Welcome to the Aero Adventures blog, your guide to flying over the San Francisco Bay Area by seaplane and helicopter. For more than 70 years, we’ve flown guests out of the Mill Valley Seabase, past the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Angel Island, and the San Francisco skyline, and we’ve picked up a few things worth sharing along the way.
Here you’ll find real answers to the questions people ask most before booking a San Francisco air tour: how much a helicopter or seaplane ride actually costs, what to wear before you board, how a helicopter actually flies, and how our seaplane and helicopter tours each show you a different side of the Bay. Whether you’re planning a sunset champagne flight for a proposal, a family seaplane adventure, or you’re just curious what a helicopter tour over San Francisco looks like from a thousand feet up, we’re breaking it down here, straight from the pilots and crew who fly it every day.
New guides are added regularly. Browse the posts below to start planning your own flight over the Bay.
Multigenerational Flying: Tips for Bringing Grandparents Along
October 14, 2026
Some of the best trips are the ones where three generations end up in the same place at the same time. If grandparents are visiting this fall, or you’re planning a family trip around a milestone birthday or anniversary, a flight over San Francisco Bay is one of the few activities where a seven-year-old and a seventy-seven-year-old have the same reaction at the same moment.
What Is a “Waterplane”? A Beginner’s Guide to Seaplanes
October 5, 2026
If you’ve ever searched “water plane” and weren’t entirely sure what you were even looking for, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most common ways people describe an aircraft that takes off and lands on water, more commonly known as a seaplane. If you’ve never seen one in person, or you’re just curious what makes them different from a regular airplane,
Are Helicopter & Seaplane Tours Good for Kids? A Family Guide
September 28, 2026
If you’re planning a family trip to San Francisco and wondering whether a helicopter or seaplane tour actually works with kids in tow, here’s the short answer: yes, and it’s easier than you’d think. Here’s what to actually expect, straight from our own policies, before you book.
Is There a Minimum Age?
Proposing in the Air: The Perfect Plan
September 23, 2026
There’s a reason so many proposals happen a thousand feet above the San Francisco Bay. It’s not just the view, though the Golden Gate Bridge glowing at sunset doesn’t hurt. It’s that a proposal in the air is genuinely private, completely unforgettable, and impossible to recreate anywhere else. If you’re planning one, here’s exactly how to make sure it goes off without a hitch.
How Much Does a Seaplane Tour Cost?
September 16, 2026
If you’re googling “how much does a seaplane tour cost,” you’re probably picturing a splashy takeoff on the Bay and wondering what that experience actually runs. The short answer: our seaplane tours range from about $264 to $423 per person, depending on the route, the length of the flight, and how much extra experience (like champagne,
What Is an SES Rating? The Skill Behind Every One of Our Pilots
September 9, 2026
Every time one of our pilots sets a seaplane down on the Bay instead of a runway, there’s a level of skill behind it that goes well beyond a standard pilot’s license. It starts with a specific FAA certification, an SES rating, but the rating itself is really just the entry point.
Corporate & Team Outing Ideas That Aren’t Another Happy Hour
September 2, 2026
Another happy hour. Another round of appetizers nobody remembers a week later. If you’re planning your next team outing, client event, or incentive trip and the thought of booking yet another bar makes you want to close the laptop, here’s a genuinely different option: take the team into the air instead.
Here’s what a corporate flight experience actually looks like,
Best Time of Year to Book a San Francisco Air Tour
August 26, 2026
San Francisco’s weather has a reputation, and it’s earned. Between the fog, the wind, and the microclimates that make one neighborhood sunny while another is soaked in mist, timing your flight right can be the difference between a postcard view and a flight through the clouds. Here’s what the seasons actually look like from the air,
Seaplanes Combine the Best of Boating and Flying: Here’s How
August 19, 2026
Ask someone to describe a seaplane tour, and they usually reach for one of two comparisons: it’s like a boat ride, or it’s like a flight. The truth is it’s both, at the same time, in a way no other tour over the Bay can offer. That combination is exactly what makes a seaplane tour feel different from a helicopter tour or a bay cruise,
How Does a Helicopter Actually Fly? The Physics Behind Every Tour
August 12, 2026
Watching a helicopter lift straight up off the ground, hover in place, then glide sideways over the Bay never quite stops looking like magic. It’s not magic, though. It’s physics, and once you understand how it actually works, it makes the experience even more impressive.
Here’s a real, no-jargon breakdown of how a helicopter flies,