kayaking for newby

[ready2travel54]

I'd like to look at some options for kayaking. we are in Seward for two days, one of those days we are doing a 6 hour boat tour. We are boarding the ship in Whittier and could have a few hours there.

Port stops are Juneau - whale watching there so probably no time for kayak

 

other port stops Skagway and Ketchikan and Vancouver.

[Quigley10]

I can't comment on Seward, but have you considered Ketchikan? My husband and I are novice kayakers who did the Orcas Cove tour withSoutheaat Sea Kayaks - a wonderful, wonderful experience.

[Suzanne123]

We've taken several Prince William Sound tours before the ship leaves our of Whittier:

http://www.princewilliamsound.com/pws-wilderness-explorer.html and we see the kayakers close to shore. http://www.alaskaseakayakers.com/prince-william-sound-day-tours.html . I've never kayaked with them, but I told my husband that next time, we're going to do the Blackstone Bay kayak trip.

[ready2travel54]

We've taken several Prince William Sound tours before the ship leaves our of Whittier:

http://www.princewilliamsound.com/pws-wilderness-explorer.html and we see the kayakers close to shore. http://www.alaskaseakayakers.com/prince-william-sound-day-tours.html . I've never kayaked with them, but I told my husband that next time, we're going to do the Blackstone Bay kayak trip.

Wow that Blackstone Bay trip looks awesome. We arrive in Whittier a little after noontime and ships departs at 7.

 

Earlier we are doing a tour in Seward with Major Marine tours - a 7.5 hour trip. Wondering if we would see the same type of things in PWS or would it be worth our while to do a cruise here too??? thanks for your help.

[ready2travel54]

I can't comment on Seward, but have you considered Ketchikan? My husband and I are novice kayakers who did the Orcas Cove tour withSoutheaat Sea Kayaks - a wonderful, wonderful experience.

Can you tell me more about the Orca Cove tour??? What did you see for wildlife. I am assuming you don't get to see any ice in the water?

[LoriPhil]

We're considering the Glacier Lake kayaking tour out of Skagway, where you take the train to Frasier and then are taken to the lake for about 1 hour of kayaking, and then the bus back down to town. Has anyone taken this tour - was it fun? We'd love to do the ocean kayaking in Ketchikan as it sounds wonderful, but we have a very short time in this port which is our favorite for shopping (Creek Street - such fun) so we're also looking for other options.

[edmusic]

If your plans change and you can do kayaking in Juneau, we did the excursion to view the Mendenhall Glacier from kayaks. Here's a short video of what that experience was like:

 

[AndiShop]

LoriPhil - We did that kayaking trip. It was nice. We read that we would train up and bus down, but we actually bussed up and trained down. Whichever, I don't know if it matters either way. We had a great time, and got amazing pictures. Our main goal was to get in the train and the Kayaking, which we accomplished - but, there was no wildlife, etc. It was just kayaking in an amazing and peaceful setting. It was windy that day and so our arms got pretty tired! But we still enjoyed ourselves.

[Assateague Island Princes]

edmusic - thanx for posting that video! We've booked a self-guided Mendenhall Glacier excursion in Juneau and that gives us just a taste of what we're in for. You went on the guided experience, didn't you? I'm hoping we have great weather that day, though my weather-luck in Juneau isn't great - only one trip out of the previous three did we have sunshine (and NOT of the liquid variety). Here's hoping!

[CruiserN1]

Just back from Alaska, where DH and I did the morning kayak trip in Seward with Kenai Fjords Tours out at Fox Island. We saw some great wildlife on the boat that took us to and from Fox Island, but not much from the kayaks. The kayaking itself was nice, calm water, and mostly peaceful easy paddling. I wished we'd done a trip out of Ketchikan or Juneau instead as these seemed to offer more wildlife viewing.

[Suzanne123]

If you ever get the opportunity to visit Homer, Alaska, this is a great kayaking day with loads of otters, birds and seals.

http://homerkayaking.com

[boulders]

We did the Orca's Cove tour 2 years ago. We saw a sea lion who surfaced a couple of times right next to the kayaks. We also saw bald eagles, lots of kelp and a jellyfish. It was a great experience.

[Quigley10]

We saw the same as Boulders. No ice nor snow in the Ketchikan area, but it was still beautiful and a highlight of our cruise!!

[SeafordCruiser]

I can't comment on Seward, but have you considered Ketchikan? My husband and I are novice kayakers who did the Orcas Cove tour withSoutheaat Sea Kayaks - a wonderful, wonderful experience.

Thinking of doing their shorter tour..2.5 hours. Anyone do that one? Figure it would leave us time to tour the town!:)

[Quigley10]

No idea what the short tour is like, but I'd say to give them a call! They can tell you more about it and help you with the logistics.

[shutterbug285]

Can you tell me more about the Orca Cove tour??? What did you see for wildlife. I am assuming you don't get to see any ice in the water?

 

We didn't see any ice. Here is my review of the Orca Cove trip. It starts at post 33

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1438784&page=2

 

I would highly recommend it! We had a great time