Brooks Falls Bear Viewing
Homer, USA
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
What's Included
- Admission Fee - Admission fee
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Lampert Loop, Homer, AK 99603, USA
We will meet at Alaskan Adventure Guides 3395 lampert loop Homer, Ak. Arrive 30min prior to departure. Park in Customer parking. Your float plane will either be there or be on its way shortly. The trip is about 6 hours roughly with about 3 hours of flight time to get to and from our destination.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Brooks Falls
3 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- 190lbs MAX weigh per person with 680 max combined weight per flight.
- Bring a light rain jacket
- Do NOT bring bear spray it can't be inside the plane!
- Bring camera, rain gear, water and a light lunch or snacks. Do NOT bring Fish products of any kind
- 4 guests max. (1 in rear seat)
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 4 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
I would choose this operator again gladly. Corey is a great pilot, well versed in the area, and took care of us the whole flight. Brooks Camp is a once in a lifetime experience and should not be missed.
Reviews
4.3
based on 20 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
We had a great experience and, although at the end of the season, we saw many bears in the river and get a pretty sunny day. Flying in a float plane was itself an experience...the view were incredible.
Cory and Brianna were so nice, we were lucky we found them (through the Viator travel site). Friendly, informative, and great at making it seem like traveling in a small plane to see hungry bears up close was nothing to be nervous about. Worth every penny! Thank you!
Great trip. Flight over was amazing and then Brooks Fall was good. Low on bear count - 3 bears and one cub.
Family owned business - very nice and would use them again.
I had an extremely upsetting and unprofessional experience with this company, and I would strongly caution others before booking.
In May, I contacted the operator well in advance of our scheduled trip because a major life event meant I could no longer travel. I understood that the reservation was technically non-refundable. However, the operator specifically told me that they would release our two seats for resale and that I would be refunded if those seats were resold. I accepted that arrangement and relied on what I was told.
A few weeks before the trip, I checked availability and could see that the seats appeared to have been resold. I called to follow up, left messages that were not returned, and eventually reached the operator.
Instead of simply explaining the status of the refund, the conversation became incredibly unprofessional. I was accused of “coming at” her for asking about the money I had been told would be refunded. I could hear the pilot in the background telling her to hang up on me. I was then given a new condition: I was told that selling our two seats was no longer enough and that the entire plane now had to be filled before I would receive a refund.
I subsequently saw additional availability disappear as another seat was sold.
Because I could not get the issue resolved directly, I contacted Viator. The operator then reverted to saying that the trip was simply non-refundable and that I would not be receiving my money back—despite the earlier representation that I would be refunded if our seats were resold.
What made the situation even more disturbing was what happened with my travel companion. Although I had handled the cancellation and all of the communication regarding the refund, the operator separately contacted my friend through the Viator app and told her she would be receiving her money back. My friend had not initiated the refund request. During that communication, the operator also referred to me as a “pain in the ass.”
A refund dispute is one thing. Customers and businesses can disagree about policies. But changing the stated conditions for a refund after the fact, failing to return calls, telling an employee to hang up on a customer, and disparaging that customer to her travel companion is something entirely different.
I gave this company months of notice, tried repeatedly to resolve the situation directly, and relied on what I was explicitly told about the resale of our seats. Regardless of how the financial dispute is ultimately resolved, the way I was spoken about and treated was completely unacceptable.
Based on my experience, I would never book with this operator again.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
PLEASE READ!
There is always two sides to every story. I want to first take the pilot out of this conversation as he was out working, he was never in the room when we had conversations and to accuse him of saying that is false and uncalled for! I also never called you a pain the ass I said you were being a pain. You were calling every week and sometimes 5 times in a row when I was on the phone with other customers.
This is a nonrefundable trip, which everyone knows when they book. Have I let people get their money back for issues that have come up in life or for booking wrong dates, YES! multiple times I know things happen.
I told her if her seats booked I would refund her and I did.
Stephanie never went on this trip, her and her friend were refunded.
