Whale watching in Alaska or Hawaii in May

[binbali]

Can anybody tell me if it is better to book a whale watching excursion in Alaska or Hawaii for May. We are doing Hawaii to Vancouver then Vancouver to Seattle and unsure where to do an excursion. Any recommendations on which ports and which company.

[sunsetme]

Hawaii in May not so much, whales are scarce in April.

[Wickets]

We did the May 1 cruise on Solstice and saw several in open waters on the way to Skagway and had a humpback follow along side us coming out of Tracy Arm fjord. Ended up not doing whale cruise.

[binbali]

Oh I hope we see some from the ship too, thank you for the replies.

[WALKER1313]

Whales in early May are very likely, by mid May they become scarce.

[fleckle]

For May, whale watching in Alaska would be better than Hawaii.

 

But our best whale watching ever was in Maui in February.

Also, prices for whale watching excursions are much lower in Hawaii than in Alaska. We could take 3 or 4 trips in Hawaii for the price of one in Alaska.

[Grandmaanne7]

I concur. May is far better in Alaska for whale watching. We've done it and loved it. February is best in Hawaii. We stopped counting at 75 whales!

 

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[K.T.B.]

I have been to Alaska twice. One in early May and once in early August. Both times we saw numerous whales. Most of the time it was just them popping up to grab some air and you'll see the spray of water as their dorsal fin appears. You may very occasionally see a fluke as they're diving down. Getting a breach is incredibly rare. (A whale "jumping" out of the water.)

 

Suffice it to say, if you watch the water long enough, you'll see whales. :) How much of them you see is luck of the draw.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

In May, most of the whales are on their way to Alaska from Hawaii or already arrived in Alaska. You don't mention what ports you will be visiting, but Icy Strait Point is probably the best port for whale watching in Alaska, followed by Juneau.

 

[patty1955]

If you are interested in whale watching, you might consider a Pacific Coastal cruise. We've been to Alaska and Hawaii and the most whales we've seen were on our Sept. Pacific Coastal.

[az_tchr]

For whale watching Icy Point is excellent - do not really bother with the port itself. Als for those going in or out of Seward, spend a couple nights in Seward - you can walk to the port from town - and do the Kenai Fjords full day tour! Magnificent. Seeing whales and other wildlife from a small boat fantastic. A reminder spend the night as difficult to do during the day and make a departure. It is possible to do on arrival and get to Anchorage that night on a shuttle.