Icy Strait Small Group Shore Excursion: We're going on a bear hunt!
Hoonah, USA
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Take a 4-hour shore excursion from Hoonah to Icy Strait in search of bears. This area is known as ‘Bear Island’ because it has the highest concentration of brown bears per square mile in the world. Learn about the area’s other wildlife from your informative guide and about the native Tlingit population. Take in the beautiful Alaskan scenery and bring your camera to snap some photos of the wildlife.
- Take a 4-hour tour from Hoonah to Icy Strait in search of brown bears
- Observe native wildlife like otters, beavers, bald eagles, and brown bears
- Learn about the area and the native Tlingit population from your guide
- Enjoy complimentary round-trip transportation from your cruise ship port
What's Included
- Driver/guide
- Local guide
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Small Group size of max 12 people
- Food and drinks
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
A 5 minute walk from the cruise tender pier (details will be provided with your voucher)
Arranged start time
Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
- 05/01/2027 - 09/30/2027
Monday - Sunday : 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Itinerary
1
Hoonah
4 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Icy Strait (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Most travelers can participate
- We can also accept hotel guests on this tour.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
3.7
based on 20 reviews
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!
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.
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 mom & I went on a bear hunt excursion with Luke & had a wonderful time. Luke gave us a lot of information about Hoonah, it's history, & what it's like to live there as well as information about the Tingass National Forest. It was only my mom & I on the tour which was nice. It was unseasonably warm when we went so we didn't get to see a bear. Luke said the time of year we went normally has over 90% chance of seeing a bear but they were all hiding from the hot sun the day we went. We did get to see a mama deer & it's baby fawn that Luke said was probably only 1-2 weeks old. We also saw an Eagle chasing a Hawk. We saw an eagle in its nest which was really cool! Lastly, just driving around the beautiful island & Tongass National Forest was so wonderful. There is never a guarantee you will see bears so while we were hoping to see at least one we were not too disappointed.
It just would have been an added bonus! Highly recommend this tour even if bears are not seen!!
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.
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Member Pricing
From
$354.04
per personWas $372.68(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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