Whale Watch Tour from Icy Strait Point
See humpbacks and coastal wildlife from a heated, custom boat with transfers from Icy Strait Point
Includes
Transfers
Highlights
Board a custom charter boat from Icy Strait Point and cruise the nutrient-rich waters of Icy Strait and the Inside Passage in search of humpback whales, orca, sea otters, sea lions, and coastal wildlife. This whale watch departs from the Excursions Hub at Icy Strait Point with a short vehicle transfer to Hoonah Harbor, where your captain and crew take you out on a fast, comfortable boat with viewing decks and a heated cabin. Hoonah Travel Adventures offers a $100 whale sighting guarantee: if no whale is spotted on your tour, you receive a $100 credit.
- Cruise the waters near Icy Strait Point aboard a custom boat with panoramic viewing decks and a heated cabin
- Watch for humpback whales, orca, sea otters, sea lions, porpoises, and seals in some of Alaska's most productive feeding grounds
- Spot brown bears, bald eagles, deer, and seabirds along the shoreline during your cruise
- Learn about humpback whale behavior, including the rare spectacle of bubble-net feeding
- Enjoy a vehicle transfer from the Excursions Hub at Icy Strait Point to Hoonah Harbor and back, with time to explore downtown Hoonah or return to your ship
- This is the premier whale watching experience available from Icy Strait Point, run by local captains who know these waters and the wildlife that returns to them every summer.
What's Included
- Vehicle transfer from the Excursions Hub at Icy Strait Point to Hoonah Harbor and return
- Whale watching cruise aboard a custom charter boat with heated cabin, viewing decks, and marine head
- Captain and crew narration on wildlife, local history, and Tlingit culture
Things to know
Arrive at the Excursions Hub at Icy Strait Point 15 minutes before your scheduled departure. The tour includes a vehicle transfer to Hoonah Harbor and back. Dress warmly in layers; Hoonah summer temperatures typically range from the mid-40s to the mid-70s (Fahrenheit). Bring a camera and rain gear. The boat has a heated cabin and a marine head (small restroom). Guests must be able to negotiate 3 tall steps onto the bus, 3 tall steps onto the boat, descend into the boat, and walk a dock ramp that can be steep depending on the tide. The tour cannot accommodate walkers, collapsible wheelchairs, scooters, or strollers. Humpback whales are most common from May through September.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this whale watch tour. Exact routing and wildlife sightings vary by day based on conditions, animal activity, and your captain's local knowledge.
Pickup at Icy Strait Point
Your tour begins at the Excursions Hub at Icy Strait Point. If your cruise ship docks at the Adventure Dock, proceed ashore to the Adventure Center, walk through the building, exit through door number 2, and follow the signs on the gravel path to the Excursions Hub (approximately 6 to 8 minutes walking). If your ship docks at the Wilderness Dock, ride the free Green Transporter Gondola (about 4 minutes), then turn left and follow the path to the Excursions Hub (about 3 minutes). Look for the Hoonah Travel Adventures representative dressed in a blue shirt or rain coat and tan pants. Check in 15 minutes before your scheduled departure.
Transfer to Hoonah Harbor
From the Excursions Hub at Icy Strait Point, a vehicle drives you along Shaman Point to Hoonah City Harbor, approximately 1.5 miles away. Along the drive, your guide points out local wildlife, and you may spot bald eagles, blacktail deer, and possibly brown bears. Hoonah sits on Chichagof Island, which is home to the largest concentration of Alaskan brown bears in the world.
Whale Watch Cruise
At Hoonah Harbor, you board the charter boat and head out onto the waters of Icy Strait and the Inside Passage. Your captain navigates toward the most active feeding areas, communicating with other charters to locate the day's best wildlife activity. The waters around Icy Strait Point are among the most nutrient-rich in Southeast Alaska, drawing large numbers of humpback whales each summer from May through September. Humpback whales feed here on krill, herring, and plankton before migrating south for the winter. These whales can reach over 50 feet in length and weigh as much as 50 tons.
Typical sightings include humpback whale dives, blows, and flukes. On many tours, guests witness bubble-net feeding, a cooperative hunting technique where humpbacks blow air to create a wall of bubbles that forces prey to the surface, then rise with mouths open to feed. You may also encounter orca traveling in pods, Steller sea lions hauled out on rocks and buoys, sea otters floating in kelp beds, harbor seals, Dall's porpoises, and a wide variety of seabirds including puffins, terns, cormorants, and blue herons.
While cruising along the shorelines near Icy Strait Point, keep watch for brown bears foraging on the beach, bald eagles perched in the trees, and blacktail deer at the forest edge. Your captain shares stories of Hoonah's history, Tlingit culture (with oral histories shared with elder permission), and local insights about life in this remote Alaska community. The boat's heated cabin keeps you warm and dry during the cruise, with open viewing decks available when you want to be closer to the action.
Return to Icy Strait Point
After the cruise, the boat returns to Hoonah Harbor and a vehicle transfers you back to Icy Strait Point with time to board your ship. Alternatively, you can choose to stay in downtown Hoonah to explore the town and take the shuttle back (departures approximately every 30 minutes).
Perfect for
Icy Strait Point is one of the most wildlife-rich cruise ship ports in Alaska, situated on Chichagof Island in the heart of Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage. The waters of Icy Strait, Point Adolphus, and Glacier Bay converge just offshore, creating a feeding ground so productive that large numbers of humpback whales return every summer between May and September. The combination of cold, nutrient-dense currents and abundant herring and krill makes the waters near Icy Strait Point one of the best places in the world to see humpback whales in their natural feeding habitat.
This whale watch puts you on the water with local captains who grew up in Hoonah and know the behavior of the animals, the patterns of the tides, and the stories of the landscape. The boats are custom-built for Alaska's conditions, with heated cabins for warmth and open viewing decks for close encounters. Captains communicate with one another throughout the day to locate whale activity, and the smaller boat size allows them to maneuver into viewing positions that larger cruise-line vessels cannot reach. Guests regularly report seeing humpbacks at close range, orca pods with calves, Steller sea lions in large groups, and sea otters rafting in kelp beds. Bubble-net feeding, one of the most dramatic behaviors in the animal kingdom, is a common sighting in these waters.
This Icy Strait Point whale watch is ideal for cruise ship passengers who want an independent shore excursion with more intimate wildlife viewing than the ship-sponsored options. Families, couples, and wildlife photographers all benefit from the small group format, the knowledgeable local crew, and the guaranteed whale sighting. The tour returns you to Icy Strait Point with time to reboard your ship or explore downtown Hoonah on your own.
Search all experiences
Discover what we've curated for you
