VIP Yacht Services
Best Of Alaska By Land, Air, and Sea!
What is Yacht Services?
Destination Alaska V.I.P. Services is proud to offer a full array of support services and adventure packages to Yacht management companies and owners while touring the coastal waters of Alaska. Each year we work with dozens of yacht managers, owners, and operators providing the best floatplane, charter vessel, and shuttle services to their guests, captains, and crews while visiting southcentral Alaska.
In addition to our Homer, Alaska location, our V.I.P. excursion homebase is the M/V Peregrine located on the outer coast in the Kenai Fjords near the McCarty Glacier. A cruise around Alaska would not be complete without a visit to this magnificent National Park. Snowcapped mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, world-class fishing, and wildlife are only a few of the experiences waiting for you along the wild outer coast of the Kenai Peninsula. The Fjords has many protected bays and coves to choose from and is a spectacular glacier location for vessels traveling from Prince William Sound and Seward down to Kodiak or Geographic Harbor. Destination Alaska Adventure Co. has put together the ultimate outpost experience for your yacht right in the heart of this incredible place. Our vessel, the M/V Peregrine, is known as “Adventure Headquarters” and is anchored in the perfect place to spend several days exploring and relaxing. She is loaded with equipment and toys and provides multiple guided expeditions for you to choose from. As our V.I.P. guest, you will have exclusive access to expert guides, jet skis, float planes, state of the art fishing vessels, kayaks, and 8x8 amphibious Argos. Wake up each day and choose from the following activities:
- Guided Glacier Jet Ski Tours
- National Park Brown Bear Viewing (Katmai - Brooks Falls and Lake Clark)
- Glacier Flightsee by Floatplane
- Ring of Fire Volcano Tour by Bushplane
- Homer Day (floatplane from the yacht to Homer)
- 8 x 8 Argo Backcountry Tour
- Guided Glacier Hiking
- Guided Kayaking/Paddle Boarding
- Waterfall Hot Tubbing (two 8 person hot tubs on deck)
- Beachcombing for treasure
- Halibut and Salmon Saltwater Fishing and some Fly Fishing
- Evening Shore/Beach Campfire Smores
- Wildlife and Waterfall Dinner Cruises
Finish up the day in our big hot tub with an unbeatable view of a cascading waterfall at the end of the cove. Coming through from Kodiak, Prince William Sound, or Seward? Enjoy a multiday stop in the Kenai Fjords at the McCarty Glacier and let Destination Alaska show you the adventure of a lifetime!
Attention Captains: Floatplane services are available for crew change outs, grocery and parts runs, and we can even fly your guests from Anchorage to your mooring locations. Need transportation via the road system? No problem. We provide V.I.P. shuttle services in our fleet of Cadillac Escalades.
Adventure Information
Our Vessels
M/V PEREGRINE:
Built with heavy-duty welded aluminum right here in Alaska, the 98 x 24 Peregrine is a high-capacity landing craft-style vessel. Don’t let her rugged exterior good looks fool you, her interior has extraordinary yacht-like finishing touches in the staterooms, kitchen, and salon. Powered by triple 405 Cummins and Seakeeper gyro-stabilized, it is a true luxury toy hauler carrying 12 jet skis, kayaks, paddle boards, and all the necessary drysuits, helmets, etc. to make your adventures comfortable. She also has a spacious lower level for banquet-style dining, two 8-person hot tubs, a commercial kitchen and grill station, a meat smoker, and sleeping quarters for 10. We have found this vessel to be the perfect platform for launching our incredible expeditions.
Wilderness Explorer, Alaska Endeavor, and Legacy
These three vessels make up our charter fleet. Each boat has its specially based on the number of people needed to accommodate and the intended activity. Click on the link below to see full details of these incredible vessels.
Jetski Adventures
If you are looking for an extraordinary experience in Alaska’s coastal backcountry, this is it! Your yacht group will meet us on the M/V Peregrine where your guides, captain, and crew will be eagerly awaiting your arrival to size everyone up for warm, top of the line dry suits, helmets, gloves and neoprene boots. Even though you will never be alone on your adventure, safety is paramount in the backcountry, so we provide everyone with linked radio communications, personal floatation devices with water activated strobes, and emergency locators. We operate 300 H.P. Seadoo GTX Limited and our guides will walk you through a detailed safety brief and tutorial on how to operate these amazing and powerful machines.
