Icy Straight Point - land AND water option?

[kac911]

We are in port for 10 hours. I'd like to do both whale watching AND some time on land looking for bears (and other wildlife). I find companies that do one or the other, and it looks like Tecck used to do a combo thing but it seems they are no longer in business. Any suggestions on someone else who does both or can coordinate doing them together? With 10 hours I feel like we can do a lot more than just a 3 1/2 hour whale watching tour!

[TheCalicoCat]

No personal experience, but this tour appears to be what you are describing:

http://icystraitpoint.com/tour/whale-and-marine-mammals-cruise/

[kac911]

That second one is exactly what I'm looking for, I guess I should have specified, that I prefer to not go through the cruise ship. That link is the same tour (same price even) as through the cruise ship and in fact specifically says for cruise ships. I was looking for something smaller, like the whale watching trip through G Wind or FISHES. Because it's a cruise ship designed town is that a common theme there? I just have not historically enjoyed the larger cruise ship tours.

[AKStafford]

Here's the list of local vendors that are independent of the cruise lines and Icy Strait Point: http://visithoonah.com/

[epixx]

I can recommend Hoonah Travel Adventures. I thought they were excellent.

 

https://hoonahtraveladventures.com/

[Assateague Island Princes]

I've used Misty Bay Lodge in Hoonah twice - once for whale watching first, followed by a bear search, and once with a whale watch only. Wonderful experiences both times.

 

The whale watch/bear search combo was fantastic - we were so fortunate to see a ton (no pun intended) of whales breaching, bubblenet feeding, and generally putting on a show for us - up close and personal. Then my bear search afterwards was very productive with sighting of two brown bears - one fishing for salmon in a stream where we had about a 1/2 hour of viewing quite close, and one, an old boar, eating his way thru a berry patch right along the logging road our van was on. Loved it. BUT, this trip was in early to mid-August - when the salmon were running, so I wouldn't know how productive a bear search might be in May, probably pretty much a crapshoot, I would think.

 

The whale watch only trip took place in late May and again, we saw loads of whales, a lot of breaching, tails, humps, and spouts, but no bubblenet feeding this time.

 

I've enjoyed Hope and Capt. Dan of Misty Bay Lodge both times , professional, friendly, and always willing to go the extra mile to accommodate any requests we had. We were on their 6 passenger boat - with a comfortable interior cabin w/plenty of window seats, a small bathroom, wonderful binoculars for our use if we didn't have them, and fresh baked cookies that didn't suck! There is also a covered outside aft area that had plenty of room for all of us to be out there for great photos if we wanted - and out of the wet weather when it occurred. We also enjoyed the freedom to go up in the crows nest w/spectacular views from a higher perch when the whales were right next to our boat. Would highly recommend them!

[mjcruise101]

We are taking the HAL Amsterdam14 day cruise and looking at hiking and local tours. In Icy Point there are several highly rating whale watching tours. We are taking Glacier Winds. I e-mailed them and Teresa responded the very next day. I think it was 160 each for 3 1/2 tour. From what I've read, most of the cruise lines use Allan Marine, they have good reviews but their boat carry 50-150 people and get crowded. Most of the local tours carry 6-20 people, much more personal. they pick you up at the dock. Look at the reviews on Trip Advisor. At Icy point until last year they use to have to tender the passengers to the dock. Now the ships dock at the port much more convenient.

[Budget Queen]

I would suggest just booking 2 tours. There is no needto stay with one vendor. In my opinion- the top- vendor for whale watches and the king of cpts is Floyd Peterson, who owns FISHES. He always books up, way in advance. There are numerous others. You do want to take a look at the length of time of your tours, and not focus on the price- IF you want better tours. Time always equals more viewing opportunities, and there are some newer bear search tours that are too short in my opinion. Of course this matters to me, and I am very picky, and certainly doesn't not apply to some people. Just a consideration to decide upon before jumping into a booking.