesn't offer even a partial refund when they cancel. (We ended up booking flights from a different company for a fee since we didn't have extra days to spend in King Salmon.) From what both the residents of King Salmon and the National Park staff state, this is a common occurrence. The airlines that fly from King Salmon to Katmai only charge if they take you to the park. The airlines also work hard to adjust flights to get people to and from the park when weather patterns come through. I would encourage everyone to never book with the water taxi until they change their policy. I would also recommend Trygg Air Alaska for a safe and accommodating trip to Katmai.

Cathy Herzig

Katmai Water Taxi turned out to be a disaster, and almost ruined our trip! I booked them months in advance, with payment in full. Once we flew all the way to King Salmon and got settled into our B&B, we received a call late that evening, that they were canceling our trip the next morning, due to weather. They proceeded to lie to me, saying there were no animals of any kind to see at Brooks Falls, because of the weather. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no means of transportation.
Our host at the B&B told us that he was totally wrong about the animal viewing at the Falls, and that the planes were all flying the next morning to the Falls. We got a last minute seat on the plane for the same price as the taxi. The weather was fine and there were many bears, and other animals at the Falls.
Not only were we stranded by the taxi, we were totally lied to as well! We were later told that the water taxi is the least reliable way to travel to Brooks Falls.

Emilio Vicioso

Our experience with Katmai Water Taxi was great! Our original flight to get to King Salmon was canceled and we were going to miss our boat, but Troy saw that our flight got canceled and called us to let us know we could switch to a later taxi no problem. The shuttle and taxi were both very comfortable and on time. Definitely recommend using them as a way to get to Katmai.

Mark Haas

This is a very viable alternative to flying from King Salmon to Brooks. HOWEVER, it is a fair bit longer especially when you account for the drive from “downtown” KS to the dock and then the length of the boat ride itself which can get even longer if it’s bumpy. If that’s the case, the ride can also be bone jarring. The planes leave a short distance from downtown/the airport so if you’re running late you have a fighting chance of getting your flight than the boat. There’s just no way you miss the shuttle for the boat and they come back and get you in time to make it. Staff was friendly, competent and safety conscious. Boat was in immaculate condition and comfortable. One gripe I had was that we had originally booked an 8pm return. On the day, they sent me confirmations for both 6pm return and 8pm. I had to ask what the heck was going on. Apparently they decided to ding the 8pm that day which we has consciously decided was our preferred departure so we could get as much times at Brooks as possible our logic including all the day trippers connecting back to ANC, etc would be gone enabling a more quiet and relaxed experience at the falls. Their change eliminated that possibility. Not the end of the world as we were headed back the next day by plane which is why I can make the comparison but it's worth noting. Plane was more cramped but much quicker so we didn’t mind a little extra discomfort.

Linnea Trevino

Had a similar experience to others, Katmai Water Taxi cancelled my trip making me have to shell out hundreds of dollars to change my flight and caused me to miss 2 of my scheduled days at Brooks Camp. First they cancelled my 5pm trip since they said it was too late in the day. Then they cancelled my trip the next day due to weather but the weather was worse the following day and they still operated that day. Very little notice ahead of time, which caused a ripple effect of us missing a bunch of things we had scheduled and not being able to reschedule them because bookings for future days had already been filled. At the park the NPS rangers even voiced that this company does a bad job at communicating cancellations and often cancels without notice.