juneau whale watching with kids

[ginger123snaps]

I'm traveling with 3 boys ages 7, 7, 6. considering the whale watching tour...but don't like the idea of being on a boat for 3 hours. think the boys might get bored with it. anyone have experience this?

also does anyone know of a shorter tour?

[sherryf]

On my first trip to Alaska, my sons were 5 and 8. The 8 year old was obsessed with whales and not bored at all. The 5 year old had fun just being on a boat, but didn't care much about the whales. If you are concerned about your kids being bored, then you've probably answered your own question. You know your kids better than we do.

[Budget Queen]

the boat tours have to have the length of time for whale watching. There aren't "shorter" tours unless you contract your own boat.

 

I agree with Sherry, it looks like you've answered your own question. Your "boring" comment says it all. even if there are kids rates, it's still a hefty amount on these tours. Once out, you have no way out, and time stands still. :)

 

IF it's you that wants to go, can you split the sitting with someone? Depending on your itinerary, you may be able to "see" if there is any interest with your kids for spotting whales from the cruise ship. IF they give up after a few minutes, then probably not a good choice to consider them for the tour.

[GORDONCHICK]

My DS when on his first whale watching tour at the age of 6. He loved being on the boat and watching for whales - of which he had no interested in previous. We went again when he was 11, and as long as he had snacks, he was good. We go again, and he will be 14 by the time we go in May. He will have his own binoculars, we will take extra snacks (we don't call him the Bottomless Pit for nothing) even though the company we've chosen will have some. I will have one of his electronics in my possession, just in case and for late in the trip. The whale watching is for me, so he and DH will go and at least act like they're enjoying it - just like I do when they pick something I'm less than enthusiastic about.

 

We have zip lining and white water rafting for DS later in the trip.

[Cheryl H]

Yes, we took our 6 year old, except that it was at Icy Strait Point. Our son liked the boat ride. Then we stopped and watched some whales. He watched them and then played quietly on his DS game (with headphones) and sat in the boat with Floyd (the captain). Our son was happy. We were happy.

 

We are going again, except this time he is 10. We are going to the library to pull some books to study whales before our trip. But he's also bringing his DS game again just in case he gets tired of watching them.

[chipmaster]

We did a combo Mendenhall and Orca. It was a smaller boat with ability to wander up, back and inside... between the closeness to the water, fast moving and our good guide my 7 year old and teens had a blast. The bus ride to dock not so good, but the whole time out between the eagle sightings and lookout for whales it was good.

 

We saw the big cruiseline chartered boat, and I can imagine if I had opted for that I could see some boredom setting in

 

YMMV, kids always can get bored sometimes you just need to insure they know what good behavior has to be. There is always the electronic iPhone baby sitter too, but better they just enjoy the beautiful once in a lifetime experience :D