Bears/Whales in September

[Twinkd]

Just a quick question - looking at doing a Northbound Cruise in the last week of August followed by a road trip in first half of September. Is this too late to see Bears and Whales.

Thanks

[Budget Queen]

Nope.

[Frank12]

Along that same line, is the beginning of May too early?

[Putterdude]

In May you may well see whales...bears not so likely. In late August you should see whale activity but not always close to the ship and with bears on your road trip very likely...but remember mother nature doesn't always deliver.

[Buckeye 6]

We spent the last 3 weeks in Alaska several years ago. We saw many whales but the Orca were just arriving and we did not see any even on private tour.

We did not take Bear tours. Did see a couple in Denali on the full day tour.

[Budget Queen]

\ We saw many whales but the Orca were just arriving and we did not see any even on private tour.

.

 

Sorry, completely inaccurate about orcas, if your "arriving" reference is meaning migration. Orcas are viewable the entire cruise season, as well as humpbacks. There are residents of both, but orcas have FAR more range and do not congregate in "feeding" areas like the humpbacks do. Whale watch trips out of Juneau have 100% sightings of humpbacks, with orcas probably only 20% of the trips. IF orcas are the priority, then park yourself on Vancouver Island a few days and plan on a couple orca tours.

[bg1105]

We were on the Carnival Spirit the last week of August 2010 - myself, husband, and 2 sons ages 21 and 17. In Juneau, we took the Whales, Bears, and Glaciers tour with Alaska Galore Tours. By far this was the highlight of our vacation for all 4 of us. Pricey at $400 per person, but worth every penny. Started with a flight over the Mendenhall Glacier, followed by Bears in Hoonah and then whale watching on a 14-person boat. The Bear guide knew the island like the back of his hand and knew where the bear typically could be found. We were walking along a stream packed with salmon, and the guide was watching the woods for signs of a bear, and suddenly one popped out, waddled to the stream, scooped up a salmon and carried it back to the woods. Extremely exciting for everyone - even my sons! Then we got back in the van and headed to another stream where we waited on a bridge and then saw a huge brown bear down in the stream. Time was well spent because the guide knew the typical places to find them. Obviously you never know if they're going to show up, but it helps when the guide is as familiar with the area as ours was. Then we went out whale watching and saw TONS of humpback whales. The captain cut the engines and we could hear the whales as they surfaced for a breath. There were pairs of whales all around us and hearing them was as fascinating as seeing them. It was great to go out with this tour operator and get off the beaten track - we were the only tour around. The serenity really added to the experience. I highly recommend this tour to anyone going to Juneau. Good luck - hope you have a great trip!

[Buckeye 6]

Sorry, completely inaccurate about orcas, if your "arriving" reference is meaning migration. Orcas are viewable the entire cruise season, as well as humpbacks. There are residents of both, but orcas have FAR more range and do not congregate in "feeding" areas like the humpbacks do. Whale watch trips out of Juneau have 100% sightings of humpbacks, with orcas probably only 20% of the trips. IF orcas are the priority, then park yourself on Vancouver Island a few days and plan on a couple orca tours.

 

 

I just reread my post. I forgot a key word. We spent the last 3 weeks of May in Alaska several years ago

[ajhunt2]

Second week of September 2010 we saw both humpbacks and orcas in Juneau. We went with Harv&Marv. Great guys and a great trip. However even they told us the same thing above poster did. Orcas just have a larger feeding range. We got lucky to see a pod that was in shallower water in Auke Bay teachinga youngster to hunt.

 

Bears, didn't see any, but we didn't take any excursion to try to either