Whales, Bears and Salmon Fishing

[envirochick]

Hello Everyone,

 

We're cruising NB to Alaska late August and early to mid September, finishing with a 4 day DIY land trip then flying home out of Anchorage. Three of our must do tours are: whale watch, brown bear veiwing, and a salmon or salmon/halibut combo fishing.

 

There's so much overlap of tour types from port to port in Alaska, it's been tough to figure out which port is best for which tour type.

 

Anyway, I think we've come down to: Harv and Marv's (or similar) in Juneau for whales, Brown Bear Lodge for brown bear viewing on Chichagof Island out of Hoonah, and I think we'll ocean fish out of Seward for coho salmon which are making their second run through September (no supplier decided on yet). We'll also be in Haines, Wrangell, Ketchikan and Sitka.

 

Looking for some feedback from seasoned Alaska cruisers. Are these good choices, both place and vendor, that should reap decent results? What would you change?

[JT1962]

If you are going this year, I would book quickly, since many of the more popular tours sell out several months in advance.

 

We did a whale watching tour with Glacier Winds in Hoonah and loved it. We saw lots of whales, including bubble net feeding and tail slapping. They have small 6 passenger boats, so book quickly. Depending on your time in port, you can also do the bear viewing as well.

 

Haines is another good port for bear sightings. There are some tours, but we rented a car. It was cheaper than a tour for 2 and we got to see lots of the area.

 

 

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[envirochick]

So, we are going this year, but I find there is availability probably because we’re on a smaller ship and are alone in many of the ports.

 

We don’t have time for whales and bears in Hoonah, thus we think Juneau should be our whale stop. Harv and Marv’s also has 6 passenger boats and they are available on our day.

 

I’ve heard bear watching on the Chilkoot in Haines could get really crowded considering folks are able to drive to this area. Is that the case? Is it still worthwhile?

 

 

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[JT1962]

I’ve heard bear watching on the Chilkoot in Haines could get really crowded considering folks are able to drive to this area. Is that the case? Is it still worthwhile?

 

I have been to the Chilkoot twice and it was not crowded either time. The first time was on a ship tour from Skagway in early September and the last time was in May and we rented a car in Haines and drove. We only saw bears on the September trip. The locals said they had been on the river in May, but we were not lucky enough to see any.

 

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[envirochick]

Okay, thanks for that info. I appreciate it.