She also never does say how she spoke to us or threatened us.
Most of her review is written out of text.
We are good understanding people. Please feel free to call us (907-299-7185)with any questions you may have before booking due to her review.
Pilot was very personable and knowledgable.
Only water can be carried to the bear viewing area. You can take other drinks and food, but this must be placed in a bear locker or left on the plane.
Dress in layers.
No tripods to hold cameras. Mono pods are acceptable.
Brooks falls was magical - watching the bears in their native habitat during the salmon run was a bucket list-level adventure and even exceeded what we expected. Alaskan Adventures was great in handling the logistics of getting us there safely and on time with as much time to enjoy the area as we could. The flight over the inlet and Katmai National park was also breathtakingly beautiful.
The whole experience was amazing. We got to see bears close from the viewing platform. There were a lot of bears in the water in front of us and several downstream.
The flight to and from within a float plane was a uniquely Alaskan experience. On top of the flight was the bears! It was brilliant.
A reputable whale watch captain cannot guarantee you will see a whale while on his tour, but he also won't let you book a tour when he knows the whales aren't going to be in the area. Well, this outfit sold me and 2 other people a plane ride out to Brooks Falls on June 17. The salmon weren't running up stream that early and therefore, the bears weren't at the falls to feed. The river was empty and the park was essentially dead; only fisherman in the river and a few unaccompanied stragglers on the trails. The only wildlife we saw was some trout and a few birds. When I called the evening before the flight to confirm the meeting location, the pilot told me he hadn't been out to the falls yet and the bear cameras hadn't been set up. That's all he said, other than we didn't need to meet at the normal meeting time as it would be foggy in the park. The ticket was unrefundable when I booked, so cancelling on my end would have been absurd. He never offered to take me anywhere else (he claims he offered that to the other couple, but I was never told this). I was in the back seat of an uncomfortable plane for a 2.5-hr ride to see volcanos and snow. My relatives who lived in Homer for years told me the pilot knew there wouldn't be bears out there and took our money anyway. There's plenty of bear-watching tours in Homer; do your research and find one who will take you somewhere where it's likely the bears will actually be there.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
We were sorry this happened. As we told you the night before were didn’t know how it would be because it was still early. (It is wildlife we cannot control what the bears are doing ever day) Last year bears were around at that time. This year everything was late. We asked if you still wanted to go and you said yes, if you didn’t want to go after us explaining everything to you we would have refunded your trip that is why we told you, to give you the option.
Saw three bears but the salmon had not started their migration yet. But we did see bears. I should have done more research to see when they will start running this year. Longer winter later start😔
Response from Host, Jul 2026
It was a very late year for the salmon coming up the river. I’m sorry it’s hard to control nature. This is also not a zoo, there have been times in July when we have only see a few bears on a trip.
NO BEARS!!! This was a total waste of money! This tour should NOT be offered in June since the entire bear viewing is dependent on a salmon run that does not occur this early in the summer. It was a total rip off and completely unfair to even offer this tour in June. We could have booked a different tour to Lake Clark. Absolute scam!!! Also, the plane was very old and had extremely dirty windows which took away from the views. The pilot/owner did do a good job flying.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
We called you before your trip to tell you this was our first trip of the year to brooks falls, that the cameras were not up at brooks yet to be able to check for bears and we didn’t know how the bear viewing would be yet. We gave you the option to go to another spot that we knew bears were at but you wanted to go to brooks falls! Last year the bears were at brooks at this time. We were upfront and honest with you.
Great experience! We are a big group to Homer, even the weather are not very good but one of the group we finally be there the kingdom of the beer!
I would choose this operator again gladly. Corey is a great pilot, well versed in the area, and took care of us the whole flight. Brooks Camp is a once in a lifetime experience and should not be missed.
Our pilot was very professional and We felt safe throughout the flight. Much more reasonable price than other agencies. Will be back to use them again!
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you
Member Pricing
From
$1,472.50
per personWas $1,550.00(-5%)
-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
