Small Boat Whale Watching

[FishersFrogs]

Any recommendations for small boat whale or wildlife watching for family of five (three girls ages 10, 10, 12). Any port or vendor that has more "luck" finding whales?

[Coral]

Juneau and Icy Strait Point are the main 2 ports for whale watching. You can also whale watch from Victoria.

 

With a family of 5, you may be able to charter your own boat. Here are 2 vendors in Juneau to look at:

 

http://www.jayleensalaska.com

http://www.harvandmarvs.com

[Glaciers]

We went out with Harv n Marv several years ago. It was rough in the small boat and we were the farthest from the whales when the larger tour boats were much closer. The smaller boats cancel more often when the weather is poor. Jayleen was the captain and seemed confused on what to do. It was so rough we had to change to a larger boat in order to safely make it back to shore. This is pretty unusual although it does happen with the smaller boats.

[peety3]

I understand the attraction to small-boat whale watches, but I think there's something to be said for the quality of the boat. We've been extremely happy with Gastineau Guiding for three whale watches, as their boats are far more stable than others of similar or smaller size, while keeping the passenger count low enough to have a great experience. Their smaller boats for the "Photo Safari" hold 14 passengers, and their larger boats hold 20 with an additional aft platform that can be used when stopped. Both types of boats have swing-in/up windows that give you much better vantage points for viewing and photography, and the inflated pontoons give much better stability than anything except the largest 150-passenger catamarans.

[notentirelynormal]

They might be more limited with options due to the kid's ages. Some of the vendors tend to not take young children. For example, Harv and Marvs will not let you book with kids under a certain age. Apparently they don't want your children bothering old people. I looked at it as if I didn't want old people bothering my kids :D. So our options were to book a small boat that held six or not book at all. Fortunately for me I have six in our party. DH and I plus 4 grand kids. Booking a larger boat was not a consideration. Since I was happy with that option I can only hope that weather is my friend.

[Coral]

They might be more limited with options due to the kid's ages. Some of the vendors tend to not take young children. For example, Harv and Marvs will not let you book with kids under a certain age. Apparently they don't want your children bothering old people. I looked at it as if I didn't want old people bothering my kids :D. So our options were to book a small boat that held six or not book at all. Fortunately for me I have six in our party. DH and I plus 4 grand kids. Booking a larger boat was not a consideration. Since I was happy with that option I can only hope that weather is my friend.

 

Harv and Marv will let you take them if you charter a boat. With 5, that is not an issue.

[Mcdonaldbam]

Sorry I can't remember the company we used when we went in in August a few years ago but it was a smaller excursion and when we went into port we're told the water was to rough for them to sail. However, there are several booths set up right in town selling other whale watching tours with similar pricing. Since it is just DH and I and we had already seen several whales from the ship we opted to just walk around the town. I hope you and the family have a wonderful tour don't forget the binoculars!

[FishersFrogs]

Thank you! It sounds like the 14ish size boat might be right for us then. I was leaning toward a "private" tour for our 5, but we are taking two other highly cancelled trips (helicopter and floatplane) so I'm thinking the mid size would be best bet.

 

Does anyone know if there is a good port or vendor for seeing orcas? We went whale watching on the east coast and saw lots of dolphins, but no whales.

[xlxo]

In Juneau.... You will see more Humpbacks. In Vancouver/Seattle you will see more Orcas.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[notentirelynormal]

Harv and Marv will let you take them if you charter a boat. With 5, that is not an issue.

 

Yes, I know. That is one of the perks for me and why I booked through them but someone suggested that they NOT do the small boat because it had a better chance of being cancelled. With kids under 12 it might not be possible for a larger boat.

Edited November 7, 2016 by notentirelynormal

[Coral]

Yes, I know. That is one of the perks for me and why I booked through them but someone suggested that they NOT do the small boat because it had a better chance of being cancelled. With kids under 12 it might not be possible for a larger boat.

 

Harv and Marv is the only company that I know of that prohibits kids. Most allow them.

[xlxo]

I went on Gastineau on my trip....

http://www.stepintoalaska.com/

 

If you love photography.... they offer a photography tour.

 

Note, if you go for the photography tour.... you are walking the Trail of Time. At the end of the tour... there will not be time to get to Nugget Falls unless you plan to abandon the tour and return via on of busy shuttles.

http://www.stepintoalaska.com/excursions/whale-watching-mendenhall-glacier-photo-safari

 

Gastineau does offer non photography combo's... Research that option too.

[notentirelynormal]

Harv and Marv is the only company that I know of that prohibits kids. Most allow them.

 

Ah. Good to know if we ever make it back that way with all the kids Of course they won't be that young then. :D I researched a few but since H&M were getting such good reviews I decided to go with them. For me, I'm good with having our own boat. That way my kids won't bother old folks and old folks won't bother them. They can get as excited as they want and move from side to side to take pictures without the worry of bothering other people.

 

Also, H&M worked with me coordinating between Coastal and them. Unless the weather is horrible that day I can't lose. After our helicopter ride Coastal is going to deliver us to H&M instead of back to base. That helps with the short time from end to beginning of tours. PLUS H&M have said that instead of coffee they will just make hot chocolate AND they have said they will call ahead for us and have a couple of pizzas delivered to take on board.

 

Weather permitting this should be an amazing day in the life of.

[frugaltravel]

I was on one of the Harv and Marv boats several years ago with a family of four. The boy was probably about 10 years old. His sister was a bit younger or older (I don't recall). He was very concerned being in the boat on the water. It was not really rough at all but he was worried that we might not make it back to shore. We even cut our time short by a bit as he became more and more nervous. I think that was one of the instances that resulted in their policy.

[Coral]

I was on one of the Harv and Marv boats several years ago with a family of four. The boy was probably about 10 years old. His sister was a bit younger or older (I don't recall). He was very concerned being in the boat on the water. It was not really rough at all but he was worried that we might not make it back to shore. We even cut our time short by a bit as he became more and more nervous. I think that was one of the instances that resulted in their policy.

 

That is too bad. I have had kids on all of my whale watching trips and never had a problem. I would have thought a 10 year old would have been fine. Sorry your trip was cut short.