Icy Strait Point?

[loti]

Hi all,

Going on the SOS in late Aug. We have a port stop in Icy Strait Point, What is there to do there? We have never been and plan to do whale watching out of Juneau.

 

Any recommendations will be helpful. Any good restuarants for lunch?

 

Thanks in Advance.

 

Brian

[cardfans]

We did the ziprider and really enjoyed it. First you ride the bus into the town of Hoonah and then up to the top of the mountain where you get on the ziprider. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the top and about 90 seconds to get down. I thought it would be scary, but even though it was fast, it was very smooth and the scenery on the way down was beautiful. Just as a reference, three of us went, my 67 year old brother in law, 60 year old husband and myself (55). All of us would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Boxer Lover]

If you like crab you must eat at "The Office". They cook the fresh crab when you order it. It was great!!. We did a whale watch with Floyd at F.I.S.H.E.S. He only takes 6 people out and he was really good. We saw so many whales that came right up to the boat. The 3 other people that were booked with us also did a whale watch in Juneau and they were glad they had done both. They actually said it was better in Icy Strait. So why not do both?

 

Brenda

[RC of NC]

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at ISP last year. For half of the day, we chartered a boat from Glacier Wind Charters (http://www.g-wind.com/). The captain was wonderful and created a custom trip for us that focused mainly on whale watching (so magnificent!) while still working in a mini fishing trip to give my son a taste of it (he caught 3 and was delighted).

 

Afterward, we had lunch at The Office (good food but smokey atmosphere). We were originally going to explore the island a bit more, but it started raining very heavily, so we decided to "explore" the many shops and cannery museum right at the port. We found several genuine Alaska craft items there, several of which we didn't see at our other stops. All in all, a wonderful stop.

[JJ2sail]

We went whale watching last year in ISP, and loved it!

 

Here is the ISP, Hoonah website.

 

http://www.icystraitpoint.com/

[erhoffer]

Our Jul 2nd day in Icy Strait Point was a highlight. We had a lovely sea kayak trip in the sunshine with great stories about the island from our guide, who grew up there. We saw an exciting group of eagles. An earlier group saw a whale, I believe. It was a great change of pace from other excursions we did (and enjoyed).

 

- Erin

[Dan16]

This was our favorite port on our recent trip to Alaska. I agree with the earlier poster that the Ziprider is a great time. My wife and I also got off the ride and wanted to immediately do it again. Youtube has some great video taken by riders as they zip down. We also booked a bear search with Keith at Teckk Tours and we'd highly recommend him as well.

What was nice about Hoonah was it's lack of commercialization once you're outside of the Icy Strait cruise ship compound.I hope you enjoy you're trip as much as we enjoyed ours. Dan

[cruisedreamer101]

I agree about Keith with teckkoutfitters.com. He will drive until you find a bear and has some great stories too!

[petesweet]

Haven't been there yet, but we go in September. I hate to quote the following without giving credit to the author, but I have copied this comment by one poster into my itinerary:

 

"Icy Strait Point, which appeared from a distance to be nothing more than a few warehouses turned into shopping, was actually our favorite port of call on the entire trip. We took a leisurely walk along the beach path, stopped to watch the adventurous cruisers tackle the world's longest zip line (which looked soooo fun) and then enjoyed a leisurely walk through the forest. If you're the type of person who is looking for excursions galore or a shopping mecca, you likely won't enjoy Icy Strait Point. But if you want an afternoon of relaxation, admiring the beauty that is Alaska, then this is the place for you."

Again, my apologies to the author for not giving you credit for the quote. I am looking forward to that walk in the forest.

[pmoments]

We chartered a boat for half day of halibut fishing with Dream Fish and it was great. Was our number 1 favorite thing. We caught our limit and are enjoying halibut at home now. Frank and Marge are great!!

[guppy33]

ZipRider was great as was the ATV excursion. I loved Icy Strait Point.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did the Whale watching there 2 years ago -- loved it -- saw tons of whales.

 

Wish HAL hadn't dropped that port.

[cruisin'mama]

ZipRider was great as was the ATV excursion. I loved Icy Strait Point.

 

 

We are interested in the ATV excursion. Could you tell us a little more about it please? Thanks!

[guppy33]

We are interested in the ATV excursion. Could you tell us a little more about it please? Thanks!

 

We did the ATV & ZipRider (zipline) combo which saves $$ rather than booking them as individual excursions. My husband and sis-in-law just did the ATV excursion opting out of the ZipRider.

 

ATV riding was a very exciting. We did not see any bears which was fine with me. But we did see some of their droppings along the roads (hope that's not too crude). There are two guides one in the front ATV and one bringing up the rear. The main guide, up front, was from ISP. He was great. He told the history of ISP and some bear encounters he has experiienced, living in ISP and on ATV tours. He even showed us his photo album of some celebrities who have taken this tour and some big bears.

 

The actual ATVing is about a one hour ride. You go over little wooden bridges and it can be muddy in spots and you go throgh a little stream. It's a very bumpy ride. Oh, and the best thing is the most beautiful scenery. You are riding through the woods and all of a sudden there is a clearing of the most beautiful mountains.

[MercedMike]

"Icy Strait Point" is an area built by the cruiselines, but with considerable local control from the people of Hoonah. The actual dock basically has a souvenir shop and a museum and, I think, a snack bar. There are things like the zipline being built as attractions.

 

But mainly this is a beautiful area for scenery and wildlife. You can stay near the dock and have beautiful walks, and throw a chip in the fire on the beach to remind you to return.

 

The town of Hoonah itself is not much. It is pretty much untouched backwoods Alaska. The Office Bar is a fun place to eat local crab with local people.

 

Lots of people, however, like to book with local operators for the wildlife tours. This is a great place for lots of wildlife.

