Where to do whale watching

We are visiting next June and are not sure where to do whale watching. Would you recommend icy straight or Juneau? Also which tour vendor would you suggest? We do not arrive in icy straight until 3pm so maybe that will be a problem.

Thanks for your help.

We did a whale watching tour in Juneau. It was an excursion off the ship. We saw lots of whales, even saw them bubblenet feeding. It was awesome. The excursion also included a salmon bake at Orca Point lodge and a trip to Mendenhall Glacier. We had a good time even though it rained the whole time we were in Juneau.

Whale watching is successful in both locations, but since there are many other things to see and do in Juneau, people go whale watching in Icy Strait.

For vendors in either location, look in the Trip Reports above. They are very detailed with lots of helpful info (and great photos)!

Has anyone been whale watching in Icy Strait recently? I don't think there have been many whales around there this summer.

We just got back from Alaska and went through Hoonah travel adventures in Icy Strait. The boat fits 18 people max we had 16 passengers on our tour. The boat is comfortable and clean. The tour was amazing and we both wished we had more time with this tour. The boat has an enclosed area and an open area in the front and back of the boat. This allowed people to move around and get good pictures and videos of the whales.

We went whale watching in Juneau with Harv & Marv in May of this year. My husband and I really liked that we were on a small boat that held only six people (including us) plus our captain. We saw a lot of orcas (so much so that we were actually kind of bummed that we spent so much time with orcas we only saw one juvenile humpback's tail).

We went whale watching in Juneau with Harv & Marv in May of this year. My husband and I really liked that we were on a small boat that held only six people (including us) plus our captain. We saw a lot of orcas (so much so that we were actually kind of bummed that we spent so much time with orcas we only saw one juvenile humpback's tail).

Last month we saw no orcas but couldn't move for humpbacks :)

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We are booked with Harv and Marv for next summer already. I made the decision from the reviews I have read.

Has anyone been whale watching in Icy Strait recently? I don't think there have been many whales around there this summer.

Yes, I was there a couple weeks ago and we were hanging around 5 or 6 whales, including a juvenile. No breaching or bubble net feeding but I read trip reports from before and after we were there and it sounds like the whale sightings have been plentiful enough. We even watched a bear along the shore for quite a while (1st bear sighting in 4 trips to AK).

We are visiting next June and are not sure where to do whale watching. Would you recommend icy straight or Juneau? Also which tour vendor would you suggest? We do not arrive in icy straight until 3pm so maybe that will be a problem.

 

Thanks for your help.

Either port will give you good whale sightings but as another poster said, I'd have to recommend Icy Strait just because there are so many more things to do in Juneau.

I went with Hoonah Travel Adventures in Icy Strait (like a previous poster) and we had a really good time. The boat was very new and sturdy. There are a lot of other companies that get great reviews, too (FISHES comes to mind). I believe their boat(s) hold fewer people. As far as a 3pm arrival into I.S., that should not be a problem because the tour companies work around the ship schedules; that's what the captain told us. Our tour was from 3-6PM and there was a morning tour as well.

We've done four whale watches across our three Alaska cruises. Two were with Gastineau Guiding in Juneau (once by luck on our first cruise, the second time by choice on our recent cruise), once on a single-deck boat with ~40 people in Juneau, and once on a two-deck boat with ~30 people in Victoria.

On that 40-person boat in Juneau, there was an aft viewing platform that was too small for 40 people. In the cabin, the rows of seats weren't aligned with the windows, and they could only be opened at most half of the way, so it was tough for taking pictures. I also felt that the boat heeled over more than I'd like if everyone was on one side of the boat (very frequent with whales). On the 35-person boat in Victoria, there was a decent view from the upper deck and the small aft deck, but the boat seemed to be bouncing around a lot, making it very hard to keep cameras or binoculars aimed towards the whales.

However, both of our trips with Gastineau Guiding were the exact opposite. Their "photo safari" trips are max 14 people, and their other trips are max 20 people. Their boats are custom designed/built FOR WHALE WATCHING - not just custom as in "we picked the paint color" or "we wanted a different brand of bilge pump", they are purpose-made for whale watching. The inflatable pontoons really help stabilize the boat, making it far easier to see/photograph the whales (it was steady enough that I was quite successful using a monopod, something that'd be a risky mistake on any other boats). Also, the big windows swing in/up and pin out of the way, creating massive openings for shooting whales and wildlife while allowing everyone to stay under cover if they wish (there's a small open area on the bow).

Harv & Marv might have a lot of boats and a lot of word of mouth on the street, but I wouldn't want to do a whale watch with anyone other than Gastineau.

I suggest, you look at your ENTIRE list of activities and fit in a whale watch where it fits best, either Hoonah or Juneau will offer you 100% sightings of humpbacks.