One-by-one we’ll taxi away from the boat as your guide leads you into some of the most incredible bays and coves in Alaska. On the 15-mile cruise to the McCarty Glacier along the northwest shoreline, you’ll have the opportunity to see an abundance of sea life and panoramic vistas of waterfalls, beaches, alpine ridges and rocky pinnacles that will leave you speechless. At the end of the Fjord is the mighty McCarty Glacier that drops straight into the ocean. We will carefully navigate and slow roll through a maze of giant blue icebergs giving you plenty of time to take it all in and capture the memories with your camera. We’ll gather as a group and turn off the machines for a few minutes. Can you hear it? The glacier is groaning as it moves at a microscopic pace down the mountain grinding the rocks along the edges and further carving the valley below. If we experience good fortune in timing, we could be there to watch as house size chunks of ice calve off and crash into the water. This is a sound and sight experience you will never forget. Time to start our cruise back to the boat. For the return trip, we’ll cruise along the Southeast shoreline on our way to Moonlight Bay. We’ll explore a myriad of incredible bays and coves along our route of travel, many of which have cascading waterfalls originating from the snowcapped mountains above. After exploring miles of incredible coastline, we’ll arrive back at the Peregrine where we’ll tie up the jet skis, shed our dry suits, and quench our appetites with a barbeque meal fit for royalty. Once this journey is complete, you will have experienced a part of Alaska that has only been seen by the most adventurous visitors and residents alike.
Halibut & Salmon Fishing
A visit to Alaska isn’t complete without spending a day on the open water catching trophy Halibut, Salmon, and Rockfish. The F/V Wilderness Explorer was custom built with 44’ of luxury and 1275 h.p. to get you and your group out to prime fishing grounds in comfort and record time. A fast vessel means you’ll have more time to fish!
Our captain and crew will meet you at your yacht at 8:30 a.m. for a scenic ride out to our favorite fishing holes and into Alaska’s pristine coastal wilderness. Worried about motion sickness? We have one of the only charter vessels in Alaska that has a Seakeeper 6 gyro stabilization system installed. This system eliminates 90% of vessel roll, the leading cause of seasickness. Our seasoned captain and crew will teach you all you need to know to bring the big ones over the rail and into the cooler. When your arms are tired and the day is done, our deckhand will expertly fillet and prepare your fish to be cooked or vacuum-sealed and frozen by your crew. You’ll roll back to your yacht around 4:30 p.m. with plenty of time for your chef to prepare a fine meal of freshly caught Alaska fish.
VIP Planes
When Destination Alaska went looking for the best airplanes for our guests, the decision was simple. We needed safety, reliability, comfort, and speed. That's why we invested millions of dollars to purchase a nearly all Turbo fleet of aircraft. Our DHC-3T de Havilland Otter floatplanes, along with two DHC-2T MK III de Havilland Beavers on wheels were the best choices. Not to be left out, our Cessna 206 is an incredible aircraft that gets the job done for small groups. Here are some of the statistics for each plane:
DHC-3T Otter - 1000 H.P. - Floatplane - 10 pax or 2200 lb load
DHC-2T MK III - 750 H.P. - 35" Bushwheels - 9 pax or 1250 lb load
Cessna 206G - 300 H.P. - Aerocet Floats - 5 pax or 900 lbs
These aircraft are true bushplanes designed and built for short take of and landings, and transporting people and heavy loads of supplies and equipment throughout Alaska. Destination Alaska invites you to ride along as we soar above glaciers, rocky coastlines, volcanoes, and snowcapped mountains across Cook Inlet and around the Kenai Peninsula. While in the air, you’ll have the opportunity to see moose, black bears, mountain goats, whales, and other wildlife that call Kachemak Bay and the Kenai mountains home. Climb aboard and see Alaska by air!
National Park Bear Viewing
BROOKS FALLS - KATMAI NATIONAL PARK
Brooks Falls is a world-renowned bear sanctuary nestled in the middle of Katmai National park. Take a spectacular float plane ride from your yacht across Cook Inlet, past Augustine volcano, and over the Valley of 10,000 Smokes to Naknek Lake. Pull up to the beach and take a short walk to the National Park Service Ranger Station for a brief presentation and then, let the exploring begin! You’ll be fully immersed in Brown Bear natural habitat while following several boardwalks and trails that will lead right up to the falls where, at most times, there are more than half a dozen bears actively feeding! During the height of salmon season, it is possible to see 50 or more brown bears feeding in the river only a few feet from the observation platforms. The Brooks River is home to one of the best natural runs of red and silver salmon in the state! This draws bears from all over the area to the river for a viewing experience like no other. Midafternoon, make your way back down to the lake where your chariot awaits. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacular flight back to your yacht.
