When porting at Icy Strait near Hoonah this is a shore tour ashore you will not forget. Lets go on a bear hunt, this four hour tour offers you the chance to see brown bears, Sitka black-tail deer and other wildlife up close in the natural picturesque beauty of the last frontier.
National Geographic have named the area as the "Bear Island", this tour offers you the highest concentration of bears in the world at 1-2 brown bears per square mile. To get the most from your tour ashore this is offered as a small group tour making it more enjoyable.
The Island offers ten different kinds of edible berries along with a stunning view of a muskeg, viewing an old growth forest, and possible chances of viewing the king of the island: brown bears. Using information on current bear movements, their feeding habits, and the temperature throughout the day, there are short stops at key points to scope out an amazing view of these captivating creatures. Our well renowned guides will share information about the area and the Tlingit Native population. During the tour you are pretty much guaranteed to see a host of other wildlife that are quite often spotted during our tours, including mink, marten, bald eagles, sea birds, red squirrels, otter, beaver, ducks, and Sitka black-tail deer. So be sure to bring your camera. Please note: Wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed. However, this tour can re-position quickly, and there is a much higher chance of sightings with our small group tour than any other slow moving large tour groups.
A 5 minute walk from the cruise tender pier (details will be provided with your voucher)
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Icy Strait Small Group Shore Excursion: We're going on a bear hunt! lasts about 4 hours. The itinerary has 2 stops.
Prices start at $373 per person for this Hoonah experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. A 5 minute walk from the cruise tender pier (details will be provided with your voucher) Pickup points include Icy Strait Port .
The experience is available in EN.
It is a private experience: only your party takes part. Up to 15 travellers can book together.
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 3.7 out of 5 across 21 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by My Holidays Online.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
It turned out to be a rip-off; we didn't see any bears, nor was that a safari. The driver who acted as a guide and his companion were armed; they acted out an adventure movie along a forest path and that was it. To see bears, there are much better options, such as the small boat tour to see whales and nature, or a van excursion in Kenchica.
My primary feedback is for Viator (not Luke - our guide). Two days out from the trip Viator had sent me a voucher but all the information it contained was what was in the confirmation booking. No specifics about timing or where to meet. For that I had to What's App the local guide and fortunately he responded with the correct voucher which had much more detailed information needed. So, I rate the tour a 3 only because the logistics leading up to the experience were poorly handled by Viator. I would actually recommend to others that they book directly with the local guide Wild Bear Safari. Luke our guide was great. Told us stories, and extended our tour time taking us to further out places where we did finally see two mother bears each with dubs along the beach. Because of the draught and less water and consequently salmon in the streams where bears fish we had to travel further. We were successful at the end. My only wish would have been to get a bit closer to the bears - we were roughly 200 yards away and without binoculars it was difficult to make them out. So, yes, bring your binoculars!
This outing was really neat. They take you to where they know the bears are. We saw two that day. Guide was great too.
Was amazing. Would definitely recommend. Guide was very helpful, we saw 2 bears, even if we didn’t see any we got to go out and get to see beautiful scenery.
Small group tour - yes - but it was 14 crammed into a transit van with every seat taken - 4 adults squashed in a back seat did not make it pleasant for 5 hours driving. At over $500 each not enjoyable. No bottle of water or snack just driving around aimlessly. Thought it may have been drive to a spot and watch for bears - no literally drive around and hope they pop out on the road.
We had a brilliant week The staff were Amazing The food was great we dined in the Market Kitchen it’s a buffet so help yourself The waiter x waitresses were brilliant nothing to much trouble big thanks to Jo.Aga. Beta.Caro .Beckie .Ben. Tracy . And John the porter he is so helpful There are far to many to name Thank You to all the Staff They are brilliant We will see you in July
This was hands down one of the best excursions on our Alaska cruise. Our guide was fantastic and clearly knew exactly where to look based on recent bear activity. We were lucky enough to spot two brown bears fishin for salmon, along with bald eagles and eautiful scenery throughout the drive. The small group made it eel much more personal than the large cruise tours. Highly recommend if you want a real Alaskan wildlife experience.
The guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He helped us find 4 bears and knew a lot about bears. It was my husband’s favorite tour though out alaska
Dalen our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the experience interesting and entertaining. Sadly on this occasion we didn’t see any bears, probably as we are a little early in the year. Having said that, we had the opportunity to see the amazing countryside and beautiful views.
My wife and I enjoyed this tour, saw the bears and we learned a lot much our guide. Loved the small group feel compared to what we were looking at on offer from our cruise. Thanks guys loved it.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icy Strait Small Group Shore Excursion: We're going on a bear hunt! | 4 hours | 3.7 (21) | $373 | |
 Icy Strait Shore Excursion: Whale Watching Adventure Tour | 3 hours | 4.0 (13) | $320 | View |
 Hoonah Whale-Watching Cruise - Near Icy Strait Point | 3 hours | 4.8 (487) | $225 | View |
 "Catch of the day" Whale-watching, Icy strait point, Hoonah | 3 hours | 4.9 (303) | $236 | View |
 Hoonah Whale Tours in Icy Strait | 3 hours | 5.0 (193) | $314 | View |
 Icy Strait Village Tour and Crab Feast | 3 hours | 5.0 (75) | $235 | View |
 14 passenger Whale Watching Tours in Icy Strait aka Hoonah AK | 2h 30min | 5.0 (62) | $314 | View |