We went whale watching in Juneau with Harv & Marv in May of this year. My husband and I really liked that we were on a small boat that held only six people (including us) plus our captain. We saw a lot of orcas (so much so that we were actually kind of bummed that we spent so much time with orcas we only saw one juvenile humpback's tail).

We just used Harv and Marv in Juneau at the end of July and it was great. We liked the idea that the excursion was a small boat and we were able to see so much more than being on a bigger boat with many people.

We've done four whale watches across our three Alaska cruises. Two were with Gastineau Guiding in Juneau (once by luck on our first cruise, the second time by choice on our recent cruise), once on a single-deck boat with ~40 people in Juneau, and once on a two-deck boat with ~30 people in Victoria.

 

On that 40-person boat in Juneau, there was an aft viewing platform that was too small for 40 people. In the cabin, the rows of seats weren't aligned with the windows, and they could only be opened at most half of the way, so it was tough for taking pictures. I also felt that the boat heeled over more than I'd like if everyone was on one side of the boat (very frequent with whales). On the 35-person boat in Victoria, there was a decent view from the upper deck and the small aft deck, but the boat seemed to be bouncing around a lot, making it very hard to keep cameras or binoculars aimed towards the whales.

 

However, both of our trips with Gastineau Guiding were the exact opposite. Their "photo safari" trips are max 14 people, and their other trips are max 20 people. Their boats are custom designed/built FOR WHALE WATCHING - not just custom as in "we picked the paint color" or "we wanted a different brand of bilge pump", they are purpose-made for whale watching. The inflatable pontoons really help stabilize the boat, making it far easier to see/photograph the whales (it was steady enough that I was quite successful using a monopod, something that'd be a risky mistake on any other boats). Also, the big windows swing in/up and pin out of the way, creating massive openings for shooting whales and wildlife while allowing everyone to stay under cover if they wish (there's a small open area on the bow).

 

Harv & Marv might have a lot of boats and a lot of word of mouth on the street, but I wouldn't want to do a whale watch with anyone other than Gastineau.

I second Gastineau Guiding in Juneau. They were actually the guides for our ship excursion. As stated above, their boat is awesome for whale watching. Everyone had "front row seats" and our two young kids could see everything. You really are almost at water level in their boats. We had such an amazing tour that I don't think anything else in the future will compare to it.

Here's a quick summary...We totally lucked out that my spouse spied a breaching whale from a long distance away. We caught up to it and it happened to be a baby whale and mother. The baby breached many times for us. They even swam right up to the side of our boat and surfaced to look at us and check us out. OMG was it a moment of pure delight to look into a baby whale's eye. Yes, the eyes tearing up kind of moment. They then dove and some of us turned around to the other side of the boat and unfortunately the guide who was new said it won't swim under the boat, so many of us turned back and a few seconds later the baby did indeed swim under us and breach right next to the boat! Amazing!

Thank you all for your help. I think we will choose Hoonah as there are so few things to do there and so many in Juneau. I will check out the companies you have recommended.

Thanks again.

Has anyone been whale watching in Icy Strait recently? I don't think there have been many whales around there this summer.

We did a B2B last week of June-first week in July and went on two whale watching tours in ISP and there were quite a few whales around. We saw equal amount during our two whale watching tours in Juneau.

We did a B2B last week of June-first week in July and went on two whale watching tours in ISP and there were quite a few whales around. We saw equal amount during our two whale watching tours in Juneau.

I'm assuming these sighting were all this year?

I also agree, I had excellent sightings at Point Adolphus twice, along with 4 tours out of Juneau, all this year. I'm returning for 3 more cruises in a little over a week and will be taking a whale watch out of Hoonah, only going there once. :) Plan on 3/4 tours out of Juneau.

Consistently over many years, the sightings are plentiful at both areas. :)

I'm assuming these sighting were all this year?

 

I also agree, I had excellent sightings at Point Adolphus twice, along with 4 tours out of Juneau, all this year. I'm returning for 3 more cruises in a little over a week and will be taking a whale watch out of Hoonah, only going there once. :) Plan on 3/4 tours out of Juneau.

 

Consistently over many years, the sightings are plentiful at both areas. :)

Yes, the tours were this year.

We also booked Harv and Marv for next June too . We heard great things about the company and workers . They call ed me back with in a couple of hours the same day .

I have now contacted two companies in Hoonah and both have come back promptly offering us places. I will probably leave it until the 2014 season is over before booking.

Thanks everyone again for your help.

I know reservations are recommended, but has anyone waited until they arrived in Juneau and booked a whale watching excursion from a vendor at the dock?

I know reservations are recommended, but has anyone waited until they arrived in Juneau and booked a whale watching excursion from a vendor at the dock?

You'd likely be able to get walk up space with someone. There are booths at the dock.