CHINITNA BAY & HALLO BAY
Bear Viewing Alaska is world renowned for giving visitors an up close and personal experience with majestic Coastal Brown Bears. 98% of our country’s brown bears live in Alaska and hundreds of these incredible animals live right across from the Kenai Peninsula on the west side of Cook Inlet. We are proud to offer our guests the opportunity to fly by wheeled bush plane into the heart of Katmai and/or Lake Clark National Parks to spend the day watching these amazing animals. Each of these locations offer incredible opportunities to observe bears ranging from 800 to 1200 lbs. in their natural environment. After a short safety briefing, you’ll put on a pair of waterproof hip boots, and climb aboard one of our bush planes. Many customers have commented that the flight alone from their yacht at the McCarty into bear country was worth the price of admission. Your route will take you over and around several volcanoes, glaciers, and rivers where you’ll land on long sandy beaches or one of many float plane lakes or rivers. From there, you and your trained guide will hike into the backcountry for a photo safari where the incredible scenery and wildlife are around every corner. It will take your breath away. Watch as they dig for clams, graze on sedge grasses, establish dominance, and teach new cubs how to catch salmon in the river. Spend the day with us in the heart of bear country and make Alaska size memories that will last a lifetime!
V.I.P. Shuttle Service
Destination Alaska V.I.P. Services has a full line of transportation options including a world-class shuttle service for guests who choose to explore the Kenai Peninsula on the road system. We spent months searching for top-of-the-line vehicles with large capacity and incredible creature comforts. That’s why we ordered Cadillac Escalade ESVs! Each vehicle can carry 6 adult passengers and their luggage. With 19 speakers and active noise canceling, riding in this vehicle feels like a front-row seat at the symphony. Many of our customers fly into Homer in their private jets and use our shuttle services to transport them to their lodging. For the Homer Day tour package, we’ll shuttle you between local attractions and shopping outlets while giving you a tour of the town known as the Hamlet By The Sea. For our Backcountry Argo Tours, we’ll shuttle you from our office to the Caribou Lake Trailhead where your guide and our Argos will be waiting to take you on a fun day of adventure. Another primary use of our fleet is transportation when the weather is too poor to fly. Need to go to Anchorage, Kenai, Cooper Landing, or Seward? No problem…. We can get you there in style!
Glacier Flightsees & Ring of Fire Tour
Kachemak Bay & McCarty Glacier Tour
Climb aboard our Cessna 206 or de Havilland Otter for an incredible flight right from your yacht. From above the McCarty Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park and the turquoise waters of Kachemak Bay, the views are simply stunning and will be sure to take your breath away! In the duration of the 2-hour flight, you will have the opportunity to see blue ice glaciers, snowfields, thunderous waterfalls, and alpine lakes. Experience Alaska by air with Destination Alaska!
Ring of Fire Volcano Tour
When you visit Homer and the Kenai Fjords, you will see distant vistas of Alaska’s volcanoes, glaciers, and waterfalls. Imagine soaring directly over these breathtaking volcanos and landscapes in a genuine Alaska bush plane. We are proud to offer you an amazing experience in our Cessna 206 floatplane, DHC-2 bushplane, or DHC-3 floatplane. After a short safety brief, you’ll climb aboard and take off on an extraordinary 3 - 3.5 hour trip across Cook Inlet to see Ring of Fire volcanoes Mt Redoubt, Mt Iliamna, Mt Augustine, and Mt Douglas. Our pilots are trained to get you up close for those incredible pictures that can only be taken from a bush plane.
"My husband and I flew with Northwind Aviation last summer and it was the highlight of our stay in Homer. Their pilot took us through the mountains and right up over the glacier to the outer coast. We saw black bears, mountain goats, and a huge waterfall! Thank you, Northwind!"
- Jennifer M. (Portland, OR)
Interpretive Glacier Hiking
Join your guides for a spectacular hike to the Dinglestadt and McCarty Glaciers. We’ll water taxi you from your yacht to the beaches in front of these two magnificent glaciers where you will begin your hike. The Dinglestadt Glacier hike is approximately 1 mile each way and crosses flat terrain and up the dry outwash plain of the glacier. It ends at the base of the ice that is thousands of years old. Your guide will point out the stages of reforestation along the glacial moraine and provide you with a wealth of information while exploring this incredible area. This hike offers superb views of the glacier and its surrounding peaks. At the McCarty tidewater glacier, icebergs floating in the water present opportunities for great photos. The tour includes round trip water-taxi from your yacht, guide, and National Park fees. We’ll provide lunch, drinks, and snacks. Gratuities are not included but are greatly appreciated by our staff and guides. Wear warm layered clothes and comfortable walking shoes, bring rain gear, camera, and binoculars. Departure and return times will be arranged to meet your needs and experience level. Lace up those hiking boots and let’s go exploring!
