Chichagof Island Tour: Brown Bear Search

Cora shares enthusiasm and great stories about growing up and raising her family in Hoonah. We learned a lot about life in a small village and living off the land. She taught us how to spot bear and we were treated to two sightings. There was plenty of time to observe bears being choosy about which salmon looked the tastiest. A good experience.

I had an excellent day with Cora on our Wilderness tour. Although seeing bears are not guaranteed we were so thrilled to see 5 bears during our tour. Cora has spent her whole life in the Tongass National Forest, growing up in Hoonah and really knows the area well. She has a deep respect for all of the animals and nature. I enjoyed getting to know her and learn more about her beautiful village. I highly recommend if you are visiting Icy Strait to book this tour.

I had an excellent day with Cora on our Wilderness tour. Although seeing bears are not guaranteed we were so thrilled to see 5 bears during our tour. Cora has spent her whole life in the Tongass National Forest, growing up in Hoonah and really knows the area well. She has a deep respect for all of the animals and nature. I enjoyed getting to know her and learn more about her beautiful village. I highly recommend if you are visiting Icy Strait to book this tour.

The guide was great! She had a lot of history about the area and shared some personal stories which I thought put a personal flair to the tour. We did see a bear and a black tail deer and I loved how it was a smaller group. Definitely recommend to others if you are not adventuring out on your own.

Little more information what awaits the person on this bear hunt, and the fact that there are no specific spots where you’re guaranteed to see them

Great experience. Cora was excellent and we learned a lot about island culture and bears. We were able to see 7 brown bears, deer and eagles. Highly recommend

We drove around the island looking for bears. Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. At a few locations we spotted several bears ( mothers and cubs) feeding on fish from the local streams. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys seeing wildlife. The only criticism I have is that the meetup information was incomplete. We were instructed to “ meet at the cruise ship terminal.” We actually had to fine the “ Excursion Hub” in order to connect to their representatives. Fortunately we were able to ask around and hike the 100 yards or so to the Hub. Since I’m not walking so well these days I found it inconvenient.

Time of year and weather is important to be able to view Bears only saw 2 at great distance. Not worth the cost

Best tour ever! We had the chance to see 3 giant brown bears . Our guide was great!

Our group consisted of 19 people, and we booked three Brown Bear Search tours (two morning tours and one afternoon tour). Unanimously, every member of our group agreed that this was the single biggest disappointment and worst value of our nearly two-week trip from Vancouver, Canada, to Anchorage, Alaska. Had we known the following before booking, we would have chosen a different excursion. • The majority of the tour consists of driving. You spend nearly the entire three-hour excursion riding in a van on gravel roads at approximately 30–35 mph. Because the vehicle is constantly moving, spotting wildlife and taking quality photographs is nearly impossible. • Heavy traffic significantly reduces the wildlife experience. The gravel roads are heavily traveled by numerous tour vans, buses, and private vehicles. With so many vehicles traveling the same routes, wildlife sightings are understandably very limited. If your primary goal is to observe brown bears or other wildlife, this tour is unlikely to meet your expectations. • Very little opportunity to leave the vehicle. Although the tour lasts approximately three hours, there is little to no opportunity to get out of the van. Two of our groups had a single stop lasting approximately less than five minutes. One of our other groups never stopped at all and remained inside the vehicle for the entire three-hour tour. For our group, this excursion represented a significant investment of both time and money, yet it delivered very little value in return. We genuinely wish we had selected a different activity while visiting Hoonah. On a lighter note, the experience was so disappointing that, for the first time ever, one member of our group attempted to write a review before the tour had even ended so that other travelers could avoid making the same mistake. Unfortunately, there was no cell service until after we returned. Based on our experience, we cannot recommend the Brown Bear Search Tour. There are many excellent excursions available in Alaska, and we believe your time and money would be much better spent on one of those alternatives.