Icy Strait Whale Adventures — Local services in Hoonah

A great adventure! The family put this at the top experience of our 7 day excursion. We were on a cruise, but booked privately. Very easy to book and good communications. Icy Strait port is away from the village of Hoonah and our whale watching boat what at the port, and easy walk from the ship.

Our greeter was on time and lead us to the boat, a well constructed craft with an enclosed cabin and plenty of power to get us out to the whale sighting area quickly. There were sea otters along the way.

Once at the site the captain positioned the ship perfectly and we were able to go outside on the front deck and an elevated deck above the cabin. A well versed naturalist was on the deck and courteously answered questions and provided a lot of extra information about the whales.

We watched a female with a cub while the captain took every precaution to stay at a safe distance, but one where the whales were easily visible. Once the whales when down to feed the captain was especially adept at understanding the behavior and positioning the boat where the creatures were anticipated to surface.

Add other whales, sea lions, bald eagles, and more sea otters and the afternoon...

If anyone in your group is elderly or handicapped (no matter how early you get there)… you won’t sit together if they are slow walkers or slow to load. You are split up due to limited seating. That sucks the joy of seeing whales away if you can’t enjoy it with your family. Super Sadness. The elderly aren’t allowed to see much due to people rushing to the side of the boat and the captain not spinning it around. It broke my heart. One elderly male ended up falling asleep, One lady brought on a disabled dog, and another ship appeared to be on fire but no one seemed to care. I have used this company before (without an elderly handicapped person) and they were great, but they missed the mark today. I couldn’t wait to get back to shore so i could spend time with my family. A true black eye on our trip. They were friendly, but this particular ship...

I did both this whale tour and the one with Hoonah Travel Adventures one week later (far better) as I did the same cruise both directions. I was not impressed with our captain at all- he did not talk to anyone or give any information on the island, whales, etc. He seemed to keep going away from the areas with the whales which multiple people commented on while out on the deck. He then ate his lunch during the tour (Tuna fish?!) which made the small cabin smell horrific. He was also preoccupied while eating lunch and even though I pointed out whales to him, he did not respond or move toward the area. I liked the smaller boat and the first mate, but the captain needs some serious work on his...