Alaska - Wrangell bear excursions

[Kensington-cruiser]

We are on Seabourn Quest 14 day Alaska itinerary departing June 27, 2025.

 

There are 2 Anan Bear watching excursions - the descriptions are very similar, they both last 5 hours, but the Wild Bears of Anan is $700 and Anan Bear Watch by Jet-Boat is $550. 

 

Please could anyone who has travelled on Seabourn and done either of these excursions enlighten us?!  Thanks in advance

[Earthtones]

We were in Wrangel on Seabourn the first week of September last year, which is past the official bear season so our excursion was called Ancient Forest of AnAn. The bears didn't know it was off season, there was no one else on the viewing platform except the dozen people on our tour, and our guides were extremely helpful--such an AMAZING day, and the highlight of our two weeks in Alaska!

 

Based on similarities in the excursion description on the Seabourn website, it looks like Wild Bears of AnAn is the same excursion in season (through August).

 

 

[kej1]

On 3/1/2024 at 11:35 AM, Kensington-cruiser said:

We are on Seabourn Quest 14 day Alaska itinerary departing June 27, 2025.

 

There are 2 Anan Bear watching excursions - the descriptions are very similar, they both last 5 hours, but the Wild Bears of Anan is $700 and Anan Bear Watch by Jet-Boat is $550. 

 

Please could anyone who has travelled on Seabourn and done either of these excursions enlighten us?!  Thanks in advance

We did the Bears of Anna in late July of 2018.  It was a hike to the river area and we saw lots of bears catching salmon by mouth.  It was truly a great experience from Wrangel

[markandjie]

On 3/1/2024 at 12:35 PM, Kensington-cruiser said:

 

 

There are 2 Anan Bear watching excursions - the descriptions are very similar, they both last 5 hours, but the Wild Bears of Anan is $700 and Anan Bear Watch by Jet-Boat is $550. 

 

I seem to recall that the Wild Bears is the superior option if your priority is bears. I think the jet boat eats up some of your time so you have less time observing the bears. Memories are quite hazy though, so consider this worth what you paid for it. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[shark b8]

We did Wild Bears of Anan in August ‘22 and it may have been my single favorite shore excursions *ever*.  Certainly top 10.

 

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

mmmmmm - “salmon sushi”.     Bears GET IT.

 

 

 

[Kensington-cruiser]

shark b8 - thank you for sharing this - it looks wonderful!

[Kensington-cruiser]

Thank you markamdjie - yes, time spent at the observatory is likely the difference, though it's not clear at all from the descriptions. I am still waiting for Seabourn to come back to me. 

[kahuna21]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:35 AM, Kensington-cruiser said:

We are on Seabourn Quest 14 day Alaska itinerary departing June 27, 2025.

 

There are 2 Anan Bear watching excursions - the descriptions are very similar, they both last 5 hours, but the Wild Bears of Anan is $700 and Anan Bear Watch by Jet-Boat is $550. 

 

Please could anyone who has travelled on Seabourn and done either of these excursions enlighten us?!  Thanks in advance

You will be at the very start of bear-watching season. Last year the tours didn’t start until July 5, so you will likely be on the first O Anan tours of 2024. You may be happy to know that we went on July 9 last year and saw plenty of bears, including a mom and two small cubs. We were on the shorter jet boat tour, and we were disappointed to have only one hour at the viewing site. Felt a bit cheated, but the time we did have there was very good.