Emerald Air Service - Homer, Alaska

Carlee L.

This past August my fiance and I had an incredible experience with Emerald Air in Katmai National Park, and I can't recommend them enough! Our guide, Libby, was absolutely fantastic—knowledgeable, passionate, and dedicated to making sure we had the best experience possible.From start to finish, the adventure was seamless. Libby shared fascinating insights about the bears and their habitat, making the experience both educational and thrilling. We had the opportunity to see several bears up close, and Libby ensured we stayed safe while capturing some breathtaking photos.The natural beauty of Katmai is inspiring, and Libby’s expertise made the experience even more enriching. She was attentive to our needs and made sure we were comfortable throughout the day. Our pilot Don was amazing and took us for scenic view of the glaciers and beautiful mountains of Katmai. Cannot speak highly enough about the entire experience!!

This trip was a surprise gift for my fiances birthday. The team at Emerald air made sure to make it a special day for him. After the bear viewing experience you are greeted back at the office with warm delicious homemade treats. They had a birthday cake and candles for Jareds birthday. India was such a kind and welcoming member of the staff. We had such an incredible time we ended booking the same tour again for the following day.

Side note- We had weather issues the day we were suppose to go on the excursion and Derek was super helpful with rescheduling the experience.

If you’re considering a bear viewing experience, do not hesitate to book with Emerald Air! This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that I will cherish forever! ?✨

Sara Becker

From the very first phone call we made until that last warm and delicious chocolate chip cookie at the goodbye, Emerald Air and our Bear viewing was all we could have hoped for!! All of the staff here are very professional, delightful and helpful individuals. Pilot Don and Bear guide Libby were wonderful, the kind of folks you would want to talk to for hours if you could. Office crew Deanna and India are very knowledgeable and awesome as well.
We absolutely loved our experience getting to see the Bears at Katmai national park and Brooks Falls. If we were going to do another trip or even recommend a trip, we would consider doing one of their more up close guided tours vs the self guided Brooks Falls. The platforms at Brooks Falls are the most highlighted spots, so there are lines, long waits, and lots of people. We waited 90 minutes for our turn on the main platform, but were kept highly entertained with bear activity on the lower platform. There is no wait to enter the lower platform, just a lot of people. A highlight of our day on the Brooks Falls tour was on our walk back to the float plane where we saw some bear activity off the bridge walk and hardly anyone else was around!! Just a few onlookers you could go up to and say, “oh my goodness, did you see that?!” It was awesome and exciting to see the bear behavior and nice to not feel crowded by groups of people trying to get that perfect camera shot. That’s why we’re thinking one of their guided tours would be the sweet spot of this type of activity. All in all, it was a perfect day and a treasured memory. I feel certain any bear viewing tour you choose with Emerald Air will be a trip of a lifetime!! Will definitely come again!!!

Jeff Fink

Our guide, Arabella was outstanding. Her appreciation and dedication to the safety of our group and the bears was beyond expectations. Craig, our pilot flew us over a glacier on our way to Hallo Bay. The amount of bears and proximity to the bears also exceeded our expectations. Emerald Air is first class in every way. From the moment you step on their property to the warm cookies and crackers and cheese when your day is done is top notch. Can’t speak highly enough about Arabella’s passion and knowledge about bear behavior. Hallo Bay is a magical place. We saw at least 20 different bears We sat within 25 yards of a Mom and her two cubs as we had lunch in our group of 8. We questioned our decision not to go to Brooks Falls but this experience was truly a once in a lifetime event worth every dollar we spent.

GS21

Emerald Air provided an amazing experience for us on 6/2/2024.
We were very warmly welcomed and Arabella and Libby set us up with our waders and some bear and safety education.
The flight over to Hallow Bay was very scenic and Arabella provided informative and useful commentary on what we were seeing along the way.
I really enjoyed Arabella's and Libby's enthusiasm for life and their joyful spirits. Dave, our pilot took a very scenic route to Hallow Bay.
Once we arrived at Hallow Bay we disembarked the plane into the surf. Once on the other side of the berm we immediately saw several bears interacting in the distance.
Arabella is an expert in bear behavior and was great at guiding us and our behavior to maximize our experience.
It was a rainy and breezy day, but the weather did not matter a bit.
We saw mother bears with yearlings and 3 year old cubs and bores as well. It was a most wonderful day! Our guides made all the difference, enabling an experience of a lifetime.
At the conclusion of our trip, we were treated with cookies, tea and coffee, and reindeer sausage and cheese.
My experience with Emerald Air was a 10 of 10!!

Wendy Huang (Wendy)

Unforgettable experience! I joined guided tour and it was amazing… Although the weather was drizzling and windy, pilot Don was professional. I had a little bit flying phobia, but it was not scary! Also, I really appreciate our tour guide, Libby. (I’m so sorry I pronounced wrong during the trip…) She was responsible, knowledgeable and enthusiastic! You would not be scared when facing the bears. Pretty safe! I also appreciate staff at Emerald Air. They are friendly and helpful. In addition, our tour members were also nice… I’m so glad to meet everyone in this trip. Wonderful people, wonderful memories.

Sarah Alexander

We had a fantastic experience with Emerald Air Service. The 5-hour ground tour was well-paced, allowing us to fully enjoy the beauty of Katmai without feeling rushed. The only minor downside was the varying mobility levels within our group, which limited some exploration opportunities. However, this is just the luck of the draw in group settings. The team’s dedication to safety, education, and the conservation of Alaska's magnificent brown bears made me feel at ease while being so close to them in their natural habitat.

Mike W

Great trip! My wife and I did it 7/28/24. The Emerald team is spot on. Professional, organized, safe and fun! We arrived around 7:40am. They checked us in, got waders and shoes (note high end clean gear). You want to dress in layers including hat, gloves, puffer coat and rain coat. You bring your own lunch ( no tuna or salmon ). Flight to the island is about an hour. Once landed they suggest a “bathroom” break in the tundra. Ladies on one side and men on the other. We saw bears right off the bat, within 10 minutes. The guides are super trained and knowledgeable. So you kind of hunker down and watch the bears from 30 yards or so. Our first sighting was a Momma with 3 cubs. All in all we saw well over 15 bears/cubs. Always we felt safe. You do cross a few streams/rivers but in all cases it was very safe. Also saw some eagles and multiple bears at once. We did not see them eating salmon as the fish were not running up these rivers yet. Shout out to Libby our guide - very knowledgeable on bears the area etc. Also Dave our pilot - great ride there and back. Finally shout out to Derek, director of ops, he made sure we got off without a hitch and had some coffee tea and cookies as well as a happy birthday cupcake celebration for my wife on our return. Great guys and experience. Would definitely do it again. Lots of photos but I only posted a few.

Val

This was easily the best thing we did in Alaska (and the best thing we have done on any trip)! Our guide was incredibly knowledgable and we felt safe the entire trip. Emerald Air provided waders and boots to keep us dry and made sure we knew how to behave around the bears.

We were able to see over 20 bears and multiple sets of cubs over the course of our tour and got great photos of them all!

Our pilot was also amazing and took us by some beautiful mountain views that would have been worth a tour on its own.