Icy Strait Point/Whales AND bears?

Hello! We are cruising to Alaska next month and are trying to decide whether to take the shore excursion (in ISP) that includes whale watching and the wildlife hike (to potentially see bears) or just stick with the whale watching? Has anyone done the wildlife (bear) portion? If so, was it worth it? Thanks!

I just did that full tour. Whale watching was INCREDIBLE. Like we saw a pod of 16 whales bubble net feeding. And 9 breeches (this just does not happen). We did not see a bear. However, they said they see one 70% of the time, and I did enjoy learning about their culture (which they talked about extensively on the bus ride).

Nothing is guaranteed so it’s a gamble either way. It could easily be the opposite.

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Hi, was on Radiance Ots last yr in May. One stop was Icy Strait. Was sittin on the balcony watchin the whales off in the distance, when my roommate came in an said, lets go up to the deck an see if we can see anything. Well after waitin a couple of minutes, we had the show of a lifetime, whales right next to the ship, feeding. Not once, but several times, they kept circleing the ship. Was the highlite of the cruise. Oh yeah, it was also 2 p.m. at the time all this was goin on. Do keep your eyes out when you are up in Alaska. That second picture that Celoplyr took, thats what we saw.

We did a bear search with Hoonah Travel Tours followed by a whale watch with Hoonah Whale Tours we saw both bears and whales. We booked independently.

How are walking conditions on the hike?

I bought boots and DH taking a back pack.

How far and how long was this part of the tour.

Thanks

How are walking conditions on the hike?

 

I bought boots and DH taking a back pack.

 

How far and how long was this part of the tour.

 

Thanks

With the Bear Search you stay in the safety of your van for the most part, we did stop and get out for a few minutes.

Hello! We are cruising to Alaska next month and are trying to decide whether to take the shore excursion (in ISP) that includes whale watching and the wildlife hike (to potentially see bears) or just stick with the whale watching? Has anyone done the wildlife (bear) portion? If so, was it worth it? Thanks!

If you are referring to a ship tour. going independent is superior for more bear viewing potential .

Do you want to see bears? And yes, I have done bear tours, multiple times, all had sightings in my case. Always, I've gone independent.

Thanks for the replies so far!

Can anyone recommend an independent tour for bear sightings? I would love to see some bears!