Homer and Kodiak: I've Got (nearly) Nothing. Help!

Talk to me about Homer and Kodiak. These two port stops are near-ish to the end of our 14-day sailing (days 9 and 10), and I just cannot figure out the best way to spend our time in either port. We don't do cruise ship excursions because of crowds and expense, so it would need to be an on-our-own thing. My initial thoughts were:

Homer: water taxi to Glacier Spit for hike to Grenwick Glacier Lake. But my husband is like 'another hike, really?' (We are hiking on this trip A LOT.) What else is there to do other than walk around Homer Spit and eat halibut? (Not that I don't want to eat halibut. I totally do.)

Kodiak: either taxi to Fort Abercrombie State Park or walk over the bridge and wander around North End Park and then walk back and go to a brewery. Both are rather chill options which I guess is ok, though I'm looking for something a bit more...epic. But epic on a budget.

Any ideas for either port? I've Googled and Googled and GOOGLED and cannot land on anything. Please help! Thanks!! Note: it is just me and my husband. We are in our late 30's/early 40's and in moderate shape. Likes include nature and wildlife and good food and beer. Dislikes include huge tour groups, guided hikes, and shopping.

I, too, have been researching things to do in Homer (an 2 night stop on our cruise tour) One thing that caught my attention was fat tire bike rental. Gets great reviews on TripAdvisor.

Homer is great for a fishing charter if you’re into that. Otherwise, the spit sort of sucks and there’s not much else in town

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We visited Homer and Kodiak two years ago on our 14 day cruise. Both very enjoyable ports of call. Here's what we did:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8427902644855863729#editor/target=post;postID=8770200828172155739;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=3;src=postname

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8427902644855863729#editor/target=post;postID=2361220635751038963;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=2;src=postname

Kodiak, Memory Makers small van tour.

Homer, car rental drive to hikes, look for moose, Norman Lowell's gallery, museums.

sightcrr

If available, a tour that included a Russian Tea at Kodiak was enjoyable both for the entertainment during the tea as well as the sights I saw.

Homer: maybe use the available shuttle to survey the area and return to those sites may be the best that I can advise. The citizens of Homer are very welcoming and I would suggest that you do something to visit the port.

This is what I would do in Kodiak: https://www.andrewairways.com/

If you schedule allows it in Homer: https://www.thesaltry.com/danny-j-ferry/

In Homer the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies has lots of nature-related things to do, both in Homer and across the bay. As mentioned above, if your timing works to take a boat to the restaurant in Halibut Cove, The Saltry, the food is phenomenal. Otherwise in Homer you can't go wrong with halibut pretty much anywhere. The town of Homer has lots of art galleries. There is an organic restaurant where the spit meets town. If you want to do walking without going on another hike, you could just walk the entire length of the Spit into town, explore town, and then back. The crowds will thin out on the spit when you get closer to town.

In Kodiak, you can also walk long distances and just explore throughout town. I highly recommend the Alutiiq museum that has history and art of the original inhabitants of the island. My best food experiences in Kodiak have been at coffee shops and bakeries--names change from time to time. Renting a car in Kodiak can be worthwhile to explore further afield.

Homer is one of my favorite places in the whole world.

If you have time, do a kayak trip, the longer, the better.

http://www.homerkayaking.com/

We visited Homer and Kodiak two years ago on our 14 day cruise. Both very enjoyable ports of call. Here's what we did:

 

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8427902644855863729#editor/target=post;postID=8770200828172155739;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=3;src=postname

 

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8427902644855863729#editor/target=post;postID=2361220635751038963;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=2;src=postname

If these links don't work (didn't in another thread), try this link:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8427902644855863729#allposts

If these links don't work (didn't in another thread), try this link:

 

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8427902644855863729#allposts

Thanks! They didn't work--I was going to ask for a different link, but I didn't need to! Thank you!

This is what I would do in Kodiak: https://www.andrewairways.com/

 

 

If you schedule allows it in Homer: https://www.thesaltry.com/danny-j-ferry/

Any idea on the pricing for any of the float plane trips from Andrew Airways? They aren't posted anywhere on the site (which makes me think I PROBABLY can't afford them! ;);)) Thanks!

Homer is one of my favorite places in the whole world.

If you have time, do a kayak trip, the longer, the better.

http://www.homerkayaking.com/

ooooh. they offer a half day paddle combined with the hike i wanted to do anyway. i can't wait to tell my husband that instead of the hike, we are doing a hike AND a paddle! :'):'):')

and he thought this would be a relaxing vacation. poor guy. he's clearly not been married to me for over a decade.

When we did the full day trip, we stopped at a beach to eat lunch and then did a short hike. We paddled through sea otters and saw harbor seals. It was amazing. I hope you have a great trip. :)

I really enjoyed Rainbow Tours boat ride to Seldovia. While they highlight all the seabirds you'll see, our trip morphed into a whale watching trip. Even the crew was excited by the number of whales we saw (they had their cameras out, too)