 

We choose Keith of Teckk tours for a Bear Search. You can check out our review and pics at

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/volendam.html

It was wonderful.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[Yukon]

"Icy Strait Point" is an area built by the cruiselines, but with considerable local control from the people of Hoonah.

 

Not true - opened in 2001, it is owned by Huna Totem Corporation, the Native village corporation for Hoonah. They limit visits to one large ship per day (sometimes a small ship is allowed as well) so the cruiselines don't ruin the experience. Their Web site is http://www.icystraitpoint.com/ (of course :) )

[cruisin'mama]

We did the ATV & ZipRider (zipline) combo which saves $$ rather than booking them as individual excursions. My husband and sis-in-law just did the ATV excursion opting out of the ZipRider.

 

ATV riding was a very exciting. We did not see any bears which was fine with me. But we did see some of their droppings along the roads (hope that's not too crude). There are two guides one in the front ATV and one bringing up the rear. The main guide, up front, was from ISP. He was great. He told the history of ISP and some bear encounters he has experiienced, living in ISP and on ATV tours. He even showed us his photo album of some celebrities who have taken this tour and some big bears.

 

The actual ATVing is about a one hour ride. You go over little wooden bridges and it can be muddy in spots and you go throgh a little stream. It's a very bumpy ride. Oh, and the best thing is the most beautiful scenery. You are riding through the woods and all of a sudden there is a clearing of the most beautiful mountains.

 

 

 

Thanks for the info. We had looked for any info on the ATV excursion and were unable to find anything. I appreciate your review! Sounds like a fun outing.

[bkw67]

I'd recommend that you change your change your whale watching from Juneau and do it at ISP. People who went whale watching in Juneau, saw a couple of whales. We had lots and lots of humpbacks on our ISP tour. There was a pod of about 10 at one point and one started to breach a couple of miles from us (we could see the splash). Also saw sea lions and saw a few orchas as well. After the tour, we walked over to the beach (past the zipline landing) and just enjoyed the view on a bench for over an hour.

[cartercat]

Thanks pmoment. We, too have booked a fishing/whale watching trip with Frank and Marge at Dreamfish the end of August (She seemed so nice when I booked). I've seen many reviews for the other tour operators but none for Dreamfish. So glad it was the highlight of your trip - I hope it's ours too! Unfortunately we're Canadian and they won't ship our fish home- can't guarantee it will clear customs before thawing. I guess Frank and Marge will have a fish dinner on us.

[rclcruzer]

We did the old cannery building site, souveniers etc... shopped at a couple stores, not many, local things etc..right off the tender.......awesome zipline, took pictures of my boy's on it (at least I think it was them :o) Caught the shuttle bus to go into town for lunch. If you like/love crab, you must go to the Office Bar for lunch. It's fantastic. They only have crab, so if you want a burger your out of luck! They have crab, crab, crab, and a crab salad:p It's a neat local hangout.

Happy cruising :)

[MercedMike]

If you like/love crab, you must go to the Office Bar for lunch. It's fantastic. They only have crab, so if you want a burger your out of luck! They have crab, crab, crab, and a crab salad:p It's a neat local hangout.

Happy cruising :)

 

Actually, we had one person in our group who is allergic to seafood. Keith promised her that the Office had things besides crab. She wound up with something nuked that was euphemistically called Philly Cheesesteak but was basically a soggy wad of bread. However, if you are in our situation, go ahead and lie to your non seafood eating friends and tell them that they can indeed get something besides crab at the Office.:rolleyes: They will forgive you eventually.

[countrygal52]

We also went whale watching in Hoonah last Aug. with FISHES and had crab lunch at "The Office". YUMMM. Also took in the Native Dance right near the shops at the dock. Walked back to town from lunch along the water. Very picturesque and small town...NOT the tourist trap like some other ports.......LOVED our time in Hoonah:D

[SEPyle]

We'll be staying in Hoonah for three nights in exactly 3 weeks from now. This morning I spoke to Ora/Alaskan Raven Charters and also owns the Galley. I haven't heard anyone mention eating there, but I'll be sure to report back after our trip! He said they have Halibut pizza and Halibut sandwiches too.

 

I just can't tell you how excited I was when I got off the phone with Ora. We'll be going whale watching; halibut fishing and going out to search the island for bears and simply take in the beauty of the land! I'm also hoping to fit in kayaking too, but since the ships won't be in port, we'll have to see.

 

Countrygal52, I can tell you caught the 'spirit' of Hoonah on your trip. It amazes me how some come away saying there's not much to do. Don't get me wrong - I' not putting people down who have different likes and priorities. That's what makes it an interesting world. We're spending time there before our cruise because we love it just too much to stay for a few hours on a port day. Don't get me wrong; visiting on a ship is wonderful...because I just know, many like us will want to go back and stay! I too love the fact that Hoonah isn't another tourist mecca!

 

Countrygal52 also mentioned the Native Dance production. We really enjoyed it too. Learning the background and legends of the Tlingit people brings a deeper understanding of this beautiful place.

 

OK, I better stop or I won't sleep tonight!

[Bucky3]

Another vote for Keith of Teckk Outfitters. Four of us did a bear search tour with him. Wonderful guide with so many stories to tell. Gorgeous scenery and we saw three bears. We also had crab for lunch at "The Office." It was a great day. We'd love to spend more time here.

[librarycin]

Hi! On my Alaska cruise last year, ISP was my favourite port! I found it much less commercial than the other two ports we visited - Juneau and Ketchikan.

 

The tour I did was through Celebrity and it was called Remote Bush Exploration and Brown Bear Search. Unfortunately, we didn't see any bears in the end, but I still loved the hike - absolutely gorgeous!

 

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy!!! :)