Adak Island, Something to Consider.

Adak Island is one of our most popular destinations, and for good reason! The birding on this central Aleutian Island is top notch, not just spring and fall, but year-round. The island boasts a long list of rarities, interesting migrants, and breeding specialties. The scenery is unsurpassed. And, the accommodations and on-island transportation options are surprisingly comfortable given the remote and isolated location.

Flying to and from Adak is quite easy, too, due to the regularly scheduled Alaska Airlines flights from Anchorage. As on all of our trips to western Alaskan destinations, birders visiting Adak Island should be aware of and plan for the possibility of weather delays. This is important on any tour, and on most of our tours, we advise participants to allow for a day or two buffer on the end of the trip in case of delays. With Adak, however, the situation is a little different. There are only two scheduled flights to the island each week, currently on Wednesday and Saturday. And the fine print: if a flight is canceled due to weather, Alaska Airlines generally does not schedule a make-up flight. Instead, all passengers are rebooked on the next scheduled flight. This could result in your planned five-day trip to Adak Island becoming an eight-day trip, or sadly, you never leave Anchorage at all.

Truthfully, the risk of your flight being delayed to or from Adak Island is far lower than a flight to the Pribilofs, Gambell, or even Nome. However, it’s a scenario that anyone planning a trip to the island should be aware of and plan for. To date, we have organized and led 20 birding trips (and counting) to Adak Island since our first trip in 2008. Of these, only one incurred a schedule change due to a flight cancellation. Nineteen of these trips ran without any problems at all.

There you have it. The facts. Plan accordingly, and we hope to see you soon on a trip to Adak Island!