Icy Strait Premier Whale Watching Adventure

4.9
313 reviews

Excursion Overview

Guaranteed Whale Watching in Icy Strait Point

***Additional dates coming soon for 2025***

Your Icy Strait Point whale-watching tour (with guaranteed whale sightings!) begins when a transport picks you up just outside the gates of Icy Strait Point. You'll be whisked away to Hoonah Harbor dock to meet the charter boat. Along the way, you may spot some of our local wildlife including Alaskan Brown Bears, bald eagles, blacktail deer, and more. Once aboard and traveling along the shorelines, sightings of bears, deer, coastal ducks and geese, blue herons, puffins, swans, terns, cormorants, and more are common.

In the water, you may get a chance to spot, orcas, sea otters, sea lions, porpoises, and seals in addition to the feeding humpbacks. Humpback whales come to Hoonah in huge numbers to feed on the nutrient-rich waters of Glacier Bay and Icy Strait every summer beginning in May before migrating south again in September for the winter.

Humpback whales are large baleen whales that can reach over 50 feet in length and weigh as much as 30-50 tons. Humpbacks are amazingly active and typical whale sightings will include diving, blows, and flukes (tails). Lucky whale watchers may get to see breaching and bubble-net feeding, a cooperative feeding method where a pod forms a circle and dives under the water; they then blow air to create a wall of bubbles that force krill and plankton to the surface where the whales can eat them. Observing humpbacks practice bubble-net feeding is a real treat and a truly thrilling experience.

Whale Watching Charter and Transportation

The charter boat is built for speed and comfort and is perfectly suited for travel along Alaska's waterways. Guests will stay warm and dry with viewing decks and heated cabins as they experience the wonder and beauty of our whale-watching trip. We will return to the docks and transport you back to Icy Strait Point with plenty of time to board your ship or explore downtown Hoonah.

Things You Need to Know

Inclusions:

  • Whale sightings are guaranteed. If you do not see a whale on your tour, you will be fully refunded.
  • Restrooms onboard
  • Light snack
  • Roundtrip transportation from the Icy Strait Excursions Hub

Requirements:

  • There are no additional requirements for this excursion.

Duration: 3 hours (Roundtrip from the Excursions Hub.)

  • 30 minutes - roundtrip transportation to Hoonah City Commercial Dock
  • 2.5 hours - whale watching

Meeting Instructions:

  • This tour meets at the Excursion Hub. Fully detailed instructions are included on your finalized ticket vouchers.

ADA Accessibility of Tour:

  • This tour is not wheelchair or limited mobility accessible. Guests must be able to negotiate a sometimes extremely steep ramp to the boat due to extreme tides.

Refund Policy:

  • You may cancel for any reason up to seven (7) days prior to the date of the tour for a full refund.
  • Please see our Refund Policy Page for complete details.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are no age restrictions for this tour.

Sightings are guaranteed or you'll receive a full refund for your tour.

Humpback whales and other sea animals are protected species and a safe distance of at least 100 yards must be maintained at all times according to NOAA regulations.

Air temperature can drop as much as 20°F with the wind chill factor when viewing whales outside.

The interior of the boat is heated when needed due to weather conditions to keep a comfortable environment.

The charter boats used have a capacity of 18, 30, or 42 passengers.

Every boat has open seating as well as outside viewing areas when permitted.

We get this question a lot. The waters we operate in are usually pretty calm. If you are prone to seasickness, we recommend Dramamine or a wristband. Over the years, less than 1% of our guests have gotten seasick.

Yes, the boats are equipped with restrooms.

Light snacks are included.​

Non-alcoholic beverages in closeable containers and snacks are allowed on tour.​

Backpacks, small bags, and purses are allowed on this tour.

 

Guest Reviews

4.9

313 total

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Brittani M

On Oct 2024

Our Captain was amazing, knowledgeable, and friendly. She went out of her way to make my son comfortable. We had an amazing adventure and saw plenty of whales.

JAMES N

On Oct 2024

Our boat capitan was amazing, we were right next to whales within 10 min of leaving the docks and stayed with them for the whole time.

Billie A

On Oct 2024

This was the best excursion we took on our trip to Alaska. Denise, our boats captain was very friendly and a native of Alaska. She told stories of her tribal people. We found a pod of 5-6 humpback whales and watched them for almost an hour. Some of the tourists on boat got to see one whale breech! We also had a young lady, Carson, on board who was a biologist/naturalist. She was able to tell the names of the whales by the markings on their tails or fins. We were able to see a whale name Ruffles , named so because at sometime he has been hit by a boat and it marred his fin. We learned so much more than I expected by have these ladies in charge of our excursion! We had boats out in the same water and the captains were communicating to give each other positions of the whales, giving each tourist the best possible opportunity to see the whales! Highly recommend this company! Thank you Denise! :)

Mary G

On Sep 2024

Well worth doing. Very informative and once whales were spotted there was plenty of time on deck to take photos.

Margaret S

On Sep 2024

We saw several whales on our adventure. We had a beautiful vibrant rainbow while we watched the whales spout and dive in the water. None jumped from the water but we saw their tails. The captain was amazing with information on the area and about the whales.

$180.00

Best Price Guarantee!

$180.00

Duration: 3 hours

Best Price Guarantee!

Duration: 3 hours



Adult (13+): $180.00

Child (12 and Under): $180.00